Southern Poverty Law List Atheists As "Anti-Muslim Extremist"

This is a slippery one. Take either side and you're in for a world of hurt.

Atheists have hit out at an American civil rights advocacy organisation who published a list of “anti-Muslim extremist” authors.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), specialising in civil rights and public interest litigation, published the report earlier this month which included Christian conservatives and two high-profile campaigners credited for their work in the Muslim community.

Critics called the SPLC’s decision “dangerous” and “disgraceful”, and a petition has been launched for the organisation to remove certain members of the list.

"By including liberal reformists and human rights activists in its list of 'anti-Muslim' extremists, the SPLC has effectively chosen to silence and ignore many very important voices from whole groups of marginalized people,” explains the petition.

The change.org movement specifically calls for the removal of Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Maajid Nawaz from the list.

Ms Ali, a Somali-born human rights activist and former Dutch MP, is an an ex-Muslim atheist who has publicly criticised fundamentalist Islamic practices such as female genital mutilation - of which she was a victim.

Mr Nawaz is a practicing Muslim and former recruiter for Islamist group Hizbut Tahrir. He has since launched the Quilliam Foundation, a think tank based in Britain which focuses on issues of anti-extremism, deradicalisation, and counter terrorism.

Other critics suggested the SPLC’s decision discredited them as a serious organisation.

"If criticizing religious beliefs makes them extremists, then it won't be long before other vocal atheists end up on that list too. And make no mistake, that's what Nawaz and Hirsi Ali are doing. That's all they're doing. They're not anti-Muslim; they work with moderate Muslims. They're critical of the worst aspects of Islam," Hemant Mehta of The Friendly Atheist blog said. Cont.

Story from - Independent