Mariwan Halabjaee

Mariwan Halabjaee or Mariwan Halabjayi (,; born 9 June 1963) is an Iraqi Kurdish writer, public speaker, and human rights activist. He is the author of sixteen books and producer of over ninety documentaries, covering topics on theology, psychology, and human rights. He is the author of the book Sex, Sharia and Women in the History of Islam (alternate title: Sex, Legislation and Women in Islamic History). The book gained international fame when published in 2005, and has since been reprinted eleven times and translated into Arabic, Persian, and Pashto for millions of readers. It is about how Islam and Sharia are allegedly used to oppress Muslim women. "I wanted to prove how oppressed women are in Islam and that they have no rights," said Halabjaee. Halabjaee asserted the book was, "based on Islamic sources such as the Holy Quran, Muslim and Bukhari books and many more." Halabjaee reported, "the mullahs and scholars said if I go to them and apologize they will give me 80 lashes and then refer me to the fatwa committee to decide if I am to be beheaded. They might forgive me, they might not." Halabjaee was in possession of a warrant for his arrest issued by the Suleimaniya police department when he fled Iraqi Kurdistan.

In August 2006, Halabjaee was granted political asylum in Norway.

Conviction in absentia for blasphemy In December 2007, Halabjaee was convicted in absentia in Iraqi Kurdistan for the crime of blasphemy. Mullah Krekar was the original leader of the Islamist group Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan. Krekar compared Halabjaee with Salman Rushdie and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. The fatwa was sent to several hundred Islamic scholars around the world. While Krekar said he thought he might be able to "guarantee the safety" of Halabjaee, Krekar confirmed that his fatwa "implies" that it is "permissible" to kill Halabjaee in Oslo or anywhere else. He appealed. On 26 March 2012, Mullah Krekar was re-arrested for making threats against two Kurds and the Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg. The Court of Appeal ordered that Krekar pay 130,000 kroner in damages compensation to each of the three Kurds he threatened, and to serve two years and ten months in prison, less the 255 days he was in custody.