''Among Nonbelievers'' (Dutch title: ''Onder Ongelovigen'') is a 2015 bilingual English–Dutch documentary on the situation of endangered nonbelievers, especially ex-Muslims, around the world. Set in the United Kingdom, Turkey, the Netherlands and Switzerland, the film is directed by Dorothée Forma and produced by HUMAN with the support of the

Dutch Humanist Association The Humanistisch Verbond (HV, sometimes translated as ''Humanistic Association Netherlands'', ''Dutch Humanist Association'' or ''Dutch Humanist League'') is a Dutch association based on secular humanist principles. Basics The foundation of the ...

. In 2016, it was succeeded by '' Non-believers: Freethinkers on the Run'', which dealt with the fate of apostates and

freethinkers Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other method ...

in Dutch refugee camps.

Synopsis

Boris van der Ham Boris van der Ham (born 29 August 1973) is a Dutch writer, humanist, former politician, and actor. On 23 May 2002, he became a member of the House of Representatives for the Democrats 66, a social liberal party. From 24 November 2012 to 21 Novem ...

, president of the

, meets up with ex-Muslims in different countries, listens to their stories and discusses with them what should be done about their situation. First, he visits the Istanbul-based office of Ateizm Derneği, an association that serves the interests of

atheists Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

, who are regularly threatened, harassed and discriminated in Turkey. Religion is also exploited by president

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to ...

's AKP government as an economic power tool, some activists explain in Istanbul. Next, Van der Ham attends the Secular Conference 2014 in London, organised by the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain led by

Maryam Namazie Maryam Namazie ( fa, مریم نمازی; born 1966) is a British-Iranian secularist, communist and human rights activist, commentator, and broadcaster. Early life Most of her early work focused on refugee rights, especially in Sudan, Turkey, ...

, where 'secular thinkers, filmmakers and experts convene to raise awareness about the problems experienced by nonbelievers.' There, regular calls are made on Western and European humanists to show more solidarity and dedicated to the rights of nonbelievers outside the Western world. Sudanese ex-Muslim Nahla Mahmoud was targeted by an Islamist hate campaign after she criticised British sharia courts. Van der Ham also goes to Glasgow for conversations with the Ex-Muslims of Scotland, who are threatened and discriminated against by members of their own family, and cannot return to their country of birth, where they face the death penalty for apostasy or

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religio ...

. He discusses the ''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting with

Theodor Holman Theodor Holman (born 9 January 1953, in Amsterdam) is a Dutch journalist, presenter, and writer of Indo descent. He studied Dutch language and History at the University of Amsterdam. He was editor of the satirical student newspaper Propria Cure ...

. Together with other Dutch humanists and freethinkers, Van der Ham marches through The Hague to demand freedom of thought. They offer copies of the 2015 Freedom of Thought Report to ambassadors of a number of countries where nonbelievers are being persecuted and oppressed; he conducts a conversation with the Iraqi ambassador. The report is also received in the Dutch House of Representatives by the House Commission of Foreign Affairs. Elizabeth O'Casey,

IHEU Humanists International (known as the International Humanist and Ethical Union, or IHEU, from 1952–2019) is an international non-governmental organisation championing secularism and human rights, motivated by secular humanist values. Foun ...

representative at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

, explains how Muslim-majority countries internationally always invoke the argument of 'defamation of religion' to continue to violate the human rights of their citizens. Finally, Van der Ham holds a plea for freedom of thought against religious intolerance at the

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

in Geneva.

Cast

* Paul Cliteur (former president of the

) *

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ath ...

, British scientist and atheist activist *

Nadia El Fani Nadia El Fani ( ar, نادية الفاني; born 1960 in Paris), is a French-Tunisian film director, screenwriter and producer. She has primarily directed documentary films about human rights, women's rights, secularism, and criticism of religion ...

(from Tunisia), film director of ''Neither Allah nor Master'' * Ramin Forghani (from Iran), founder of Ex-Muslims of Scotland *

(president of the Dutch Humanist Association) *

, Dutch television host * Nahla Mahmoud (from Sudan), spokesperson for the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain *

(from Iran), president of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain * Pieter Omtzigt ( CDA), vice-president Dutch House Commission of Foreign Affairs * Elizabeth O'Casey,

UN human rights delegation chief * Şafak Pavey, Turkish MP ( CHP) * Onur Roman, Mehmet Emin Üçbağla, Kaan Hatunoğlu, Tolga İnci and several other members of Ateizm Derneği (in Turkey)

Notes

References

{{Reflist

External links

Watch ''Among Nonbelievers'' online
Apostasy in Islam British documentary films Documentary films critical of Islam Dutch documentary films Dutch-language films Films with atheism-related themes Human rights abuses in the Netherlands Religion in Turkey Irreligion in the United Kingdom Islam in Turkey Islam in the United Kingdom Secularism in Turkey Secularism in the United Kingdom United Nations Human Rights Council

Synopsis

Cast

See also

Notes

References

External links