‘There is an anti-faith-schools agenda at the moment’ says head of Finchley Catholic High School.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Postcard from Kuala Lumpur
Apr 3rd, 2008 9:20 am | By Ophelia BensonThinking of moving to Malaysia?
Malaysia runs parallel sharia and civil legal systems, with sharia courts dealing only with Muslims and mainly in family disputes or in matters such as khalwat or apostasy. It employs religious police to ensure Muslim compliance with Koranic laws. They sometimes patrol parks looking for young unwed couples holding hands, raid nightclubs to catch Muslims drinking alcohol and ensure Muslims observe the fasting month of Ramadan.
Ah does it. But…how do the religious police know who is Muslim? When they go into a park to try to find some evil couples holding hands, how do they know which couples contain Muslims and which don’t? Does everybody in Malaysia wear a large sign or label … Read the rest
NCSE on California Creationism Case
Apr 2nd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The University has a legitimate interest in evaluating the adequacy of high school courses to prepare students for study.… Read the rest
Summary Judgment in California Creationist Case
Apr 2nd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Michael Behe scores an own goal.… Read the rest
No Evidence for Benefit of Drinking Lots of Water
Apr 2nd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
There are lots of claims, but they all seem to be made up. … Read the rest
Ali Eteraz on Difficulties With Sharia
Apr 2nd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Sharia is not codified. It can be anything based on the whim of the arbitrator. For law to be law, it needs standardization.… Read the rest
Imam Calls Jews ‘Brothers of Apes and Pigs’
Apr 2nd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘If you take a sample on Friday, you’re bound to hear incitement against the Jews in the imam’s sermon.’… Read the rest
Distorted Outlook on the Archbishop’s Speech
Apr 2nd, 2008 | By Allen EstersonOn 12 February 2008 the BBC World Service “Outlook”
news magazine programme devoted some fifteen minutes to a report on the reactions in Britain to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s speech the previous week in which he had advocated incorporating certain aspects of less contentious Sharia law (relating to civil matters such as marriage and divorce) into the British legal system. Notoriously, quite what he was advocating was by no means clear – Dr Rowan Williams himself later acknowledged elements of “unclarity” in his speech, and of “clumsily deployed” words.
Now there is no doubt that much of the response to the Archbishop’s speech was based on a knee-jerk reaction to the more unpleasant aspects of Sharia law advocated by extreme … Read the rest
HRW on the UN and Congo and Human Rights
Apr 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
HRC failed to renew the mandate of the special rapporteur for DR Congo despite mass rapes and killings.… Read the rest
Reporters Without Borders on UN HRC
Apr 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The change to the mandate of the
special rapporteur on free expression is dramatic.’… Read the rest
Critics Say UN HRC Undermines Rights
Apr 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
International activist groups accused HRC of acting as a cover for states aiming to restrict free speech.… Read the rest
Parents Indicted in Faith-Healing Death
Apr 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
15-month-old died of bronchial pneumonia and blood infection; antibiotics would have saved her.… Read the rest
Saudi Woman Killed for Chatting on Facebook
Apr 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
She was beaten and shot dead by her father.… Read the rest
Leave Allah out
Apr 1st, 2008 11:20 am | By Ophelia BensonI re-read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights this morning, to confirm that it’s as secular as I remembered. It is. This is crucial.
… Read the restIf you look at the preamble of the UDHR, you will see that there is no mention of any religion. All religions and cultures are assumed to be equal…But in the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (hereafter called the Cairo Declaration), we can detect a completely different tone. Right from the first paragraph of the preamble, the Cairo Declaration confidently asserts the superiority of Islam by referring to the Islamic Ummah as the “best nation”…This is no implication, unlike in the UDHR, that all cultures and religions are equal. Indeed the rest of
The Cairo Declaration again
Apr 1st, 2008 9:00 am | By Ophelia BensonLet’s take another, closer look at the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, focusing on certain aspects of it. This is not a selective excerpt, this is one that pulls out certain words and ideas, so it’s not fair in the sense of quoting a fair sample in context. Be sure to look at the Declaration itself – there is plenty of sensible stuff in it. But it’s startling and interesting what a large amount of non-sensible stuff there is in it – what a lot of Allah there is and what an enormous amount of Shari’ah there is.
… Read the restKeenly aware of the place of mankind in Islam as vicegerent of Allah…Recognizing the importance of issuing a Document
Because your opponents may become violent
Mar 31st, 2008 12:01 pm | By Ophelia BensonThe UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression will now be required to report on the “abuse” of this most cherished freedom by anyone who, for example, dares speak out against Sharia laws that require women to be stoned to death for adultery or young men to be hanged for being gay, or against the marriage of girls as young as nine, as in Iran.
Good, isn’t it? The Rapporteur was supposed to report on violations of freedom of expression, now she will be required to report on the use of it.
… Read the restThere can no longer be any pretence that the Human Rights Council can defend human rights. The moral leadership of the UN system has
NSS on the End of Human Rights
Mar 31st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
HRC was supposed to be a Council whose members genuinely supported the principles of the UDHR.… Read the rest
Carlin Romano Reviews Susan Jacoby
Mar 31st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Age of American Unreason feeds the notion of American anti-intellectualism as a no-brainer truth.… Read the rest
Aaronovitch Patiently Repeats the Question
Mar 31st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Bishop of Durham refused to answer, so what else can he do?… Read the rest
IHEU on the Death of Human Rights
Mar 31st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
There can no longer be any pretence that the Human Rights Council can defend human rights.… Read the rest