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Islam 101: The Very Basics

Eli Heina, 21 Comments

The first time I posted about Islam on the Internet, it was, oddly enough, on a Star Wars messageboard. One of the responses was PM that informed me of certain "facts" about Islam that were more than slightly off the mark. Things haven't changed so much in the ensuing decade, really, and perhaps have even gotten worse. Those opposed to religion want to include Islam in their criticism, but often fail to understand even the basics about it. Given that most online sources are either very much in favor or totally against Islam, who can really blame them?

I aim to provide an alternative, starting with the definition of the words "Islam" and "Muslim."

Continue reading “Islam 101: The Very Basics” →

Islam 101: The Very Basics
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On The Hunger Games and Market-Driven Ghettoization of Film

Eli Heina, 44 Comments

Full disclosure: I was one of the Team Katniss faithful who flocked to the movie theaters late last evening to make The Hunger Games a resounding box-office success. The crowd at the particular theater at which I saw it was mostly comprised of groups of young people in their late teens to mid 20s with a few tween families to round it out. What also interested me was that the most vocal fans, i.e. the ones who jabbered the most about the book before and after the film, were young men.

Continue reading “On The Hunger Games and Market-Driven Ghettoization of Film” →

On The Hunger Games and Market-Driven Ghettoization of Film

Top 7 Birth Control and Abortion Myths

Eli Heina, , , 38 Comments

We all know that standard (a.k.a. latex and polyurethane) condoms don’t have little holes in them to let the AIDS swim right through (as a woman accompanying Brother Jed once solemnly told me), that the amount of birth control pills someone takes doesn’t correlate with the amount of sex they are having, and that you don’t get STIs from having sex during menstruation (true story: one religious book I read claimed this was the case), right? One would hope.

On the other hand, there are plenty of notions floating around concerning the prevention of dropping unwanted crotch-fruit that are simply false, but make sense on some level. Continue reading “Top 7 Birth Control and Abortion Myths” →

Top 7 Birth Control and Abortion Myths

Why I’m Optimistic About Saving Face

Eli Heina, , , 5 Comments

Tonight at 8:30 EST, HBO will be airing an Oscar-winning documentary entitled Saving Face. The 40-minute film is about how Dr. Mohammad Jawad, a British-Pakistani plastic surgeon, travels to his country of origin to perform facial reconstructive surgery on women who are victims of acid attacks (warning: graphic images).

When I first heard of the film, I was duly skeptical. Continue reading “Why I’m Optimistic About Saving Face” →

Why I’m Optimistic About Saving Face

The Myth of the Muslim Monolith

Eli Heina, , 8 Comments

What supposedly Islamic traditions are actually specifically Arab cultural traditions, but not universally Muslim?

This is quite the difficult question to answer, and not just slightly due to the fact that Muslims themselves vehemently disagree on the issue among themselves and work to promote a united front for the eyes of non-Muslims. Continue reading “The Myth of the Muslim Monolith” →

The Myth of the Muslim Monolith

Babies and Bathwater: Monsanto

Eli Heina, , 37 Comments

In a world ridden with woo, it can be hard to discern between something that is of genuine concern and something harmless that people oppose due to a faulty understanding of the world. However, to disregard any criticisms of any given thing just because the woo-minded oppose it is to endorse a stubbornly contrary sort of dogma.

One example of something that is often criticized for unscientific (or, at least, not verified) reasons is Monsanto, the global agricultural corporation.

Continue reading “Babies and Bathwater: Monsanto” →

Babies and Bathwater: Monsanto