Obviously he was arrested and sent back to Saudi Arabia.
Petitions normally dont work, but there is not much more that can be done.
Author Archive for Tarentola Mauritanica
Just a few days ago i wrote about Hamza Kashgari.
Obviously he was arrested and sent back to Saudi Arabia.
Petitions normally dont work, but there is not much more that can be done.
Obviously he was arrested and sent back to Saudi Arabia.
Petitions normally dont work, but there is not much more that can be done.
Until last weekend 23 years old Kashgari Hamza was just a young and upcoming journalist from Saudi Arabia with quite a fan base following him not only in the newspapers but also on twitter. Currently he is a man who has to fear for his life with a saudi government prohibiting all newspapers from publishing any texts by Kashgari. More than 10.000 people on facebook demand his death and it is not clear where Kashgari currently is.
What has happened?
On Saturday, a day before the birthday of Muhammad, Kashgari published three tweets about Mohammed.
Here is a screenshot of the original tweets:
By the end of the weekend some 30.000 tweets dealth with the issue, a facebook group called The saudi people want the punishment of Hamza Kashgari" was created with more than 10.000 fans and quite a lot of "experts" in the form of Saudi "jurists" and "preachers" gave out their verdict: DEATH.
See for example Nasser al-Omar here CRYING because he supposedly can't bear the insult of the Prophet. By his actions Kashgari supposedly has shown himself to be an apostate and we all know what that means in Saudi Arabia: beheading by a sword.
The outcry worked and the government has banned Kashgaris works and texts demanding his arrest. It didn't help him that he deleted his tweets and apologized. He had to flee. Nobody knows exactly where he is. There are reports that he was caught in Malaysia, but also a dementi to that has been circulating.
What is so sad about the whole story is that actually Kashgari didn't even say anything really evil in the first place. Especially those that demand his death actually should agree with him mostly. For it is the conservative (wahabi) circle that actually denies Mohammed the status of anything but a human (and of course prophet). Exactly that circle that also considers birthday celebrations to be an unislamic (and thus evil) invention. So basically his tweets express what they officially teach. Perhaps it was the word "hate" that caused the uproar.... or perhaps he is just an easy target for the conservatives in an endless struggle between stupid wahabites and almost as stupid supposedly "liberals". Well in Saudi Arabia any "liberal" is still an ultraconservative by the standards of most other "arabic/muslim" countries.
Anyway ... to stay true to my promise: FUCK ALLAH !!!!
What has happened?
On Saturday, a day before the birthday of Muhammad, Kashgari published three tweets about Mohammed.
Here is a screenshot of the original tweets:
Tweet # 1: "On your birthday I will say that I loved the revolutionary in you, who always inspired me. But I do not like the halo. I pray thee not. "
Tweet # 2: "On your birthday I'll see you wherever I turn. I will say that I liked things about you, hated things and didn't understand some other things. "
Tweet # 3: "On your birthday I will not bow myself before you, not kiss your hand. I'll shake it as an equal and smile at you so as you smile at me. And I'll talk to you only as a friend ... That's all. "
By the end of the weekend some 30.000 tweets dealth with the issue, a facebook group called The saudi people want the punishment of Hamza Kashgari" was created with more than 10.000 fans and quite a lot of "experts" in the form of Saudi "jurists" and "preachers" gave out their verdict: DEATH.
See for example Nasser al-Omar here CRYING because he supposedly can't bear the insult of the Prophet. By his actions Kashgari supposedly has shown himself to be an apostate and we all know what that means in Saudi Arabia: beheading by a sword.
The outcry worked and the government has banned Kashgaris works and texts demanding his arrest. It didn't help him that he deleted his tweets and apologized. He had to flee. Nobody knows exactly where he is. There are reports that he was caught in Malaysia, but also a dementi to that has been circulating.
What is so sad about the whole story is that actually Kashgari didn't even say anything really evil in the first place. Especially those that demand his death actually should agree with him mostly. For it is the conservative (wahabi) circle that actually denies Mohammed the status of anything but a human (and of course prophet). Exactly that circle that also considers birthday celebrations to be an unislamic (and thus evil) invention. So basically his tweets express what they officially teach. Perhaps it was the word "hate" that caused the uproar.... or perhaps he is just an easy target for the conservatives in an endless struggle between stupid wahabites and almost as stupid supposedly "liberals". Well in Saudi Arabia any "liberal" is still an ultraconservative by the standards of most other "arabic/muslim" countries.
Anyway ... to stay true to my promise: FUCK ALLAH !!!!
As Dan Barker once formulated
Notice please that "lack of belief" is not only considered a "belief" but also (an) illegal (one)!
You already can guess where this is going, can't you?
Don't you dare declare yourself to be an "atheist" (whatever that actually may mean) in that country.
Don't you dare "insult" a nonexisting entity in that country. In some places it might cost you your head. Blasphemy is punishable by death in some regions. We knew that already.
However this one is a new kind of nonsense. Suddenly not believing in a god equates to blasphemy. It was new to me that "not X" suddenly equals a "X is *put some insult here*".
Can't you kill someone at least "consistently" for a non-crime instead of using the prescribed punishment for another non-crime instead? Especially when both have the same "super-moral" and "divinely sanctioned" consequences?
Sorry ... it is time for another "Fuck Allah"again...
PS: Where are you going to during your vacations?
Any belief system that threatens you with (physical) violence is morally bankrupt.It is 2012 and we take a look at some "democratic" country that allows for "6 religions":
- Islam,
- Buddhism,
- Hinduism,
- Catholicism,
- Protestantism and
- Confucianism.
Notice please that "lack of belief" is not only considered a "belief" but also (an) illegal (one)!
You already can guess where this is going, can't you?
Don't you dare declare yourself to be an "atheist" (whatever that actually may mean) in that country.
The trouble began when civil servant Alexander Aan posted a message on the Facebook page of Atheist Minang, a group of Indonesians with godless beliefs. It read: “God doesn’t exist.”In some places it might cost you your head. Apostacy is punishable by death in some regions. We knew that already....
Don't you dare "insult" a nonexisting entity in that country. In some places it might cost you your head. Blasphemy is punishable by death in some regions. We knew that already.
However this one is a new kind of nonsense. Suddenly not believing in a god equates to blasphemy. It was new to me that "not X" suddenly equals a "X is *put some insult here*".
To add insult to injury, police then arrested him and now want to press blasphemy charges that could see him locked up for five years.Doesn't keep the mob from demanding his death for both.
Can't you kill someone at least "consistently" for a non-crime instead of using the prescribed punishment for another non-crime instead? Especially when both have the same "super-moral" and "divinely sanctioned" consequences?
Sorry ... it is time for another "Fuck Allah"again...
PS: Where are you going to during your vacations?
This is my first try to create a youtube video. It turns out that an essentially easy topic is not so easily put into images...
I could need some critique and help. For those that dont understand the video i have a small explanation below.
Ok... here is the original thought...
Although god might be allknowing in the sense that he knows all that is knowable ... he couldnt possibly be sure to be allknowing. There is no difference in perception between something that doesnt exist and something that we couldnt detect if it existed. The same applies for knowledge.You cant differentiate between the situation in which knowledge exists but you cant possibly know about it and the situation in which no further knowledge exist.
Allknowingness does not include the knowledge that one is allknowing. This in itself is no problem.
It becomes a problem when you postulate an HONEST being that is NOT stupid and that tells you that it is allknowing. This simply cant be. You cant honestly claim to be allknowing because THEN you have the problem that you claim that allknowingness would include knowledge about itself.
I could need some critique and help. For those that dont understand the video i have a small explanation below.
Ok... here is the original thought...
Although god might be allknowing in the sense that he knows all that is knowable ... he couldnt possibly be sure to be allknowing. There is no difference in perception between something that doesnt exist and something that we couldnt detect if it existed. The same applies for knowledge.You cant differentiate between the situation in which knowledge exists but you cant possibly know about it and the situation in which no further knowledge exist.
Allknowingness does not include the knowledge that one is allknowing. This in itself is no problem.
It becomes a problem when you postulate an HONEST being that is NOT stupid and that tells you that it is allknowing. This simply cant be. You cant honestly claim to be allknowing because THEN you have the problem that you claim that allknowingness would include knowledge about itself.
Hamza .. the "international public speaker" of the "islamic education and research academy" (already two jokes in one sentence) was a guy who tried to educate PZ Myers on embryology (three and counting) and the quran's superior knowledge about the topic 1400 years ago.
I was shocked to see that he had a page entry in wikipedia. But lo and behold ... someone there obviously took the time to review it.
Hamza is now again in search for the meaning of life as his entry was deleted.
I just love the justifications.
I was shocked to see that he had a page entry in wikipedia. But lo and behold ... someone there obviously took the time to review it.
Hamza is now again in search for the meaning of life as his entry was deleted.
I just love the justifications.
The reasons are, that is no proof whatsoever for this person's notability and that this guy is without any relevance in public life or science.
I am happy for any evil comment religionists make. And i think Christopher would be too. For nobody could underline the essence of his book (gos is not great, how religion poisons everything) as strongly as religionists.
They do exactly what they supposedly wouldnt do because of their "superior morality" in relation to us "evil" baby eaters.
So to all theists I say ... "bring it on".
Via Atheist Media Blog
They do exactly what they supposedly wouldnt do because of their "superior morality" in relation to us "evil" baby eaters.
So to all theists I say ... "bring it on".
Via Atheist Media Blog
not worth a comment
A Twitter hashtag meant as a tribute to Christopher Hitchens has turned into a mini religious war, with Christian users of the site threatening violence against anyone using the tag.
The hashtag #GodIsNotGreat began trending internationally shortly after the sad announcement that Hitchens had passed away from complications linked to esophageal cancer. The tag is, of course, in honor of Hitchens' best-selling book God Is Not Great, where he lays out his argument for atheism. God Is Not Great is a foundation of the modern atheist movement, and makes a compelling case for the uselessness of religion and the non-existence of any deities.
UPDATE: It seems that twitter removed the hashtag from the trends after protests by christians.
Sad thing. He was a brilliant writer, I loved his English, I feared his wit and I admired his courage.
Actually there is nothing more to say.
If it wasn't for some of the comments that I see throughout the net. Some by people that should know better.
An atheist writing "we miss you"... and he is not the only one. Many more follow along that path.
So for all those supposed atheists that didnt yet get it:
Hitchens is dead, he is fucking dead. He can't hear you anymore!
Don't talk to dead people as if you were a theist (or are you one?).
Remember, take the good parts as example to follow or even better to exceed. But don't do as if he was "somwehere in heaven listening to or looking down on us".
To his family: my sincere condolences! We all lost an honest, intelligent writer, but this is nothing in relation to what you lost.
Actually there is nothing more to say.
If it wasn't for some of the comments that I see throughout the net. Some by people that should know better.
An atheist writing "we miss you"... and he is not the only one. Many more follow along that path.
So for all those supposed atheists that didnt yet get it:
Hitchens is dead, he is fucking dead. He can't hear you anymore!
Don't talk to dead people as if you were a theist (or are you one?).
Remember, take the good parts as example to follow or even better to exceed. But don't do as if he was "somwehere in heaven listening to or looking down on us".
To his family: my sincere condolences! We all lost an honest, intelligent writer, but this is nothing in relation to what you lost.
I have to make true on my promise and say FUCK ALLAH again ....
One can't help but wonder what the "religious police" thinks when it arrests someone for insulting companions of Mohammed.... while being on hajj.
You know ... normally only MUSLIMS go on hajj.
Doesn't matter for Saudis of course. Give him some 500 lashes and a year in prison. That'll teach him a lesson. How dare he make pilgrimmage and insult his own religion (no matter how strange it sounds).
One can't help but wonder what the "religious police" thinks when it arrests someone for insulting companions of Mohammed.... while being on hajj.
You know ... normally only MUSLIMS go on hajj.
Doesn't matter for Saudis of course. Give him some 500 lashes and a year in prison. That'll teach him a lesson. How dare he make pilgrimmage and insult his own religion (no matter how strange it sounds).
I am speechless .....
Chopra:Good morning. The purpose of this video blog is an official apology to Dr. Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary biologist. Recently I appeared on the Bill O'Reilly Show and I unfairly and mean-spiritedly represented Dr. Richard Dawkins. Dr. Dawkins has been critical of my work for the last seven years and, unfortunately, I reacted by being personally offended and was unfair in my criticism of him in both my television appearances and in my written criticism of him.Read on....
I do ask people to understand the following NOT as an insult but rather as an expression of deep sadness about the current state of things....
Frithjof Schuon once wrote:
Frithjof Schuon once wrote:
"The intellectual - and thereby the rational - foundation of Islam results in the average Muslim having a curious tendency to believe that non-Muslims either know that Islam is the truth and reject it out of pure obstinacy, or else are simply ignorant of it and can be converted by elementary explanations; that anyone should be able to oppose Islam with a good conscience quite exceeds the Muslim's powers of imagination, precisely because Islam coincides in his mind with the irresistible logic of things."
Very often when i discuss topics with muslims I am reminded of the above quote.
What however i think is a very sad fact is that of all the people i debate muslims seem to be the ones that have the least knowledge about logic, reason and science. Well, let us inject that they might be on the same level as bible beld creationists with no degree. Most debates center around the intellectual level of children at the age of 5-10. It almost seems as if many of the muslims that debate have not grown up mentally beyond that stage. Several possible reasons come to mind. One of them being poor education, but another one seems to be the deep insecurity that lingers at the edge of a faith that is upheld not because but rather despite reality.They drown their own lack of knowledge by videos of the Zakir Naiks of the world, by copies of internet propaganda where scientists are quote mined and have been exploited by islamic "reasearch" organizations....
The same groups that around half a decade ago when science was "in" and islam was "out" thought about a way to make them both compatible so that they wouldnt loose the followers. The same group that held conferences and tricked scientists to participate in order to promote science in the islamic world while the real goal was to claim scientific miracles in the Quran. I still have the email correspondance i have held with some of the quoted scientists. Not a shred of truthfullness in all those internet videos can be found and you see a desastrous agenda at work. Now we see the fuits of all those efforts. People that do not have a clue about evolution, yet spit out the venom of supposed knowledge on why evolution would be wrong, "backed up" again and again by supposed "new discoveries" of science. The fact that 99% of scientists in the biological field alone take evolution as fact either is ignored or discarded as conspiracy.
It is sad to see such stubborness of people that claim to belong to a society that supposedly was one of the greatest until just some 600 years ago.
Now the decendents of that society ask questions at the level of "who made a tree ?.... there must be a creator" instead of dealing with questions like those that modern science tackles every day starting from the connection between body and mind up to the first few nanoseconds of this universes existence.
"Can a thief go unpunished if he doesnt get caught? No, i dont want that!" That is the level that get's discussed in the net. Hours are spend debating whether it is halal or haram to listen to music.... And we get to hear "no, my grandma was no ape"...
The same groups that around half a decade ago when science was "in" and islam was "out" thought about a way to make them both compatible so that they wouldnt loose the followers. The same group that held conferences and tricked scientists to participate in order to promote science in the islamic world while the real goal was to claim scientific miracles in the Quran. I still have the email correspondance i have held with some of the quoted scientists. Not a shred of truthfullness in all those internet videos can be found and you see a desastrous agenda at work. Now we see the fuits of all those efforts. People that do not have a clue about evolution, yet spit out the venom of supposed knowledge on why evolution would be wrong, "backed up" again and again by supposed "new discoveries" of science. The fact that 99% of scientists in the biological field alone take evolution as fact either is ignored or discarded as conspiracy.
It is sad to see such stubborness of people that claim to belong to a society that supposedly was one of the greatest until just some 600 years ago.
Now the decendents of that society ask questions at the level of "who made a tree ?.... there must be a creator" instead of dealing with questions like those that modern science tackles every day starting from the connection between body and mind up to the first few nanoseconds of this universes existence.
"Can a thief go unpunished if he doesnt get caught? No, i dont want that!" That is the level that get's discussed in the net. Hours are spend debating whether it is halal or haram to listen to music.... And we get to hear "no, my grandma was no ape"...
Now ALL of this would be ok, if this was a kid who talked.. we expect to hear such stuff from kids. But we are talking with supposed grown-ups here.
And the most arrogant part of it all is that those supposed grown-ups tell us what "REASON" and "LOGIC" supposedly is and ask us to listen with an open "MIND".
The irony of this is nauseating.
And the most arrogant part of it all is that those supposed grown-ups tell us what "REASON" and "LOGIC" supposedly is and ask us to listen with an open "MIND".
The irony of this is nauseating.
Again it is Pakistan, again it is ridiculous and i would laugh if it weren't for such a nasty thing called "reality".
You can't but wonder how weak people's faith or self esteem is for them to react in such a bigotted way.
Faryal Bhatti, a student at the Sir Syed Girls High School in Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) colony Havelian, erroneously misspelt a word in an Urdu exam while answering a question on a poem written in praise of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The word in question was ‘laanat’ instead of ‘naat’ – an easy error for a child to make, as the written versions of the words are similar.According to the school administration and religious leaders who took great exception to the hapless student’s mistake, the error is ‘serious’ enough to fall within the realm of blasphemy, Saturday.
You can't but wonder how weak people's faith or self esteem is for them to react in such a bigotted way.
While talking to The Express Tribune, Maulana Alla Dita Khateeb of Gol Masjid praised the decision of the POF colony administration, claiming that he had personally seen the answer sheet in question. He further went on to say that he had met the girl himself, who had apologised for the word used in error. Asked whether the incident still fell within the realm of blasphemy and whether Faryal deserved expulsion when she had misspelt the word unintentionally, Khateeb said that although he was unclear about the intentions of the girl, the word she had used was sacrilegious.Sacrilegious? Sorry but another "Fuck Allah" needs to be said again...
as if we hadn't said so before....
Seeing your life pass before you and the light at the end of the tunnel, can be explained by new research on abnormal functioning of dopamine and oxygen flowHere goes another argument of theists ......
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