For most of human history, those who failed to accept the beliefs of the prevailing religion have been isolated, most of them fearing to give voice to their honest views for fear of persecution.

In October 2008, the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB) celebrated its first anniversary with a conference on Political Islam, Shari’a Law and Civil Society. [1]

I remember some years ago talking to a woman who asserted passionately that slavery was an evil foisted on the world by Europeans and white Americans. I suspect that many people still do think that, including many of the said Europeans and Americans.

In a short space like this, one can only present the briefest of sketches of a multifaceted issue in a huge and complex continent. I shall not even touch on the question of homosexual rights, since that is dealt with elsewhere in this issue (see Page 12). Africa has many intractable problems and they all impact on the questions under consideration.