Two weeks ago, as I walked past Democracy Plaza in New York with Ana Lita, the newly appointed Director of the IHEU-Appignani Humanist Center for Bioethics (see interview page 5), we were amused to spot the shop 'Banana Republic' just next to it. Of course, no one should judge a great nation by a mere four years of misrule by its unelected religious fundamentalist President. But now that there is in place a legitimately elected religious fundamentalist President, with the potential to transform the judiciary and push through religiously inspired legislation, what should we make of American democracy which once represented the aspirations of the free world? Democracy Plaza had all the regalia and the relics of democracy on display: the Declaration of Independence, a replica of the Oval Office and that of the Air Force One Presidential plane, and grand declarations on the sovereignty of the citizen. Yet, if the new administration's agenda were to be fully implemented, the first casualty would be the rights of the sovereign citizen. Of course, as regards the role of big business and big money in elections, neither of the main candidates – one a religious fundamentalist, the other a superstitious liberal – was different from the other. But in an Americanising world, global citizens are entitled to ask how the citizens of a once great democracy could have endorsed the waging of an unjust war (see page 12)?

Religious fundamentalism is on the rise everywhere in the world, and is spilling increasingly into politics (see page 4). One of the great dangers to the world today is the rise of Islamic fundamentalism (see page 14).

Lasting reform has to come from within the community, so it is heartening to see that in some sections of the Muslim ummah there is a move towards secular and modern values (see page 19). Bleak though the Iraqi situation is, there is a secular element to its society and it needs to be nurtured to bring the country back on the rails (see page 8).

With gratitude we say thank you to Latha Menon who as Editor and with her wide range of knowledge helped us make IHN a regular, reliable and interesting magazine. Latha has accepted a full-time position at Oxford University Press and we wish her much success. IHEU has also benefitted in the last year from the volunteer help of Jeremy Gibbs who has transformed the website into an attractive tool for IHEU (see page 7).

And with great sadness we record the recent death of Abraham Solomon, the Humanist stalwart from India. For many years President of the Indian Secular Society, Abe served on the IHEU Board of Directors and received the IHEU Award for Distinguished Service to Humanism in 1999 for his role in creating an Endowment Fund for the IHEU. Alas, another star falls from the sky.