I went to Maryam Namazie's strong and inspirational talk in Sydney last night, and did actually manage to speak with her briefly afterwards. Unfortunately, I didn't get to plot and conspire with her in private ... but I feel honoured to have met her.
Maryam is a major thinker in the contemporary struggle on behalf of freedom and reason. She should be getting major gigs, internationally, not just in the UK (the Sydney dinner was relatively small scale). How about it, CFI, Atheist Alliance International, Council for Secular Humanism, planners of global conventions, etc., etc.?
During question time, I asked her about Ayaan Hirsi Ali's recent proposal for Muslim women to convert to Christianity. Maryam's reply was to the effect that this is what happens when someone gets too close to a right-wing think tank. Sounds about right. She then segued into a passionate defence of secularism.
(Before anyone asks, no it was not recorded. Alas. Not as far as I'm aware.)
About Me
- Russell Blackford
- Australian philosopher, literary critic, legal scholar, and professional writer. Based in Newcastle, NSW. My latest books are THE TYRANNY OF OPINION: CONFORMITY AND THE FUTURE OF LIBERALISM (2019); AT THE DAWN OF A GREAT TRANSITION: THE QUESTION OF RADICAL ENHANCEMENT (2021); and HOW WE BECAME POST-LIBERAL: THE RISE AND FALL OF TOLERATION (2024).
1 comment:
Maryam Namazie will be one of the invited speakers on the next CFI cruise, in spring 2012. (The other invited speaker is Richard Dawkins.)
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