“Living ‘the law’ was like torture. It went beyond self-sacrifice to the point of totally rejecting self.” … Read the rest
All entries by this author
Tarek Fatah Asks a Question 
Dec 14th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘How many more Muslim girls have to die before the liberal intelligentsia says the hijab is a symbol of oppression?’… Read the rest
Teenage Rebellion
Dec 14th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Parents who don’t want daughters to wear hijab get upset too. Yes but do they kill the daughters?… Read the rest
Academic Freedom and Evolution
Dec 14th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘It is not indoctrination for professors of biology to require students to understand principles of evolution.’… Read the rest
70th Anniversary of Nanjing Massacre
Dec 13th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Some in Japan claim the massacre was fabricated or exaggerated.… Read the rest
Review of Chris Mooney’s Storm World
Dec 13th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Nuanced account of major areas of disagreement over possible effects of global warming on hurricanes. … Read the rest
Abuse at Christian Brothers Facility in Galway
Dec 13th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Report outlined harrowing allegations of assault; 21 residents claimed they were raped and beaten. … Read the rest
Who killed Aqsa Parvez?
Dec 13th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A medieval ethos that treats women as nonpersons, unable to decide for themselves.… Read the rest
Farzana Hassan on Saudi Rape Victim
Dec 13th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Saudi justice system renders women voiceless: non-persons without freedom and socially marginalized… Read the rest
Never forget Aqsa Parvez
Dec 13th, 2007 | By Homa ArjomandAqsa Parvez is another victim of honor killing, She, too has been tried and sentenced to death by her family’s belief, for not honoring the backward culture and traditions which are promoted and guarded by religious movements in particular the Islamist movement globally. Amongst all other girls and women who have been victims of honor killing, Aqsa Parvez, a sixteen-year-old, studying in grade 11 at a high school in Mississauga, Ontario – as well as Heshu from England, Fadima from Sweden and Hutun from Germany – were murdered in so called Islamic communities in Western countries, for not honoring the inhuman tradition. These victims had the desire to live in a modern society, and all wished to determine their own … Read the rest
Pesky family spats
Dec 13th, 2007 10:46 am | By Ophelia BensonOkay now let’s not get excited here. These things happen. Teenagers rebel, parents get cross, the fur flies, doors slam, windows shatter. It happens in the best of families – Christian, atheist, Buddhist, Scientologist, Free Silverist, you name it. It’s a terrible shame, but it doesn’t mean anything – it’s just like a spot of bad weather.
It’s a bitterly sad story, and if, indeed, her father killed her, nothing can excuse that. Aqsa might well have defied family values and parental rules, but nothing she did warranted death. Harsh words, perhaps, and even grounding, but there can be no tolerance for such violence.
Oh good – glad to know that killing a daughter for defying family values is … Read the rest
Fainting in coils
Dec 12th, 2007 6:01 pm | By Ophelia BensonI don’t see eye to eye with Ali Eteraz here.
[T]he fact that Muslims around the world insist “Islam means peace” is evidence that a vast number of Muslims do not think that Islam means violence.
No…the fact that (many) Muslims insist that Islam means peace is evidence that many Muslims want to think that Islam means peace, and therefore they 1) simply insist that it does and 2) explain away anything that would cast doubt on that thought, either by saying that violence is extremist and aberrant or by saying that what looks to the uncomprehending like violence is actually peace. In short, they rationalize, as people often do about their chosen religion. It’s a mistake to take … Read the rest
How Canada Let Aqsa Parvez Down
Dec 12th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The hijab marks those wearing it as chattel, leashed to their fathers and brothers like a dog collar. … Read the rest
Death Penalty for Failure to Submit
Dec 12th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘She wanted to live her life the way she wanted to, not the way her parents wanted her to.’… Read the rest
Ali Eteraz Speaks Up for Rationalization
Dec 12th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Believers will never say Islam is misogynist, therefore Ayaan Hirsi Ali shouldn’t either.… Read the rest
Afghan Woman Call for Peace
Dec 12th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘They were indeed risking their lives, because we really did not know how we would be received.’… Read the rest
Aqsa Parvez Wanted to Leave Her Family
Dec 12th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Her brother saw her on the street without her hijab. ‘He’ll kill me!’ she said.… Read the rest
Deadly Religious Resistance to Vaccinations
Dec 12th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It’s rare a newspaper actually manages to kill people, but Sir David King believes they may pull it off.… Read the rest
A Secular Age and Secularism Confronts Islam
Dec 11th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Edward Skidelsky notes the trials of secularisation are far from over.… Read the rest
Never Mind Democracy, Promote Secularism
Dec 11th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The rise of the West had much less to do with democracy than with the rise of secularism. … Read the rest
