Clive James on ‘Honor’ Murders *

Aug 28th, 2009 | Filed by

The words “community” and “culture” are starting to sound like weasel words for institutionalised sadism.… Read the rest



Ziauddin Sardar Explains About the Koran *

Aug 28th, 2009 | Filed by

Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd, Muslim Spain, the Blue Mosque! See?… Read the rest



Moses Inspires Jesus and Mo *

Aug 28th, 2009 | Filed by

Jesus has these friends at the Templeton Foundation…… Read the rest



Jason Rosenhouse Reviews Keith Ward *

Aug 28th, 2009 | Filed by

What could be simpler than a disembodied eternal intelligence capable of bringing worlds into being with an act of will? … Read the rest



Women and Islam *

Aug 28th, 2009 | Filed by

In Turkey, 69% of all female health workers polled said violence against women is sometimes excusable.… Read the rest



The bliss of harmony

Aug 27th, 2009 5:50 pm | By

The beauty and compassion of religion:

A new family law in Mali is causing a furore, partly because it no longer stipulates that wives have to obey their husbands…[Article 312] says that, once married, husbands and wives owe each other “loyalty, protection, help and assistance”. Mali’s current law specifically states that a wife must obey her husband, and that is the way things should stay says Mahmud Dicko, president of Mali’s High Islamic Council.

You bet – because that has to be a matter of national law so that if a wife is disobedient she can be arrested, charged, and imprisoned (or do they whip them?).

“We’re not trying to make women slaves. Not at all,” he says. “It’s

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Coyne on James Wood on Dawkins or Eagleton *

Aug 27th, 2009 | Filed by

Wood flings the usual mud at atheists, as usual with no quotations, then gets to grips with Terry.… Read the rest



Tens of Thousands Protested Mali’s New Law *

Aug 27th, 2009 | Filed by

‘We have to stick to the Koran. It’s a tiny minority of women here that wants this new law – the intellectuals. The poor and illiterate women of this country – the real Muslims – are against it.’… Read the rest



Islamism Slows Reform in Morocco *

Aug 27th, 2009 | Filed by

Senior officials speak of keeping a proper balance between freedom and social cohesion.… Read the rest



Mali: Wives Must Obey Husbands *

Aug 27th, 2009 | Filed by

‘We’re not trying to make women slaves. The head of the family is the man, and everyone in the family has to obey him.’… Read the rest



Mali: Women’s Rights Bill Blocked *

Aug 27th, 2009 | Filed by

Muslim groups have been protesting against the law ever since parliament adopted it in early August.… Read the rest



A god who makes no difference

Aug 26th, 2009 1:57 pm | By

HE Baber explains something but I’m not exactly sure what.

[L]ike most educated Christians, I do not believe most of the empirical claims associated with Christianity. I do not believe that the universe came into being just a few thousand years ago. I do not believe that humans or other animals were created their current form or even that God had some hand in “guiding” evolution. I do not believe that the Bible provides an accurate account of Middle Eastern history, or that any of the miracles it reports actually occurred, or that the wisdom literature it includes is a suitable guide to life. I do not believe that the existence of God makes any difference to the way the

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Senator From Utah Writes Book on Mormonism *

Aug 26th, 2009 | Filed by

Asks four questions to test whether Book of Mormon is a fake. ‘Seriously, gold plates, Moroni?’… Read the rest



Catholic Group Working to Repeal Blasphemy Law *

Aug 26th, 2009 | Filed by

In Pakistan, where Christians are a minority subject to persecution. In Ireland, on the other hand…… Read the rest



Venezuela: Catholic Church Meddling in Politics *

Aug 26th, 2009 | Filed by

Venezuela’s bishops oppose new education law because it promotes secular education.… Read the rest



Nesrine Malik Finds Feminism Patronizing *

Aug 26th, 2009 | Filed by

Western feminists must learn to understand the burqa.… Read the rest



Belief in a God That Makes No Difference *

Aug 26th, 2009 | Filed by

There may not be any compelling reason to believe that such a being exists, but the question is intelligible.… Read the rest



Irish Church Paying Price for Clerical Dominance *

Aug 26th, 2009 | Filed by

The Ryan report was horrendous; the effect on the morale and reputation of the church and Ireland, devastating.… Read the rest



Mr Faulks? Could we have a word?

Aug 25th, 2009 5:16 pm | By

The Telegraph, with slightly cruel mockery, has poor Sebastian Faulkes saying in the headline that he really can’t put down the Koran – giving us the irresistible impression that he can’t put it down because he has been wired to explode if he does.

While we Judaeo-Christians can take a lot of verbal rough-and-tumble about our human-written scriptures, I know that to Muslims the Koran is different; it is by definition beyond criticism. And if anything I said or was quoted as saying (not always the same thing) offended any Muslim sensibility, I do apologise – and without reservation.

Well there you go. Some people (though not all ‘Judaeo-Christians,’ whatever the hell they are) can put up with criticism and … Read the rest



Quackometer on the Society of Homeopaths *

Aug 25th, 2009 | Filed by

Those studies they cite? Take a closer look.… Read the rest