A symbol of the resistance, by many women from the Muslim world, to the horrors of clerical repression. … Read the rest
All entries by this author
‘Militant Atheists are Wrong’
Oct 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘You cannot prove the existence of truth, beauty, goodness and decency.’ No, really?!… Read the rest
Turkish Hackers Hit Swedish Websites
Oct 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Website of a children’s cartoon was replaced by a message saying Islam’s prophet had been insulted. … Read the rest
Sainsbury’s Policy on Muslims Selling Alcohol
Oct 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It creates a space the religious fanatics will use to bully their mostly female fellow workers.… Read the rest
The Crisis in North Pakistan
Oct 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Khatoon Bibi was murdered near a security check post while attempting to reach the school where she taught.… Read the rest
Medical Students Have ‘Religious Objections’
Oct 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Some Muslim medical students are refusing to attend lectures that ‘offend their religious beliefs.’… Read the rest
Paul Gross Reviews Michael Behe
Oct 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Edge of Evolution represents the best ID can do today in its effort to overcome ‘Darwinism’ with science.… Read the rest
Creeping theocracy
Oct 8th, 2007 11:31 am | By Ophelia BensonThis sounds like a fun moment, doesn’t it? An East End Sainsbury’s, staffed mostly by Bangladeshis.
… Read the restA young Asian checkout operator, with pious beard and a crocheted Kufi Muslim skullcap, made a big deal out of serving a middle-aged white man who had included a bottle of vodka in his groceries. His wasn’t a discreet arm wave for the attention of a supervisor, it was a full-on hissy fit. At the sight of the vodka bottle he reared from his seat as if the conveyer had presented a freshly slaughtered pig’s head….The customer…was having none of it though. “What the bleedin’ ‘ell are you working in a supermarket for if you won’t handle booze?” he shouted, setting the queue
Letter to a non-atheist New Atheist
Oct 7th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It doesn’t matter that you don’t call yourself an atheist. Sam, they’re going to call you an atheist anyway.… Read the rest
Abortion Rights Slide Away
Oct 7th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Gonzales v Carhart is basically saying that a woman’s health is no longer relevant.’… Read the rest
Who Says Science and Religion Don’t Conflict?
Oct 7th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Only some false ideas are sufficiently coherent and evidence-based to justify their entry into the debate. … Read the rest
Another Woman Sentenced to Stoning
Oct 7th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
To death, for extramarital sex.… Read the rest
Girls’ Schools Bombed in Pakistan
Oct 7th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Students are in a state of fear; some parents have stopped sending their daughters to schools.… Read the rest
Rooting out obscenity
Oct 7th, 2007 11:34 am | By Ophelia BensonWomen women women – gotta keep them down, you know. If you don’t – sooner or later, they get up, and that won’t do.
Make sure they don’t go to school, and do it by threatening or killing them.
… Read the restBuildings of two girls schools in the Kabal area of Swat were damaged by a powerful blast on the night of September 29th. Witnesses told Dawn that militants, who have been targeting women’s educational institutions for a couple of weeks, had planted an explosive device in the Government Girls’ High School…Recently, a string of explosions damaged some schools, including the Government Girls’ High School in Matta and the Government Girls Primary School in the Bedara area. An explosive device planted
Little Recourse for Abused Palestinian Women
Oct 6th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
They face a prevailing attitude that places blame on the victim, women’s rights experts said.… Read the rest
Rizwanur Rehman: Suicide or Murder?
Oct 6th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Rehman was a poor Muslim, Priyanka Todi is a rich Hindu; their marriage was seen as a crime.… Read the rest
Mo on the Endorphin Rush of Religion
Oct 6th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Like football only without the feelings of metaphysical certainty.… Read the rest
Halloween ‘Offensive’ to Religious Parents?
Oct 6th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Maybe, maybe not; let’s re-name it Pumpkin Night, just to be safe.… Read the rest
Dentist Misunderstood ‘Islamic Law and Practice’
Oct 6th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Islam does judge actions. It tells Muslims that homosexuality is wrong’ – but gays are still human. … Read the rest
Do what you’re told
Oct 6th, 2007 11:28 am | By Ophelia BensonHow very liberal.
Islam does judge actions. It tells Muslims that homosexuality is wrong, that stealing is wrong, that killing is wrong and that judging others is also wrong. But nowhere does it say that a homosexual or a thief or a murderer should be treated as anything less than a human being. What Muslims have done is mix the Islamic condemnation of actions with the person who has carried them out. This creates hatred and animosity – two feelings that Islam condemns.
Homosexuality is ‘wrong’ the way stealing is wrong and killing is wrong, because Islam ‘tells Muslims’ so. If Islam ‘tells Muslims’ that eating peaches, watching sunsets, sneezing, and reading poetry are wrong, will that mean they … Read the rest
