Tag: religious tolerance
After Bin Laden, A Call for Religious Freedom
“In short, every place where Osama bin Laden fled had either perpetrated or tolerated world-class violations of religious freedom and other human rights.” — Leonard Leo and Don Argue at The Hill Continue Reading →
Let My People Go
In a recent interview Egyptian-born journalist Mona Eltahawy tells Bill Maher (notoriously anti-religion, Maher so often perfectly demonstrates the confounding problem the left has with articulating religious tolerance) that Egypt has less chance of becoming a theocracy than is assumed in U.S. commentary. Continue Reading →
Sudans
Abby Ohlheiser: In the collective gasp that followed the shooting in Tucson on Saturday, the story of the ongoing voting on a referendum for southern independence in Sudan was all but lost. We’re still catching up at The Revealer secret headquarters ourselves. Consensus in the coverage seems to be that the southern third of Sudan, which is mostly Christian and Animist, will vote for secession from the northern part of the country, which has a Muslim majority. Continue Reading →
Multiculturalism gave us Jihad
In his review of Kenan Malik’s From Fatwa to Jihad: The Rushdie Affair and Its Aftermath, Dan Margolis argues that tolerance for other faiths and cultures — multiculturalism — has prevented liberals from successfully working for or even believing in absolute human rights. Posted at Guernica:
Of course, most Muslims are not terrorists, so the question arises: Who becomes a terrorist and why? We know that most of these people have been well off, at least middle class, and well educated. According to Malik, the separation foisted by multiculturalism provided fertile ground for identity politics, mixed with a culture of grievance, to grow into jihadist terror. Young people in the “Muslim community,” instead of fighting racism—how could one fight against inequality when the whole idea of a cohesive society was out the window?—found themselves fighting against their parents’ version of Islam; in short, the rebelled by becoming more pious, more “Islamic” than anyone else.
Creationists on the Ballot
The Sensuous Curmudgeon makes a tally of some of the more prominent creationists on the ballot for state elections the coming weeks. You’ve got Joan Heffington who’s running against Sam Brownback in Kansas, for vote on August 3. There’s Terry Hemple running for county school board in Florida, for vote on August 9. It’s an interesting list to look at and consider, not only for where “GOP establishment” candidates are being challenged, but on what issues. And here’s the point that a lot of folks are missing: If we live in a society of religious freedom, it doesn’t really matter that a candidate believes in dinosaurs or “intelligent design” or eating hotdogs on Tuesdays. What we can hope reporters and constituents are asking Joan and Terry and, of course Sam, is not what they believe but how — and if — they plan to respect what the rest of us choose to believe. Continue Reading →
Learning from Iraq's Struggle for Religious Tolerance
Three months after elections in Iraq, a new Prime Minister has not yet been selected to form a new government. Accusations of fraud still surround the election and Ayad Allawi’s secular (but Sunni-dominated) coalition is struggling against the Shiite opposition, led by Nouri al Maliki, to keep a grip on its narrow margin of victory. Many continue to call for a vote recount. Optimists have noted that the political wrangling has at least not devolved into violence. Continue Reading →
Learning from Iraq’s Struggle for Religious Tolerance
Three months after elections in Iraq, a new Prime Minister has not yet been selected to form a new government. Accusations of fraud still surround the election and Ayad Allawi’s secular (but Sunni-dominated) coalition is struggling against the Shiite opposition, led by Nouri al Maliki, to keep a grip on its narrow margin of victory. Many continue to call for a vote recount. Optimists have noted that the political wrangling has at least not devolved into violence. Continue Reading →
Learning from Iraq’s Struggle for Religious Tolerance
Three months after elections in Iraq, a new Prime Minister has not yet been selected to form a new government. Accusations of fraud still surround the election and Ayad Allawi’s secular (but Sunni-dominated) coalition is struggling against the Shiite opposition, led by Nouri al Maliki, to keep a grip on its narrow margin of victory. Many continue to call for a vote recount. Optimists have noted that the political wrangling has at least not devolved into violence. Continue Reading →