Rebels stormed several towns in the southern Philippines killing at least 34 people.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Religious Beliefs not Grounds for Discrimination 
Aug 19th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Doctors may not discriminate against gays and lesbians in medical treatment on religious grounds.… Read the rest
Aisha Novel Pulled From Bookstores in Serbia
Aug 19th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Serbia’s Islamic community said the novel offended their feelings.’ The whole community said that?… Read the rest
Debate in Europe on Self-Censorship and Islam
Aug 19th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Salman Rushdie and Kurt Westergaard have protested Random House decision to pull Aisha novel.… Read the rest
Living With India’s Gender Bias
Aug 19th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
In Delhi only 821 girls are born for every 1,000 boys. … Read the rest
La vie en rose
Aug 18th, 2008 3:55 pm | By Ophelia BensonAsked why she was serving seven years in jail alongside hardened insurgents and criminals, the 15-year-old giggled and buried her head in her friend’s shoulder. “She is shy,” apologised fellow inmate Zirdana, explaining that the teenager had been married at a young age to an abusive husband and ran away with a boy from her neighbourhood…Ostracised from her family and village, Saliha was convicted of escaping from home and illegal sexual relations. The first carries a maximum penalty of 10 years, the second 20.
‘Escaping’ from home. Escaping from ‘home.’ It was a home she was put into as if she were a parcel, or a prisoner; and in sane parts of the world, people are … Read the rest
A French ‘Jewel of Medina’ [in French]
Aug 18th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘La France n’étant pas les Etats-Unis, ici on reste bien droit quand là-bas on se couche.’ Ouch.… Read the rest
Nigeria: Sharia Cops Go After Prostitutes
Aug 18th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Sharia reintroduced some of the harsher Islamic penalties which had been removed under colonial rule.… Read the rest
Musharraf Resigns
Aug 18th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Said he had believed it was his destiny to save Pakistan, helped by God (and the army).… Read the rest
Imam Wants Religious Laws in Constitution
Aug 18th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Imam made the suggestion at a seminar on ‘Nigerian Constitutional Review: Imams’ Perspective.’… Read the rest
Afghan Women in Jail for Being Raped
Aug 18th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘In Afghanistan whether it is forced or not forced it is a crime because the Islamic rules say that it is.’… Read the rest
Johann Hari on Watching ‘Islamophobia’
Aug 17th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Watchers argue that Muslims are so sensitive and uncurious that their ideas must be ring-fenced from criticism.… Read the rest
Ontario Doctors Required to Practice Medicine
Aug 17th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Will be expected to provide birth control and abortions despite ‘conscience.’… Read the rest
Conservative Imprints Get to Ignore the Truth
Aug 17th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Why is a political propagandist running a publishing imprint? Truth is not what she’s about; campaigns are.… Read the rest
Blog by MSF Worker in Bangladesh
Aug 17th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Our drivers are aid workers. It’s not ‘2 aid workers and a driver killed’; it’s 3 aid workers killed.… Read the rest
God Reduces Gas/Petrol Prices by 4%!
Aug 17th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Pray at the Pump meetings began in April; since then price has fallen more than 20 cents. Amen.… Read the rest
On Intellectual Ethics
Aug 17th, 2008 | By Stephen Law, R Joseph Hoffmann, Daphne Patai, Nick CohenThe story
From ‘You Still Can’t Write
About Muhammad’ by Asra Nomani in The Wall Street Journal.
A journalist named Sherry Jones wrote a historical novel about Aisha, who was married to Mohammed when she was 6, though he waited until she was 9 before having sex with her. The novel was due to be published this August; last April Random House sent it to several people for comment, including Denise Spellberg, an associate professor of Islamic history at the University of Texas in Austin. Jones has put Spellberg on the list because she had read Spellberg’s book, Politics, Gender, and the Islamic Past: The Legacy of ‘A’isha Bint Abi Bakr. Spellberg thought the book was terrible; on … Read the rest
Stephen Law Starts a Book Club
Aug 16th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
First up: The God Delusion. Discussion starts August 30.… Read the rest
UN HRC: Britain’s Libel Laws Stifling Free Speech
Aug 16th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Report cites a US researcher sued in London by a Saudi businessman over a book not published in the UK.… Read the rest
Conservative Think Tank Faces Libel Suit
Aug 16th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Policy exchange is facing legal action for accusing British mosques of distributing extremist literature.… Read the rest
