A radical composer; secularism in Turkey; Barbie

Dear reader,

Our leading article this week is by the singer and composer Frances Lynch. Lynch tells the story of Eliza Flower, a radical 19th-century composer whose works were neglected after her death, and whom Lynch discovered by chance. Flower lived an unconventional, if not scandalous life, and wrote secular music, including political protest songs. Her portrait still hangs in the library at Conway Hall.

In Turkey, meanwhile, secularism is slipping away in the face of increasing pressure on the main political parties to support Islamisation. Kunwar Khuldune Shahid reports.

Life in plastic, it's fantastic... From hijabs to social justice and a new movie, has the world's most famous doll been successfully rebranded as a feminist icon? Khadija Khan is not convinced. Finally, Jesus and Mo defend their identity against the sceptics.

Articles
Celebrating Eliza Flower: an unconventional woman, by Frances M. Lynch
How Turkey abandoned secularism, by Kunwar Khuldune Shahid
Hijab or hairdo, it’s time to put Barbie back in the box, by Khadija Khan
Cartoon: Jesus and Mo, by Mohammed Jones

Coming up soon
This autumn we'll be publishing interviews, news and comment on topics ranging from Islam in Britain to humanism in Nigeria. I'll also be speaking about freethought and humanism to the North East Humanists, the Reading Sunday Alternative, the Charles Bradlaugh Society in Northampton (this Sunday), and on the Humanism Now podcast. For further details, watch this space.

I hope you enjoy our latest articles, and if you do, please share them with others.

Best wishes,

Emma Park
Editor, The Freethinker
freethinker.co.uk
@freethinkermag
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editor@freethinker.co.uk