On the Origin of Species was published 150 years ago today; Darwin’s original drafts are going online.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
India: Parliament in Uproar Over Report 
Nov 24th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Indian Express reported the commission of inquiry had described BJP leaders as ‘pseudo-moderates.’… Read the rest
Ayodhya Mosque Blames BJP
Nov 24th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The report clearly implicates more than 60 people, including the most senior members of the BJP.… Read the rest
Goodness With or Without God
Nov 24th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Greg Epstein wants to split the difference. Or something.… Read the rest
‘Honour’ Killings Rise in Canada
Nov 24th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘A few women are really sacrificed to terrorize all women, to push them into submission.’… Read the rest
Destruction of Babri Mosque Was Planned
Nov 24th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
BJP politicians including Vajpayee planned the destruction of the mosque with ‘military-like precision.’… Read the rest
Lubna Hussein’s 40 Lashes for Trousers
Nov 24th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
She was sentenced to a month in prison, banned from leaving Sudan; is in Paris to promote book.… Read the rest
Anglican Bishops Go on the Offensive
Nov 24th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Urge Christians to resist ‘political correctness’ by wearing religious symbols during Xmas period.… Read the rest
EU Pressures UK Over Religious Exemptions
Nov 23rd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Government agrees, will drop the exemptions from equality legislation for religious organisations.… Read the rest
Heresiarch Follows Sarah Palin on Twitter
Nov 23rd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
So you don’t have to.… Read the rest
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown is Conflicted
Nov 23rd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
On the one hand, Islam is not entirely liberal. On the other hand…um…… Read the rest
Dispatches: Return to Africa’s ‘Witch’ Children
Nov 23rd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Children as young as two are still being stigmatised as witches and tortured, killed, or abandoned.… Read the rest
Birther Billboard Stirs ‘Debate’
Nov 23rd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
No it doesn’t. Invented ‘facts’ don’t stir debate, because there’s nothing to debate.… Read the rest
Where we have human rights we would not have in Muslim nations
Nov 23rd, 2009 11:32 am | By Ophelia BensonYasmin Alibhai-Brown is having a hard time putting things together.
… Read the restAmong western elites – artistic, political, scientific, media – I notice more expressions of abhorrence of Islam and its diverse adherents than ever before…Influential anti-Muslim voices are no longer bothering with nuance. Douglas J Hagmann, director of the non-governmental Northeast Intelligence Network in the US writes: “The latest murderous rampage should be enough to illustrate that Islam is totally incompatible with freedom, democracy and the western culture.” I wonder how many of my British friends think exactly this…Radical Islamists peddle partial narratives about the Crusades, forgetting the Nato interventions to save Bosnian Muslims from genocide and the fact that millions of us would never leave the West where we
Cognitive Shortcomings of Belief in God
Nov 22nd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
There are no good reasons to believe that reality is split between two categorically different realms.… Read the rest
The Onion: Montessori School of Dentistry
Nov 22nd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Students are encouraged to break away from medical tradition and discover their very own root canal procedures. … Read the rest
Nick Cohen Asks: Where Are the New Atheists?
Nov 22nd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
When we need them, as the government tries once again to ride the Islamist tiger.… Read the rest
Shock: Vicar Criticizes Atheist Bus Campaign
Nov 22nd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Who are the BHA to tell parents to stop labeling their children? Who is Jan Ainsworth to tell the BHA to stop?… Read the rest
John Denham Talks Sickening Bossy Nonsense
Nov 22nd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘As communities secretary I am formally responsible for the government’s engagement with faith communities.’… Read the rest
Sentimental bullying
Nov 22nd, 2009 10:22 am | By Ophelia BensonJohn Denham really does talk the most rebarbative kack.
As communities secretary I am formally responsible for the government’s engagement with faith communities. Lacking some depth of knowledge I set about recruiting a panel of advisors (retained on an expenses-only basis) to advise me on relations with these communities.
And to encourage him to think in communalist terms and to use the word ‘community’ a minimum of six times whenever he opens his mouth, lest any foolish person somehow lose track of the fact that New Labour is obsessed with ‘communities’ to the point of insanity.
… Read the restOutside of polemic is the real question of how a modern government should relate to the fact of faith. One view is that
