1. ICLA Mission Statement
The International Civil Liberties
Alliance (ICLA)

2. Mission Statement
“ICLA is a human
rights organisation
that aims to
uphold democracy,
freedom and
individual liberties.”
Picture: Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
approved by the National Assembly of France,
August 26, 1789.

3. Main Focus
ICLA’s main focus is
opposing the use of sharia
when it undermines
freedoms and human
rights.
Sharia law allows slavery!
Hamoud bin Mohammed of Zanzibar.
abolished slavery under British tutelage.

4. 10 Key Issues
1. Freedom of Expression 7. Countering politics
2. Democracy & the Rule of disguised as religion
Law 8. The Right to Oppose
3. Freedom of Worship Sharia
4. Equal rights for women 9. Interfaith Dialogue
5. Equality Before the Law 10. International Cooperation
6. Individual Liberty for Protection of Liberty

5. 1) FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Calling for the protection of the citizens’ rights to free
expression, the repeal of legislation that prevents its
effective exercise, and adoption of legislation similar to
the “First Amendment of the Constitution of the United
States of America”, into national or international law:
[Law Making Body] shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the Government for a redress of grievances.

6. Sharia Compliance undermining Freedom of Expression
Picture: Freedom
of expression
practiced in
London’s Trafalgar
Square
• Salman Rushdie
• Danish Cartoons
• “Hate Laws”
• “Islamophobia”
• Istanbul Process

7. Passion for Freedom
Chris Knowles of ICLA outside the
Passion for Freedom art exhibition in
London.
Artists from across the world gathered
to exhibit their work. The aim of the
event was to highlight the need for
freedom of expression.

8. 2) DEMOCRACY & RULE OF LAW
Promoting democracy and the Rule of Law by ensuring that all
citizens are treated equally under the law, and opposing
adoption of any legal system that competes with Constitutional
law, with particular focus on any such system that violates
fundamental human rights. This includes, but is not limited to,
systems that discriminate against women, discriminate according
to ethnicity or religion, and in particular any initiative that
deprives the citizens of their rights to choose for themselves the
laws that govern their lands.

9. • One law for all in a secular society
• Engagement in Civil Society & Peaceful Protest

10. 3) FREEDOM OF WORSHIP
Protecting the right of any person to reform or abandon his
religion without hindrance, fear, or censure, as well as calling for
national and international law to be amended to provide
relevant protection for such persons. In particular, ICLA will
campaign against the practices of intimidating or punishing
reformers and apostates, and for the right of any person to
challenge religious authorities on these subjects. Finally, ICLA will
support and encourage liberal reformers seeking to bring
traditional creeds up to modern standards for civil liberties.

11. It was developed before
Multiculturalism
Freedom of Worship is NOT:
• The right to commit
murder
• An excuse for bad
behaviour
• A tool for cultural bullying
• An absolute right
Examples:

12. Sati – Immolation of Hindu
widows
"This burning of widows is
your custom; prepare the
funeral pile. But my nation
has also a custom. When men
burn women alive we hang
them, and confiscate all their
property. My carpenters shall
therefore erect gibbets on
which to hang all concerned
when the widow is consumed.
Let us all act according to
Multiculturalism taken to extremes
national customs.“
General Sir Charles Napier

13. Aztec religion involved cutting out human hearts
How far would things go today if the we had modern Aztec
communities in our towns and cities?

14. 4) EQUAL RIGHTS FOR WOMEN
Promoting equal rights for men and women alike
through challenging discrimination against women
based on religious dogma, or other discriminatory or
damaging practices traditionally considered ‘religious’.
It is the firm belief of ICLA that equal rights for women
are a cornerstone of a modern society, and that
ensuring these rights is vital for a balanced future
development of our societies.

15. “Men are in charge of women,
because Allah hath made the one
of them to excel the other, and
because they spend of their
property (for the support of
women). So good women are
obedient, guarding in secret that
which Allah hath guarded. As for
those from whom ye fear rebellion,
admonish them and banish them to
beds apart, and scourge them.
Then if they obey you, seek not a
way against them. Lo! Allah is ever
High and Exalted, Great!” A British suffragette, c. 1910
The Koran, 4.34

16. “A woman may not leave the city
without her husband or a member of
her unmarriageable kin” m10.3
“The husband may forbid his wife to
leave the home” m10.4
“A woman has no right to custody (A:
of her child from a previous marriage)
when she remarries…” m13.4
“A free man has three
pronouncements of divorce” n2.1
A woman wearing
a Niqāb in Monterey, Reliance of the Traveller
California – 21st century!

17. 5) EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW
Demanding individual equality before the law, in
theory as well as in practice.
Countering violations of this principle in the
theory of legal or religious texts, as well as in
their practical execution.

18. • Women
• Homosexuals
• Minority sects
• Non-Muslims

19. 6) INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY
Supporting the rights of the individual and opposing
measures that undermine the norms of individual
liberty. It is a fundamental concept that liberty belongs
to individuals, not groups, and consequently that
granting special privileges to or revoking them from a
group is at odds with this principle. In particular, no
rights must be withheld from a citizen due to his
religion, either in law or in the application thereof.

20. Is dependent on:
• Freedom of Expression
• Equality Before the Law
Is undermined by:
• Political Correctness
• Group Rights
Statue of Freedom,
US Capitol

21. 7) Countering politics disguised as
religion
Challenging the use of religious ideology or
status to gain political power or to conduct
subversive activities; for example by requesting
that the status of any individuals or
organisations doing so shall be reclassified from
“religious” to “political”, and subsequently
treated as such by the authorities.

22. • Respect for Religion
• Individual Conscience
• OIC Smokescreen
• Political Religion
Picture: The Siege of Belgrade in 1456

23. 8) THE RIGHT TO OPPOSE SHARIA
Countering any attempts by Islamic leaders or organisations to implement
Sharia, covertly or openly. Campaigning for the protection of individuals and
organisations working to prevent the implementation of Sharia in our
societies. This includes ensuring that law enforcement and courts deal fairly
and robustly with threats and intimidation against citizens doing so, for such
citizens are working in line with the European Court of Human Rights verdict
of February 13th 2003:
… the Court found that sharia was incompatible with the
fundamental principles of democracy as set forth in the
Convention. It considered that Sharia, which faithfully reflects
the dogmas and divine rules laid down by religion, is stable and
invariable. Principles such as pluralism in the political sphere or
the constant evolution of public freedoms have no place in it.

24. • Elisabeth Sabaditsh-Wolff
• Tommy Robinson
• Fjordman
• Chris Knowles
Picture: 13th century slave market in Yemen
- A clear example of an aspect of sharia that should be
opposed.

25. Free Tommy Robinson
Weekly vigil in Berlin to free EDL leader Tommy Robinson from
political imprisonment in the UK

26. 9) INTERFAITH DIALOGUE
Encouraging individuals and organisations to engage in useful
and respectful interfaith dialogue, and exposing any fraud
attempted in such dialogues. This includes requesting of relevant
parties that they be clear and explicit in their communications,
and that sincere efforts be undertaken to uphold any
agreements reached. Promoting the abolition of detrimental
religious dogma, for instance by having Islamic organisations sign
on to A Proposed Charter of Muslim Understanding by Sam
Solomon.

27. • Dialogue not a power
grab!
• Sam Solomon’s A
Proposed Charter of
Muslim Understanding
• ICLA participation in
Ethical Interfaith
Mosaic at the Cathedral
of Monreale, Sicily, 12th
century.

28. 10) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
FOR THE PROTECTION OF LIBERTY
Supporting grassroots groups, individuals, and other
organisations committed to protecting individual liberty
locally, nationally and globally. Lobbying governments
and international organisations to develop legislation
and codes of conduct to prevent stealth or open
undermining of these liberties, as well as the human
rights violations that would inevitably follow from
the destruction of our civil liberties.

29. • Networking activities
• International
Conferences
• OSCE
• 2012 Brussels
Process
Agreement of the Atlantic Charter,
Newfoundland, 14 August 1941

30. http://www.libertiesalliance.org/