Join Young Humanists UK and Young Humanists International for a discussion about apostasy, on 21 October at 18:30 (UK time), as part of European Young Humanist Month.

Belief in a religion is a fundamental human right, and with that comes the right to not believe. Unfortunately, this right is not afforded to everyone. For some people, leaving their faith can be a complicated, challenging, and even dangerous process. Apostates can bring shame and dishonour to a family and, as a result, they often experience emotional and physical abuse.

A panel of expert speakers will lead an interactive discussion on what apostasy is and how the humanist community can support apostates.

All are welcome to attend and there will be plenty of opportunities to put your questions to the panel, as well as chatting with fellow attendees.

To reserve a space for you and your household, please register. We will be using Zoom and a link will be emailed to you ahead of the event. Please note that this event will be recorded.

Speakers

Saff Khalique is a British Pakistani ex-Muslim student and activist, currently studying a masters in International Journalism carrying out a research project into the relationship between the freedom of religion and the freedom of the press in Islamic countries. Saff left Islam in May 2018 but it was not until September 2019 that she went public with her disbelief. Through this time, she has established a blog, The Amber Journals, where she discusses religion, politics and women’s rights issues, participated in panel discussions with Faith to Faithless and Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and was a member of Index on Censorship’s Youth Board from January–June 2020.

Hari Parekh is a Trainee Clinical Psychologist at the University of Liverpool. He has a first-class honours degree in Psychology and Criminology from the University of Northampton and an MSc in Forensic and Criminological Psychology from the University of Nottingham. Hari was formerly the President of Humanist Students and is currently the Volunteers Manager for Faith to Faithless. He is also the Chair of European Young Humanists, as part of Young Humanists International. Hari has published his MSc thesis on ‘Apostates as a Hidden Population of Abuse Victims’ – the first publication to highlight the worldwide abuse of apostates within religious households, which was published by the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

Izzy Posen grew up in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in London. He is now a student of Physics and Philosophy at the University of Bristol and researches and writes about the insular community of his upbringing.

Luke Moulding-Marlowe has been overseeing communications for Young Humanists since mid 2019, and is dedicated to curating and creating engaging content that allows us to share and spread the ideals of Humanism across the globe.