Maybe, maybe not; let’s re-name it Pumpkin Night, just to be safe.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Dentist Misunderstood ‘Islamic Law and Practice’ 
Oct 6th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Islam does judge actions. It tells Muslims that homosexuality is wrong’ – but gays are still human. … Read the rest
Do what you’re told
Oct 6th, 2007 11:28 am | By Ophelia BensonHow very liberal.
Islam does judge actions. It tells Muslims that homosexuality is wrong, that stealing is wrong, that killing is wrong and that judging others is also wrong. But nowhere does it say that a homosexual or a thief or a murderer should be treated as anything less than a human being. What Muslims have done is mix the Islamic condemnation of actions with the person who has carried them out. This creates hatred and animosity – two feelings that Islam condemns.
Homosexuality is ‘wrong’ the way stealing is wrong and killing is wrong, because Islam ‘tells Muslims’ so. If Islam ‘tells Muslims’ that eating peaches, watching sunsets, sneezing, and reading poetry are wrong, will that mean they … Read the rest
J Carter Wood Recommends Some Reading
Oct 5th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
How about a TV series that puts the stars of Theory on a desert island and gives them survival problems.… Read the rest
A Fabulous New Party Game
Oct 5th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Take a Chinese propaganda poster, find a postmodernist aphorism, use the latter as a caption for the former. Fun!… Read the rest
The Barmaid Asks a Pointed Question
Oct 5th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
We all agree that believing in things that aren’t true is a very common phenomenon, don’t we?… Read the rest
Ben Goldacre on Acupuncture and Back Pain
Oct 5th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
In conditions like back pain or fatigue, information alone can make a difference to the suffering of millions.… Read the rest
Creationism Has No Place in Science Curriculum
Oct 5th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Science teachers should not need to delicately handle controversy between a scientific theory and a belief.… Read the rest
Teaching ‘Respect’ for Creationism
Oct 5th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The days have long gone when science teachers could ignore creationism when teaching about origins.’… Read the rest
Petition Against Lawrence Summers at UC Davis
Oct 5th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Summers ‘has come to symbolize gender and racial prejudice’ because people keep saying so.… Read the rest
Flemming Rose
Oct 4th, 2007 12:06 pm | By Ophelia BensonReason talks to Flemming Rose.
I am going to write a book about the cartoon crisis and I am going to compare the experience of the dissidents in the Soviet Union to what has happened to people like Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Ibn Warraq, Salman Rushdie and Irshad Manji.
Threat threat threat threat threat – that’s what’s happened to them, and to a lot of other people. Often the threat has been carried out.
… Read the restreason: Were you surprised by the reaction of those who argued not for unfettered free speech, but “responsible speech?”
Rose: Well, no. I think many people betrayed their own ideals. The history of the left, for instance, is a history of confronting authority – be it
Scruton Reviews Grayling
Oct 4th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Rebukes him for discussing human rights while overlooking the ‘right to hunt.’… Read the rest
Fred Halliday on a Debate in Amsterdam
Oct 4th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Netherlands is at the centre of European argument about secularism, multiculturalism and Islam.… Read the rest
Interview With Flemming Rose
Oct 4th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The left is in a deep crisis in Europe because of their unwillingness to confront the racist ideology of Islamism.’… Read the rest
The Pulping of ‘Alms for Jihad’
Oct 4th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The case is fanning widespread concern that English libel law is stifling writers far beyond the UK.… Read the rest
‘The Kite Runner’ Delayed to Protect Child Stars
Oct 4th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The studio is delaying the film’s release in response to fears that its schoolboy stars could be attacked.… Read the rest
Gul Calls for Changes to Article 301
Oct 4th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Among those prosecuted under the law against ‘insulting Turkishness’: Orhan Pamuk and Hrant Dink.… Read the rest
The Hague Stops Paying for Hirsi Ali’s Protection
Oct 4th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Dutch Green MPs call for parliamentary debate on how the Government plans to organise her protection.… Read the rest
No Offence Must be Caused to Any Faith Group
Oct 4th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Faith groups’ and the local hate-crime unit get together to sniff out and ban the offensive.… Read the rest
On Mark Lilla and Charles Taylor on Secularism
Oct 3rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
We have not vanquished political theology -only sedated the beast, hoping it does not again awake. … Read the rest
