The appalling lack of human rights in even the most liberal of Islamic States was highlighted this week when Qatar rejected the following recommendations made by member states of the Human Rights Council. Those not entitled to the full enjoyment of their human rights in Qatar include women, the children of mixed marriages, and–of course–homosexuals.

The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB, an IHEU Member Organization) held its second Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 13 December 2009 in London. The AGM unanimously adopted a statement expressing concern over the Swiss vote to ban minarets.

The UN Human Rights Council has published IHEU's written statement on religious registration in OIC (Organization of the Islamic Conference) member states. The statement documents the failure of OIC member states to uphold their citizens' right to freedom of religion, with specific examples in Egypt and Malaysia. IHEU calls for all states to eliminate laws which require citizens to specify their religion on official documents and to permit all citizens to freely change their religion or belief without discrimination. IHEU also calls on OIC member states in particular to end discrimination against non-Muslims.

In this, the fourth and final article of the series, Ibn Warraq looks at the flickering flame of secularism in the Islamic world. Thomas Paine once made the brilliantly simple observation that if “something has been revealed to a certain person, and not revealed to any other person, it is revelation to that person only.

In this, the second of a four-part series of articles, Ibn Warraq examines the difference between the Islamic view of Human Rights and the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of 1948.

The Daily Telegraph of Australia reports: The secular Democratic party of Indonesia's president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono triples its share of the vote in parliamentary elections and support for religious parties nose-dived -- suggesting that the most populous Muslim nation is delinking faith and politics.

More than 200 civil society organizations from 46 countries, including Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Secular, Humanist and Atheist groups, have endorsed a statement jointly sponsored by IHEU, UN Watch, Freedom House and the Becket Fund for Religious Freedom, urging member states of the UN Human Rights Council to reject the resolution: "Combating Defamation of Religions" due to be voted on in Geneva on 26 March 2009.

IHEU has strongly condemned the execution of children in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen and Pakistan and the practice of child marriage. In a statement to the annual meeting on the Rights of the Child held at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, IHEU called the continuation of child marriage "a disgrace" and judicial killing of children "the ultimate barbarity".

The Arabic Network for Human Rights reports that the website of Arab Secularists http://www.3almani.org is facing a campaign to block it in Arab states. Five states have already blocked the site, making it the most-blocked website, surpassing even the Alhewar website http://www.ahewar.org which has been blocked in four Arab countries.