Terry Sanderson: When Diversity Becomes Divisiveness

"The story about Sainsbury’s allowing their Muslim staff to refuse to sell alcohol – or even stack it on shelves if they don’t want to – was widely reported last week. Most people thought it just another minor example of the “political correctness gone mad” tabloid tale. [...] The woman who was refused the morning after pill by a Muslim pharmacist joins the growing number of people who have found themselves confronted with religious objections to perfectly legal activities. We have lived for a long time with the refusal of some Catholic doctors to provide abortion services, and the resistance of religious bodies to the introduction of a law that would permit assisted dying. [...] But now that idea of being exempted from service provision on grounds of religion is expanding. We have had cases of taxi drivers refusing to carry guide dogs in their cabs because of Koranic objections, we have had doctors refusing to prescribe contraception, and a Muslim policeman refusing to guard the Israeli embassy and Jewish policemen demanding to be excused duties on Saturday. Now we have shop workers in supermarkets wanting to pick and choose what goods they will sell."

Terry Sanderson, National Secular Society, 5. October 2007

Seems to me it's a perfectly good reason to avoid hiring religious people. Is it discrimination to avoid hiring a person that is going to discriminate? I don't think so.
It also has to be said that in Islam, it's not even haram to drink alcohol. It's just that they expect it to lead to haram if you have a couple of drinks. But that shouldn't affect selling it. And also, transporting dogs is not haram either.
These Muslims are trying hard to be holier than Muhammed, and they should get no respect.

See also:
The Herald: Sainsbury’s does Islam no favours
Daily Mail: Muslim medical students refuse to learn about alcohol or sexual diseases

European lawmakers condemn efforts to teach creationism

"The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe condemned efforts to teach creationism in schools Thursday in a vote that underlined concern about the rise of a new socially conservative agenda in several countries.
Members of the assembly, which monitors human rights, approved 48 to 25 a report that attacked advocates of creationism for seeking "to impose religious dogma" and to promote "a radical return to the past" at the expense of children's education."

International Herald Tribune, October 4, 2007

What they voted for.


Anyway, this is great news!

Low productivity during Ramadan

"Performance in most companies, institutions and government departments around the Arab world is usually at a low during the month of Ramadan, with poor productivity and constant reported absences. Dubai sought to change this concept through restructuring the day, turning Ramadan nights into meeting times to complete the unfinished work; but low productivity remained a feature of this month.

[...]

constant absence had become a feature during Ramadan because of the wrong perception that this month was a month for rest, when it was in fact the month of worship and hard work.

[...]

Meanwhile, Dr. Musa'ab Al-Zubair described Ramadan as a "month of medical reports" where most employees resort to sick leaves as a good alibi which indeed negatively affects work productivity."

Kuwait Times/Kuna September 24, 2007

Maybe they are just too devout to work, or maybe they really aren't feeling too well after all. Here's an interesting blogpost by a former Muslim who finally enjoys normal eating during Raman:

"I couldn't concentrate in school. I had nasty heart burn all morning, because we'd wake up at an ungodly hour to gorge! [...] There are many women in my life and some of them are extremely old with various medical conditions. They all feel compelled to fast. It drives me insane!"

Religion, culture behind Texas execution tally

"Like his predecessor, Governor Perry is a devout Christian, highlighting one key factor in Texas' enthusiasm for the death penalty that many outsiders find puzzling -- the support it gets from conservative evangelical churches.
This is in line with their emphasis on individuals taking responsibility for their own salvation, and they also find justification in scripture.
"A lot of evangelical Protestants not only believe that capital punishment is permissible but that it is demanded by God. And they see sanction for that in the Old Testament especially," said Matthew Wilson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas."

Scotsman, 13 Aug 2007

See also this post: Death Penalty and religious affiliation in USA

Tension between Sunnis, Shiites emerging in USA

"For years, Sunnis and Shiites in this country have worked together to build mosques, support charities, register voters and hold massive feasts for Eid al-Fitr (on Oct. 13 this year in the USA), the celebration at the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Now there are small signs of tension emerging in America's Muslim community that are raising concerns among many of its leaders. They worry that the bitter divisions that have caused so much bloodshed abroad are beginning to have an impact here. Such concerns are rising at a time when the USA's Muslim community has grown from less than 1 million in 1990 to nearly 2.5 million today, with two of three Muslims born overseas, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center.
"You have people who recently arrived from other places where things may have gotten out of hand," says Sheik Hamza Yusuf, the U.S.-born co-founder of the nation's first Muslim seminary, the Zaytuna Institute, in Berkeley, Calif. "It takes just one deranged person with a cousin back home who died in a suicide bombing to create trouble here."

USA Today, 24. September 2007

Was John Paul II Euthanized?

"In a provocative article, an Italian medical professor argues that Pope John Paul II didn't just simply slip away as his weakness and illness overtook him in April 2005. Intensive care specialist Dr. Lina Pavanelli has concluded that the ailing Pope's April 2 death was caused by what the Catholic Church itself would consider euthanasia.

[...]

The failure to insert a feeding tube into the patient until just a few days before he died accelerated John Paul's death, Pavanelli concludes. Moreover, Pavanelli says she believes that the Pope's doctors dutifully explained the situation to him, and thus she surmises that it was the pontiff himself who likely refused the feeding tube after he'd been twice rushed to the hospital in February and March."

Time, Sep. 21, 2007

Io sono not so good in Italiano, but I believe this is a follow-up article in MicroMega by Lina Pavanelli.
La dolce morte di Papa Wojtyla. Una risposta

NGOs gagged again at UN Human Rights Council

IHEU was prevented from speaking this week following the Special Rapporteur on Racism, Doudou Diene's report on "Islamophobia". Only four NGOs were able to speak in the total of 10 minutes allotted to NGOs. NGO participation at the HRC is becoming more myth than reality. IHEU's representative will be writing formally to the president of the Council asking for, as a minimum, the right to submit written statements when denied the chance to speak.

The statement that IHEU would have made, if it had been given the chance, follows. It was on behalf of IHEU and three other NGOs. It refers to two major omissions from the Special Rapporteur on Racism, Doudou Diene's analysis of "Islamophobia".

International Humanist and Ethical Union, 16 September, 2007

See also: Islamists try to hijack UN anti-racism conference to turn it into an “Islamophobia” jamboree

Islamic evolution

"Animals engage in a struggle for existence; for resources, to avoid being eaten and to breed. Environmental factors influence organisms to develop new characteristics to ensure survival, thus transforming into new species. Animals that survive to breed can pass on their successful characteristics to offspring."

Encounter (ABC Radio transcript) 11 June 2006

So who wrote this? Darwin? Dawkins? No, an Islamic scholar called al-Jahiz (781–868/869) in the book Kitab al-Hayawan (Book of Animals). The Islamic golden age was surely impressive and is quite a contrast to the appalling conditions that Muslims today live under. The worst thing is that many Muslims today seem to think that the Golden Age mysteriously will come back with a little more Koran reading. But it wasn't Muhammed who made the Golden Age. He thought humans were made out of clay.

Supreme Court Decisions on Religious Liberty

"Supreme Court Decisions on Religious Liberty
Full Listing of Cases"

atheism.about.com, 24. August 2007

A non-believer - say it isn't so

"In most industrial societies, the level of religiosity declines as the society becomes wealthier and more sophisticated, according to John Green, a senior fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which regularly surveys attitudes towards religion in the US.

Yet the US remains a highly religious place. Not the most religious place on the planet, but certainly more religious than Europe and Australia.

Green puts that down to America's historical roots. "Many people came to America precisely because they can practise their faith openly," he says. "Secondly, these extensive religious communities compete with each other for members. It means more effort goes into recruiting and maintaining members."

There is also a kind of counterintuitive argument about why religion has flourished, according to Green. Because of the separation of church and state, churches have had to build extensive private organisational structures to push their interests and so have become strong within the society."

The Sydney Morning Herald, August 11, 2007

The Rise of Islamic Creationism

"Overall, this means that creationism is likely to remain strong in Muslim populations. The prospects for a western-style accommodation between science and religion, where each has their separate sphere, are doubtful. Culturally and politically, conservative interpretations of Islam are very strong, and conservative Muslims see little reason to back off from the ideal of religion regulating all aspects of life."

Tanis Erdis, International Humanist and Ethical Union, 7 August, 2007

This would mean that pushing Atheism is a better choice than waiting endlessly for them to moderate themselves. It's not like we have the whole medieval age to wait for them to enter this century.

The Muslim World's Embattled Secularists

"Who will defend the Muslim who doubts his faith? Who speaks for the man or the woman who might believe in Allah, by his or her own lights, but does not wish to worship? We hear a great deal in the West about the need for freedom of religion in the Muslim world, usually meaning for observant Christians and Jews. But what about freedom of non-religion: the liberty of the individual to think, to reason, to speak out loud rejecting the dictates of public piety? Few voices are raised, if any, in his or her defense.

[...]

Perhaps this was inevitable. Not so long ago, in mid-20th century, secularists were the great "modernizers": the leading intellectuals and artists, the ambitious military officers, the charismatic politicians and, yes, the dictators of the Arab world. They saw themselves and were widely seen, then, as the cosmopolitan voices of progress and, not least, of a proud and assertive nationalism.

Today Arab secularists are silent if not, in fact, silenced. The ideologies that once united many of them (Communism, Nasserism, Baathism) have been discredited by time and tyrants. The milder forms of intellectual liberalism – an openness to other cultures, faiths and ways of life; the questioning of opinions presented as absolute truths – find themselves branded as treason to some greater Muslim identity, or worse, as heresy."

Christopher Dickey, On Faith/Newsweek, July 2007

The World's Stupidest Fatwas

"No central authority controls doctrine in Islam, one of the world’s great religions. The result? A proliferation of bizarre religious edicts against targets ranging from Salman Rushdie to polio vaccinations."

Foreign Policy, July 2007

British Children told to copy lines from Muslim Call To Prayer - to practise their handwriting

Junior schoolchildren were told to copy lines of a Muslim prayer - for handwriting practice. The Call To Prayer copied by ten-year-olds at Newlands Primary School in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, included the lines "Allah is the greatest" and "there is no god but Allah". Angry parent Hayley Clayton told the Sun: "The explanation was that the children were learning about Islam in RE. "But this was like taking an oath. A Muslim child would never be asked to write a Bible passage."
Her stepson Billy Darbyshire was one of the classmates told by his teacher, deputy head Helen Green, to copy the prayer. "Why didn't she choose a passage from a normal story book to teach handwriting?" When she pointed out that three of the 7/7 suicide bombers came from Leeds just 15 miles away, Mrs Green acknowleged that it was a "sensitive issue". "If it's sensitive, why choose that prayer?" she asked.
Billy's dad Martin said there were no Muslims in the class."

Daily Mail, 6th August 2007

Pentagon generals in trouble for promoting 'Christian Embassy'

"CNN reported Monday that the Pentagon's Inspector General has found that seven military officers, including four generals, engaged in misconduct three years ago when they appeared in a promotional video for an evangelical group called Christian Embassy.
Although no one in the military is allowed to seek converts while on active duty, the officers appear in uniform in the video, much of which, according to the Washington Post, was filmed inside the Pentagon. Former Acting Secretary of the Air Force Pete Geren appears as well."

The Raw Story, August 7, 2007

See also a press release at MRFF complete with the report(pdf).

Woman Who Sued Judge Over 12-Step Program Won't Have to Attend Meetings

"A woman who sued a judge after he sentenced her to attend Narcotics Anonymous meetings has reached a settlement and won't be required to attend the 12-step program that she claimed amounted to forcing religion on her, her lawyer says.

[...]

After attending on NA meeting, Offutt filed the suit against Schrantz and Rogers District Court, arguing that the sentence illegally forced her to practice a religion. She claimed the programs have a religious undertone and required everyone to pray at the end of each meeting."

Fox News, August 01, 2007

From what I've heard, it's a widespread problem, also in AA.

Schools are run by Islamic Hizb ut-Tahrir group Blair pledged to ban

"The Islamic Shaksiyah Foundation, a registered charity that runs private schools in Haringey, north London, and in Slough in Berkshire, was established two years ago by female members of the extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir.

[...]

The group has an estimated 2,000-4,000 active supporters in Britain and continues to operate openly despite Blair’s promise to proscribe it.
Although Hizb ut-Tahrir states it is nonviolent, the organisation has radicalised a number of British Muslims who have gone on to commit terrorist acts after leaving the group."

The Sunday Times, August 5, 2007

See also: The wrong voice for Muslim Britain by David Davis, shadow home secretary and from June Copenhagen: Hizb ut-Tahrir kindergarten at islamineurope.blogspot.com

They should not only ban these schools, but any member of this organisation should be dumped outside Europe somewhere.

Uganda: Identifying the Tell-Tale Signs of False Churches

"Recent reports in the media regarding scams, manipulation and electric shocks in churches are revealing a worrying trend. Some unscrupulous individuals have chosen to use their knowledge of psychology to meet their selfish goals.

Observation shows that there is very little control over the messages that followers receive. High intensity fear messages are used in persuading them and hammering them to submission. The Ugandan population is very vulnerable due to poverty and HIV/Aids. Some sects are characterised by 'mind control,' 'sinister manipulation,' and 'creation of environments of totalism.

Outsiders are seen as evil and the strategy is to cut members off from rational reference, promising new families through 'love bombing' where all members are considered brothers and sisters. Leaders are usually charismatic and self appointed.

They are preoccupied with accumulation of wealth and recruitment of new members. Quick marriages are very central in the activities of the groups and are effective in the recruitment of new members. Some groups discourage the use of ARVs for members living with HIV/Aids."

The Monitor / Allafrica.com, 27 July 2007

Western subversions of Muslim progress

"I shall address the internal structure of Islamic totalism as a major hurdle to democratisation, economic growth and progress in some future essay, but here I want to shed light on the way the west has consistently promoted reactionary Islamism, subverted progressive nationalist regimes, and thus controlled the destinies of the Muslim world by tying them down to a medieval mindset.

[...]

The second Western attack on Muslim modernisation was when King Amanullah of Afghanistan initiated an impressive programme to modernise his country. Industrialisation, modern education, liberation of women and many other such ideas were in the pipeline but the British in India recruited the most reactionary Mullah of Afghanistan, Mullah Shore Bazar, and a notorious bandit, Baccha Sakka, to launch a counter-revolution. They succeeded in overthrowing King Amanullah who was sent into exile in 1929.

The third assault on Muslim modernity was the overthrow of Prime Minister Mossadeq of Iran in 1953 because he had nationalised the Anglo-Iran Oil Company. The British and American intelligence services joined ranks and with the help of reactionary sections of the Iranian clergy masterminded the agitation that brought to an end the Mossadeq era.

[...]

Chronologically speaking it was not Wahabism that set in motion forces that undermined modernising processes in the Muslim world; it was Khomeini's reactionary revolution that initiated it. The Saudis reacted violently to Khomeini's bid to capture the leadership of the Muslim world. Their rivalry drove Muslim societies more and more towards extremism."

Ishtiaq Ahmed, The News, 28.07.2007

Faith-based initatives in foreign policy.

Religion clashes with science in modern Russia

"Ten leading researchers have forwarded a letter to President Vladimir Putin, calling him to take urgent action against "the advance of clericalism." The signatories include Nobel laureates Zhores Alfyorov and Andrei Vorobyev, and fellows of the Russian Academy of Sciences Mikhail Sadovsky and Sergei Inge-Vechtomov, so the president can hardly shrug off their request.

What prompted them to sound the alarm was the recent 11th World Russian National Sobor (Assembly), held under the aegis of the Russian Orthodox Church, whose resolution calls on the government to add the ABCs of religion, under the name of Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture, to the list of compulsory school subjects. The Church thinks all children should be taught one Christian denomination - the one to which the majority of the population belongs.

[...]

Everywhere you go in Russia, you see a cassock. Priests bless warships and submarines, and sprinkle holy water over ballistic missiles. The Church has even published a Businessman's Manual of Morals. It fulminates against Western liberal values as erroneous and downright immoral.

The pendulum has swung to the side opposite militant atheism, and it is now likely to upset Russia's cultural balance."

RIA Novosti, 23/ 07/ 2007