No real problems in Afghanistan, so might as well protest some Dutch guy dissing the Koran.
Category: Latest News
Welcome to our archive of news stories relevant to the project of fighting fashionable nonsense. The stories are drawn from the electronic pages of the world’s media. On this page, you’ll find links to those stories that have been featured on Butterflies and Wheels during the current year. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find links to separate archives of stories from previous years.
We’re always pleased to hear about news stories that you think should be featured on Butterflies and Wheels. Just send an email here, if you want to point one out to us.
A note about links
Inevitably links go out of date. We suggest, therefore, that you make hard-copies of the stories that particularly interest you.
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Plea Bargain in Abu Ghanem Trial
Victim’s female relatives described a reign of terror enforced by men to preserve ‘family honor.’
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German Organization Rescues Women
Friend of Hatun Surucu formed an organization to help women escape ‘honour’ killing.
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Finnish Organization Helps Victims of Violence
An immigrant woman often faces domestic violence when the perpetrator feels that his power is diminished.
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Nick Cohen on the Squeal of Fundamentalism
The UN HRC is proposing in all seriousness to protect religion by doctoring its universal defence of freedom of expression.
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Iraqi Journalists Mourn Murdered Union Leader
Iraqi Journalists’ Union has picked a new leader, who declared a week of mourning for Shihab al-Timimi.
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Mo Sings the Respect Song
R.E.S.P.E.C.T., I’ll burn down your embassy.
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The Sensus Divinitatis Firms Up Your Beliefs
It’s better than free weights.
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Archbishops Fret About Blasphemy Repeal
‘It should not be capable of interpretation as a secularising move, or as a general licence to attack or insult religious beliefs and believers.’
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The Difficulty of Reforming the Hadith
It is not rationalising but the radical tendency that has the momentum.
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EU Asks Iran to Reconsider
Iran typically dismisses Western criticism of its legal system, claiming Islamic law is fundamentally different.
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EU Criticizes Iran’s New Penal Code
Death for apostasy already exists in Iran under Sharia; changes would bring the punishment into the criminal code.
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Berlin Exhibition Closes after Muslim Threats
Galerie Nord closed after a group of Muslims walked in and threatened staff with violence.
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Two Former Islamists Start Think Tank
Aim is to ‘revive a western Islam’ by removing scriptural literalism, extremism, Islamism.
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Ideas are all the Rage
The success of idea books has signified to cultural commissars a thirst for good ideas clearly expressed.
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Alan Sokal on Taking Evidence Seriously
The implications of taking seriously an evidence-based worldview are far more radical than most people realise.
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BHL on the Re-branding of Anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism, to pass under the radar, must draw from anti-Zionism, Holocaust denial, and victim competition.
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‘Undercover Mosque’ Makers to Sue Police for Libel
Police said the programme misrepresented the mosques and might ‘undermine community cohesion.’
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John Patrick Diggins Reviews Charles Taylor
Taylor seeks to prove that God is still very much present in the world, if only we look at the right places.
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Pics from Southall Black Sisters Protest
Sunny Hundal went along to show support, and he took his camera.