The Satanic Verses Affair – Rushdie and Islam
Here is a documentary on the Satanic Verses affair from UK TV. It strikes me as a pretty impartial and well researched piece…
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ARISE
Against Religious Intolerance of Speech & ExpressionBrowsing Posts published in August, 2010
It’s no secret that one of the primary motivators of ARISE was the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. Jyllands-Posten editor Flemming Rose noted a culture of fear brewing among Danish journalists and social commentators against criticising Islam in any way, and when an incident arose involving a fear of depicting Mohammad, he responded by commisioning cartoons depicting Mohammad from several illustrators, and publishing them along with an essay explaining the rationale. The response was widespread rioting and several threats against the cartoonists – and even attempted murders – but even so-called “moderate” Muslims objected to the cartoons on the grounds that they were “offensive”, and attempted to create blasphemy and anti-defamation laws.
What seems to rarely get asked is why depicting Muhammad is so “offensive”, which has always baffled me because it seems such a fundamental and important question to ask. (more…)
Thunderf00t Thought on Free Speech
Thunderf00t on Free Speech. 1
A 1 hour seminar which gives a clear history of the Rushdie affair
Here is a Muslim leader justifying the unjustifiable with some ‘logic’
Southpark Threats….
Stephen Fry and Christopher Hitchens discuss Blasphemy
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Homeschooling Creationist style….
Story on UK Islamic faith school
Poll – Aims of this site
August 26, 2010 bikerman
Poll – Religion and offence
August 26, 2010 bikerman
Poll – Legal protection for religion
August 26, 2010 bikerman
[polldaddy poll=3665413]
Mike Labossiere at Talking Philosophy, has written a very good article about Islamophobia. I recommend you take the time to read the discussion in the comments as well.
UN proposal for law on defamation of religion
Last month, a Christian group in Gainesville, Florida announced on its Facebook page that on September 11th it will hold a book-burning session. The book being burnt: the Qur’an. The justification: remembrance of the fallen victims of 9/11 and to stand against the evil of Islam
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I don’t think anyone’s fooled. The book-burning has nothing to do with remembering the victims of 9/11 and everything to do with gaining publicity by pissing off Muslims, and the organization is blatantly hostile to Islam. Last year, it was involved in a flap over sending kids to school wearing T-shirts that said “Islam is of the Devil”, and before that, a sign on their property with the same message. The organization itself has come under investigation for fraud, and the book-burning episode is already being given the red light by the fire department, but they’re determined to go through with it.
One of the most frequent criticisms I have seen against the efforts of this site and others like it is that, despite the rhetoric about free speech, it is ultimately just a bunch of people who hate Islam and want to piss off Muslims. Indeed, just as American Atheists Vice President David Silverman published a statement denouncing the book-burning, a commenter called attention to the hypocrisy of saying that on the one hand, and cheering on the destruction of Bibles in hotels on the other. Well, this Florida group has provided me with the perfect opportunity to contrast legitimate criticism of religion against displays of bigotry, and I will do so by contrasting ARISE with the Dove World Outreach Center, showing the differences between our methods, and why they matter. (more…)
Hitchens lecture on freedom of speech – Part 3
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Hitchens lecture on free speech – Part 2
Hitchens lecture on free speech – Part 1
