‘Unjust, to the point of outright mendacity.’… Read the rest
All entries by this author
New Sharia Marriage Contract in UK 
Aug 9th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘A married Muslim couple will now have equal rights.’… Read the rest
NPR Visits Camp Inquiry
Aug 9th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
If skeptics are in the majority at Camp Inquiry, they’re often alone in their schools and neighborhoods.… Read the rest
‘Quite Deliberately Provocative’ Says Spellberg
Aug 9th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Spellberg told the Guardian she is receiving hate mail accusing her of acting as a censor for Muslim jihadis.… Read the rest
Denise Spellberg Explains She is an Expert
Aug 9th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘I felt it was my professional duty to warn the press of the novel’s potential to provoke anger among some Muslims.’… Read the rest
The State of the Nayshun
Aug 9th, 2008 | By R. Joseph HoffmannAs we wait for the inevitable decline in Barack Obama’s fortunes and lament the fact that the political campaign being waged in the world’s greatest democracy has become a battle between a feisty old man in a baseball cap and a young Cicero increasingly prone to leaden rather than silver tongued oration, it’s appropriate to take stock of the intellectual condition of the nation.
My friends, as the feisty old man likes to say, Things are Not Good. Nearly half a century ago the mini-genre of “Why Is America So Fucking Stupid” was born with the publication of Richard Hofstadter’s 1963 book Anti-Intellectualism in American Life, though some would argue (I would) that the genre can be dated from … Read the rest
Juxtaposition
Aug 8th, 2008 4:03 pm | By Ophelia BensonFrom the Dakar Declaration of the 2008 OIC summit.
Our faith in such a strategic option for the quest for peace in that part of the world [Basra? No. Kashmir? No. Darfur? No.]…illustrates our strict adherence to the values of Islam, a religion of peace that forbids all forms of exclusivity and extremism and that warrants the following quotation “You have been made a Prophet only to restore peace in the world”, which is based on a verse from the Holy Quran.
From the report on Saudi textbooks.
… Read the restA Muslim is forbidden to love and aid the unbelieving enemies of God…They are the people of the Sabbath, whose young people God turned into apes, and whose old people God
School Bombers Say Girls Should Stay Home
Aug 8th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Bombers have destroyed over 70 state-run schools in NWFP, affecting more than 17,000 students. … Read the rest
Philip Anderson Reviews Alan Sokal
Aug 8th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
When attacked, fans of pseudoscience defend themselves by referring to postmodernist philosophers.… Read the rest
Grayling on Religion and Oppression of Women
Aug 8th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Tradition and religion make shackles of iron, and the shackles are mainly worn by women.… Read the rest
Shahed Amanullah Speaks Up for Free Speech
Aug 8th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
No one has the right not to be offended, nor to live without the uncomfortable opinions of others.… Read the rest
Sherry Jones Never Expected a Fatwa
Aug 8th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Ballantine hoped academic blurb would show the novel wasn’t just fluffy romance. Oh well.… Read the rest
Some?
Aug 8th, 2008 11:41 am | By Ophelia BensonAnd another thing. Thomas Perry of Random House said, we are told, that Random House received ‘cautionary advice’ that the publication of the Aisha novel ‘might be offensive to some in the Muslim community’ – he said this in partial explanation of Random House’s decision not to publish it. But that’s imbecilic. It’s beyond imbecilic – it’s deranged – it’s surreal – it’s self-nullifying. It is not possible to write anything that ‘might’ not be offensive to ‘some’ in the X ‘community.’ In fact it’s all but certain that anything anyone writes will be offensive to ‘some’ in some ‘community.’ The condition of writing and publication is not and cannot be and must not be not being potentially offensive … Read the rest
Musharraf Faces Impeachment Bid
Aug 7th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Sharif and Zardari promise to restore judges sacked by Musharraf if impeachment succeeds.… Read the rest
Ezra Levant on Needing Permission to Publish
Aug 7th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities hijacked a secular government agency to prosecute ‘blasphemy.’… Read the rest
Calvinists Block Sunday Ferry Service
Aug 7th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Not content to stay off ferries themselves, they must force everyone else to stay home too.… Read the rest
Alberta HRCC Rejects Motoons Complaint
Aug 7th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Human rights and citizenship commission’s Gundara wrote the cartoons are very bad but not gratuitous.… Read the rest
Austin Statesman on Denise Spellberg
Aug 7th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Shahed Amanullah partly shares Spellberg’s concerns but opposes the idea of not publishing the book.… Read the rest
Foul your own nest why don’t you
Aug 6th, 2008 5:04 pm | By Ophelia BensonThis one is so disgusting my teeth are chattering with rage – not quite literally, but it’s close. I feel as if my teeth were chattering with rage. What? A historian named Denise Spellberg was sent a novel about Aisha, the little girl Mo married when she was nine years old, and Spellberg decided she needed to get busy warning and threatening and silencing. And it worked.
… Read the restThomas Perry, deputy publisher at Random House Publishing Group, said that it “disturbs us that we feel we cannot publish it right now.” He said that after sending out advance copies of the novel, the company received “from credible and unrelated sources, cautionary advice not only that the publication of this book might
Random House Cancels Aisha Novel
Aug 6th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Academic tells friend ‘the novel “made fun of Muslims and their history,” asks him to warn Muslims.… Read the rest
