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Maryam Namazie has been on top of the story of Hamza Kashgari, a 23 year old Saudi journalist whose life is on the line after he tweeted the following on Mohammad’s birthday: “On your birthday, I will say that I have loved the rebel in you, that you’ve always been a source of inspiration to [...]
Archive for the ‘Islam’ Category
Support Hamza Kashgari However You Can
February 13th, 2012 
Daniel Fincke 
Posted in Atheism, Islam, Islam, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Theocracy, Theocracy, Theocrats, Theocrats 
Tags: Death Penalty for Apostates, Freedom of Expression, Hamza Kashgari, Islamic Violence, Religious Freedom, Religious Violence, Saudi Death Penalty for Apostates, Violence against atheists 
1 Comment »Make Muhammad Your Facebook Profile Picture, Get Kicked Out of School?
January 17th, 2012 Daniel Fincke Jen McCreight has an enraging summary of events: [Rhys Morgan] chose that photo [as his Facebook profile] to stand in solidarity with the University College London’s Atheist, Secular, and Humanist Society. The group was caught in a firestorm after someone complained about the image being used to promote their pub social and school officials ordered them to [...]
Posted in Atheism, Islam, Islam Tags: Freedom of Speech, Rhys Morgan, Rhys Morgan threatened with expulsion 8 Comments »Now A Muslim Extremist Terrorizes The Audience, Not Just The Speaker
January 17th, 2012 Daniel Fincke The New Humanist recounts a chilling, appalling, infuriating story: Yesterday evening, a talk on “Sharia Law and Human Rights” organised by the Atheism, Secularism and Humanism Society at Queen Mary, University London, had to be cancelled after threats of violence. The talk was due to be given by Anne Marie Waters of the One Law [...]
Posted in Islam, Islam, News, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, World Affairs, World Affairs 5 Comments »Khomeini’s Disgusting Defenses of Pedophilia
January 11th, 2012 Daniel Fincke Discussing the atrocity of young Iranian girls being forced into marriage, Maryam Namazie quotes Ayatollah Khomeini approving of some of the most depraved sexual practices you will ever read anyone endorse: A member of the Islamic Assembly (Majlis) and its ‘Judicial Commission’, Nayereh Akhavan (here’s a photo of her), has said that there can be [...]
The Dangers of Religion Itself
January 8th, 2012 Daniel Fincke Salvaging Religion In this post I am going to explore the dangers of religion. For some context, I have written often that I think that there are good things that go by the name religion that atheists should try to salvage from authoritarians, irrationalists and bigots. I am generally optimistic about the idea that we [...]
Posted in Atheism, Atheism, Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Faith, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, Islam, Islam, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, Philosophy, Philosophy Of Religion, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Psychology, Psychology, Religion, Religious Secularism, Religious Secularism, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Secularism 40 Comments »Maryam Namazie Attacks Shari’a And Defends Muslim Immigrants Against The Far Right
November 20th, 2011 Daniel Fincke A great lecture and Q&A my estimable Freethought Blogs colleague Maryam Namazie: . An important excerpt from the Q&A: Look, George Bush says he attacked Iraq for women’s rights and I’m a women’s rights campaigner, but I don’t believe him. It’s possible that a politician will say something, that they’ve done something for a reason and, [...]
Posted in Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Civil Liberties, Civil Liberties, Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Feminism, Feminism, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, George W. Bush, George W. Bush, Islam, Islam, Koran, Koran, Law, Law, Law & Politics, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Religion, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Religious Rights, Religious Rights, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State, Theocracy, Theocracy, Theocrats, Theocrats, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Issues No Comments »“Shit On Their Graves”–An “Honor” Murderer Speaks About The Daughters And First Wife He Murdered
November 16th, 2011 Daniel Fincke This is beyond revolting and enraging: “I say to myself, ‘You did well.’ Would they come back to life a hundred times for you to do the same again?” Mohammad Shafia was recorded as saying to Yahya after she appeared to express some remorse about the deaths of the two younger girls a few days [...]
Islam, 9/11, and “True Religion” (Or “What Could George W. Bush Mean When Talking About True Islam?”)
September 11th, 2011 Daniel Fincke What did it mean when George W. Bush talked about Islam really being a “religion of peace” and argued that it was not to blame for the murderous actions of terrorists? Bush was (and is) a true believing Evangelical Christian. How could he argue for a “true” interpretation of Islam when Islam is a falsehood [...]
Posted in Atheism, Atheism, Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Faith, Faith, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, Islam, Islam, Koran, Koran, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, Philosophy Of Religion, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Religion, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Religious Moderates, Religious Moderates, Religious Secularism, Religious Secularism, Secularism 9 Comments »What I Think About How To Engage Religious Liberals, Moderates, and Fundamentalists
September 2nd, 2011 Daniel Fincke In my “What I Think About” series, I am offering readers concise overviews of my views on various important topics. I have already covered objective values, faith and religion, science and faith, and why I call myself a gnostic theist/agnostic adeist. Below I consider in some detail the challenges of supporting liberal and moderate religious people in their struggles [...]
Posted in Atheism, Atheism, Bible, Bible, Christianity, Christianity, Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, Islam, Islam, Koran, Koran, Philosophy Of Religion, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Religion, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Religious Moderates, Religious Moderates, Religious Secularism, Religious Secularism, Secularism 7 Comments »Asking Richard: A Conversation With The Friendly Atheist's Richard Wade
July 1st, 2011 Daniel Fincke Recently I had the honor of interviewing my favorite atheist blogger, retired Marriage and Family Counselor and addiction medicine specialist Richard Wade who writes the “Ask Richard” column at Friendly Atheist. In his column, which was inaugurated two years ago this upcoming Sunday, Richard wisely advises atheists and religious people who seek his help in [...]
Posted in Atheism, Atheism, Featured, Islam, Islam, Religion, Religion Tags: 9/11, Billy Graham, Richard Wade 7 Comments »Norwegian Imam Argues For Beheading Students Who Don't Fast For Ramadan
May 17th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Your Thoughts?
Turkish-German Actress Poses In Playboy As "Act of Liberation"
April 25th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Sila Sahin’s appearance in the German version of Playboy has symbolic connotations: the 25-year-old Sahin, who plays Ayala in the RTL German soap opera Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten (Good Times, Bad Times), managed to link her public exposure to the debate over a central sociopolitical issue: that young Muslim — in this case, Turkish — women [...]
Posted in Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Islam, Islam, News, Religion, Religion, World Affairs, World Affairs 6 Comments »Pakistani Actress Veena Malik Stands Up To Mullah Accusing Her Of Immorality
March 22nd, 2011 Daniel Fincke SUPERB: Your Thoughts?
Bigoted Americans
March 5th, 2011 Daniel Fincke This is some powerfully hateful hypocritical harassment and stupidity right here. It creeps me out to see the American flag, which I love in a deep way, look like a fascist symbol in these nativistic, jingoistic, authoritarian, theocratically Christian Americans’ hands: The YouTube description sums up the context of the above: (ANAHEIM, CA, 3/2/11) — [...]
Posted in Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Christianity, Christianity, Free Speech, Free Speech, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, Islam, Islam, News, Politics, Politics, Religion, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Religious Rights, Religious Rights, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State Tags: Congressman Gary Miller, Ed Royce 3 Comments »The Problem of Muslim Homophobia In Britain
February 27th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Johann Hari goes into detail about how bad it is: Here’s a few portents from the East End that we have chosen to ignore. In May 2008, a 15 year old Muslim girl tells her teacher she thinks she might be gay, and the Muslim teacher in a state-funded comprehensive tells her “there are no [...]
Dawkins Against Religion's Claim To Superiority Because It Offers Absolute Morality
February 24th, 2011 Daniel Fincke This is one of the most concise, eloquent, and accurate statements on the problem with religious absolutism in morality and the superiority of secular, non-absolutist approaches to morality I have ever heard. And it is certainly Dawkins’s best 2 and a half minutes on the topic of morality I have ever heard: Thanks to Lucy. [...]
Posted in Atheism, Atheism, Atheism, Atheist Videos, Atheist Videos, Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Authority, Authority, Bible, Bible, Christianity, Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Ethical Pluralism, Ethical Pluralism, Ethics, Ethics, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, Islam, Islam, Koran, Koran, Metaethics, Metaethics, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, Philosophy, Philosophy Of Religion, Religion, Religion, Secularism, Videos Tags: Absolute Morality, Non-Absolute Morality, Richard Dawkins 2 Comments »TOP Q: "How Is It Fair To Question Other People’s Identity-Forming Beliefs While Demanding Respect For One’s Own Belief-Formed Identities?"
February 23rd, 2011 Daniel Fincke I always tell my students as they start studying philosophy that it is crucial that they not associate their ideas too closely with themselves. They need to get used to not taking criticism of their ideas personally. I warn them that if they cannot disassociate from their ideas when they fail, they will never be [...]
Posted in Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Atheism, Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Christianity, Christianity, Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Featured, Homophobia, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Homosexuality, Islam, Islam, LGBTQAA, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, Philosophy Of Religion, PZ Myers, PZ Myers, Religion, Religion, Today's Open Philosophical Question (TOP Q) Tags: Evangelicalism, Identity-Politics, Tolerance 9 Comments »Muslim Cleric Who Led Friday Prayers In Egypt Friday Supports Death For Apostates
February 21st, 2011 Daniel Fincke Yusuf al-Qaradawi’s show ash-Shariah wal-Hayat has an audience of 40 million. He is the head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, is a trustee of Oxford University, and is considered a leading Muslim Brotherhood intellectual. He returned to Egypt from exile after the fall of Hosni Mubarak and led Friday prayers on February 18. [...]
"If You Believe In God, You Have To Believe In The Devil"
February 20th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Last summer there was a cheesy ad for the latest Exorcist film, and the tagline epitomized and exploited a key twist of twisted religious logic. The film’s tagline was “If you believe in God, you have to believe in the devil.” What’s the idea behind this?
Posted in Christianity, Christianity, Epistemology, Epistemology, Faith, Faith, Featured, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, Islam, Islam, Psychology, Psychology, Religion, Religion, Religion and Science, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Religious Moderates, Religious Moderates Tags: Fundamentalism and Modernity 2 Comments »Birther Madness In The Republican Party
February 16th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Anderson Cooper interviews Montana State Representative Bob Wagner who refuses to admit that he knows either that President Obama was born in America or even that being born in America makes someone a citizen: Stupefyingly, Representative Wagner is representative of more than 50% of likely Republican primary voters: Birthers make a majority among those voters [...]
Islamic Apologist, Shabir Ally, Argues Quran And Evolution Are Consistent
February 12th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Of course I disagree, but I’m sure glad he thinks so and hope more Muslims do too. Your Thoughts?
Muslim Mob Burns Churches, Demands Death Penalty Over Christian Man's Leaflets "Insulting" Islam
February 9th, 2011 Daniel Fincke The usual outrageous outrage: A Muslim mob burned churches and clashed with police in Indonesia on Tuesday as they demanded the death penalty for a Christian man convicted of blaspheming against Islam, police said. Two days after a Muslim lynch mob killed three members of a minority Islamic sect, crowds of furious Muslims set two [...]
Should We Fear An Influential Muslim Brotherhood Would Push Authoritarian Islamic Policies?
February 2nd, 2011 Daniel Fincke Nathan Brown is a political science professor at George Washington University and director of the school’s Institute for Middle East Studies. He gives an overview of the Muslim Brotherhood’s evolution from their found through to today, explains how their renunciation of violent means came to pass decades ago, why al-Qaeda sees them as sell outs, [...]
Just How Much Control Over Their Children’s Thought Are Parents Entitled To?
January 31st, 2011 Daniel Fincke In reply to yesterday’s open philosophical question whether a Swedish law banning any school, even private ones, from indoctrinating students by teaching their religious tenets as truths (with the ulterior motive of undermining Islamic schools’ abilities to radicalize their students), Mary Young makes a rigorous and eloquent case against such bans well worth highlighting (and [...]
Posted in 'Nuff Said, 'Nuff Said, 'Nuff Said, Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Authority, Authority, Autonomy, Autonomy, Christianity, Christianity, Civil Liberties, Civil Liberties, Creationism, Creationism, Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Education, Featured, Free Speech, Free Speech, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, Islam, Islam, Law, Law, Law & Politics, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Racism, Religion, Religion, Religious Rights, Religious Rights, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State Tags: Dogma, Dogmatism, Homeschooling, Indoctrination, Islamophobia, Parents' Rights 21 Comments »TOP Q: Where Are The Lines Between Peaceable Death Penalty Advocacy And Criminal Incitement?
January 29th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Last week a heinous, conscience-shocking injustice occurred when the brave, openly gay, Ugandan gay rights campaigner David Kato (pictured above) was murdered shortly after a Ugandan newspaper featured him on the cover with the headline: “100 PIctures of Uganda’s Top Homos Leak” and the words “Hang Them” next to it. The AP photo of the newspaper [...]
Posted in Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Bible, Bible, Christopher Hitchens, Christopher Hitchens, Civil Liberties, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Civil Rights, Ethics, Ethics, Featured, Free Speech, Free Speech, Gay Rights, Gay Rights, Homophobia, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Homosexuality, Islam, Islam, Law, Law, Law & Politics, LGBTQAA, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Politics, Politics, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Today's Open Philosophical Question (TOP Q) Tags: Death Penalty, Hate Speech 1 Comment »
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