Three Held as Mohammed Book Publisher Set Ablaze

Source: AFP, worldwide news agency

Police arrested three men on Saturday in connection with a fire at the offices of the publisher of a book about the Prophet Mohammed and his child bride.

The men, aged 22, 30 and 40, were arrested in north London under anti-terrorism legislation after the fire on Saturday morning at Gibson Square's offices. Police were also searching four addresses in east London.

Gibson Square is responsible for the publication of "The Jewel of Medina" -- a fictional account of the Prophet's relationship with his youngest bride Aisha -- by American author Sherry Jones.

Random House announced last month it had cancelled publication of the book in the United States because of fears of violence.




Read more: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080927204747.vj5srmx9&show_article=1

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There is no such thing as god. Get over it.

WTF do you do with a culture entirely informed by superstition. How do you deal with -- what appears to be a substantial minority-- a group where superstition informs their action and moves them to violence against property and person.

Anyone unfamiliar with the many works and screeds of the "unbeliever" Pat Condell ?




http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=W3_qelW5qp4&feature=related

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=y4mWiqkGy-Y&feature=related

Extrapolating what three men did to all religions?

That being said, I'm sad that the book isn't being published. Haven been given the name Ayesha, and understanding the true meaning of it by reading biographies of her life, it would be interesting to read a fictional account. Book banning, either before or after publication, is wrong. I am glad the men were captured, and I hope that they receive justice. Meanwhile, I wish that governments would support those people of faith who are not fanatics rather than focusing on the fanatics.

And you know, perhaps you are right that there is no god--kindly check out my sig line.

Ok.......... we got a live one here...

No star and a newbie to DU... Ok

do you have some empirical evidence to prove otherwise?

Reminds me of high school. As if having a high post count and a star by your name means anything but you have time to post frequently and can afford to donate.

Madness! Sparta, even!

yeah that sig line's a little harsh. it's just the deliciously smooth cruzon bay single barrel rum influencing me....

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

"All religion needs to go extinct"

As with philosophies, politics, economics, and the rest of our cultural pillars-- as they too are all so "dark age". And music, poetry, literature-- so dark ages, all of 'em!





For myself, I believe that most of the critical communal constructs of human history have the capacity for good and for evil-- that it really depends on the individual's personal agenda in (selectively) interpreting the thoughts of our ancestors.

Los Angeles. Muslims are a part of our community and fit in well. Same as all the conservative and orthodox Jews. They don't go pushing their religious views on others, UNLIKE THE CHRISTIAN FUNDIES. They just pretty much mind their own business, go to work, encourage their kids to go to college, and take their cats to the vet (which is where I meet them).

I deal with them the way I deal with other people in my community: like neighbors and clients and friends.

People who commit actual crimes need to be punished according to our secular laws.

and you'll find, I think, that most religious folk here in the US are vehemently FOR separation of church and state. It is the fundies who want theocracy who are a danger to our nation.

The important thing in our land is the freedom of thought--one can believe or be an atheist, and it doesn't matter. Violations of laws means the person should be punished--no matter what their motivation.

In case you didn't see my reply in another thread, all I can say is "AHA". I knew it. Ceiling Cat is watching you :)

a teenage girl with an explosive vest strapped on seems a little over-the-top, but that is just me. Your anti-Christian rant is off-based. Hare Krishna's seem pushy to me too. :eyes:

and move out when the time is right

Speaking as an atheist, I have to say that is not a good tone to start a discussion in. People have the right to believe whatever they want, as long as it does not affect me or others. That being said, what is occurring in England should be a warning shot to the US- as long as we continue to make religion a public thing and give it special consideration, sooner or later those of different religions will want the same this. 25 years ago, religion was a private and sacred thing, and you didn't hear our politicians "embracing" it. This is a secular nation based on secular laws, and we need to fight like hell to keep it that way (and that includes fighting for all right, including freedom of religion).

We MUST fight to keep our nation secular and also open to all kinds of thought. I will defend to the death your right to be an atheist--this is who you are and where you are in your development. I've taken a different path, and yet I find polite discussions with atheists to be rather rewarding, as they generally make me stop and consider my beliefs. Any society where government refuses to allow freedom of thought is a dying society, I think.

Edited to add: this public embrace of religion bothers the heck out of me. It is like it must be catered to, a sort of "litmus test" which automatically makes a politician either a part of the "in" crowd or out in the cold--its as if it doesn't matter what the politicians are for as much as which religion they say they belong to that matters! This is how we got into the mess we're in today. Personally, I was always taught that my faith was private--the "greater jihad" is the struggle one has within one's own self in the struggle to become a better person. Even Jesus taught his followers to not make a show of their faith. Frankly, I think that the fundamentalists who are causing so many problems are really trying to destroy their faiths.

To expound on my mention of England, it seems the government is terrified of offending the Muslim religion. Population studies say it is conceivable that in 25 years the country could democratically vote in Sharia law. England (and we, also) has to be more vocal about the rights of women, and how Sharia law is against them, because those women are not hearing about equal rights at home. Maybe if more is said about equality, if the time ever comes where such a vote occurs, maybe the women can have a true say in the matter.

The worst thing that can happen in the world, is the silencing of artists.

Holland seems to have that problem, too.

The outrage over 'Fitna' proves that the human body is not meant to be used as an art medium( according to those fundies)



ok,
ok

here they are ;
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1741366.ece
since many are artisans at heart

What idiot believes a boob job would enhance your skills as a mother. :crazy:

Guess this is perfect example of "live by the boob, die by the boob."

Assimilation,it seems, is off the table or is it just 'media' camera angles that make them look like a problem
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=rWFLaKBamVE

but imo,
the real battle is the current civil war in Pakistan. Can a secular democracy control the 'conservatives' in the lawless frontiers better then the way the secular dictator did ? Will they throw a few $$ and look the other way or
are they going to be tried under sharia law when Islamabad falls if peace talk committee members abandon the cause and convert ?

Of course, the slim chance is there.
They could teach the west how to the manage the fundie thought control if the secular majority neighborhoods do not get torched in '09.

notably a fanatical and often racist one. Not a video I'd place much trust in, myself.

No-one with any knowledge of population could suggest that a group that was 2.8% of the population in 2001 could form a majority of voters by 2033.

and take into consideration the shifting demographics caused by old age,immigration and job growth industries. to name just a few.

lol , I found this interesting
from your link;
Maybe the next census will have a few more imboldened souls come forward, out of the dark, and be counted.

and the future date which the mythical 'population study' claimed could get a democratic backing for Sharia law. 32 years is 32 years - a generation, and you think that less than 3% of the total population could turn into over 50% over 18 in one generation? Absurd.

I don't know what you think need to be compared 'side by side' anyway; I just gave the Census results.

Household birth rates will not shift, people will not die of old age and be replaced by a younger generation of families that have less then one child per household or didn't immigrate fom repressive parts of the world,

only to bring their repressive thoughts with them ?

you imply "things never change" ? maybe say; " The muslim population,in fact, will decrease or at best , remain constant by the year 20XX ? "


I say
Nothing is more constant then change.



I'm suggessting the pie already morphed since 2001 but without another chart placed next to the 2001 chart with 2008 shifts, how can you say ;

because that would be about half of the UK population by that date. In fact, since the approximately 59 million non-Muslim people in the UK will stay about the same amount, for Muslims to magically grow to be a majority (and this is ignoring that under 18s can't vote - any growing population gets less of the voting age, so, to be realistic, Muslims would need to grow to well over half the total population to become half of the voting population), that 1.6 million would need to become about 60 million people. See? It's absurd.

That pie chart of 'religions other than Christianity' is irrelevant. We're talking about the whole UK population, which includes far more Christians, and those with no religion, than Muslims.

Look, here's an estimate that we have gone from 1.6 million Muslims in 2001 to 2 million Muslims in 2008. A growth of 25% in 7 years is a growth of 122% in 25 years - even if that rate of increase keeps up (and changes in the proportions of population tend to be larger for smaller groups - immigration, for instance, will increase the size of smaller groups more (if only because Muslims are more common in the world than they are in the UK) - so as the size of the Muslim population grows, its rate of growth will lessen).

So that would be about 6.3% of the population, in 25 years' time. Not very significant, in voting terms - if Muslims all acted as a block (which they don't; there's no significant Muslim party at the moment - the one party which got a lot of Muslim votes in one area, and had significant Muslim leadership, was Respect, which has acrimoniously broken up).

See, if someone actually looks at some figures, rather than 'population studies' from which no actual figures come at all, the absurdity of "it'll be a Muslim majority" becomes plain to see.



No, I never implied that. I said that the increase from 1.6 million to a majority of the country, in 32 years, was ridiculous. I expect by 2033, Muslims will still be under 7% of the UK population.

I have worked with many people who spent time on jobs in Iran and Saudi Arabia. When they were in those countries, they obeyed their hosts' laws and complied with social customs.

They wore long sleeves. They kept their heads covered, wore beards, didn't allow women to drive, didn't consume alcohol. They got along fine. It's not asking too much for people to comply with the standards in effect where they live or are visiting.

Until Muslim women are finally discontent with their treatment as possessions and regarded as expendable, this shit will never end. The change will come when those women cease to be chattel and slaves. It's going to take all of them (or a great majority of them) standing together and dying together. They need to stop behaving.

Until that happens, it will remain nuttersville. Same with the Christian fundies.


http://www.nwhm.org/RightsforWomen/Burns.html

barbarians at the gates



or was it Christians to blame ?

make for bad op's.

The OP con-sits of a news wire article about four muslim men attacking a book publisher because of the content of a book of fiction. Like the koran. Or harry potter. Or the torah. Or catch 22.

You're not actually excusing these guys are you? The religion of peace spawned a culture of violence.

Culture is defined as the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors and artifacts that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning (this definition is from a University of Manitoba web page, selected for its brevity).

Religion is defined as a system of beliefs based on humanity's attempt to explain the universe and natural phenomena, often involving one or more deities or other supernatural forces and also requiring or binding adherents to follow prescribed religious obligations. Two identifying features of religions are they to some extent (a) require faith and (b) seek to organize and influence the thoughts and actions of their adherents. Because of this, some contend that all religions are to some degree both un-empirical and dogmatic and are therefore to be distrusted. (This definition is from a Webster's Online Dictionary search for its definition of religion.)

promoting islamophobia actually helps islamic fundamentalism.

It riles up the Republican base to more strongly support their party...the very same party that denies man-made global warming because it is in the pocket of Big Oil.

How does promoting islamophobia help islamic fundamentalism?

Is it really a phobia if the fear is real? If someone wants to cut off your head for speaking ill of an imaginary being maybe you should be wary.

The Republicans are in bed with Big Oil. Where does the oil come from?

Every time you fill your tank the petrodollars go to Chavez or the Saudi Royals. The Saudis use that money to promote Wahabbism, a form of islamic fundamentalism that thrives on fear of the West.

The Repubs promote Christian fundamentalism that thrives on the fear of Islam.

But they are actually business partners getting rich from war profiteering and oil. They are two sides of the same coin that use fear and ignorance to control their respective bases while playing them against each other and ripping them off.

They are Bush's buddies - the "haves and the have-mores".

If you want to be part of their game then that's your choice.