Godless Spellchecker's Blog

Zara Kaye is an Australian Ex-Muslim activist and founder of Faithless Hijabi. Nothing threatens theocratic bullies like a courageous, outspoken woman and Zara is certainly not afraid to speak openly about Islam and the human rights abuses carried out in its name. This is why her voice is such an important one.

Zara is currently in the East African nation of Tanzania, and I was deeply concerned to see the following tweet posted on the 28th December:

The tweet reads: “Okay so going into the police station because someone reported me in for blasphemy. Good luck”.

Since seeing this message I’ve been very anxious to beat the drum about this issue and receive an update on her plight. I was privately advised to hold off on publicly discussing this issue on social media until a safe and sensible plan of action can be decided on at a more official level.

Well, it appears Maryam Namazie at the British Council of Ex-Muslims is now leading the charge and asking for urgent action. You can read about all the information we currently have by clicking here.

As outlined via ex-muslim.co.uk, official charges are as follows:

1) Social media post deemed to be critical of the president of Tanzania, John Magufuli (these light satirical posts were posted in May when Zara was in London, addressing the handling of Covid-19 in Tanzania)

2) Not returning her Tanzanian passport after gaining Australian citizenship (she never returned her Tanzanian passport as she misplaced and never used it after gaining Australian citizenship)

3) Using a SIM-card not registered in her name (this was registered in a family member’s name). Failure to register SIM-cards legislation has been used to persecute other high-profile cases.

The article also goes on to claim that:

These charges are politically motivated and believed to be initiated by those from the Khoja Shia Ithnasheri Jamaat who have threated Zara with death for leaving Islam and for her activism in support of ex-Muslims and women.

It is evident that the authorities do not have a case against Zara. The trumped-up charges must be dropped and she must be free to leave the country.

Below is the call to action

CALL TO ACTION:

The International Coalition of Ex-Muslims reiterates its call on the Tanzanian government to unconditionally and immediately drop all the charges against Zara Kay and allow her to leave the country.  Restrictions on the right to freedom of expression and conscience are in violation of international human rights obligations.

We also call on the public to continue to take urgent action by contacting Tanzanian embassies in countries of residence and the Tanzanian government calling for all charges against Zara Kay to be dropped and that she be permitted to leave the country.

Please also contact Australian embassies in countries of residence urging them to immediately intervene on behalf of Zara and get her home safe.

USEFUL TANZANIAN CONTACTS:

President John P. Magufuli
P.O. Box 11400, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @MagufuliJP

Australia
Website: https://www.tanzaniaconsul.com/contact/
Email: [email protected]

East Africa (including Somalia, Sudan, Kenya, Seychelles, Eritrea)
Twitter: @TZhighcom
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://ke.tzembassy.go.tz

United Kingdom
Website: https://tzhc.uk/contacts
Email: [email protected]

France
Website: https://www.fr.tzembassy.go.tz/contacts
Twitter: @TanzaniaFrance
Email: [email protected]

Germany
Website: https://de.tzembassy.go.tz/contacts
Twitter: @TZinGermany
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

Netherlands
Website: https://www.nl.tzembassy.go.tz/index.php/contacts
Twitter: @Verheul_Jeroen
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Scandinavia (Nordic Countries, Baltic States & Ukraine)
Website: https://www.tanemb.se/contact-us/
Twitter: @TZTourismNORDIC
Email: [email protected]

North America
Website: https://tanzaniaembassy-us.org/
Twitter: @tzembassyus
Email: [email protected]

New Zealand
Website: https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/countries-and-regions/africa/tanzania/consulate-for-the-united-republic-of-tanzania/
Email: [email protected]

Turkey
Twitter: @tzembassyturkey
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Website: https://www.tr.tzembassy.go.tz/

Pakistan
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Website: http://mofa.gov.pk/dar-es-salam-tanzania/
http://in.tzembassy.go.tz

India
Twitter: @TanzaniainIndia
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Website: http://in.tzembassy.go.tz

Egypt
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://eg.tzembassy.go.tz/about/category/about-the-embassy

Morocco
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://eg.tzembassy.go.tz/about/category/about-the-embassy

Singapore
Email: [email protected]

Malaysia
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tanzanrepkl/
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.tanzaniahighcommission.my/

Please use your social media platforms to sound the alarm about this issue and share this article from ex-Muslim.co.uk. I shall provide an update on the situation as soon as I know more.

Stephen Knight is host of The #GSPodcast. You can listen to The Godless Spellchecker Podcast here, and support it by becoming a patron here.