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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWake up and oppose theocracy: Bill Maher, Rula Jebreal and the urgent Islam debate
Wake up and oppose theocracy: Bill Maher, Rula Jebreal and the urgent Islam debateby Jeffrey Taylor at Salon
http://www.salon.com/2014/11/15/wake_up_and_oppose_theocracy_bill_maher_rula_jebreal_and_the_urgent_islam_debate/
"SNIP.........................
Did Jebreal really think she would help her cause by chastising Maher for speaking his mind and thereby reminding us of the intolerance that has so frequently characterized Islam? (To wit: the longstanding Muslim-led campaign to make blasphemy against Islam an international crime.) The rush among Muslims to condemn their faiths critics discloses a valid underlying fear that possibly those critics are onto something, that maybe the religious beliefs in question are untrue and even ridiculous.
This fear is nothing new, nor is it by any means peculiar to those professing Islam. Recall Galileo, who faced the Roman Inquisition and subsequent decades of house arrest for his wildly heretical assertion of Heliocentrism that the Earth and the planets orbit the sun. The Vaticans Index of Prohibited Books grew to contain more than 4,000 titles, including those by the Enlightenments key proponents, by the time it was abolished in 1966. The Catholic Church can boast a gruesome roster of shameful acts, but most pernicious has certainly been the retrograde influence it has exercised on humankinds advancement by blocking free speech and thereby stultifying its followers. The prohibition against condoms in AIDS-stricken Africa, the sheltering of pedophile priests and opposition to gay rights and abortion are other manifestations of the baleful, at times lethal, mortmain the Vatican still has on our affairs.
Mahers detractors, and often their interviewers in the media, ignore the central point he made in his controversial monologue, which was that if being liberal means anything, it means opposing theocracy. He declared that, Its okay to judge that rule of law isnt just different than theocracy, its better. If you dont see that, then you are either a religious fanatic or a masochist. But one thing you are not is a liberal.
Put another way, secularism and legal protections for free speech are the finest fruits of the Enlightenment. They merit spirited defense and should not be casually surrendered to those who, in the name of misbegotten notions of multiculturalism or political correctness, would institute their own versions of the Inquisition and decide for others what speech is permissible, what is not. Nonbelievers should not sit idly by as those who attack the single greatest historical enemy of human progress, organized religion, are intimidated or barred from the debating table (or the commencement-address podium). In Islams case, this is no easy task, given that for many Muslims the faith infuses their politics, customs and identity, and its critics have faced violence and assassination.
..........................SNIP"
tritsofme
(17,380 posts)If you dont see that, then you are either a religious fanatic or a masochist. But one thing you are not is a liberal.
So very true Bill. Thanks for posting, great article.
raging moderate
(4,305 posts)The prophet Samuel knew something. He prayed and prayed. He said the Lord Creator told him that, in rejecting representative democracy, the people were actually rejecting Him their Creator. Good grief, people, Samuel was talking about three thousand years ago! Of course he doesn't have our vocabulary! This is actually the message of this prophet! And remember the story of the prophet of the Creator, trying to reach the actual Creator, who knew that drenched "precious stone" rocks would attract lightning ("fire from heaven" , because he had actually observed how the real physical universe works! What we have been taught to call religion is actually false, and the real Creator is there in the scientifically observed reality. We are supposed to use our means of observation, our powers of reason, and our fire of love inside our hearts, to work together to help each other.
LuvNewcastle
(16,846 posts)liberal Christians and Jews, but Islam is generally a very intolerant religion. There are some majority-Christian countries in which I would refuse to live, such as the 'Christian' countries in Africa that persecute gay people as well as Russia and some others. There are many moderate to liberal Christian countries, though. I can't think of any majority-Muslim countries where I would feel comfortable, however. I don't think there are too many other liberals who would opt to live in a country with a large Muslim majority, either. Muslim countries are simply too intolerant and dangerous for anyone other than straight male Muslims.
Sen. Walter Sobchak
(8,692 posts)and generally express the opinion that fundamentalists need to be eradicated.
Odin2005
(53,521 posts)The Neo-cons have done a good job poisoning the "New Atheist" movement with hatred of Islam in order to legitimize imperialist wars.
Nevernose
(13,081 posts)One of my favorite words. It's a legal term for church property, unclaimed property, etc., but literally it means "dead hands" (Stoker was referring to the captain of the Demeter).
Ravenna44
(40 posts)Actually I have never seen "mortmain" used anywhere outside "A Swiftly Tilting Planet" so I was delighted to come across it here. I am also amused that Maher is a common Muslim boys' name, and Jibreel is the Arabic rendering of Gabriel - who in Islam is the angel who recited Allah's words into Mohammed's ear.
Also: great article. Bill Maher is right, and it makes me sad to see the rise of the "Ben Affleck liberal": one who proves his moral superiority by defending theocrats, misogynists, and gay-bashers against those with the guts to call them out.
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)free speech also applies to his critics. you can't have it both ways.