Standards of Evidence: Sharia vs. Rape Deniers vs. US Courts

Content Notice for Discussion of Rape and Sexual Assault. Also note that for purposes of comparison, the only crimes being discussed are male-on-female. There is shamefully little-to-nothing in Sharia regarding men and boys who are sexually violated and rape deniers rarely take the issue of male-on-male or female-on-male rape into consideration.

Conclusion: You just might be a hypocritical misogynist if your standards of evidence for rape are more stringent than those of certain iterations of traditional Sharia. Thank goodness for the American justice system which, flawed as it is, has not such victim-blaming standards.

Continue reading “Standards of Evidence: Sharia vs. Rape Deniers vs. US Courts”

Standards of Evidence: Sharia vs. Rape Deniers vs. US Courts
{advertisement}

One Reason Why Islam Seems “Stuck”: Interpretation vs. Analogies

[A version of this was originally posted as a Facebook note.]

ijtihad, (Arabic: “effort”) in Islamic law, the independent or original interpretation of problems not precisely covered by the Quran, Ḥadith (traditions concerning the Prophet’s life and utterances), and ijma (scholarly consensus).
Britannica

Sometimes, very occasionally, just asking questions is a legitimate intellectual exercise among consenting adults instead of an annoying exercise in bad faith. One of the classic food-for-thought type questions involves time-travelling to change some historical event.

Continue reading “One Reason Why Islam Seems “Stuck”: Interpretation vs. Analogies”

One Reason Why Islam Seems “Stuck”: Interpretation vs. Analogies

Why I Call Myself an Ex-Muslim

I was asked today, by a Muslim, why I self-identify as an ex-Muslim and not just an atheist. I’ve had the same question posited by fellow atheists as well. Setting aside my impulse to retort with a knee-jerk anthropologists’ argument of “I can call myself whatever I want”, I can see something of a good question hidden in the label-policing.

The simple answer? In the past, Islam was my life, and continues to affect my life, and will never stop affecting who I am. Continue reading “Why I Call Myself an Ex-Muslim”

Why I Call Myself an Ex-Muslim

Did Luis Suarez’s Biting Break His Fast?: A World Cup / Ramadan Update

It’s a World Cup Ramadan, the first one since the 1980s. It’s like a White Christmas? Kind of? Except Ramadan is more like Lent than Christmas.

Never mind.

Today marks the third day of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting. This weekend, concerns over the Muslim World Cup players made their way across the internets. I happened across posts of the Vox and Mashable links and observed much speculation and questioning regarding the rules of fasting during Ramadan, as well as talk of exemptions to fasting.

Continue reading “Did Luis Suarez’s Biting Break His Fast?: A World Cup / Ramadan Update”

Did Luis Suarez’s Biting Break His Fast?: A World Cup / Ramadan Update

A Murder By Any Other Name?

Whenever I write about the realities of Islam in the United States, someone generally comes along and asks why I do not address the more contentious issues. While it is something of a Darfur vs. blowjobs, so to speak, there are, of course, issues that concern Muslims. One of the most talked-about is violence against women, specifically the crimes that are referred to as honor killings.

Continue reading “A Murder By Any Other Name?”

A Murder By Any Other Name?

The Troubling Case of Alexander Aan

Recently, a petition has been circulating in support of Alexander Aan, an atheist who is currently on trial in Indonesia for having spoken out in favor of atheism and against Islam. A Facebook page has also cropped up. Maryam Namazie has been covering the case from the beginning and has posted an interview with Aan. Additionally, Atheist Alliance International is collecting donations for his legal fund.

Continue reading “The Troubling Case of Alexander Aan”

The Troubling Case of Alexander Aan

Zombie Muhammad vs. Zealot

Last Halloween, an atheist named Ernest Perce dressed up as Zombie Muhammad and joined a parade in Pennsylvania that also included a Zombie Pope and Zombie Jesus. A Muslim man, Talaag Elbayomy, decided that this was so offensive to him that he had to take action; he claimed that he thought there were laws against offending him. According to the officer who responded to the incident, Elbayomy admitted to initiating physical contact with Perce  and thus should be found guilty of the assault. Furthermore, the incident was caught on camera.

So Elbayomy was convicted, right? Continue reading “Zombie Muhammad vs. Zealot”

Zombie Muhammad vs. Zealot

The Islam Dichotomy, Part 1: Terrorism

I’d like to see you weigh in on the Muslims are evil and scary vs. Muslims are no worse than Christians and demonizing them only helps Christians battle that occasionally flares up in the skeptical blogosphere.

Is Islam a religion of peace or of leaving people in pieces via acts of terrorism?

This question seems to be everywhere now. Between the neocon stance of “Deport all of the Muslims!” (or worse) and the committed relativists’ cries for unwavering “tolerance,” what’s a skeptic to think? Continue reading “The Islam Dichotomy, Part 1: Terrorism”

The Islam Dichotomy, Part 1: Terrorism