Said the conditions she lived in were virtual house arrest and that she was denied medical attention.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Liveleak Withdraws ‘Fitna’ After Threats
Mar 29th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Ban Ki-moon condemns ‘offensively anti-Islamic film,’ says right of free speech is not at stake.… Read the rest
PBS Messes Up Again
Mar 29th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Goldin carefully explained the science behind phthalate safety research; her effort was wasted.… Read the rest
Lebanon Bans ‘Persepolis’
Mar 29th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Because somebody maybe thinks it perhaps might annoy Hizbollah possibly.… Read the rest
Ben Goldacre on an Anti-abortion Hoax
Mar 29th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
No, the baby didn’t push his hand out and wave to the crowd.… Read the rest
Pope is a Catholic Shock
Mar 29th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
US newspapers keep discovering that yes, the Pope does believe all that. Yes, still.… Read the rest
Cardinal Agrees to Meet Embryo Researchers
Mar 29th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Only condition: the scientists must be willing to accept instruction from Churches on basic morality.… Read the rest
Jesus and Mo Discuss Frankenstein Babies
Mar 28th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Mo points out emotive misleading language.… Read the rest
Martha Nussbaum on America’s Puritanical Streak
Mar 28th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
All of us, except the independently wealthy and the unemployed, take money for the use of our body.… Read the rest
UN HRC Passes Islamic Resolution on Defamation
Mar 28th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Resolution cites deep concern about the defamation of religions, urges governments to prohibit it.… Read the rest
Project to Inquire into Religion
Mar 28th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Experiments to look at the mental mechanisms needed to represent an omniscient deity.… Read the rest
Parvez Sharma’s Film ‘A Jihad for Love’
Mar 28th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Sharma doesn’t believe that the Iranian authorities are conducting an antigay witch-hunt.… Read the rest
The Swat Valley Taliban
Mar 28th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Those promoting “enlightened moderation” are the agents of darkness,’ says Fazlullah.… Read the rest
The Taliban in the Swat Valley
Mar 28th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Taliban are growing in popularity partly because the state is not functioning. … Read the rest
Many Muslim Children Kept Out of School
Mar 27th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Hajra Bibi taken out of school at puberty; parents wanted her to cook for male relatives.… Read the rest
Campaigners Support Wakefield
Mar 27th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
BBC accuses medical experts of seeking to ‘discredit’ Wakefield’s ‘findings.’… Read the rest
Return of the ‘Framing’ Debate
Mar 27th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Nisbet tells Dawkins and Myers to ‘Lay [sic] low and let others do the talking.’… Read the rest
Seumas Milne on Religion and Secularism
Mar 27th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Startling new thoughts on the wave of atheist books, atheists as fundamentalists, Dawchens.… Read the rest
Polly Toynbee on Selective ‘Conscience’
Mar 27th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Fundamental questions of who rules are raised if Catholic ministers get a special dispensation denied to other ministers. … Read the rest
The news from Lodi
Mar 27th, 2008 11:04 am | By Ophelia BensonGirls yanked around like so much furniture.
… Read the restLike dozens of other Pakistani-American girls here, Hajra Bibi stopped attending the local public school when she reached puberty, and began studying at home. Her family wanted her to clean and cook for her male relatives, and had also worried that other American children would mock both her Muslim religion and her traditional clothes…About 40 percent of the Pakistani and other Southeast Asian girls of high school age who are enrolled in the district here are home-schooled…Some 80 percent of the city’s 2,500 Muslims are Pakistani, and many are interrelated villagers who try to recreate the conservative social atmosphere back home. A decade ago many girls were simply shipped back to their
