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Legacies of 9/11: Reflections on Islamic Fascism, 25 Years On
The essay below was originally published on 11 September 2021 in Areo Magazine, where I worked for some years under Helen Pluckrose and Iona Italia, including as assistant editor. Areo is now closed,...
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Freethought History Webinar #13: G.W. Foote, Freethinker Founder, NSS...
I’m excited to announce the thirteenth in the Freethinker’s series of free online seminars for all those interested in freethought history and its enduring relevance. The webinars, hosted by me and...
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Image of the week: ‘Free Speech (For Us, Not Them)’, by Polyp
‘Free Speech (For Us, Not Them)’, by Polyp Donate Newsletter Contact The post Image of the week: ‘Free Speech (For Us, Not Them)’, by Polyp appeared first on The Freethinker.
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Thirty years of fighting for secularism in the UK: interview with Keith...
The original version of this interview was conducted by Helen Nicholls of the National Secular Society (NSS) and published on the NSS website on 29 May 2026. This interview celebrates and looks back...
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‘Islamophobia’, identity politics, and free speech
The following is an expanded and updated essay based on Maryam Namazie’s remarks at the launch of Steven Greer’s book, Islamophobia and Free Speech, on 15 April 2026, hosted by the Free Speech Union....
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Online Extremism’s Challenge to the Enlightenment
We uphold the importance of free inquiry and the free exchange of ideas. But what happens when they lead someone to mass murder? In an interesting and often-overlooked passage in his foundational work...
View ArticleBritain has changed. The relationship between religion and state must change,...
Originally published on the National Secular Society website on 25 March 2026 and republished here with permission. Britain today is both more religiously diverse and nonreligious than ever before....
View ArticleWhy is the Office for Students not protecting free speech at ‘theological...
Universities in the UK are among the best in the world, a distinction built on the longstanding independence of academics to pursue their research, teaching, and scholarship, unfettered by...
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Image of the week: Jesus and Mo and ‘anti-Muslim hostility’
Credit: Mohammed Jones (17 December 2025). Click to read more. Read more of Jesus and Mo’s adventures at https://www.jesusandmo.net. More on the government’s recently unveiled ‘anti-Muslim hostility’...
View ArticleInterview with Steven Pinker: A Little (Common) Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing
Steven Pinker is a cognitive psychologist, public intellectual, and the author of many fine books including How the Mind Works (1997), The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature (2002), The...
View ArticleCohesion strategy: Fine words on free speech – but still too timid on religion
This article was first published on the website of the National Secular Society (NSS) on 10 March 2026, and it is republished here with permission. The Government has published its long-awaited social...
View ArticleWomen’s Blasphemy and the State
Blasphemous. Corrupt. Apostate. Kafir. These words are always defined from the perspective of the religious. The religious lens is treated as neutral, as default. Blasphemy is assumed to be harm, at...
View ArticleHamit Coskun: The modern-day blasphemy case that should never have been brought
Originally published on the National Secular Society’s website on 27 February 2026 and republished here with permission. Today saw a decisive victory for freedom of expression: the High Court rejected...
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The freedom to believe is not the freedom to dominate
Dina-Perla Portnaar is known for the Dutch memoir, Exodus from the Lighthouse—Exodus uit de vuurtoren, about her restrictive religious upbringing. The book was adapted into a Dutch television...
View ArticlePEN America: Open Letter from Writers Urging Release of Iranian Poet
I am very proud to have signed this open letter from PEN America expressing solidarity with jailed Iranian poet Ali Asadollahi. With permission, it is reproduced in full below. Read the original...
View ArticleA victory for free speech: the Hamit Coskun ruling
This piece was originally published on the National Secular Society’s website on 13 October 2025. Last week’s Crown Court judgment marked an important victory for free expression – and for our work...
View ArticleIslam and free speech, 20 years on from Jyllands-Posten: interview with Jacob...
Today marks the twentieth anniversary of the publication of several cartoons of the supposed Prophet Muhammad by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten (see also our latest image of the week). I spoke...
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Image of the week: 20 years since the Jyllands-Posten cartoons controversy
The page of cartoons of the supposed prophet muhammad published by danish newspaper jyllands-posten on 30 september 2005. image used per wikipedia’s fair use reasoning. 30 September will mark the...
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The assassination of Charlie Kirk
An aerial view of the tent where Charlie Kirk was shot on 10 September 2025. Image: KSL News Utah. CC BY 4.0. The assassination of Charlie Kirk—political activist, campus organiser of the American...
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Freedom of expression lives where offence begins: In defence of Ibtissame...
Freedom of expression lives where offence begins. To offend is to question certainty, to strip the sacred of its privilege, and to laugh in the face of fear and threats. A society that bans offence...
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