Atheism Corner

Call it what it is – Muslim Jew Hatred

From Paris to London and far away as Calgary in Canada, people are showing their anger at Israel for responding to a 1,400 rocket attack on its civilian population, because it is simply unacceptable for a country to defend its citizens, especially if it hurts civilians on the other side – even if those are forcibly placed as human shields by the militants they themselves choose as government.

One thing stands out in all of this, the reports in local media call this “anti Israel demonstrations”, because, hey, we live in a democracy and its all right to criticize another country. This is, in turn, becomes what it really is – a sticky old fashion jew hatred demonstration under the guise of a “anti Israel” protest.

To some, it seems, there is nothing better than to take your old Palestinian/Algerian/Turkish flag, grab a knife or pipe and go out to a Parisian street in summer to chant “death to the Jews”, while some of the locals keep asking you (politely enough) to replace “Jews” with “Israel”, because just murdering jews for being born Jews is, well, racist.

And, oh, by the way, 200 bodies have been found in Syria yesterday, and about 300 Syrians are barricaded and starving in a village, Mosul is being ethnically cleansed. But that does not disturb those peace loving, knife yielding European Arabs – they just out for Jewish blood.

For those who were young children when the original “Cosmos” by the late Carl Sagen aired this remake and refresh of the original show to fit our knowledge and technical abilities brings nothing but joy. This show remains one of the biggest recruiting tools of modern science and our current young generation should enjoy it as well.

The show started with a direct and intentional, clear as a whistle blow aimed at religion, what Sagen did in his own unique story telling way some thirty plus years ago the current show did in a blunt and precise way, a few minutes into the first episode. The case of Giordano Bruno was told in what seems to be the undermining statement of the show – you get no points for repressing knowledge and the search for truth, the Roman inquisition is exposed for what it was, with a sign for the current religious zealots – you’re in the way.

It is almost amazing to comprehend how much we, as a society and a culture, have progressed in the last 30 years that to go out against the ruthless power of religious authorities is now acceptable and permitted.  One can only hope that in 30 years we will come even closer to make religion what it really is, a kind of a hobby, a pastime that accounts to almost nothing that should be kept confined and restrained, while the rest of us progress.

Yesterday’s post about the Monchengladbach anti Islam prayer on the street had a YouTube video of the people praying and those loudly objecting to this, a quick look on the comments of this short video reveals a scary image of an aggressive society that has nothing but contempt and violence towards others.

Some make threats, others add two-three words comments like “Hitler was right” (about what? praying on the streets? anti Islam?) and others get into a heated and ugly discussions about how “Muslims” will be pushed out, kicked out or just “exterminate” – but who do they mean? those born to two Muslims? those who are practicing Muslims? those with even a small hint of Islamic blood?

Others dive head on into the simple “kill them all” argument, going on against Jews (completely off topic, but hey, as long as we are being racists we should push everything through the door) and illuminati and others.

How depressing to see a valid secular issue being degraded to this filth, and to witness the same level of violent aggression so easily flow out of all sides of this argument.

Hate and Racism, Not One Proper thought on comments

Watch this video taken from a police car, a police officer gets out of his car and two dogs run around him with the only real contact between the officer and the dogs takes place when he kicked one of them. After a very short time the officer shots one of the dog literally point black and kills it, this is followed by a heated argument with the owner of the dog who finally opens his door in response to the gunshot.

At first it seems like the officer is completely guilty however after viewing the video again (and paying attention to the noises the dogs make) it becomes clear that the dog owner should not have left the two dogs outside unsupervised and free. Even thought the dogs do not seem to be aggressive (wave their tails and jump around) the police officer had some reason to think he may be at risk, and the conversation later suggests that this officer had been bitten in the past.

However if the officer is suffering from fear of dogs he should not have even gotten out of the car. The one thing that stands out here is the way that the police can act without real challenge, further enhancing that “do not mess with cops” attitude. In principle the police is there to help, to protect and serve the public – not act out brutal acts that can not be changed out of the feeling of superiority and power.

A video on YouTube shows a rough scene in Mönchengladbach, Germany. A large group of peaceful people are praying in the tradition of Islam and a lot of other people surround them and make very loud attempts to disturb the prayer.

The initial thought is to denounce the disturbers and help those peaceful men (as far as I could see, exclusively men), because after all – they are only praying. Give it another couple of seconds and another thought might cross your mind – why do they need to perform this religious act on the street, why not in a proper place of worship – we do know that there are thousands of Mosques in Germany.

This is not the first time, nor the first place, that Islamists try this subtle tactic. Sometimes under the delicate threat of public disturbance in order to get yet another Mosque building permit and sometimes just as a public show of strength the street prayer has been used all over Europe to show the locals who is running things. Run a quick search in YouTube and you will discover many videos of dazzled Parisians trying to figure out how to get from one part of the city to another and Londoners unable to cross the street – let alone drive through a public road. Videos from Moscow show a huge crowd taking over large part of a neighborhood – to the dismay of passers by.

So, with the risk of quickly being labeled “Islamophobe” we really need to conclude that anyone who ignores any idea of the public space and goes to pray at the expanse of others even thought there are plenty of indoors places of worship around is simply a thug who is pursuing a goal that is far beyond his own little piece of salvation. In simple words this is a violent and aggressive way to force a religious system upon a society that generally has no wish to even consider that religion.

Unfortunately it is clear that many of those anti street prayer demonstrators are not champions of liberalism and peace, and it seems evident that some are plain racist and fascist, it is important to resist this act and make sure that these people realize the fine lines that they should respect in Western societies.

Christian, Jewish or Plain Atheist? No Education for you.

A very troubling piece of news right here, Canada – the enlightened and liberal country somehow gets this story credit to its name. It seems that a University in Ontario, the Huron College, a completely public educational institute, has a course that only Muslims are allowed to attend, in different words – non Muslims are not allowed to take a course at a university in Ontario, Canada.

Huron College is an indication of the state of mind many have, that on Muslim affairs only Muslims are allowed, this in sharp contrast to any Christian Jewish or Buddhist philosophy or other teachings, the college removed one non Muslim student from the course simply because he is not a Muslim.

There might be a simple way to look at this, a simplified perspective, a course on how to preach and teach Islam is for Muslims and a non-Muslim has no business learning that – some might say, however let us not forget that this course is given on a public university that is state sponsored and lives off tax money, so its services should be open for all. Furthermore it is a university, its purpose is to teach and expand knowledge, even for those who might not have the full ability or determination to put into action the material learned, so it is perfectly normal for anyone, of any religion – or of no religion at all to want to expand her or his knowledge of Islamic teachings and attend the course.

For some reason all of this very simple logic escapes the fine educators at Huron College, we can only imagine why.

As Close as you can get to Nazi Germany

Read todays news and you will be transferred into a different time, although not so long ago but still something most of us think belongs to generations who are no longer with us. Some might be reminded of Nazi Germany, other the peak of Stalin’s evil rule of the USSR, the desperate fear of Romanians from secret police and the mass “disappearance” of thousands in Argentina in the 80s’, but North Korea seems, at least by this recent UN report on its human rights abuse, to top it all, and do this at global solitude.

Almost everyone knows that North Korea is a tough nut to crack, it has its nuclear weapons which every now and again it publicly threatens to make use of, and it is basically cut off from the rest of the world. Its former leader considered as a living god, its decadents turned gods themselves and inherit the country from their dead father.

The focus on the security council on the possible nuclear threat of North Korea’s weapon arsenal has created a situation in which the UN, as most other formal channels, ignore what is actually going on in this country, or at least the reports that manage to find their way to Western ears.

Getting out of North Korea is nearly impossible, the boarder with its much hated neighbor the South Korea is so heavily fortified and filled with land mines that it is impossible to survive the pass, the other boarder with with China, it is a rather large stretch of land that would have its successful travelers land in Chinese hands after they managed to dodge the North Korea army patrols. Those who are brave enough to try this know that if they get caught by the Chinese they  will be returned to North Korea, because the Chinese, not great champions of respecting human rights, do not want to get any trouble over a few (or even many) North Koreans.

And so we get the news from the few, very few, who manage to escape the country and avoid the Chinese, and one can only imagine what a small group of fortunate individuals this makes. The descriptions of the horrors of the country are abundant, from government authorized murders and executions to near slavery conditions to men and pregnant women, the list is long and difficult to digest.

Every now and again when we discuss the crimes of the past, mass murder of people, the abuse of citizens by their governments and human rights abuses some good people ask themselves what would they do if they were living at the time these things took place, well this one is not a story or distant history – this is going on right now, and all the peoples of this world share this shame.

Nobody expects the Spanish in inquisition

The surprising news from Spain announce that the country is considering to re-invite its long lost Jewish community to the country by granting citizenship to those who will prove ancient roots in Spain. The mass deportation of Jews occurred in the times of the Spanish inquisition, who aimed mainly to clear Spain of all religious minorities and create a fully Catholic Christian society.

Beyond the curiosity as to why do this (at all, or now), the response this suggestion has from the Jewish side is almost as astonishing as the proposal, while many Israelis are happy to explore the possibility of having another passport some Rabbis already published strong opinions against embracing a Spanish citizenship. It is reported that Rabbi Aviner has a very simple reason for denying the Spanish gesture, “Jews should never forgive the Spanish for the inquisition and accepting the passport will be interpreted as a sign of forgiveness”.

But who is Rabbi Aviner actually angry with? People who lived (and died) 500 years ago? is he going to look for Torquemada’s descendants and let them know he is upset with their long dead – and whom had absolutely no influence of any kind – forefather?, this is a philosophical question, however it should be clear to anyone living today that having issues with actions and resolutions that are centuries old are not relevant to any living person today. Furthermore, letting go of this grudge risks yet another destabilization in the form and shape of the modern Jewish identity which is structured around the terrible things done to these people during the 2,000 years of Christian bigotry and proudly followed by the Muslim world, in other words forgiveness and acceptance are the biggest dangers that this Rabbi has in keeping his flock nearby.

Back to the Spanish, why would they do this right now?, well the reasonable answer is to right the wrong, to patch a significant period in its history and apologize for the victims of its actions. But seriously, Spain and Israel has good relations,  as well as Jewish communities all over the world with Spain, so there is no issue here. Promotion the pluralist and tolerant Spanish culture was another reason, however anyone who visited Spain in the last 10 years knows the huge number of immigrants in its cities, Spain is one of the biggest immigration countries in the world.

The last possible reason, which is no doubt the most cynical one, is the financial crisis in the country, which is so dramatic and deep experts estimated a whole generation will live under it for most of its lifetime, is causing native Spanish to leave their country in search for a better life, an injection of a new type of population which Spain has not had for hundreds of years might just turn this thing around, however try and convince someone to move into a country he has no connection with only because 500 years ago an ancient ancestor might have lived there…

All of this reminds us of a great speech the wonderful Christopher Hitchens made, in which he mentions, naming one after the other, countries that forced its Jews to leave (or killed them) and eventually that country lost its power.

We can start by Hugging

Our best effort to ignore the winter olympics at Sochi, Russia are not working as well as we thought they will, first there was the fifth olympic ring that did not “open” up as the others did, just to show the good people of the world that no matter how hard you try, both in the natural world as well as the technological one, we are not living in an homogeneity like universe , meaning some things are different to others – which makes life better – not worst.

And now it looks like President Putin, who is (now) famous for his anti-gay opinions (and sadly, actions) is trying to find a way out of the homophobe closet he built for himself. It appears as though the highly involved president of Russia visited a night club in the Olympic village yesterday and paid compliments to a openly gay gold medal winer from the Netherlands.

Even more surprising is the fact that Russia and the Netherlands have been on a thin line of tension in the last couple of months, with the open minded and liberal Dutch stretching the diplomatically possible to a fine limit, with an arrest of a Russian diplomat on its soil and an incident with a Dutch vessel on Russia’s water.

The Global public scorn at the aggressive antigay actions in Russia could have led Putin to change his mind about this issue, and what better way to show it then by hugging an openly gay Dutch gold winer. As long as Russians come back to their senses and stop this middle ages behavior it does not really matter what brings the change – there is some light in the end of this tunnel.

Sochi Ring Does not Open