I’m a Pakistani by birth, a Canadian by choice and Islam is my spiritual journey. I use the term spiritual intentionally, because it’s important to clarify right at the beginning that faith is not politics, and politics is not faith.

Thank you Roy for inviting me to make a presentation at this seminar, and thank you friends for coming.

Freedom of religion and belief is something we fight for. The UK, where I come from, takes this right particularly seriously, and perhaps that is why it has become one of the most religiously diverse countries on earth. It is also among the least religious.

On 14 March 2012 at the 19th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, in conjunction with the UK-based National Secular Society (NSS) and India-based news portal New Age Islam, IHEU hosted a panel discussion on Religion, Law, Democracy and Human Rights. The four panellists examined the extent to which the promotion of religious law is undermining democracy, civil law and human rights around the world.

In time for ‘Armistice Day’ -- which marks the 93rd anniversary of the end of “The War to End All Wars” on November 11 --  a new film has been released based on a presentation given at the “Humanism and Peace” conference in Oslo, in August 2011. The video “No More War: The Human Potential for Peace” captures the presentation given by Judith Hand at the World Congress of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU). It is a systematically researched and well-documented approach for ending war on earth.

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RESOLUTION ADOPTEE AU COLLOQUE : POSITIONS LAIQUES EN TERME DE « BIOETHIQUE ».