Pakistan’s national identity is based on not being Hindu – a thin reed on which to hang a unified state.
Author: Ophelia Benson
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Research on Boredom
Level of attention, an aspect of conscious awareness, plays an important role in boredom.
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Amendment to Abolish UK Blasphemy Law
Signatories include Philip Pullman, Ricky Gervais, Richard Dawkins, Nick Hytner.
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Rebecca Goldstein on Falsifiability
Scientists don’t, and shouldn’t, jettison a theory as soon as a disconfirming datum comes in.
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H E Baber on the Solidarity of the Oppressed
First we needed to combat the oppression of minority males; then there would be time for luxuries like feminism.
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British Imams Get Inadequate Training
Musharraf Hussain gives withering assessment of training in many of Britain’s 26 Islamic seminaries.
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Doubts About Education in Islamic Seminaries
16 of the 25 UK seminaries, producing 80% of graduates, are Deobandi.
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Iranian Artist Threatened With ‘Execution’
She photographed gay men wearing masks of the prophet; her work was removed from the Hague museum.
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Indirect effects
The Vatican is planning a party. Sounds like fun.
The Vatican has called on Catholics to atone for the sex abuse scandals that have engulfed their church in recent years by taking part in what may be the largest global prayer initiative ever seen…[E]very diocese in the world should name a priest to work full-time on the arrangements for the “perpetual adoration” of the eucharist. This would involve parishioners taking turns to keep a round-the-clock vigil in front of a consecrated host representing the body of Jesus…The aim was “to make amends before God for the evil that has been done and hail once more the dignity of the victims”, who had suffered from the “moral and sexual conduct of a very small part of the clergy”. He did not indicate how long he saw the adoration continuing.
Or, apparently, how the whole thing would work. How would parishioners taking turns standing around in front of a bit of bread ‘make amends’ (before God or before anyone else) for sexual abuse of children by priests? It’s not exactly entirely altogether perfectly clear – but hey, these people know what they’re doing, they’re experts in the field, if they say standing around in front of pieces of bread I mean perpetual adoration of the eucharist will make amends, then –
I gotta go.
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UN Passes ‘Defamation of Religions’ Resolution
At the behest of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
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Keith Porteous Wood on Blasphemy Super-law
The individual’s rights are in great danger of becoming alienated in favour of group rights – often for religions.
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Universality of Human Rights v Cairo Declaration
The Cairo Declaration definition of human rights differs widely from those of the UDHR.
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Mediawatchwatch Reads the UN Resolution
‘The right to freedom of expression should be exercised with responsibility and may therefore be subject to limitations…’
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Bunglawala on Forced Marriage
‘Good marriages are meant to symbolise the coming together of two families and not just two individuals.’
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Third Parties Will Be Able to Stop Forced Marriages
Pragna Patel of Southall Black Sisters said that the change to the law was absolutely necessary.
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New Forced Marriage Power Planned
Ministers may let third parties intervene in coercive relationships where victims are too scared to act.
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Call to Prayer Application in Oxford
A two-minute call three times a day. Ibrahim Mogra of the MCB says most residents get used to it.