The Lacey trial concludes with a deeply disappointing outcome. Plus: executions continue in Iran. And how to find solidarity near you.

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Welcome Back

This week, our Unbelief Brief returns to a case we’ve been following closely—the Lacey, Washington trial involving two parents accused of attempting to kill their teenage daughter in what many have described as an attempted honor killing. Meanwhile, in Iran, young protesters continue to face death sentences for opposing theocratic rule.

This week we debut For the Community. Here you will find information on Ex-Muslim community groups and other related events. This week we share details on groups in Cleveland and NYC. If you’re building one where you live, we’d love to help amplify it! You can find details below.

Unbelief Brief

The Lacey, Washington trial of two parents accused of an attempted “honor killing” against their daughter has concluded [[link removed]], and the outcome is extremely disappointing, to say the least. Readers of this newsletter will recall information about the case from recent editions: the parents had allegedly wanted to arrange a marriage for their daughter in Iraq against her will. The prosecution did admit that there was no explicit evidence that this motivated the father’s public assault of his daughter. However, the victim herself took the stand to say that her parents had taken her out of school upon discovering she had a boyfriend, and she was soon to take a one-way trip to Iraq for the marriage. Motivations aside, video evidence [[link removed]] and eyewitness testimony [[link removed]] were unanimous that the girl was likely moments from death as her father choked her. It seems impossible to deny that if bystanders had not intervened and stopped the attack, the girl would now be dead.

The jury presiding over this case unfortunately seems to have disagreed [[link removed]]. The father, Ihsan Ali, was found guilty only of the lesser charges of assault and unlawful imprisonment. The mother, Zahraa Ali, was found guilty of violating a protective order but nothing else. The prosecution had sought a conviction for second-degree attempted murder. We wrote a few weeks ago that this case seemed open and shut, and we stand by that assertion. This is a profoundly disappointing and upsetting verdict; the term “miscarriage of justice” was made for situations like this one.

The victim of her father’s attack is reportedly under protective custody [[link removed]]. Aged 17, she will be a legal adult and a free woman soon. It is our hope and that of all decent people that she will be able to get far away from her parents to live a free life.

In other, also disheartening news, Iran is still sentencing people to death for involvement in the Woman, Life, Freedom protests. Mohammad Darvish Narouei and Yasin Kebdani, two young men in their early twenties, have been convicted of “waging war against God” and “corruption on Earth.” Iran International reports [[link removed]] that they will face capital punishment while a third young man, Benyamin Kouhkan, awaits his verdict in solitary confinement. It is unfortunately quite difficult to see any possibility of the situation for political freedoms in Iran improving any time soon.

For the Community

Looking to Connect with Other Ex-Muslims?

For those in Cleveland:

Connect with Muhammad Umar and the Cleveland group:

Email: [[email protected]]

Instagram: @the_origin_story

Facebook: Muhammad Umar [[link removed]]

Reddit: u/Lntr0spection

Discord: Azazo

For those in New York City:

Reach out to Behzad to join the NYC group. After a quick vetting process, you’ll be added to the WhatsApp group:

Email: [[email protected]]

Twitter/X: @ExMuslim_NY

If you run a local ex-Muslim support group or want to start one, we’d love to spotlight it here in the newsletter. Email us at [email protected] with the details!

Until next week,

The Team at Ex-Muslims of North America

P.S. We’d love to hear from you! Share your feedback at [email protected].

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