Tatchell Human Rights Fundraiser

[xmasdale]

5th annual Tatchell Human Rights Fundraiser

Monday 20th March 2006, 6.30pm

Blue Room @ Sound nightclub, Leicester Square, London

Guest Lecture by Sheikh Dr Muhammad Yusuf: Time for an Islamic
Reformation in Britain

BOOK NOW

Tickets cost £20 (£10 concessions; £35 for two) and include drinks and
refreshments throughout the evening. Send a cheque made payable to
'PTHRF' to Peter Tatchell Human Rights Fund, PO Box 35253, London E1
4YF, including your name(s), address and a contact telephone number.
Those who cannot attend are invited to kindly send a cheque donation
to the same address.

Adrian Gillan, spokesman for the PTHRF, said:
"Peter’s human rights campaigns have gone global. His successes mean
he is deluged with requests for help from activists all over the
world. To meet these demands, he is working 16 hours a day, seven days
a week. Such a huge workload is damaging his health and is
unsustainable. We need to raise enough money to get Peter a fully
equipped office and full-time staff support. The 20th March reception
will help raise some of the extra funds we need."

Sheikh Dr Muhammad Yusuf

At the 20th March event, Peter Tatchell will be joined by Sheikh Dr
Muhammad Yusuf of the Interfaith Alliance UK, who will deliver a
lecture, Time for an Islamic Reformation in Britain, arguing that "the
moment has come for the development of an authentically British and
European Islam - an Islamic Reformation - which reconciles Islam with
democracy and human rights, including human rights for women and gay
people, and which paves the way for a progressive Islam to be part of
a liberal, humanitarian reawakening of British society and culture."

Looking forward to the lecture, Peter Tatchell said:
"Support for a liberal, progressive Islam is an urgent priority. It is
the most effective way to counter the fundamentalist attitudes towards
women and gay people that characterise many supposedly moderate,
mainstream Muslim organisations in the UK. I hope Sheikh Dr Muhammad
Yusuf's lecture will demonstrate and encourage the possibility of an
Islamic Enlightenment, whereby Muslims and non-Muslims can work
together in the defence of universal social justice and human
rights."

Tatchell will also use the reception to report back on his current
campaigns, including: Solidarity with gay and liberal Muslims who are
resisting Islamic fundamentalists, in the UK and abroad; opposition to
the government's demonisation and persecution of asylum seekers;
exposure of miscarriages of justice and support for abused prisoners;
and solidarity with gay and human rights campaigners in Uganda, Iraq,
Darfur, Jamaica, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Palestine and Iran.

PTHRF chairman Reverend Richard Kirker said:
"Peter Tatchell has an unquenchable thirst for justice, and a
voracious appetite for work. He challenges discrimination fearlessly
and helps the persecuted who - in their thousands - seek his advice
and support from all parts of the world. Moreover - by writing,
campaigning, demonstrating and lobbying - he is able to alert the
wider public and media to the injustices that still blight the lives
of millions. Supporting the PTHRF provides him with financial
assistance that he puts entirely at the disposal of his work. What
could be more worthwhile?"

Notes to editors:

The PTHRF supports campaigning, research and educational initiatives
which challenge prejudice, discrimination, violence, repression and
injustice. To this end, the Fund selectively supports Peter Tatchell's
promotion of human rights, both in the UK and globally. The PTHRF is
independent and non-party political. Peter Tatchell has no organised
funding for his campaigns apart from financial support from the PTHRF.
All donations received go direct to funding human rights work. Peter
receives no salary or income from the Fund. He remains an unpaid,
volunteer human rights activist. We are committed to raising funds,
accepting donations and working in partnership with other funders to
help Peter’s work.

The PTHRF's annual reception is now a firm fixture in the UK's
socio-political and queer calendar. Past events - at the Royal
Festival Hall's People's Palace and other prominent venues - have
proved a highly enjoyable yet practical way of supporting the work of
the UK's best-known human rights campaigner, whilst allowing Peter
himself the opportunity to thank his supporters in person.

To find out more about the Peter Tatchell Human Rights Fund:
www.tatchellrightsfund.org

To find out more about Peter Tatchell's past and current campaigns:
www.petertatchell.net

Ends

[paul wright]

The interesting thing to learn from Tatchell is that low resource-high impact thing. Finding the right scenes to hit, and having the balls to go in and do it