In part 1 of this two-part article, I corrected a commonly held misconception about what the “War on Christmas” is about. Now, in the second and final part, I will explain why this is a matter involving the religious intolerance of free expression. (more…)
ARISE
Against Religious Intolerance of Speech & ExpressionBrowsing Posts in Essays
You may have heard the term “War on Christmas”, if not this year than in years past. Unfortunately, if you’re like most people, you probably misunderstand what this “war” is about, and why it is a free expression issue worth discussing here. The “War on Christmas” is an issue of religious intolerance of free expression, but before I can explain why, I first have to clear up the common misunderstanding. This will require a two part article; in the first part, this part, I will clearly explain what the “War on Christmas” really is so that I can explain why it is free expression issue in the second part. (more…)
Burn a Koran Day did not happen. At the last minute, the pastor responsible backed down. Some are claiming that it was due to the pressure from moderates and the media, others that it was due to threats of reprisal from Muslims. Is this as a victory for the moderates, or for the terrorists? Sadly, it is not a victory for anyone. (more…)
In a previous essay, I mentioned an incident on the American Atheists blog where, after Vice President David Silverman published a statement denouncing “Burn a Koran Day”, 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. Now someone at AA (possibly Silverman) has responded to that charge, but has done so in such a ham-handed way that that post’s comments are abuzz with people pointing out the blatant double-standard. Ah, the poor Americans seem to be in well over their head, and even though I helped them out before, it seems necessary to throw them another bone. (more…)
In a previous essay, I challenged the religious basis for the ban on depicting Muhammad, and found it wanting. Now I intend to look into the rational basis for such a ban, and whether Muslims have any right to ask others not to do it. (more…)
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…)
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…)
I don’t know if you’re following American news, but my neighbours to the south are having a fit over the proposed construction of a “mosque” near “ground zero”. “Ground zero” is, for those who don’t know, the nickname the Americans have given to the former World Trade Centre site of the attacks. Since the attacks were perpetrated by Muslim terrorists, building a Muslim place of worship on the site would seem to be a tad insensitive, and many Americans are outraged and offended by the move.
“Outraged and offended”… hm, where have we heard that language used before? And, if possible, let’s see if we can find an instance that involves Muslims. (more…)
This posting sets out the background to our decision to post a blog on this issue and explains in more detail exactly why we feel it is so important that we are prepared to put aside anonymity.
