Nation-states must see themselves as members of a larger community, who feel bound to adhere to common norms. … Read the rest
All entries by this author
Atheists Can Only Trust Their Reason 
Mar 25th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
In these newly religious times, it no longer seems superfluous to rearm the atheists with arguments. … Read the rest
MCC Thanks Muslim Organizations for Support
Mar 25th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
There should be no room for violence, intimidation and threats in the Muslim discourse.… Read the rest
Sorry, God, You’re Off the Guest List
Mar 25th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Niqab ruling; Charlie Hebdo; gay rights; a good week for secularism.… Read the rest
Secular Muslims Get All the Attention
Mar 25th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
But theocrats are the majority, therefore secularists should not get all this media coverage.… Read the rest
Between two oughts
Mar 25th, 2007 10:55 am | By Ophelia BensonJoan Smith in amusing vein.
[O]ne of the jobs I most fancy is poster-girl for a strictly rational approach to human affairs.
Hey I want that job! Me, me, me. I dibs it. It’s mine.
[R]ecent events show that it isn’t just sceptics who are worried by the inroads which other people’s imaginary friends have been making in secular states…[I]n a blow to the Islamophobia industry which has tried to silence critics of Islam through strident accusations of racism, the Education Secretary Alan Johnson issued guidelines which will allow schools to ban paranoid forms of religious dress.
The Islamophobia industry hasn’t just tried to silence critics of Islam via accusations of racism, to a considerable extent it’s succeeded. Lots … Read the rest
Farzana Hassan on Playing Soccer in a Hijab
Mar 24th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Insistence on a distinct Muslim identity is often promoted as a political statement.… Read the rest
Three Books on Consciousness and Free Will
Mar 24th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
If we had free will, we would all choose to be funnier. We’re not, so we don’t.… Read the rest
UN Human Rights Council is a Disappointment
Mar 24th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Council’s reaction to the massacres in Darfur is an example of why.… Read the rest
Watching ‘Little Mosque on the Prairie’
Mar 24th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘CBC has validated the image painted by Islamist groups that Muslim lives revolve around mosques.’… Read the rest
The Muslim Canadian Congress
Mar 24th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The MCC takes a stand for justice, equality and human rights.’… Read the rest
Death Threat to Muslim Canadian Congress
Mar 24th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘We want people to know such a problem exists in Canada. People thought we were exaggerating.’… Read the rest
Canadian Muslims Rebuke Death Threat
Mar 24th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Muslim Canadian Congress supports equality for women, separation of religion and state.… Read the rest
Little masquerade on the prairie
Mar 24th, 2007 10:10 am | By Ophelia BensonTarek Fatah and Farzana Hassan don’t think much of the CBC’s new sitcom ‘Little Mosque on the Prairie.’
… Read the restTo begin with, a completely false picture of the Muslim community has been forced into the homes of non-Muslim Canadians. CBC has validated the image painted by Islamist groups that Muslim lives revolve around mosques – nothing else. We don’t play hockey, none of us have 9-to-5 day jobs, love affairs, play poker or, dare we say, cheat on our taxes or our spouses…[W]e question the motives of the writer, producers, and directors of the show for focusing singularly on the most conservative segments of the Muslim community. Although the characters are meant to reflect the diversity of Muslim society, a closer
Not Science But Antiscience
Mar 23rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Homoeopathy BScs worse than Mickey Mouse; subject matter is founded on faith, not science. … Read the rest
Inequality Matters
Mar 23rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Nancy Birdsall on why globalization doesn’t lift all boats.… Read the rest
Boiling Babies is Wrong
Mar 23rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Unless it’s not. How do we know?… Read the rest
Court Rules Charlie Hebdo Did Not Incite Hatred
Mar 23rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Case brought by Muslim World League, Mosque of Paris, Union of Islamic Organisations of France.… Read the rest
The Fictions of Foucault’s Scholarship
Mar 23rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
If extraordinarily large claims rested on a shaky empirical foundation, this was not immediately evident. … Read the rest
‘Honour’ Killing Victim Could Have Been Saved
Mar 23rd, 2007 | By Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights OrganisationWomen from the London-based Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation have been attending the trial currently in session at Court 10 of London’s Central Criminal Court. Mahmod Mahmod, father to Banaz Mahmod Babakir Agha, and Ari Mahmod Babakir Agha, a wealthy business man and her uncle, are accused of her murder in the name of so-called ‘honour’. The case has been much covered by the media over its first few days. Banaz’s boyfriend, Rehmat Suleimani, a Kurd from Iran, has given his account, including a heartbreaking video recorded on his mobile phone in which Banaz herself accuses her father of trying to murder her, which reduced her former lover to tears. Her father and uncle remained stone-faced.
Rehmat himself reports … Read the rest
