There is a tragic story out of Scotland where Muslim shopkeeper Asad Shah was murdered after posting good wishes to his neighbors for Easter. Police say that the attack by another Muslim man was “religiously prejudiced.” Shah represents the best of Islam and humanity. He appears to have died for his desire to build social and religious bridges to his Christian neighbors. In the meantime, Imam Maulana Habib Ur Rehman of Scotland’s largest mosque has been calling out to the worst elements of the faith in praising an Islamic extremist who murdered as politician who opposed blasphemy laws. While the Imam insists that he was taken out of context, it is hard to see how the quoted responses can be given any moderate meaning. They are two opposing images of Islam: one of tolerance and one of extremism. In the meantime, thousands of Muslims have gone into the streets not to denounce the murderer but to demand the adoption of Sharia law and the punishment of blasphemy.
Category: Religion
Saudi Arabia UN Ambassador Abdallah al-Mouallimi has finally resolved the rather glaring inconsistency of the Kingdom demanding elections in Syria while denying full elections to Saudi Arabians. The reason is simple according to Al-Mouallimi: Saudi citizens are the happiest in the world and would not want a democratic choice.
Police have arrested a British man, Matthew Doyle, for “suspicion of inciting racial hatred on social media.” Doyle was arrested after posting tweets in the aftermath of the Brussels attacks. He described how he confronted a Muslim woman in south London and asked her to explain the Brussels attack. After she said, understandably, that she had nothing to do with the attacks, Doyle said she had given “a mealy mouthed response” and later used an anti-Muslim epithet.
Continue reading “Englishman Arrested After Posting Anti-Muslim Views On Twitter”
We have previously discussed the anomaly of the House of Saud executing people in Saudi Arabia under its draconian Sharia laws while Saudi royalty is seen in booze and drug saturated scandals in Western countries. The latest is Prince Aziz al Saud, 29, who allegedly hosted a wild party at a rented Los Angeles mansion with naked female dancers and copious amounts of drugs. He is now being sued for $300,000 by the owner for lost rent after the damage to the mansion was repaired.
We have previously discussed the increasing difficulty faced by creationists who believe that the earth is just a few thousand years old or that dinosaurs walked at the same time as humans. However, Wayne Propst insists that he has proof and he had to walk no further than his front year. The creationist in Tyler, Texas insists that he has found fossils from Noah’s Ark buried in his yard. “From Noah’s flood to my front yard, how much better can it get?” Not much, Propst, not much.
Turkey continues its plunge into authoritarianism under President Tayyip Erdogan. So as to leave no doubt about his tyrannical aspirations, our close ally Erdogan is seeking to change the definition of a terrorist to include anyone he deems to be “supporters” of opponents or listed groups, including members of parliament, civil liberties activists and of course journalists. In in a televised speech this week he declared “democracy,, freedom, and the rule of law have absolutely no value any longer.”
Continue reading ““Democracy, Freedom, and the Rule of Law Have Absolutely No Value Any Longer”: Turkish President Seeks To Declare Journalists and Others “Terrorists” Under Proposed Law”
We have another abusive case out of Egypt under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. President al-Sisi has destroyed guarantees of free speech and the free press in country, which once seemed on the road to becoming an exception in the Muslim world as a nation embracing basic civil liberties. In the latest case, an Egyptian court sentenced blogger Taymour el-Sobki to three years in jail with hard labor for “spreading false news.” The “false news”? He simply opined that 45 percent of married Egyptian women have the readiness for “immorality” and to cheat on their husbands. That now gets you three years in Egypt.
Continue reading “Blogger Given Three Years In Jail For Discussing Infidelity in Egypt”
There is another study showing the decline of religious beliefs in the United States — and a considerable generational gap. The study published in the American Journal of Sociology shows 68% Americans aged 65 and over said they had no doubt God existed but only 45% of young adults, aged 18-30, agreed with that position. Likewise, 41% of people 70 and older said they attend church services at least once a month, compared to 18% of people 60 and below.
Continue reading “Study: Sharp Decline In Americans With Faith Or Religion Affiliations”
The rapid decline of civil liberties under the authoritarianism of Turkish president. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been a regular point of discussion on this blog. He has been gradually arresting or threatening the dwindling number of independent journalists in Turkey and this prosecution may succeed in forcing the remaining reporters into silence or living in exile. The latest victim of his abusive rule is Turkey’s largest-circulation newspaper which was seized by the government. The newspaper, Zaman, was one of the most read sources of criticism of Erdogan and this government. The government has now silenced that voice and taken over the newspaper. The very next issue under government control was a markedly pro-government publication.
We have another “honor killing” in India where a family believed that its religious and social standing demanded the murder of a family matter. Rama Kunwar, 30, had simply married for love eight years ago. Her husband was from a different caste, but she had hoped that her family had reconciled to her choice in returning to her village. They hadn’t. Her brother set her on fire and burned her alive as other villagers watched. No one intervened to save her despite her pleas.
Continue reading “Indian Brothers Burn Sister Alive For Marrying A Man From Another Caste”
We have recently discussed how Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia have arrested and flogged atheists under medieval Sharia legal systems. However, the most recent case is not out of the Middle East but rather Russia. Viktor Krasnov has been arrested for simply stating his belief that “there is no God” during an argument on social media. For his atheist views, Krasnov has been charged with “offending believers feelings.” He is the latest victim of the political alliance of Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church.
Continue reading “Russia Arrests Atheist For Questioning The Existence of God On Social Media”
Egypt’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to expel Tawfik Okasha from the legislature for the apparently unforgivable sin of inviting the Israeli ambassador in Cairo for dinner. The picture of him meeting with the ambassador took that opposition into a full rage. Now remember that Egypt has full diplomatic relations with Israel, but Okasha’s merely having dinner with the ambassador resulted in a vote of 465 out of 490 legislators supporting this expulsion.
Continue reading “Egypt Expels Lawmaker For Inviting Israeli Ambassador to Dinner”
The Women’s Protection Act, passed by Pakistan’s largest province of Punjab last week, would seem the type of law that no civilized person could contest. It offers legal protection to women from sexual abuse and violence while calling for the creation of a toll-free abuse reporting hot line and the establishment of women’s shelters. However, the Council of Islamic Ideology, a powerful Pakistani religious body that advises the government on the compatibility of laws with Islam, has now declared that criminalizing violence against women is “un-Islamic.”
We have another case of a professor who was put under scrutiny for her postings on social media. Joy Karega, an assistant professor of “rhetoric and composition” at Oberlin College posted bizarre claims on Facebook blaming Jews and Israel for 9/11 as well as ISIS. The college however has decided that such postings are protected and it is correct in doing so. However, once again, there is a concern over how colleges treat such controversies depending on the views and conclusions of the academics or students.
Continue reading “Oberlin Professor Retained Despite Controversial Facebook Postings”
There is a disturbing case out of Snaresbrook Crown Court in England where an Islamic studies tutor raped his 14-year-old pupil and left her pregnant. Mohammed Islam, 31, reportedly started molesting the schoolgirl in 2010 when she was just nine while teaching her the Koran. He has been sentenced to 19 years.