Cardinal has been frustrated by ‘the marginalisation of Christian values in public affairs.’… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry Threatens Academics 
May 31st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
They will be suspected of spying if they interact with foreign institutions or attend international conferences.… Read the rest
Why Islamic Hijab
May 31st, 2007 | By Jahanshah RashidianWith the arrival of spring, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s police have launched this year their traditional crackdown on women’s dress. Such crackdowns have become a regular feature of life for Iranian women. The crackdown is to force women to respect the strict Islamic dress code.
Under Iran’s Islamic laws (Sharia) women are obliged to cover their body from head- to-toe with a black chador or at least long, loose-fitting clothes to disguise their whole figures. The Islamic dress code is severely imposed at this time. Violators can receive lashes, fines or imprisonment.
Since the existence of the IRI, not a day has passed without attack, physical assault, arrest, acid-throwing, harassment and psychological pressure on women in Iran. The IRI … Read the rest
Boycott of Israel Divides Academics
May 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Tom Hickey, philosophy lecturer at Brighton University, is proposing the motion. … Read the rest
Steven Weinberg Cancels UK Visit Over Boycott
May 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Was scheduled to speak at Imperial College, canceled because of NUJ boycott of Israeli products.… Read the rest
UK Academics to Vote on Boycott of Israel
May 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Debate by delegates to the University and College Union is likely to spark international condemnation.… Read the rest
A Girl, a Knife, and Hawa Gréou
May 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Neighbours had called the police because the babies’ screams constantly emanated from the apartment.… Read the rest
Muslims ‘Warn’: ‘Anti-Islamic’ Writer ‘Stirs Hatred’
May 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘There have to be boundaries in how far you go in respecting other’s beliefs.’ Or else.… Read the rest
Malaysia Squares the Circle
May 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Malaysia’s constitution guarantees freedom of worship but says all ethnic Malays are Muslim.’… Read the rest
Gay Bar Can Ban Straights and Lesbians
May 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Australia’s Equal Opportunities Act bars discrimination for race, religion or sexuality, but exemptions are allowed. … Read the rest
Stop that wicked woman
May 30th, 2007 9:36 am | By Ophelia BensonAnd then – why is whoever wrote the headline for this article buying into these assumptions?
Anti-Islamic writer stirs hatred, Muslims warn
That’s a really terrible headline. What next? ‘Apostate Islamophobic hoor stirs hatred, Muslims warn’? ‘Evil bitch must be stopped, Muslims warn’?
Well let’s have a look at some of the ‘warnings.’
A visit to Sydney by a controversial Somali writer who calls the prophet Mohammed a pedophile and says Islam is inferior to Western culture has outraged Muslims, who accuse her of inciting hatred.
The usual misleading slippage, that tricks readers into thinking Hirsi Ali’s visit has outraged all Muslims, which is grossly unfair to all the Muslims who are reasonable enough to be not outraged. The usual … Read the rest
Spot the contradiction
May 30th, 2007 9:08 am | By Ophelia BensonHow’s that again?
Malaysia’s highest court has rejected a Muslim convert’s six-year battle to be legally recognised as a Christian. A three-judge panel ruled that only the country’s Sharia Court could let Azlina Jailani, now known as Lina Joy, remove the word Islam from her identity card. Malaysia’s constitution guarantees freedom of worship but says all ethnic Malays are Muslim. Under Sharia law, Muslims are not allowed to convert.
I’m sorry, I must be dense – I don’t understand. Malaysia’s constitution guarantees freedom of worship but says all ethnic Malays are Muslim – but if Malaysia’s constitution says all ethnic Malays are Muslim, then it doesn’t, in fact, guarantee freedom of religion, does it. Perhaps you meant Malaysia’s constitution … Read the rest
Paul Berman on Tariq Ramadan, Buruma, Hirsi Ali
May 29th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Why does Buruma keep condemning Hirsi Ali? Why is he so cagy about Ramadan?… Read the rest
The Uses of Orwell
May 29th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
From the viewpoint of the non-religious, what Orwell had was not a blind spot, but clarity of vision. … Read the rest
Interview with Daniel Dennett
May 29th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Just as cows inherit many features of the aurochs, today’s organized religions inherit features from folk religions.… Read the rest
Philosophy Not Useless After All
May 29th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Philosophy’s great recent achievement is the theory of structured procrastination.… Read the rest
Scientists Disagree Over Alliance with Believers
May 29th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Dawkins cites risk of buying into the fiction that there’s something virtuous about faith.… Read the rest
Tinky Winky Under Investigation in Poland
May 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Insufficiently butch teletubby could make children go all limp and wobbly.… Read the rest
Johann Hari on Gordon Brown’s God
May 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Can we have the benign element of Jesus’ teaching without all the other dreck?… Read the rest
Female Toddlers Treated as Merchandise
May 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A ‘jirga’ decided that three-year-old Tasleem and four-year-old Farzana be given as a penalty.… Read the rest
