Seyran Ates on a sexual revolution in Islam

February 5 2019

Fritt Ord and Integral Film invite the public to a talk with Imam, lawyer and author Seyran Ates on Tuesday, 5 February 2019, from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. at the Fritt Ord Foundation, Uranienborgveien 2, Oslo. The moderator for the talk is Mohamed Abdi, who is educated as a teacher, social commentator and writer.

Registration: registering@frittord.no

According to Seyran Ates, sexuality in Islam is often characterised by bans, fears and violence. The consequences can be fatal – not only for individuals, but for society as a whole. Seyran Ates is calling for a sexual revolution in Islam, and she will talk about what this entails.

During the conversation between Ates and Abdi, we will also see excerpts from the upcoming documentary film “The First Supper” about Seyran Ates, by the Turkish-Norwegian director Nefise Özkal Lorentzen. Seyran Ates’ book “Islam needs a sexual revolution. A diatribe” will be published in Norwegian in May this year.

Seyran Ates opened the Ibn Rushd Goethe Mosque in Berlin in 2017. This is the first liberal mosque in Germany where men and women can worship together – and where women can be imams. Seyran Ates was born in Istanbul in 1963, and she has lived in Berlin since 1969. She studied law at Freie University Berlin, and has practised law since 1997. Today, she specialises in criminal and family law, and Muslim women feature prominently on her client roster. As a women’s and human rights activist, Seyran Ates is an important voice in the struggle against religious and tradition-related violence. Her books stimulate debates on gender, gender equality, Islam and integration. She is behind the civil initiative “Stop Extremism”, which strives to counter political and religious extremism in Europe.

The conversation will be in English.

Link to the Facebook event: Seyran Ates on a sexual revolution in Islam.

News

Call for nominations: Free Media Awards 2025

March 14 2025

In collaboration with the ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS of Hamburg, the Fritt Ord Foundation has allocated the Free Media Awards annually since 2004 to Eastern European journalists and media that defy every obstacle to tirelessly ensure independent press coverage. Russia’s war against Ukraine and the subsequent wave of disinformation clearly demonstrates the need for independent reporting in the region. Journalist, editorial teams and media companies in and from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine and Hungary who make a contribution to press freedom through their investigative, independent reporting can be nominated for the Free Media Awards.

Civitates' Tech & Democracy open call

March 6 2025

Civitates – The European Democracy Fund is a pooled philanthropic fund that was set up in 2018 for the sole purpose of addressing democratic decline and closing civic space in Europe. The case for confronting these threats is growing increasingly urgent. Fritt Ord Foundation is one of the initiators and partners of Civitates.

Civitates has launched its Tech and Democracy open call to support organisations working to ensure safer, more inclusive online spaces (social media platforms, search engines etc.) by improving the enforcement of EU tech regulations at the national level.

This open call offers a unique opportunity to strengthen civil society’s role in holding the tech sector accountable, with a focus on key EU regulations such as the Digital Services Act, GDPR, AI Act or the European Media Freedom Act to name a few.

Norwegians increasingly more positive to computer games

March 5 2025

Norwegians are increasingly more positive to accepting computer games as culture

About 17 per cent have developed a more favourable view of computer games over the past year. Six of ten play computer games, and one of three plays computer games weekly. At the same time, computer games are ranked as having lower status than books and music, for example.
“Computer games deserve more attention and discussion”, contends Joakim Lie of Fritt Ord.

– Computer games are also art

March 4 2025

“The problem with far too many media reports about computer games is that they start begin with sentences like: ‘computer games have come a long way since Pac-Man’,” sighs American computer game critic Jacob Geller.

“Let us first simply agree that computer games are indeed an art form and an expression of culture, and then let us examine the works as part of the history of art and culture.