The National Atheist Party Condemns The Attack On The U.S. Embassy

The National Atheist Party criticizes recent attacks, but upholds the rights of U.S. citizens guaranteed under the First Amendment.

Florence, KY (I-Newswire) September 13, 2012 - Islamist gunmen, chanting slogans proclaiming the supremacy of their god Allah, attacked the U.S. Embassy Tuesday night, killing the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens. The attack was in response to a movie circulating on the Internet that depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad as a hoaxster and a fool, and included scenes of him having sex with women. It is against Islamic beliefs to depict Muhammad in any manner, much less the farcical image portrayed by the film. The movie was filmed in the United States by a private individual, and was translated into Arabic and posted onto the Internet.

President Obama called the religious killing of a United States Ambassador an “outrageous attack,” and vowed to bring the murderers to justice. He further ordered increased security around U.S. Consulates around the region. It is speculated that this group was comprised of a militant group called Ansar al Sharia, or Supporters of Islamic Law. Early reports suggest that Al Qaeda's North African faction may have been involved as well.

"This is atrocious,” stated Troy Boyle, President of the National Atheist Party, “but we do not lay the blame at the feet of any person who ridicules Islam. If a feature of a religion is that it must be immune from ridicule, on threat of violence and death, then that religion is dangerously militant. You cannot allow an ideology to hold itself above the very human impulse to satire and criticism. The freedom to ridicule is absolute. It is a human right."

The National Atheist Party (NAP) has publicly condemned these attacks as part of its charter’s stance that individuals should not be attacked when offending others. The NAP further condemns any religion in which militant believers violently attack and murder others in the name of their religion. In the United States, satirical films such as the one that led to this attack are protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, no matter how offensive they might be. The NAP believes U.S. Citizens have the right to be protected under the First Amendment at any time they are on U.S. soil. The NAP calls for an end to the religious violence exploding in the region and would like to remind the citizens of all Muslim nations that this film was produced by a single individual, not the entire United States, and that the producer was completely within his rights under American Law.

The National Atheist Party is a non-profit, 527 political organization devoted to issue advocacy and guided by the values of secular humanism and evidenced-based reasoning. The party seeks to politically represent U.S. atheists and all who share the goal of a secular government by gathering the political strength of secularists nationwide. To learn more about the party, visit www.usanap.org.


Jason Dixon, Public Relations
National Atheist Party
Public Relations and Marketing
P.O. Box 371
Florence, KY 41022
224-210-1211

nap.prmarketing@usanap.org