And Irshad Manji as well, perhaps?

Have you by any chance read Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali?

Is it going to bite me on the ass? I'm feeling kinda frangible this week.

She's a very controversial woman, and her tale is fascinating. It will enrage you when it comes to the feminist issues, but it's the kind of rage we need to have.

Then I will wait a little, only because I'm presently reading a collection of short stories by an Auschwitz survivor and I'm a bit frangible. I made a mistake and broke my rule of one a day--just read two. I need to find something lighter to read until tomorrow.

Saudi child brides, meet your sister sex slaves in the FLDS. At least it's not supposed to be legal here.

I started to add them and the girls of Tony Alamo's cult, and decided I was going to lose my focus. I never forget them, though.



OT
You have Yojimbo for your icon! Squee!!!

Paraphrase: "A lot of child abusers in this world need killing."

Why can people just come up with the Church of the Eternal @sshole? Then all of the people who want to use their religion as a justification for doing things that are straight up evil can get together, have their religion, and leave the rest of us in peace.

I don't know if there is a religion that is free from people who turn it to evil purposes, and it really ticks me off. It's hard enough that the fundamentalist Christians give my own religion (paganism) such bad press, but then there are the people who go and ritually abuse children on my holidays, confirming that bad press. Ugh.

As for the Krispy Kreme thing, it reminds me of the church I was raised in, who were anti-Santa Claus (you can rearrange the letters in Santa and get Satan) and objected to the abbreviation Xmas because it "crossed out Christ." Um, folks. "Santa" means "saint" and that "X" stands for Christ. Seriously.

It's as bad as the feminists who object to the word "history" because that means it's all about men.

Save me from ignorant people who try to keep everyone else from thinking.

But thanks, Karisma Black, for posting about Krispy Kreme; maybe I'll snag a free donut on Tuesday! :)

when I hear stories like the one you posted

Which one? Did I offend?

Oh, okay! I'm with you on people who hide behind a faith that doesn't dictate what they do, and those who judge the faith by the actions of the fanatics.

...Did you just indict all of Islam?

But there is a lot of beauty and enlightenment in the Koran, a lot that is powerful and forward-looking. Mohammed was far more equitable in his treatment of women than the early Jews or Christians after St. Paul. He enjoined fair treatment of those of other faiths and said yes, you can have up to four wives if you must, but really, you can only deal fairly with one. He prized education and culture, and wanted those who followed him to prize those things, too. He said that Islam, Judaism, and Christianity are related, the "People of the Book" (the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch), and that as such they ought to deal kindly together as people who share prophets.

Nutballs are nutballs. They come from everywhere. The majority of Muslims are just as decent as the majority of Jews, Christians, pagans, Hindus, Confucians, Shintoist, Buddhists, you name it.

So basically the Qur'an is up to interpretation however someone wants to read it.

As are all holy books. The prophet Samuel told King Saul God wanted him to kill every last living being of the enemy, right down to the infants and the sheep, and the Book of Revelations is just a nightmare that calls for the precipitation of a world-annihilating war just so the Righteous can ascend to Paradise. We can be literal, or we can follow the other precepts of those books, which say "thou shalt not kill," and "turn the other cheek."