Author Archive for Barry DukePage 2 of 19

Atheist may embrace Islam, while Muslims scrap over a Koran exhibition

Published
by
Barry Duke
on January 31, 2012
.

SHORTLY after it was reported that a 31-year-old Indonesian atheist may convert to Islam after insulting God and Mohammed, a row broke out between two Muslim groups over a Koran exhibition due to take place tomorrow in Dewsbury, Yorkshire.

The first report concerns Alexander Aan, a civil servant who was detained after declaring on Facebook that God did not exist. Police charged him with blasphemy, but Dharmasraya police chief Chairul Aziz said:

'Blasphemer' Alexander Aan

His parents came and told us that he wanted to repent.

Aziz said Aan was not charged because he was an atheist but because he blasphemed against Islam on the Facebook page called Minang Atheists, which Aan moderated.

He said Islam was this and that and that the Prophet Mohammed was like this and that.  If he wants to be atheist, that’s fine, but don’t insult religions.

Aziz added even if Aan renounced atheism, the case against him would proceed.

Meanwhile, “true” sons of the “Prophet” – represented by members of Kirklees Muslim Action Committee – are at loggerheads with “fake” Muslims who belong to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, which is holding a Koran exhibition in Dewsbury Town Hall.

The former group has accused the organisers of:

Hijacking the Muslim identity.

It says the Ahmadiyya lot – which hit the headlines in the Jesus & Mo university kerfuffle recently – has no right to put on an exhibition about the Koran because they are non-Muslims. Committee member Dr Abid Hussain said:

We object strongly to the fact that a small minority are telling people about the Holy Koran when they are not even Muslims.

Ahmadiyyas hit back, saying they WERE Muslims. Arif Ahmad, vice president of the Spen Valley branch which covers north Kirklees said:

There are doctrinal differences between different groups but we believe ourselves to be Muslims. We believe the Holy Koran is our holy book and we hope to show it to the public.

In 1974 members of the Ahmadiyya sect were declared to be non-Muslims by the World Muslim League and are not recognised as Muslims in several countries’ constitutions.

Hat tip: Remigius

A star-warped way of thinking: FRC attacks gay characters in video game

Published
by
Barry Duke
on January 31, 2012
.

A MAD US hate group, the Family Research Council (FRC), has declared war on a multi-million dollar video game – Star Wars: The Old Republic – because its creators decided to include a same-sex romance component to the game in a future patch.

Despite the fact that the patch, according to this report, is completely optional and players can choose whether or not they want to romance companions of the same sex, Tony Perkins, FRC’s lunatic-in-chief, recently appeared in a video, saying:

In a new Star Wars game, the biggest threat to the empire may be homosexual activists! In a galaxy not so far, far away, Star Wars gamers have already gone to the dark side. The new video game, Star Wars: The Old Republic, has added a special feature: gay relationships.

Bioware, the company that developed the game, said it’s launching a same-sex romance component to satisfy some complaints. That surprised a lot of gamers, since Bioware had made it clear in 2009 that ‘gay’ and ‘lesbian’ don’t exist in the Star Wars universe.

Since the announcement, homosexuals have been celebrating the news, but parents sure aren’t. On the game’s website, there are more than 300 pages of comments – a lot of them expressing anger that their kids will be exposed to this Star Warped way of thinking. You can join them by logging on and speaking up. It’s time to show companies who the Force is really with!

Of course, video games have long been under fire from Christian clowns, like the pair of lovelies pictured below. He is an unnamed granddad, concerned over the “totally demonic” content of Pokemon, and the “addictive” nature Minecraft,  which so distracts children that they:

Don’t go back to reading their Bibles, or study the Word.

She is Watchmen Broadcasting’s co-founder, Dorothy Spauling, and together they have managed to create one of the funniest video clips I have seen in a very long while. Click on pic to watch the rant.

Hat tip: BarrieJohn

Televangelist’s grandson has a message for the US Bible Belt: Gay is OK

Published
by
Barry Duke
on January 29, 2012
.

RANDY Roberts Potts, grandson of one of America’s most famous televangelists – Oral Roberts – is a man on a mission … to convince “conservative” Bible Belt communities that gay relationships are more than just a matter of sex, but about love and companionship, and “being human”.

Randy Roberts Potts and his granddad, Oral Roberts (click on image for video)

In an interview with CNN, Potts, who spent years of his life “running away from his sexual identity and his family name” was prompted to come out of the closet in the wake of recent reports about young men committing suicide because of their homosexuality.

He made an It Gets Better video dedicated to a gay uncle who committed suicide, and is now promoting his Gay Agenda tour through the Bible Belt.

Potts, who married aged 20 and has three children, revealed that he has “a tense relationship” with his mother, who still insists that :

Homosexuality leads to death and the Bible condemns it.

Asked what his late grandfather would have made of his mission, Potts – who is about to marry his male partner – said:

If he was still around and in his prime, this might be a cause he would take up. I know he had a lot of fear about homosexuality, but he might have been more accepting if he were younger.

Hat tip: Canada Dave

 

‘I hugged a man in his undies … Jesus would have too’ says apologetic Christian

Published
by
Barry Duke
on January 28, 2012
.

WHILE the Archbishop of York, the toothy Dr John Sentamu, was running his mouth off yet again about the horrors of same-sex marriage – “I don’t think it is the role of the state to define what marriage is” – a group of Christians turned out at a gay pride event in Chicago to apologise for the way the church has treated homosexuals.

The moment Tristan hugged Nathan. Photo Michelle at maladjustedmedia.com

Nathan, member of the Marin Foundation who is pictured being hugged by a man in his underwear, joined members of the foundation, wearing T-shirts with “I’m Sorry” written on it. There were also signs that said, “I’m sorry that Christians judge you,” “I’m sorry the way churches have treated you,” “I used to be a Bible-banging homophobe, sorry.”

Said Nathan in a blog post entitled I hugged a man in his underwear. And I am proud:

 We wanted to be an alternative Christian voice from the protestors that were there speaking hate into megaphones. 

Nathan added:

What I loved most about the day is when people ‘got it’. I loved watching people’s faces as they saw our shirts, read the signs, and looked back at us. Responses were incredible. Some people blew us kisses, some hugged us, some screamed thank you. A couple ladies walked up and said we were the best thing they had seen all day. I wish I had counted how many people hugged me. One guy in particular softly said, ‘Well, I forgive you’.

What touched Nathan most – literally – was getting a hug from a man dressed solely in white underwear who “had a pack of abs like no one else.”

That man turned out to be Tristan, who runs his own computer consulting company called Tech Direct 2 U in Joliet, Illinois. Nathan made contact with Tristan, who told him that, as a youngster:

I was enthralled with the Bible and ‘the word of God. I then read the Bible cover to cover and saw so much hate, arrogance, and oppression, so I started to ask questions. The blatant disregard for human life and especially for women was just appalling to me. The more answers I received from my [Catholic] priest and other people of religion just became too much for me.

Tristan added:

So then, around age 16, I ‘lost my faith.’ I searched for a couple of years and looked into other beliefs just to come to the same conclusion. I practiced Zen Buddhism for a few years and started reading more into the universe and science. I then realized that I was just an atheist and have been an atheist for over ten years now. I feel that people have the right to their own beliefs and their own lives, and should do whatever is in their power to be happy in this life.

 

 

 

 

Atheists can learn lessons about morality from believers, says UK philosopher

Published
by
Barry Duke
on January 28, 2012
.

RIGHT now, there’s a blazing exchange taking place on the BBC World Service’s Facebook page, following a broadcast on religion this morning which utterly infuriated me.

Alain de Botton

Getting wound up by the squads of religionists who get a disproportionate amount of airtime on the BBC is something that happens to people like me far too often – but in this case it was an ATHEIST who got me spitting tacks.

Alain de Botton, philosopher and author of a new book entitled Religion for Atheists, argues in a piece – now posted as an audio file on Facebook – that atheists have a lot to learn about cohesiveness, morality and aesthetics from religious communities. WTF!

According to this blurb, de Botton’s book:

Explains ways in which atheists should look to religion for some solutions to contemporary ills. In doing so, he hopes to move the tired old debate between atheists and believers onto more fruitful ground.

Blending deep respect with total impiety, de Botton proposes that agnostics and atheists should stop mocking religions and start stealing from them. For too long, he believes, we have faced a false choice between either swallowing doctrines or doing away with consoling and beautiful rituals and ideas.

Get Shortey: he thinks there’s a plot to slip human foetuses into the food chain

Published
by
Barry Duke
on January 27, 2012
.

RALPH Shortey is an Oklahoma state senator who this week got himself branded as “hilariously delusional” after he tabled bill that would ban the use of aborted human foetuses in food products.

According to this report, the ridiculous Republican and ardent Christian pro-lifer said he filed the bill after reading that an anti-abortion group – Children of God for Life – had called on the public to boycott products of several major food companies.

Wingnut Sen Ralph Shortey is 'hilariously delusional'

COGFL claimed that the companies had partnered with a biotech enterprise that produces artificial flavour enhancers. One corporation, PepsiCo did partner with food product development company Senomyx to develop a new low-calorie sweetener, but Pepsico denied using foetal tissue in its research in an April 2011 email to Children of God for Life.

In this report, Shortey was quoted as saying:

As a pro-life advocate, it kind of disturbed me that we would use aborted embryos or aborted human fetuses to extract stem cells and use them for research to basically make things taste better.

He admitted that he had never heard of any instances of this happening, but decided that his bill would, at the very least, give any food companies toying with the idea an “ultimatum.”

The legislation, known as SB 1418, states:

No person or entity shall manufacture or knowingly sell food or any other product intended for human consumption which contains aborted human fetuses in the ingredients or which used aborted human fetuses in the research or development of any of the ingredients.

Federal food safety officials have never heard of such a thing happening. A US Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman said that the agency has never received any reports of foetuses being used in food production.

Shortey, elected in 2010, has introduced a spate of dottyl bills including denying Oklahoma citizenship to children of illegal immigrants born in the state. Another bill he concocted would have allowed police to confiscate the homes and cars of illegal immigrants. He also tried to advance a bill that would have required presidential candidates to provide proof of citizenship before being allowed on Oklahoma’s primary ballot.

None of Shortey’s controversial bills have become law.

As news began circulating of his latest legislative priority, the Twitterverse erupted with disbelief and amusement.

One person wrote:

This may conflict with my dream of eating aborted fetus dumplings, but Sen Ralph Shortey is hilariously delusional.

Another said:

Today in Oklahoma crazy: Sen Ralph Shortey (R) proposes banning ‘human fetuses in food’. Didn’t know it was a thing.

Hat tip: Buffy

A cat dies, a sceptic is born

Published
by
Barry Duke
on January 26, 2012
.

FACED with the realisation that her pet cat had died after a grim encounter with a pastor, a five-year-old Central Texas girl – on being told that her pet, Moody, was now “in heaven” – declared:

I don’t believe in Heaven anymore, Moody’s just dead.

Moody, left, and the godly Bartlett

Moody, according to this report, died after falling, or having been thrown off a 40ft-high bridge by Rick Bartlett, pastor of the Bastrop Christian Church. He now faces a charge of animal cruelty which could result in a $4,000 dollar fine and a year’s imprisonment.

He trapped the child’s pet in a cage after having had trouble with feral cats in his garden. He then placed Moody in his pick-up truck, where it was “forgotten” for three days.

The pastor then drove the cat to the police.

An animal protection officer  noticed a name tag, including the phone number of Moody’s owners, Sarah and Eddy Bell, on the cat’s collar. The officer offered to take Moody back to his owners but police said Bartlett told them he’d take the cat back himself since they were his neighbours.

The kitschy sign outside the Bartletts' Bastrop home

Later on the same day, a park visitor discovered Moody’s near lifeless body on the bank of the Colorado River, some 40-50 feet below the bridge.

There is a possibility that the animal had jumped from the truck, rather than having been thrown, but but in the eyes of the law, the animal cruelty charges are the same since Bartlett admitted to police that the animal was in his care.

Moody was Sarah and Eddy Bell’s cat for 11 years.  They said that trying to explain his death to their daughter has proved “challenging”.

Hat tip: Remigius

Catholic boozehound in puppy club prang

Published
by
Barry Duke
on January 25, 2012
.

FIRST off, let me make it absolutely clear – to BarrieJohn in particular – that I did not choose to blog this sorry saga because a key player in it has a funny name: Dr Hazel Chowcat.

Chowcat is a magistrate in Yorkshire, and according to this report, she accepted the defence of a 73-year-old Catholic priest who crashed his wheels into the car of a young woman  in the car park of St John the Baptist Church in Normanton.

Canon Peter Maguire

Canon Peter Maguire – Picture Ross Parry Agency

Canon Peter Maguire was double the drink-drive limit and unsteady on his feet when the crash occurred, but he denied a drink-driving charge, maintaining he was not using a public road when the offence was committed.

Chowcat heard the boozehound  hit the car of a woman attending a puppy-training club in the church hall on August 30 last year. The priest had been “drinking socially” before attempting to move his car from the car park to his garage. He hit Hindle’s blue Vauxhall Astra with his Fiat Punto.

The car park he was in services the church, the church hall, the church social club and the Presbytery. And although it is used by those attending the church for weddings and funerals and guests at the Parish club it was argued that, at the time, it was only being used by those attending the puppy club and, therefore, was not open to the public.

Hindle told Wakefield Magistrates Court:

Somebody came into the hall at the end of the club and asked who had a blue Astra, I said it was me, and I was told: ‘I think the priest has just hit your car’.

She rushed out to see that her car was slightly damaged, and the priest was:

Unsteady on his feet and a appeared a little bit vacant. I thought he was drunk because of his demeanour, the vagueness and the unsteadiness on his feet. He suggested we could sort anything between ourselves and handed me his card, but at that point I was already speaking to the police.

Charles McRae, prosecuting, argued the car park was a public place because it could be used by anybody who wished to go into the church and that the church was a spiritual place open to all.

But Denis Lofthouse, representing Canon Maguire, said the church operated as a business and the only people allowed in were those who had been invited or were paying, as in the case of Miss Hindle.

The car park could be deemed as open to the public some of the time and not at others. At the time of the accident, it was a private car park.

Delivering her not guilty verdict Chowcat said:

The court finds the car park is not a public place, the people using the car park were members of the puppy club, we regard the puppy club as a closed group because they have to pay a fee to attend.

Hat tip: Glenn

 

Learning more about Mormonism … and discovering the delights of Dudism

Published
by
Barry Duke
on January 25, 2012
.

A FEW days back, Alex Spillius, writing in the Telegraph, said:

In 2008, Americans made history by choosing their first black President. This time round, they could break with precedent again – by electing a Mormon. Mitt Romney, the strong favourite for the Republican nomination, is a devout follower of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

A Mormon President? Heaven for forbid, say a vast number of Christian fundamentalist, including Pastors for Huckabee. Here’s a screen shot from their website, replete with spelling error:

While I was researching  Mormonism, and its effect on US voters, I received an email yesterday from “Molly”, who lives in the US. She has made a most informative and fascinating video about Mormonism:

An image from the Egyptian ancient Book of the Dead inspired the charlatan Joseph Smith to invent Mormonism (click on pic to see video)

“Molly” then informed me that she was a Dudist … and as of today, I am a Dudist too – and I have the certificate to prove it.

The Church of the Latter Day Dude, to give it its full name, claims to be “the slowest-growing religion in the world” – and says on its website that it is:

An ancient philosophy that preaches non-preachiness, practices as little as possible, and above all, uh…lost my train of thought there. Anyway, if you’d like to find peace on earth and goodwill, man, we’ll help you get started. Right after a little nap.

It is the brainchild of freelance journalist and photographer Oliver Benjamin, who is based in Thailand. In an interview with CNN last August, Benjamin said:

Jeff Dowd, left, the real-life person upon whom the character of the Dude was based, appears alongside Oliver Benjamin at the 2008 Lebowskifest in San Francisco, California. Photo courtesty Oliver Benjamin

 Money is power. Dudeists don’t tend to be the upper crust of society. So we’re never going to compete with the really wealthy religions like Christianity.

Ideally, we’d like to help people find ways to earn money with less work, but of course that’s always a challenge. Fifty years ago, everyone thought that robots would be doing all the work for us and people would be living lives of leisure. That this has not come to pass is surely mankind’s biggest tragedy.

Benjamin, who was inspired by the Coen Brothers’ movie, The Big Lebowski, to establish his new religion, added:

One problem also is that too many people just think the Dude is a burned out hedonistic stoner. Nothing could be further from the truth. He’s an intellectual with strong moral character and a lively, creative mind.

He’s also a stoner, but that’s not a bad thing. Too many people confuse Dudeism with anarchism or selfish laziness. Dudeism recognizes the need for organization and rules, and the laziness it touts is disciplined and determined.

Free time should be used to free your mind and cultivate inner peace. Not to play ‘Grand Theft Auto’ all day and gorge on snack food.

In explaining what Dudism is, Benjamin points out:

Incidentally, the term ‘dude’ is commonly agreed to refer to both genders. Most linguists contend that ‘Dudette’ is not in keeping with the parlance of our times.

Some people just don’t get it

Published
by
Barry Duke
on January 24, 2012
.

A FACEBOOK page has just been created in support of One Law for All’s rally for Free Expression which is being held in London from 2pm to 4pm at the Old Palace Yard opposite the House of Lords on February 11 – and one of the first people to comment – someone called Simon Richards – posted this lame comment:

Naturally, I support this, but I do think it regrettable that freedom of expression has been coupled with secularism here. Freedom of expression should exist both for those who support and those who oppose secularism. There are, for example, many instances of Christianity in the UK being discriminated against as a result of secularism.

Maryam Namazie

I immediately responded to this bilge, saying:

Christians being discriminated against in the UK? That’s just rubbish. The majority of recent high-profile “persecuted Christian” cases have either involved homophobic bigots who flouted equality legislation, or zealots who have refused to comply with dress codes that forbid the wearing of religious symbols at work. These people have unreasonably demanded exemption from anti-discrimination laws and workplace rules, and fully deserve to be prosecuted and held up to ridicule. 

And Hassan Radwan said:

Secularism is the only way to guarantee freedom of expression. If we allow religion – any religion – to dictate what we can say and do, you can kiss goodbye to freedom of expression and a good many other freedoms. Christianity today is only relatively benign because secularism and the enlightenment has pushed it into the private sphere and defanged it. But give it half a chance and it would soon be enforcing itself on us all – for the love of Jesus of course.

Please feel free to add a comment on the Facebook page.

According to Maryam Namazie, the call for action follows an increased number of attacks on free expression in the UK, including 17-year-old Rhys Morgan being forced to remove a Jesus and Mo cartoon or face expulsion from his Sixth Form College, and demands by the UCL Union that the Atheist society remove a Jesus and Mo cartoon from its Facebook page.

It also follows threats of violence, police being called, and the cancellation of a meeting at Queen Mary College where One Law for All spokesperson Anne Marie Waters was to deliver a speech on Sharia.

The Day of Action has already been endorsed by nearly 100 groups and individuals including Jessica Ahlquist, Centre for Secular Spaces, Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, Richard Dawkins, Equal Rights Now, Jesus and Mo Creator, Taslima Nasrin, National Federation of Atheist, Humanist and Secular Student Societies, National Secular Society, Salman Rushdie, Southall Black Sisters, and Peter Tatchell. Please add your name to the declaration.

In addition to the London rally, there will be demos and acts of solidarity in other countries, including Australia, France, Gambia, Germany and Poland. To see the list or to add your own action or event, click here.

Said Namazie:

Clearly, the time has come to take a firm and uncompromising stand for free expression and against all forms of threats and censorship. The right to criticise religion is a fundamental right that is crucial to many, including Muslims. February 11 is our chance to take that stand. You need to be there. Enough is enough.

Homosexuals make God want to vomit, says demented Florida pastor

Published
by
Barry Duke
on January 23, 2012
.

IS IT me, or is America’s 2012 presidential campaign throwing more religious lunatics into sharp relief than any in the past?

Dozier, left, and Santorum

Take, for example, the Rev O’Neal Dozier, a wingnut described here as “a firebrand social conservative”, who heads the Worldwide Christian Center in Pompano Beach, Florida. Dozier loathes Islam and cares even less for The Gays:

Dozier, honorary chairman of wannabe president Rick Santorum’s Florida campaign, once declared that homosexuality was:

Something so nasty and disgusting that it makes God want to vomit.

Santorum, “a conservative darling in the Republican presidential race”, yesterday spoke from the pulpit at Dozier’s Church.

At a Reclaiming America convention in 2003, Dozier declared that:

We should take control of every facet of society.

He added that God was:

100 percent for capital punishment. Oh, yeah, God knew some were going to slip through, a few innocent ones. He knew that. But you cannot have a society without capital punishment.

He also said:

God would never ordain a government to take from the rich to give to the poor, you see, so therefore God is not a socialist. God is not a Robin Hood.

After Santorum said his piece at the Worldwide Christian Center, Dozier told the Palm Beach Post that Mitt Romney was bound not for the White House, but for hell:

You can look at the June Gallup poll that shows the people have already spoken – 22 percent of the electorate will not vote for a Mormon.

He added:

Blacks are not going to vote for anyone of the Mormon faith. The book of Mormon says the Negro skin is cursed.

 

Saudi rape victim faces execution unless he can raise over £1-m in ‘blood money’

Published
by
Barry Duke
on January 21, 2012
.

A TEENAGE boy who killed the man who raped him faces execution unless he stumps up over £1-million in “blood money” for the rapist’s family.

The unnamed rape victim, according to this report, was sentenced to death by a criminal court in the western Red Sea port of Jeddah for stabbing an older boy – a friend – who carried out the sexual assault nearly nine months ago.

The boy, whose age was not revealed, told the court that he was at his friend’s home when he was asked to take his clothes off. When he refused, he was forced at knifepoint to strip,  and was then raped.

Just after he finished, the assailant apologised and “took oath on the Koran” that he would never do it again.

But two months later, the boy was returning home late night when he found his friend waiting outside. He told him to go home but the boy insisted on taking him to his house to have sex with him again.

The boy told court that he reminded his friend of his oath, but that the victim would not listen and insisted on sleeping with him. He told the judge that he had no choice but to stab his friend to prevent a second rape.

The rape victim’s father is now appealing for benevolent people to help him raise the money needed to save his son’s life. The victim’s relatives are demanding £1.16 –m.

Under Islamic law, a convicted killer can walk free if pardon by the victim’s relatives in return for diya (blood money).

Jesus & Mo: Stand up for free speech!

Published
by
Barry Duke
on January 20, 2012
.

JUST minutes after learning that a Cardiff student had removed a Jesus & Mo cartoon from his Facebook page after his school threatened to expel him, I learned that an Indonesian man, who used Facebook to declare the non-existence of God, could face jail.

According to the BBC, civil servant Alexander Aan, 31, is now in protective police custody after he was attacked by an angry mob earlier this week. He may also lose his job over his posting on the social networking site.

Atheism is a violation of Indonesian law under the founding principles of the country.

Police said that according to Indonesian criminal law, anyone who tried to stop others believing in a faith could face up to five years in prison

Back now to the ongoing Jesus & Mo row. Wunderkind Rhys Morgan, 17, who received the James Randi Award for Grassroots Skepticism for outing a scam drug, got himself into hot water after he posted the J&M cartoon in solidarity with the University College London’s Atheist, Secular, and Humanist Society.

Rhys Morgan

Because that image from the comic Jesus and Mo was his Facebook photo for a week, he has been harassed and threatened at school by his classmates. The sixth-former was then summoned by his head of year and told to remove the cartoon. When he said no, he was threatened with expulsion. Rhys details the saga, under the head Intolerant Islam on his blog.

Maryam Namazie, who is calling for a rally on 11 February, 2012, in central London from 2-4pm in defence of free expression and the right to criticise religion, revealed that Rhys has now removed the cartoon from Facebook. In an email to Namazie, Rhys said:

Unfortunately, given the extreme situation, I’ve removed the image in question. They thanked me for being ‘co-operative’, even though the reason I did it was purely selfish – not being expelled. They didn’t actually state whether I was going to be, but based on their wording, it’s obvious that is what they were threatening.

One Law for All, which is organising the free speech rally, is also calling for simultaneous events and acts in defence of free expression on on the same day in countries world-wide.

The call follows an increased number of attacks on free expression in the UK, including demands by the UCL Union that the Atheist society remove a Jesus and Mo cartoon from its Facebook page. It also follows threats of violence, police being called, and the cancellation of a meeting at Queen Mary College where One Law for All spokesperson Anne Marie Waters was to deliver a speech on Sharia.

Two days later at the same college, though, the Islamic Society held a meeting on traditional Islam with a speaker who has called for the death of apostates, those who mock Islam, and secularist Muslims.

Said Namazie:

Whilst none of this is new, recent events reveal an increased confidence of Islamists to censor free expression publicly, particularly given the support received from universities and other bodies in the name of false tolerance, cultural sensitivity and respect.

The right to criticise religion, however, is a fundamental right that is crucial to many, including Muslims.

Clearly, the time has come to take a firm and uncompromising stand for free expression and against all forms of threats and censorship. February 11 is our chance to take that stand.

UPDATE: The BBC reports that celebrated author Sir Salman Rushdie, will not attend India’s biggest  literary festival  for fear of assassination by Muslim fanatics. The author had been due to speak at the Jaipur literature festival later this month.

He said he had been told by sources that assassins:

May be on the way to Jaipur to kill me.

FURTHER UPDATE: Teenage atheist Jessica Ahlquist, who won law suit that compelled her school to remove a tacky, unconstitutional, prayer thingummy from a hall wall continues to be the target of Christian rage.

Jessica Ahlquist

Rhode Island State Representative Peter Palumbo referred to her as “an evil little thing”, and on Wednesday, according to this report, four different Rhode Island florists in the Cranston area refused to deliver flowers to Jessica.

At least one florist claimed to be frightened of the potential backlash from angry Christians who do not want Jessica to receive any flowers.

Hat tip: Marcus Robinson (Indonesia report) and BarrieJohn (Rushdie)

Jesus & Mo: a disturbing development

Published
by
Barry Duke
on January 19, 2012
.

“STRESS” lies behind the resignation of the President of University College London Union’s Atheist, Secularist and Humanist society, Robbie Yellon, following the row that broke out over the use of a Jesus & Mo cartoon on the society’s Facebook page.

The society, according to the BBC, said Yellon was stepping down to be replaced by former Vice President Michael Thor.

Michael Paynter, secretary for the National Federation of Atheist, Humanist and Secular Student Societies, said:

Robbie stepped aside because he signed up as president to organise events and run a student society. He did not appreciate the stress he would be under when dealing with a controversy like this, so he wanted to make way for someone else.

Meanwhile, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association is continuing with its protest against the image, saying it has wider implications.

Adam Walker, the association’s national spokesperson, said the two student groups had worked well together in the past and said the offence was unnecessary.

The principle is more important than who is being attacked  – this time it is Muslims and Christians but in the future it could be atheists themselves.

There is no need to print these things other than to cause offence and history has told us that these things cause offence.

He added:

I wouldn’t say we’re specifically pursuing UCL atheist society, it’s more about the broader principle.

UCL Union (UCLU) said in a statement:

The atheist society has agreed they will take more consideration when drawing up publicity for future events. The society was asked to remove the image because UCLU aims to foster good relations between different groups of students and create a safe environment where all students can benefit from societies regardless of their religious or other beliefs.

And while on the subject of freedom of expression, it seems as if the disruption of the shariah meeting at the Queen Mary University of London had been orchestrated by extremists from Islam Awakening, which posted this lamentably illiterate call on its blog on Monday:

Brothers, the Queen Mary Athiest Society, sister of the shaytaani UCL Athiest Society (which published pictures of Rasoolullah(saw)) are holding an event today at Queen Mary University of London at 7:00 pm on ‘ Is Shariah in violation of human rights’.

We need your presence. Who gave these kuffar the right to speak? Let me ask you – if a bunch of kuffar got together and were given the right to touch your mother up and analyse her, then would you stand by and let it happen? Then what about your deen?!!

Remember, these guys hate religion and are not looking to have an unbiased debate. Please be here by 7 pm. to let them know what we think. Back in my day no-one in UNi would dare even look the wrong way at a muslim, because we used to represent our deen and didnt take kindly to it being insulted. It is only when the pacifists ecame numerous that the kuffar dared to raise their heads.

Well, I guess this says it all ... thanks Remigius

Hat tip: Marcus Robinson

 

Rabbi joins the crazies, gets sacked

Published
by
Barry Duke
on January 18, 2012
.

UNTIL recently, Christian evangelicals have been in the vanguard of the “let’s-cure-The-Gays” movement, but it now appears that Jews of all stripes have been scrambling onto the bandwagon.

Earlier this week, I was alerted to some bilge called the Declaration On The Torah Approach To Homosexuality, which states:

The Torah makes a clear statement that homosexuality is not an acceptable lifestyle or a genuine identity by severely prohibiting its conduct. Furthermore, the Torah, ever prescient about negative secular influences, warns us in Vayikra (Leviticus) 20:23 ‘Do not follow the traditions of the nations that I expel from before you…’

Rabbi Ralbag

The declaration, signed by 162 rabbis and mental health practitioners – that is, health practitioners who are mental – also states that “homosexuality is not an acceptable lifestyle” and that “behaviours are changeable”.

One rabbi who gleefully attached his name to this crap was New York based Aryeh Ralbag, who manages to find time four times a year to get his ignorant arse off to Amsterdam, to perform his duties as the city’s Chief Rabbi.

Well, that signature, we learned today, has cost the fuzz-faced old loon his job.

According to this report, so great was the outrage in Holland over his association with the declaration that the Jewish community on Amsterdam decided to summarily axe him. Ralbag will remain suspended until he and community leaders have spoken about the issue

A press release by the community’s board, NIHS, said:

Rabbi Ralbag’s signature may give the impression the Orthodox Jewish community of Amsterdam shares his view. This is absolutely untrue. Homosexuals are welcome at the Amsterdam Jewish community.

The Dutch Israel information centre CIDI had also called on Ralbag to stand down from his Amsterdam position.

Meanwhile, it was reported here that Dutch medical organisations and health insurers are unhappy over having to pay for quack “gay-cure” therapies.

The treatment is offered by the orthodox Christian organisation Different, a recognised provider of therapies in mental health care. Because it is officially recognised, health insurers cannot refuse to pay for the treatment.

However, doctors and insurers say the treatment is damaging and even dangerous, and want the health inspectorate to look into the matter.

Hat tip: Remigius

 

Muslim’s murderous threats stop sharia lecture at a London University

Published
by
Barry Duke
on January 18, 2012
.

ON the same day that a British barrister was reported as saying that sharia was “compatible with human rights”, and was good for the “community as a whole”, a Muslim fanatic forced the cancellation of a discussion of Islamic law at a London university on Monday.

Jennifer Hardy, President of the Atheism, Secularism and Humanism Society at Queen Mary University, London, said here:

Five minutes before the talk was due to start a man burst into the room holding a camera phone and for some seconds stood filming the faces of all those in the room.

He shouted ‘listen up all of you, I am recording this, I have your faces on film now, and I know where some of you live’. At that moment he aggressively pushed the phone in someone’s face and then said ‘and if I hear that anything is said against the holy Prophet Muhammad, I will hunt you down.’ He then left the room and two members of the audience applauded.

The fanatic also also filmed students in the foyer and threatened to murder them and their families.

Ann Marie Waters, National Secular Society council member

The talk was due to be delivered by National Secular Society council member Ann Marie Waters on behalf of the One Law for All Campaign. She said:

Rather fittingly – and as if to prove my point – my human rights were quashed by a person demonstrating one of the effects of sharia law; the threat of violence for criticising religion.

Jennifer Hardy added:

This event was supposed to be an opportunity for people of different religions and perspectives to debate at a university that is supposed to be a beacon of free speech and debate.

Only two complaints had been made to the Union prior to the event, and the majority of the Muslim students at the event were incredibly supportive of it going ahead.

These threats were an aggressive assault on freedom of speech and the fact that they led to the cancellation of our talk was severely disappointing for all of the religious and non-religious students in the room who wanted to engage in debate.

In a personal account of the incident, Waters said:

On reflection of the incident, I am left wondering what exactly we could have done. I would love to say that we stood up to him and carried on bravely in a valiant defence of free speech, but it was a frightening experience and I know that people felt genuinely threatened and upset. In any case, is it the role of speakers and students to face off against potentially violent Islamists in defence of our free speech, risking our safety in the process? Just whose job is it to defend freedom of speech and can we be expected to fight for it when the state and other powers refuse to back us up?

Question: can you remember the last time you heard the Government – or any political party – give a robust and dogged defence of free speech? No, neither can I. But there have been plenty of opportunities.

Take the Danish cartoon affair for example. Look at the pathetic response of the British Government at the time; ‘There is freedom of speech, we all respect that … But there is not any obligation to insult or to be gratuitously inflammatory. I believe that the republication of these cartoons has been unnecessary. It has been insensitive. It has been disrespectful and it has been wrong.’ Even the UN said it would investigate whether the cartoonists were racists. How can we expect people in a university lecture hall to stand up to violent threats when this is the reaction of our leaders? The message is very clear – don’t insult religion. And if you do, and you get in to trouble for it, you have only yourself to blame (or ‘don’t come crying to us’?)

Freedom of speech needs to be defended from above. We need prosecution and punishment of those intent on frightening people into staying silent. Until the state speaks out and makes it clear to the likes of this guy that this behaviour is not acceptable – no excuses, no apologies – these things will continue to happen and more and more people will be frightened in to shutting up. We can then say goodbye to freedom for good.

Hat tip: Great Satan, Graham Martin-Royle, Adam Tjaavk