The Saudi justice system renders women voiceless: non-persons without freedom and socially marginalized… Read the rest
All entries by this author
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
Reading Tariq Ramadan
Dec 11th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Political liberalism or comprehensive? Rawlsian or Voltairean? Room for overlapping consensus?… Read the rest
K A Appiah on Experimental Philosophy
Dec 11th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Not only are philosophers unaccustomed to gathering data; many define themselves by their disinclination to do so. … Read the rest
Girl, 16, Killed for Not Wearing Hijab – in Toronto
Dec 11th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Schoolmates said the Grade 11 student had rebelled against her parents recently by refusing to wear a hijab.… Read the rest
Poor People Aren’t Hungry, They’re Fat
Dec 11th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
More money will only make them fatter. … Read the rest
Apostasy
Dec 10th, 2007 3:24 pm | By Ophelia BensonKuwaiti tv sounds like fun – like Oprah but more intense.
Kuwait TV Host Sheikh Tareq Al-Sweidan: “We have a question for the viewers at home, not in the studio, and they can respond with a text message. What is the best way to deal with apostates who converted from Islam? You have three possible responses. The first is through dialogue only. The second option is killing them, and the third option is to leave it up to the legal system.
Don’t you wish you could watch tv shows like that? We have a question for the viewers: What is the best way to deal with apostates who converted from Southern Baptism? You have three options. You can chat, you … Read the rest
Sunny Hundal on the Christmas Whinge
Dec 10th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Every year these stories turn out to be hype generated by right-whingers.… Read the rest
Mo Tells Barmaid She Can Question Anything
Dec 10th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Except God, the Koran, and Mo’s status as Allah’s ultimate prophet. All else wide open.… Read the rest
Jesus Says Atheists Attack the Easy Targets
Dec 10th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Fred Phelps and Torquemada are hardly representative. Be fair.… Read the rest
