July 17, 2012

By now, you may already know the story of Alexander Aan of Indonesia: Earlier this year, after stating on Facebook his doubt about the existence of God and posting some satirical cartoons about the prophet Muhammed, Alexander was attacked by a mob, arrested for promoting atheism, and convicted of “disseminating information aimed at inciting religious hatred or hostility.” He was then sentenced to two and a half years in prison and saddled with an exorbitant fine. We at the Center for Inquiry have been working to win him his freedom with demonstrations and through diplomatic channels, and now we need your help to bring the President of the United States to his cause.

We have begun a petition at the White House website asking the Obama administration to call upon the Indonesian government to immediately release Alexander and better protect the rights to freedom of expression and belief for religious dissidents and nonbelievers. You can sign this petition right now.

But it’s not enough to sign it and go on with your day. To guarantee a response from the Obama administration, this petition must receive at least 25,000 signatures within 30 days. So after you’ve signed it, it is crucial that you ask as many of your friends, family members, and social network connections to do the same, right away.

Alexander is counting on us. In a letter he recently wrote from his cell, he told all those who have been working on his behalf, “Thank [you] for support and love. Without this I feel alone.”

We can make this happen. Sign the petition, share this email, and post the petition on Facebook, Twitter, and all over the Internet. Let’s make the president take notice and respond to our voices and to the plight of Alexander. Let’s not let Alexander down.