‘It is thought that the men were suspected of attempting to set fire to a publishers in Islington.’… Read the rest
All entries by this author
‘Faith’ Infiltrating All Aspects of Life
Sep 27th, 2008 | Filed by Ophelia BensonYou can’t escape ‘faith’ even at work.… Read the rest
Violence at Bosnia’s Gay Festival
Sep 27th, 2008 | Filed by Ophelia BensonDozens of men attacked participants; many chanted ‘Kill the Gays!’ and ‘Allahu Akbar!’… Read the rest
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code Retained
Sep 27th, 2008 | Filed by Ophelia BensonControversial Section makes homosexuality a punishable offence in India.… Read the rest
Sarajevo: Gay Pride Parade Attacked
Sep 27th, 2008 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe Muslim media in Bosnia has opposed the festival; death threats were made against the organizers.… Read the rest
South Africa: Joy as Manto Leaves Post
Sep 27th, 2008 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘It’s nine years too late. There were tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths due to her.’… Read the rest
News Story Based Entirely on Random Variation
Sep 26th, 2008 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSampling error quietly undermines almost every piece of survey data ever covered in any newspaper.… Read the rest
Don’t Let the Facts Spoil a Good Story
Sep 26th, 2008 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘The newspapers grossly and crassly misrepresented everything we are doing.’… Read the rest
Forced Marriage Helpline Inundated With Calls
Sep 26th, 2008 | Filed by Ophelia BensonKarma Nirvana’s Honour Network advises people who fear forced marriage or ‘honour’-based violence.… Read the rest
Normblog Profile: Karl Marx
Sep 26th, 2008 | Filed by Ophelia BensonFor recreation in the evenings I have been reading Appian’s Civil Wars of Rome in the original Greek.… Read the rest
Centre for Islamic Pluralism on Domestic Abuse
Sep 26th, 2008 | Filed by Ophelia BensonImams are also accused of refusing to speak out against domestic abuse in their sermons.… Read the rest
The tip of the iceberg
Sep 26th, 2008 11:50 am | By Ophelia BensonLots of girls calling for help.
Hundreds of children fearing for their lives have called a new national helpline set up to assist victims of forced marriages since its launch four months ago…Many are seeking ways to escape parents and family members who are trying to force them into unwanted marriages. Others have said they fear becoming victims of so-called “honour killings”, because of social and sexual behaviour that their community disapproves of.
A small but nevertheless significant point – if a ‘community’ disapproves of various forms of innocuous social and sexual behaviour enough to motivate killing the people who engage in it, then that ‘community’ is not ‘their community,’ and it’s misleading to call it that. It sounds … Read the rest
Michael Dickinson Cleared by Istanbul Court
Sep 25th, 2008 | Filed by Ophelia BensonArtist was cleared after a judge decided the controversial collage of Tayyip Erdogan was art and not insulting.… Read the rest
Jan Egeland Wonders
Sep 25th, 2008 | Filed by Ophelia BensonFive million people have died in Congo since 1998; the population of Norway. Would we notice if Norway vanished?… Read the rest
Jesus and Mo Explain About Cults
Sep 25th, 2008 | Filed by Ophelia BensonCult members follow a leader who claims divine authority. Quite a different thing!… Read the rest
Critic to Undergo ‘Religious Rehabilitation’
Sep 25th, 2008 | Filed by Ophelia BensonMalaysia Today editor was detained for writing ‘malicious and seditious’ articles that ‘maligned Islam.’… Read the rest
Islamist Death Squads Executing Gays
Sep 25th, 2008 | Filed by Ophelia BensonAli al-Sistani issued a fatwa urging the killing of lesbians and gays in the ‘most severe way possible.’… Read the rest
Now we are six
Sep 24th, 2008 3:13 pm | By Ophelia BensonHey it’s late September – yet again I’ve forgotten to say Happy Birthday B&W until weeks after the date. Well happy birthday B&W – it’s six years old. More than that, since I’m late. Staggering, isn’t it? Still here after all this time.… Read the rest
What kind of honour is it?
Sep 24th, 2008 3:06 pm | By Ophelia BensonMr President, integrating the human rights of women throughout the United Nations system must start here in the Human Rights Council. No State should be permitted to hide behind tradition, culture or religion in order to justify any abuse of women’s human rights. This Council is the World’s primary institution charged with the promotion and protection of human rights, and has a sacred duty to fulfil. It must be possible here to freely exercise the right to freedom of expression in order to defend the human rights of all, including women, and to expose abuse, whatever the attempted justification.
Including women indeed; women most of all, since we’re the ones whose rights get snatched away … Read the rest
It’s still up to you to decide
Sep 24th, 2008 2:54 pm | By Ophelia BensonSteven Weinberg on living without God.
Around 1100, the Sufi philosopher Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali argued against the very idea of laws of nature, on the grounds that any such law would put God’s hands in chains. According to al-Ghazzali, a piece of cotton placed in a flame does not darken and smolder because of the heat of the flame, but because God wants it to darken and smolder.
Not a very curiosity-inspiring way to think about things. Whatever happens happens because God wants it to. Ho hum. What’s for dinner?
… Read the restI do not think we have to worry that giving up religion will lead to a moral decline. There are plenty of people without religious faith who live exemplary