Militant cousins considered uncle an infidel because he did not pray and wore western-style trousers. … Read the rest
All entries by this author
The Homeopath to Success 
Nov 25th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Why should it be that only those who believe in homeopathy are allowed the benefits of the placebo effect?… Read the rest
Leon Kass Offers Obscurantist Nonsense
Nov 25th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Scientific ideas and discoveries are being enlisted to do battle against our traditional religious and moral teachings.’… Read the rest
Not All Religions Fret About ‘Playing God’
Nov 25th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Some don’t have ‘God,’ some don’t object to playing the part.… Read the rest
Richard Jenkyns on the Idea of a ‘Canon’
Nov 25th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
More plausible to suppose a spectrum of creative ability than a sharp division between genius and the rest. … Read the rest
Offended in Dundee
Nov 24th, 2007 4:41 pm | By Ophelia BensonHow to get into the newspapers: say something fatuous and self-regarding and preeningly righteous.
Second-year dental student Emily Mackie said the university’s decision to call its inaugural Dundee Christmas Lecture “Why Evolution is Right … and Creationism is Wrong” is badly timed and insensitive to Christians.
And this makes it into a newspaper because…nothing ever happens in Dundee? Too chilly up there is it?
But since it did make it into a newspaper, I can’t resist looking at it.
… Read the restThe lecture is being given by Steve Jones, professor of genetics at University College, London, who claims that all biologists support the theory of evolution and that “intelligent design”—the belief that life was created as part of a divine plan—is
Muslim Women’s Group to Advise UK Gov’t
Nov 24th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
National Muslim Women’s Advisory Group is led by 19 women from a wide range of professions and traditions.… Read the rest
‘Blasphemous’ Feminist Nasreen is Threatened
Nov 24th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Nasreen is adamant that her work is not blasphemous but that it campaigns for the rights of women.… Read the rest
Morality and Religion Are Not One and Indivisible
Nov 24th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Archbishops mistaken to think there cannot be any meaningful secular morality.… Read the rest
Imam Beat Boy With Mop Handle
Nov 24th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The highly-educated imam can reportedly recite the Koran word for word.’… Read the rest
Maker of ‘Undercover Mosque’ is Angry
Nov 24th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Many of the mosques had a public image as moderate. Yet the preaching was antisemitic, homophobic, misogynist.… Read the rest
Christian ‘Offended’ Over Steve Jones Lecture
Nov 24th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘As a Christian I am offended that the lecture…has so clearly been chosen to antagonise Christians.’… Read the rest
Spotting violence
Nov 23rd, 2007 12:30 pm | By Ophelia BensonTimothy Garton Ash gets it wrong, I think.
He gets it wrong in one rather specific way.
In the form “Islamofascism”, and with the added spice of references to “totalitarianism”, the label elides two things that need to be kept separate. One is the mentality of death-seeking and death-delivering fanatics. The other is a totalitarian political system…Now, if nuclear-armed Pakistan and oil-rich Saudi Arabia fall the wrong way, we could be there sooner than we think – but at the moment the only serious contender for the title of Islamic-fascist state is the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Has he been paying enough attention to Saudi Arabia? It’s not a whole lot more benign than Iran. In some ways it … Read the rest
Payvand on Maryam Hossienkhah
Nov 23rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The site of the Women’s Cultural Center was shut down by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. … Read the rest
Reporters Without Borders on Maryam Hosseinkhah
Nov 23rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Zanestan, a women’s online bi-monthly founded in 2005, has been closed since 12 November 2007.… Read the rest
AI Appeals for Release of Maryam Hosseinkhah
Nov 23rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Journalist and women’s rights defender held for peaceful activities supporting equal rights for women in Iran.… Read the rest
Free Women Activists in Iran
Nov 23rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Maryam Hosseinkhah, Delaram Ali, Ronak Safar Zade, Hanna Abdi, lashed and imprisoned.… Read the rest
Tsk – Falling Standards Again
Nov 23rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Scientists contacted by Nature say that AS-level coursework would be unlikely to help a terrorist. … Read the rest
Joan Bakewell Says Women Should Speak Up
Nov 23rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It is not being Islamophobic to wish for our Muslim sisters the freedom from brutal constraints.… Read the rest
Hitchens on Amis, Racism, Reality
Nov 23rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Mosques are distributing DVDs calling for the murder of Jews and Hindus; what price multiculturalism?… Read the rest
