Atheism Corner

Humanity in Progress

Sudan’s Big Day

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South Sudan goes to the polls today.

As in many African countries there are too many sides, too many stories and too much religion involved in a decision that, normally, would have been a very easy one to a group of people who define themselves. The north is mostly opposed for the separation of regions, mainly because of the dependency of resources that will have a significant economic effect on the north – in case the south breaks away.

Slava Kirr, the current president already warns of war, and asks all the citizens to be tolerant of the decision – whatever it is. However the same person told Al-Jazeera TV station yesterday that the forces that move to South away from the North are “the global Zionism” which basically means that the Jews are pushing the Christians (the south) away from a partnership with the Muslims (the north), which is a little extreme, baring in mind that the country has been in a state of civil war for years, only to be broken with a treaty – the same one that stated that in 2011 (that’s today) the south will vote for its future. It is clear that the people of south Sudan do not want anything to do with the north, almost as clear as the threat of another war, bloodshed and religion based violence once the call has been done, lets hope that this time things will move in another direction.

Now, imagine a world without religion, imagine a continent without religion – Africa. Without Christianity forbidding the use of condoms, without Muslim Christians tensions, but with a much better future.

Frits Bolkestein & Some Things That Never Change

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a few weeks ago, a well respected gentelman was quoated as saying that “obvious” Jews should probably consider moving out of Holland becasue their wellbeing can not be garanteed by the local authorities. That gentelman was no other than Frits Bolkestein, who has already sparked a few controversialists in his time, and who can not be blamed for saying so out of sheer Jew hating sentiments.

Mr. Bolkestein simply stated what he believes in (or believed in – at the time) based on very simple facts, the Dutch authorities could not stop the murder of several people who were in danger because of criticism of Islam (Theo Van Gogh being one of them), so it would be very likely that they could not protect every religious Jewish person – who looks like a Jewish person, in Holland.

And some things never change. The idea that someone will be under constant threat only because of his beliefs is not new, the fact that governments tell Jews that they can not keep them safe, even though they are native citizens with equal rights – not new.

Why not do this the other way around, why not tell anyone who plans on executing hate crimes that the government can not promise to keep them safe, why not tell communities that support such actions that they will not be safe, and better move to another place, a place that supports such a behavior?

As for religious Jews, I think it was the great Christopher Hitchins that said that the Jews are the perfect evidence that there is no god, if you are Jewish and look like one is no different to believing in any other god and not looking like that, but if that directly threatens your life, maybe you should consider a fashion change discussion with the almighty, after all it can not be that god dictated a dress code, only humans do that.

Xenophobia (From Wikipedia)

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Xenophobia is defined as the “hatred or fear of foreigners or strangers or of their politics or culture”.[1] It comes from the Greek words ξένος (xenos), meaning “stranger,” “foreigner” and φόβος (phobos), meaning “fear.”

Xenophobia can manifest itself in many ways involving the relations and perceptions of an ingroup towards an outgroup, including a fear of losing identity, suspicion of its activities, aggression, and desire to eliminate its presence to secure a presumed purity.[3] Xenophobia can also be exhibited in the form of an “uncritical exaltation of another culture” in which a culture is ascribed “an unreal, stereotyped and exotic quality”

Xenophobia and Religion?

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Lets start this one rolling, we will try and research the issue of xenophobia and religion, if it is at all connected, and how this kind of attitude towards people is changing our world today.

Egypt’s Copts & Future

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For those of you who do not follow the media last week has been a scene of violence in the middle east, this time it was Egypt, in the city of Alexandria, where a suicide bomber targeted a Coptic church, killing and inuring many innocent people. This must not be a big surprise for anyone in Egypt, a couple of months ago a christian was stabbed and murdered in the same city, on the same backgound – the religous intolerance of some in Egypt.

Many argue that the action did not come from within Egypt but from outside, maybe al-Quida. The regular conspiracy theory in the Arab world always points a finger at Israel as a cause of any kind of problem, for example the shark attacks in Sinai a month ago (some claimed it was Israel who “sent” the sharks) or eagles spying on Saudi Arabia ground (a research on the migration of eagles done around the world with the university of Tel-Aviv participating).

This kind of attack is not outside the ordinary for anyone who follows the modern day Muslim belief, which has perfect reason to believe that there should be no other religion than Islam and that there is no place for any other belief system next to Islam, especially in places that are ruled by Muslims or ever have been under Muslim law (which places much of Southern Europe under that principle).

If anyone asks how religions can be dangerous and physically threaten the lives of millions of people, that is exactly how and why. Islam is (to its believers) the final word of God, it is the last and final set of rules and “best practices” the all-mighty has dictated to the prophet via his angel. There is no question in the mind of a true Muslim that there is no other truth and that following the word of the prophet will lead to a very happy ending. In Islam, much more than in Christianity, trying your best to be like the prophet actually makes sense and has a direct reward system behind it. The prophet did not tolerate any other religion (under the house of war, not the early and diplomatic house of peace) so there is no reason for his followers to do any different.

Add to this the pre-programmed viral power of Islam (the way it is programmed to spread quickly and convert everyone to its law) and you have yourself a problem, well, at least if you plan to have any other religions or belief systems around. It is one of the main issues with most of the worlds conflicts, and will probably get worst in time. Even within the Arab/Muslim world there is no peace because of this ideology, since no one path of Islam can accept the other.

And so, the Coptic church, a true relic of history, finds itself attacked with the clear purpose of total destruction 2,000 years after it started, in the same city that saw Christians advocate their cause to pagans, later to convert to Islam by the power of the sword. One can not but wonder when the great city of Alexandria will, as Richard Dawkins puts it, “Go one God further” and see the light.