So much is made of criticizing religion, as if religion was anything special. The fact is that religions are easy to criticize. To begin with, most of them are corrupt in one way or another. Anyone who wants to contradict this need only read the news (or this Blog) to realize what a complete sham and hypocrisy the Roman Catholic Church is. Islam is no better, with its discrimination against women and hatred toward the west, not to mention the constant violence that seems to prevail in predominantly Muslim countries. The Jews, despite their surprisingly low numbers (approximately 16 million worldwide) it would seem cannot co-mingle with people of other faiths, and why should they, they claim they are the “Chosen People;” superior to all others. With that attitude, it’s no wonder they’re disliked.
I’ve only discussed the three major monotheistic religions here for the sake of expediency, but most of the world’s religions are open to criticism, for different reasons, but not the least of which is the fact that they are all founded on superstition. Their “holy books” are comprised of absurd claims and fairy tales that no human being with even marginal intelligence can believe. These books were written long ago by ignorant people with little or no concept of the sciences. The fact that they’re even in circulation today is a testament to how far the human race has yet to advance.
I could go on, but my point has been made; religions are not worthy of respect. Ironically, individuals are worthy of respect, and we humans have no problem with degrading them, mistreating them or even destroying them; whether emotionally or physically.
To close, as Henry Louis Mencken once wrote: “We must respect the other fellow’s religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart.”
I couldn’t have said it any better myself. TGO
Refer to story below. Source: Reuters
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian Christians have called for government action against the author of a widely read novel they say insults Christianity, in an unusual case that puts freedom of expression in Muslim-majority Egypt under fresh scrutiny.
Government investigators are looking into the complaint filed by a group of Egyptian and some foreign Copts against Youssef Ziedan, a Muslim who wrote the 2008 award-winning novel Azazeel (Beelzebub).
Egyptian law prohibits insults against Islam, Christianity and Judaism, and Ziedan could be sent to jail for up to five years if prosecuted and found guilty.
“They accuse me of insulting Christianity … It’s a serious crime and this is a big shock to people, especially since the novel has been so successful,” Ziedan said.
Azazeel, which won the 2009 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, backed by the Booker Prize Foundation, tells the story of a 5th-century Egyptian monk who witnesses debates over doctrine between early Christians.
During President Hosni Mubarak’s 29 years in power, the government has tolerated little political dissent and has over time adopted selective censorship of films, books and other media seen as risque or challenging to Islam.
In 1995 an Egyptian sharia court declared Egyptian intellectual Nasr Abu Zayd an apostate from Islam over his liberal, critical approach to Islamic teaching. His marriage was annulled and he was effectively forced into exile.
CLERICAL SCRUTINY
Books related to Islam must be approved by clerics at al-Azhar university, a top religious authority for Sunnis.
In the same way, Coptic Church elders scrutinize books about Christianity, but Ziedan’s novel was not vetted because it was considered a popular rather than spiritual tome, one Coptic church leader said.
But Mamdouh Ramzi, a Coptic lawyer who is among the group that have complained about Ziedan, said the novel is offensive to Christians.
“He insulted priests and bishops and said many things with no proof or evidence from books or history … He is not a Christian man, what does he know about the Church?” Ramzi asked.
The case, joined by Coptic groups in the United States, the Netherlands, Canada and Austria, reflects broader complaints by Copts that they are marginalized in mainly Muslim Egypt.
“… we should receive attention from the authorities or we will start to wonder why the law does not respond unless the matter includes an insult to Islam,” Ramzi said.
Christians account for about 10 percent of Egypt’s 78 million people. Sectarian violence is not common, but disputes occasionally break out over issues involving land or women, prompting complaints by Copts that the government does too little to protect them for fear of Islamist reprisals.
The case presents Mubarak’s government, which fought a low-scale Islamist insurgency in the 1990s, with a dilemma, said Gamal Eid, who heads the Cairo-based Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.
On the one hand, it wants to avoid criticism from Christian groups abroad and so is under pressure to act; on the other, it does not want to jail a writer at a time of human rights scrutiny before elections this year and next.
“This case has become politicized, so any outcome is possible,” Eid said.
Mubarak, who turned 82 this week, has not yet said whether he will run for a sixth term in the 2011 presidential vote.
(Editing by Missy Ryan and Tim Pearce)
