# The Fallen Blogger and the Spectre of Secularism **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 28, 2015, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827 "2015-02-28T03:21:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 44
**Author:** ![Haberdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Haberdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haberdash)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/861 "2015-05-19T12:59:29Z")
[We must support ‘Esha’](http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/2015/05/18/we-must-support-esha/) > [@](#): > > ‘Esha’ was arrested in March 2012 for having torn up the pages of the Qu’ran. Although I disagree with the whole notion of blasphemy and find it ridiculous that a legal case should be fought on the basis of whether she did or she didn’t, what is worse is that she didn’t even do it. She had an argument with a friend of hers who then shopped her to the authorities. It is a common way of settling scores in countries like Pakistan. I have provided some of the statistics in another article. Her friend is prepared to drop the case if Esha pays her £20,000 and gets her a job in Dubai – none of which is within Esha’s reach. ---
**Author:** ![Haberdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Haberdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haberdash)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/862 "2015-05-19T13:00:36Z")
[Atena Farghadani Goes on Trial Tomorrow in Iran for Her Cartoon About Access to Contraception](https://globalvoicesonline.org/2015/05/18/atena-farghadani-goes-on-trial-tomorrow-in-iran-for-her-cartoon-about-access-to-contraception/) > [@](#): > > Activist and artist Atena Farghadani is scheduled to stand trial on Tuesday, May 19 for a cartoon that criticized the Iranian government. The 28-year-old faces charges of spreading propaganda against the system; insulting members of parliament through paintings; and insulting the supreme leader. > > The image that led to her arrest depicts Iran’s members of parliament as animals voting on law that will restrict access to contraception and criminalise voluntary sterilisation, severely curtailing women’s rights. > > Her initial arrest came in August 2014, when she was held in solitary confinement for prolonged periods of time in Evin prison. She was released in December, but was detained again after publicly discussing her mistreatment by the prison guards. ---
**Author:** ![Haberdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Haberdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haberdash)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/863 "2015-05-20T17:20:16Z")
[One year after Meriam Ibrahim’s release, two Christians face possible death penalty in Sudan](http://www.religionnews.com/2015/05/20/one-year-meriam-ibrahims-release-two-christians-face-possible-death-penalty-sudan) > [@](#): > > Last year, a death penalty sentence slapped on a Sudanese doctor for refusing to renounce her Christian faith stirred international outrage and heightened calls on the government to increase religious liberty. > > Meriam Yahya Ibrahim was released a month later, but now two Christian pastors have been jailed and they also face a possible death sentence. > > The Rev. Michael Yat and the Rev. Peter Yein Reith, both from the South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church, have been charged with undermining the constitutional system and spying, offenses punishable by death or life imprisonment. > > The clerics are charged with waging a war against the state and assault on religious belief. > [@](#): > > Yat was arrested last year after visiting the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church’s Bahri congregation in Khartoum, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a charity that works on behalf of persecuted Christians. > > The congregation had resisted the takeover of the church by a Muslim businessman, who had demolished part of the worship center. > > In December, police beat and arrested 38 Christians for worshipping in the church. ---
**Author:** ![Haberdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Haberdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haberdash)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/864 "2015-05-21T13:06:18Z")
[The Growing Danger of Defining Hate Speech](http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2015/05/21/Growing-Danger-Defining-Hate-Speech) > [@](#): > > A plurality of Americans, 41 percent, would support a law that would criminalize speech for content if it “intended to stir up hatred against a group” based on ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. Only 37 percent --barely over a third of Americans – would oppose it. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/865 "2015-05-21T13:08:30Z")
Is there some reason you don’t just have a blog, **Haberdash**? ---
**Author:** ![Haberdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Haberdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haberdash)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/866 "2015-05-21T17:58:59Z")
[French school newspaper threatened over Charlie Hebdo issue](http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/world/article/French-school-newspaper-threatened-over-Charlie-6278668.php) > [@](#): > > The 17-year-old student, chief editor of the paper at the Marcelin Berthelot school in the Paris suburb of Saint-Maur des Fosses, received seven threats, according to Reporters Without Borders. They included letters sent with bullets and swastikas, some sent to his home, others left in his school locker. > > The special issue included essays and poems about the Charlie Hebdo attack Jan. 7. The father of a student at the school was among the 12 killed. > > The school’s teachers threatened to stop work, expressing concern that police aren’t doing enough to protect the school or stop the threats. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/867 "2015-05-21T18:14:34Z")
[Moderating] **Haberdash** , if you don’t stop spamming the board, your posting privileges will be suspended. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/868 "2015-05-22T17:00:55Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > The only guy _in jail_ for the Benghazi attacks is an American filmmaker who made a film critical of Islam. This is the most not even wrong thing you’ve written here in quite a while. Congratulations on achieving your goal and not letting all that practice go to waste! ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/869 "2015-05-22T23:57:03Z")
Indeed, he was released over a year ago after serving a sentence only tangentially related to the video itself. My mistake. ---
**Author:** ![truthSeeker2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7cd45c/32.png) [@truthSeeker2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthSeeker2)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/870 "2015-05-23T03:47:22Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > How does one abuse a fucking cancer? > I like how all the phony WWJD christians in this country band together to preach forgiveness for people who do wrong in the world. > Wait…that dosen’t happen? WWJD? Nevermind, it makes for a catchy bumper sticker, if not such an actual life practice. Calling it a cancer is an abuse, which is rightly deserved by Islam because it is a cancer. Maybe education globalisation reform etc are chemotherapy, time will tell if it cures the deep-rooted cancer. I think a big majority of non-muslims think it is a cancer for modern world. But because 20-25% of people of the world are Muslims, people hesitate to say it openly. ---
**Author:** ![truthSeeker2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7cd45c/32.png) [@truthSeeker2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthSeeker2)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/871 "2015-05-23T03:51:23Z")
> [@Haberdash](#): > > [Removing my hijab](https://aliyahsaleem.wordpress.com/2015/05/17/removing-my-hijab/) Hijab is a hideous piece of clothing IMO… I can understand women maybe wanting to cover body curves etc But teenage girls having to cover their faces? It should be banned for underaged girls. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/872 "2015-05-23T05:23:32Z")
> [@truthSeeker2](#): > > Hijab is a hideous piece of clothing IMO… I can understand women maybe wanting to cover body curves etc > But teenage girls having to cover their faces? > It should be banned for underaged girls. For someone who claims to be from the Indian subcontinent and is obsessed with Islam, you’re astonishingly ignorant. The hijab as it’s normally worn doesn’t cover the face. ---
**Author:** ![truthSeeker2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7cd45c/32.png) [@truthSeeker2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthSeeker2)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/873 "2015-05-23T06:39:24Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > For someone who claims to be from the Indian subcontinent and is obsessed with Islam, you’re astonishingly ignorant. > > The hijab as it’s normally worn doesn’t cover the face. I am an Indian, here thankfully you will probably find only abt 1 out of a 1000 women wearing burqa/hijab or whatever it is called. And I am not obsessed abt Islam. Its a cancer, I think of myself as spreading awareness abt it. That’s it. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/874 "2015-05-23T08:11:21Z")
> [@truthSeeker2](#): > > It should be banned for underaged girls. Is this you telling us where your tastes lie? Eeew. ---
**Author:** ![truthSeeker2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7cd45c/32.png) [@truthSeeker2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthSeeker2)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/875 "2015-05-23T08:17:20Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Is this you telling us where your tastes lie? Eeew. The little girls do as their parents tell them to do. This is an Islamic dress here in India (face is usually covered as well) - [http://182.18.151.124/web/photoimages\_new/2014/04/17/614dceea3cb5e3dd8ded1feaca59deb4.jpg](http://182.18.151.124/web/photoimages_new/2014/04/17/614dceea3cb5e3dd8ded1feaca59deb4.jpg) Would you like your 12-17 years old daughter or sister having to wear this? (I am fine with adult women wearing this out of their own wish.) ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/876 "2015-05-23T10:12:19Z")
> [@truthSeeker2](#): > > I am an Indian, here thankfully you will probably find only abt 1 out of a 1000 women wearing burqa/hijab or whatever it is called. A hijab is only a head covering, and comes in many forms, many which are no different than clothing the hindu wear. the niqab - the face veil is different and the burqa is the all body. But in reality I have never heard an indian not from the extremist hinduvata make your kind of statements. Your deliberate falsehoods etc. show through > [@](#): > > And I am not obsessed abt Islam. yes, you are, indeed we have already seen your excuse making and denailism regarding your hideous and malaciious ideology. > [@](#): > > Its a cancer, I think of myself as spreading awareness abt it. That’s it. Funny, this lie. What you are doing is promoting a supramacist ideology, hiding your true face of course and making the kind of statements and propagandas that we have seen from alll of the genocidiare excuse makers and justifiers, from the balkans onwards. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/877 "2015-05-23T10:31:28Z")
> [@truthSeeker2](#): > > I am an Indian, here thankfully you will probably find only abt 1 out of a 1000 women wearing burqa/hijab or whatever it is called. the [burqa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burqa) ad the [hijab](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijab) are quite different items of clothing. > [@](#): > > And I am not obsessed abt Islam. > [@](#): > > Its a cancer, I think of myself as spreading awareness abt it. That’s it. No, that’s not the it you’re spreading. Instead of awareness, you’re spreading bigotry and ignorance. By the way, you say you’re in India? What about an Indian court ruling that Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty were “guilty of violating public obscenity” laws when Gere kissed Shetty on the cheek? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/878 "2015-05-23T10:57:52Z")
double post ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/879 "2015-05-23T11:08:37Z")
> [@truthSeeker2](#): > > The little girls do as their parents tell them to do. This is an Islamic dress here in India (face is usually covered as well) - > [http://182.18.151.124/web/photoimages\_new/2014/04/17/614dceea3cb5e3dd8ded1feaca59deb4.jpg](http://182.18.151.124/web/photoimages_new/2014/04/17/614dceea3cb5e3dd8ded1feaca59deb4.jpg) > Would you like your 12-17 years old daughter or sister having to wear this? (I am fine with adult women wearing this out of their own wish.) I’d much rather my 12-17 year old daughter (if I were to have children) wear that than be forcibly married off illegally to a total stranger before she reaches 12, or have acid thrown at her or she suffer a rape (with little or no punishment to the rapist(s)) because of some misguided view of morality, or even to have her killed because her much older husband died or because the husband’s family isn’t pleased with the amount of a dowry. Are you really sure you want to embark on the topic of how Islam treats girls when, in fact, it’s a cultural issue and–whether you like it or not–your culture is pretty proficient at abusing girls. ---
**Author:** ![truthSeeker2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7cd45c/32.png) [@truthSeeker2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthSeeker2)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827/880 "2015-05-23T11:48:45Z")
Burqa was the one I was referring to. People here picture a Burqa in their heads when they say Islamic clothing as that is what some Muslim women wear. I don’t have an issue with hijab. Burqa on minors should be banned though. Child marriage is prevalent in certain parts(where poverty is prevalent) of India. It is unlawful. (Avg. marriage age in India is going up all the time and TFR here was 2.3 children per woman in 2012, most states now have TFR of [below 2](http://www.thehindu.com/data/india-to-reach-replacement-levels-of-fertility-by-2020/article6717297.ece)) . (TFR in india happens to be highest among Muslims and avg. marriage age the lowest btw) Sati was practiced by certain communities. that is unlawful , is no longer practiced. Rapes happen in every country. It is easy for western media to paint black a country that represents 1/6th of humanity as the number of rapes seem high due to population which in reality is not the case. Everyone supports severe punishment for heinous criminal acts of rape, acid throwing, dowry murders. \*\*I would say average status of women in Indian society is all the time going up but still is lower than average status of men and it must go up till it is equal to men. I will never be defensive about that. But that still does not mean that Islam is not the most intolerant, oppressive, divisive religion, basically a cancer.\*\* [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827.md?page=43) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fallen-blogger-and-the-spectre-of-secularism/713827.md?page=45)