All entries by this author

How’s that again?

Feb 16th, 2008 11:27 am | By

I don’t understand this. I must (as so often) be missing something. Roger Scruton says we we owe to ‘the Christian legacy’ the idea that law is and ought to be a secular institution, then he says we owe it to Roman law, but he goes on saying it’s a Christian legacy.

[O]ne of the things that we owe to [the Christian] legacy is the idea that law is and ought to be a secular institution, whose authority is founded in human decisions and is independent of, and in an important respect takes precedence over, divine commands…The privatisation of religious law was clearly a part of Jesus’s mission…His striking pronouncement in the story of the tribute money, that we should

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CNN on Tasneem Khalil *

Feb 15th, 2008 | Filed by

‘I’m going to tell my story again and again and again,’ Khalil told CNN. ‘It’s not only my story.’… Read the rest



HRW Says Torture is Rampant in Bangladesh *

Feb 15th, 2008 | Filed by

Many of the people arrested under the emergency rules have been tortured to extract confessions. … Read the rest



The Guardian on Tasneem Khalil *

Feb 15th, 2008 | Filed by

HRW accuses international community of ignoring Bangladesh’s clandestine detention and torture system.… Read the rest



Cross-dressers in Sharia Court in Nigeria *

Feb 15th, 2008 | Filed by

‘Under Sharia law a man must dress like a man and woman must dress like a woman.’… Read the rest



Dane Starts ‘Sorry, Mo’ Group on Facebook *

Feb 15th, 2008 | Filed by

‘That is why I apologise for being a Dane coming from Denmark,’ Anders explains. … Read the rest



Protection Needed for Targets of Death Threats *

Feb 15th, 2008 | Filed by

Ayaan Hirsi Ali has appealed to the EU to create a fund to help protect people under threat.… Read the rest



The Sound of Mullahs

Feb 15th, 2008 | By El Omar Rodgers and Ibn Yusuf Hammerstein

Sung by a chorus of dancing mullahs:

SHARIA

She’s by a tree with young Ali

Her husband is away.

We see here there

And grab her hair, she knows she’s going to pay–

And poor Ali he had to flee his parents couldn’t bear

To see him stoned for doing what is natural…..

She doesn’t seem repentant,

So we choose the largest stones;

The Prophet calls it mercy

(plus they’re good for breaking bones)

And young Ali has joined us

As a witness on his own;

We’re going to make her pay for what seems natural….

—I’d like to say a word before we throw….

Then say it Mullah Ibrihim

–Sharia says ‘Aim low.’

(Chorus)

O, How do you solve … Read the rest



Human rights in Bangladesh (there aren’t any)

Feb 15th, 2008 10:27 am | By

More on Tasneem. From the Guardian.

“Rampant illegal detention and torture are clear evidence of Bangladesh’s security forces running amok”, said Brad Adams, [HRW’s] Asia director…Tens of thousands of people were arrested in the weeks that followed the declaration of a state of emergency, and security forces have been accused of flouting standard arrest and detention procedures. Khalil said there was now a culture of “self-censorship” in the country, and people were afraid of the consequences of speaking out. “I am taking a calculated risk in speaking out because I still have family in Bangladesh,” he said. “But I feel it is important that people know what is really going on in my country.”

From CNN (Tasneem has reported … Read the rest



HRW Pleads for Condemned Saudi ‘Witch’ *

Feb 14th, 2008 | Filed by

Man said she made him impotent; she is to be executed.… Read the rest



Mary Ann Sieghart on the Joys of Sharia *

Feb 14th, 2008 | Filed by

Mortgages are one thing, women’s lives are another.… Read the rest



Pragna Patel on Religious Law and Women *

Feb 14th, 2008 | Filed by

The archbishop’s sentiments are indicative of those who call themselves liberal but are often the most insidious.… Read the rest



HRW on Torture in Bangladesh *

Feb 14th, 2008 | Filed by

How the Bangladesh military abuses its power under the state of emergency.… Read the rest



HRW Report on the Torture of Tasneem Khalil *

Feb 14th, 2008 | Filed by

‘They were hitting me so hard that I’m not sure whether it was just the force that hurt like this or if it was electricity.’… Read the rest



Organisation for Women’s Liberation Conference

Feb 14th, 2008 | By Azar Majedi

In commemoration of the 8 March centennial, OWL is organising a conference against religious and traditional misogynist practices. Violence against women justified by defence of family honour, forced marriages and imposition of the veil on underage girls are only a few brutal examples of such practices. In light of the Islamist movement’s offensive on women’s rights and lives, not only in counties under the rule of Islam but also in the west, and a global campaign to promote Shalria law, OWL feels the urgent need to mobilize a global force to counter political Islam and promote secularism in order to safeguard women’s rights and safety. Secularism is an important pillar of a society free of misogyny. This conference is a … Read the rest



Bangladesh gives itself a free hand

Feb 14th, 2008 11:24 am | By

Remember last year when we heard that Tasneem Khalil had been arrested in the middle of the night? Well now we know what happened to him while he was held. He was violently beaten, threatened, and terrorized, that’s what. He’s safe now – but Bangladesh has successfully gotten rid of a reporter who had been investigating human rights abuses of just the kind perpetrated on him. So Bangladesh can presumably do what it likes without any pesky reporters telling the world what Bangladesh likes to do – not unless those pesky reporters are eager to be beaten up and probably killed.… Read the rest



When was this thing last renewed?

Feb 13th, 2008 5:47 pm | By

Andrew Anthony zeroes in on the problem.

All the subclauses in the world can’t disguise the intention that underpins these positions. In seeking to incorporate a disputed deity’s authority (which, by the way, it is blasphemous to question) into the common law, and by challenging the principle of equality under the law, Dr Williams launched a strategic attack on secularism.

A disputed deity’s authority. Just so. And it’s not only the deity that is disputed, it is also that deity’s authority, and the content of the resulting commands, and above all how and if anyone knows any of this. This is the theist four-step I talked about last year. We tend to think there’s just one step – believe … Read the rest



Archbishop Defends Attack on Secularism *

Feb 13th, 2008 | Filed by

‘We ought to keep an eye on this trend’ of increasing secularism.… Read the rest



Deborah Orr on Sharia and Women *

Feb 13th, 2008 | Filed by

The rights of Muslim women might be termed a high-awareness, low-action area.… Read the rest



The Crux of the Matter: It is Not ‘God’s Law’ *

Feb 13th, 2008 | Filed by

In seeking to incorporate a disputed deity’s authority into the law, ABC launched an attack on secularism.… Read the rest