Rebukes him for discussing human rights while overlooking the ‘right to hunt.’… Read the rest
All entries by this author
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
Risky Scholarship
Oct 3rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Haleh Esfandiari’s time in Evin prison highlights the danger of studying repressive regimes.… Read the rest
Why Minorities Should Cherish Free Speech
Oct 3rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘If people were forced by law to respect other people’s identities, you couldn’t criticise anything.’… Read the rest
Ali Eteraz on an Islamic Counter-reformation
Oct 3rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The one thing the traditionalists guarded more than anything was the power to hand down fatwas.… Read the rest
Two Plays About Muslim Women
Oct 3rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
And the men who murder them.… Read the rest
Nuns and Child Abuse
Oct 3rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
No audit has been carried out to determine how many nuns have abused children. … Read the rest
The New Humanist Manifesto
Oct 3rd, 2007 | By R. Joseph HoffmannThe New Humanist Manifesto
1. There are lots and lots of atheists and agnostics and people who really don’t know really what to think, or why.
2. We need to build a movement just for them.
3. And a big table.
4. Atheists and agnostics really need to discover the wisdom of the Buddha…
5. And Rainbow Love.
6. The problem with the Old Humanism is that it is Old.
7. The New Humanism is New. This is fundamental.
8. In the new humanism, everything will be tentative. For example, if someone asks us, “What do you stand for?” we must not take offense. We must say: “Why is that important to you?”
9. Similarly, if an Anti-New Humanist attacks … Read the rest
Why you must be secular
Oct 2nd, 2007 5:56 pm | By Ophelia BensonThe left everywhere ought to be identified with both tolerance (this has not always been so) and with critical intelligence – the latter often means challenging religious precepts, ambitions and institutionalized power. The hard thing is to balance the tolerance and the criticism, to insist on pluralism but not to allow religion to privilege itself in the public realm. The left should always want people to think for themselves, but this cannot mean “you must be secular like me” since it also should not mean “you must be religious like me.”
That last sentence isn’t right. ‘Secular’ doesn’t mean not religious, it means not theocratic. Wanting people to think for themselves pretty much does mean … Read the rest
Review of Nussbaum’s The Clash Within
Oct 2nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
What the Hindu fundamentalist forces did to the foundations of Indian civilisation has now become well known. … Read the rest
God’s Sick Punch Lines
Oct 2nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Around the world, more and more people seem to be finding Gods, each more hateful and bloody than the next.… Read the rest
Logical Path from Religious Beliefs to Evil Deeds
Oct 2nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Religion can change the definition of good.… Read the rest
Karen Armstrong Blames Dawkins for Islamism
Oct 2nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
But Koranic fundamentalists are capable of coming up with their own follies without outside prompting.… Read the rest
