Imagine a philosophy that regards human life as worthless and cheap, where adherents are told to kill others who do not share their beliefs, and where huge segments of the population are kept ignorant and subservient. Well, you don't need to use your imagination; this type of philosophy already exists, and it has a colorful name: Islam. Pakistan was the scene of more violence today as a market in Peshawar w ...

Pat is always interesting to listen to. In this video, he lambasts the UN for trying to include a resolution making criticism of religion a crime. It's legislation we don't quite have to be worried about now, but it definitely sends a scary message that many Islamic countries are completely opposed to some of our most important beliefs (namely, that human beings should be allowed to speak their fucking mind ...

Whenever I hear religious people talk about tolerance, I make sure they realize that the price of tolerating ignorance, superstition, and unreason is too high. If you want me to respect your beliefs, find me something WORTH respecting, and then I'll think about it. (props to Godless Blogger for the find) ...

Child brides are a reality in the Middle East. It's difficult to pinpoint exactly when this tradition started gaining wide acceptance, but one thing is for sure: Most Islamic countries (especially poorer ones) regard this practice as normal, even beneficial. Why wouldn't they? Their own prophet, Mohammad, consummated his marriage with his favorite bride, Aisha, when she was only 9 years old (there's conside ...

The Center for Inquiry has decreed that the 30th of September is now Blasphemy Day International to commemorate those Danish cartoons that set the Muslim world on fire.  Which means, of course, that it will be celebrated by dozens of people worldwide... OK, now I'm being a little cruel, but I'm not entirely sure this holiday will catch on. It's cool and all that it falls on my Dad's birthday, especially con ...

If there's one thing you can credit to fundamentalist Islam, it's their ability to control their flock. There aren't many Islamic fundamentalists that apostatized, and anytime there is, it offers us a unique opportunity to understand the scope of terrorism that shouldn't be ignored. Ed Husain was a radical, brought into this culture in college by other British born Muslims, and it wasn't until he witnessed ...

Now I've often linked from the newspaper on many occasions, but today is a special honor. In January of last year, a young Afghan journalist was sentenced to death for distributing a report criticizing the treatment of women under Islamic Law. Sayed Pervez Kambaksh was sentenced in a 4 minute trial that was closed to the public, but luckily, the Independent got wind of the story and thanks to their efforts ...

It isn't good news that a nation with nuclear capabilities is slowly becoming a fundamentalist theocracy. Here is a disturbing article in the Guardian about how the growing intolerance of Muslims in Pakistan is having deadly consequences. A few weeks ago, I reported on a group of Christians who were attacked for allegedly defacing the Koran. Their homes were set on fire with them still inside, killing 9 in ...

Because it's almost literally halfway across the world, we don't hear a lot of news about all the crazy stuff that happens in India. As far as most westerners are concerned, India is supposed to be a peaceful place, filled with sacred cows, gurus, and outsourced telemarketers. But all is not well in the world's largest democracy, and they face the same challenge many other developing nations do; the growing ...

In Islam, apostasy is a serious offense. People get more than slaps on the wrist for changing faiths; they get abused, beaten, and sometimes killed. That's not to say the fate of all apostates in the Muslim world is grim, but there is a definite violent precedence, and if you have the unfortunate luck of being born in a fundamentalist family, it can be a death sentence. 17 year old Rifqa fled from her Musli ...