offence » Matharu's Rants and Raves

Islamic bloc drops U.N. drive on defaming religion

Mar 292011

Got this Reuters article via richarddawkins.net:

Islamic bloc drops U.N. drive on defaming religion
http://richarddawkins.net/articles/608036-islamic-bloc-drops-u-n-drive-on-defaming-religion

Islamic countries set aside their 12-year campaign to have religions protected from "defamation", allowing the U.N. Human Rights Council to approve a plan to promote religious tolerance on Thursday.

Western countries and their Latin American allies, strong opponents of the defamation concept, joined Muslim and African states in backing without vote the new approach that switches focus from protecting beliefs to protecting believers.

By ROBERT EVANS – REUTERS

Rationality, critical thinking, the tools of science, have shown not only no evidence for gods but also no requirement for gods. Religions are a human construct, all flawed, but some more than others. The barbarity of religions, the enslavement of the religious, are sufficient to earn scorn and contempt. There is certainly no case for respect. The religious can be seen as both victim and villain but, in both cases, irreverence is a useful method to allow the enslaved to break free and for the slavers to be toppled. I therefore view any initiatives to “protect” religions or the religious as nothing more than a mechanism to expand the ignorance that religions bring and as an attack on human progress. Religions have not earned special privileges and the sooner such privileges are stripped away the better. Religions, therefore, are to be resisted and fought, even if that means “offending”.

Article by Kulvinder Singh Matharu – 2011

Religion’s special privileges

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May 302010

Actually, this isn’t so much a discussion on why religion does or does not deserve special privileges, but rather it’s just my way of gently introducing two YouTube channels related to atheism and religion. But I will say this, and which I’ve mentioned briefly in another article, religion does not deserve any special privileges; it is not immune to criticism and I will object to any laws or “politically correct” influences that seek to protect religion or not cause “offence”. Any “offences” that religious people feel, I think, may be the result of a deep split within their personalities where their rational-self is trying to get to the surface but is pushed back down by the irrational-self. This battle probably goes unnoticed by the person but if they really thought about it they may perhaps know that there’s something not quite right. And rather than explore and understand and admit that they are wrong they, instead, lash out at the external, the rationalists, the critical thinkers. They want this nice, cosy world that they’ve built around themselves and are afraid to venture out, afraid to grow-up, afraid to confront reality. This may be something that will form part of a rather longer article but I fear that I may just end up repeating some, if not all, of the points made by Richard Dawkins in “The God Delusion”. But I do still think that it may be a worthwhile activity to see where it leads me; I may even be surprised! However, I digress.

I came across these two YouTube channels and really enjoyed them. Some may be offended. Tough.

Article by Kulvinder Singh Matharu – 2010