Weekly roundup, 13-19 March 2022

Dear reader,

Here is what we've been up to at the Freethinker this week, and a sneak preview of what we're planning for next week.

New this week
- Mubarak Bala: Update on a 'blasphemer' in Nigeria - update on Bala's imprisonment without trial in northern Nigeria for allegedly blasphemous Facebook posts.
- Andrew Whitehead on saving Bradlaugh Hall - on modern ambitions to rescue a monument to Charles Bradlaugh, founder of the National Secular Society, that was built in Lahore, Pakistan.
- From the archive: imprisoned for blasphemy - report on the imprisonment of our first editor, G.W. Foote, in 1883.

Coming up next week
- The Scottish Hate Crime Act 2021: celebrating a year of its non-implementation
- Khadija Khan on the radicalisation of vulnerable Muslim youth in the UK
... and more.

Other news
The results of our Twitter poll on faith leaders in the House of Lords are now in. Out of a total of 54 votes, 74.1% voted against, 22.2% asked if this was Iran, and 3.7% said all faiths should be represented. None, however, were in favour of keeping on the bishops alone.

Freethinker membership: update
We hope to have a membership option up and running very soon. Members will pay £15 per year for the ability to comment on articles and post events of interest to readers on our calendar. Our website is experiencing some teething difficulties, so please bear with us. At the moment, comments are open access, so feel free to join the discussion.

I'll be in touch again next Saturday. As usual, if you like our magazine, please do spread the word.

Best wishes,

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