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The student, Sayed Parwiz Kambakhsh, 23…was charged with directly insulting Muhammad by calling the prophet “a killer and adulterer,” the judge, Shamsurahman Muhmand, said in a telephone interview…
Kambakhsh is a student at the faculty of journalism in Mazar-i-Sharif and also works for a daily paper, Jahan-e-Naw, as a reporter. He was accused of downloading a controversial article and adding some of his own paragraphs about the ignorance of the Prophet Muhammad on women’s rights…
You have to ask after a while – does a theocracy, by nature, have to become intolerant?
“You have to ask after a while – does a theocracy have to become intolerant?”
Subtle question there==its not, does a religion have to become intolerant==its does a theocracy have to become intolerant?
I think religions have a constant motive to become intolerant and the better ones live their religion by resisting it. When a religion additionally chooses to become the government, seems to me, the only reason to do this is in order to be intolerant???
Thats a sidebar. What I wanted to post was regardless of what we all might think of Pres Musharev (sp–the President of Afghanistan), and the assassination of Bhuto, and the failure to catch OBL, and the resurgence of the Taliban===it is kinda easy to see how difficult it might be for “anyone” to bring order to this country.
And it must be said–they have nukes. Clock to destruction keeps on ticking.
These are guys we’re literally dying to defend from The Taliban, correct?
These are probably the same guys whose poppy fields we’re dying to defend, right?
I guess the world is just too complicated for me to understand it any more.
In the West we have learned to tolerate a lot of things about others religion and life style. But, the question is should we tolerate intolerance? And if not, what should we do about it?
#2–Cinaedh==I know your mischaracterization is unintentional==but we invaded Afghanistan in our own interest and we are staying there in our own interest. And we are screwing up because our leaders have attention deficit syndrome. They can’t focus on our National Security long enough to get it down before they are off figuring out how to line their own pockets with money.
#1 – Musharraf is the leader of Pakistan, not Afghanistan.
Lest we forget, the reason Bin Laden attacked the US was to get us out of the Arab states so he could take over and set up another Arab empire under his strict interpretation of Islam, and then spread his view of the world on all the rest of us whether we like it or not. These were his own words after 911.
Bin Laden and the Taliban are of the same mind. Both were based in Afghanistan. Unfortunately for the world, there are far, far too many Arabs that still think the way they do and are still trying to get the rest of the world to become as repressive and backward as they are.
On a sidebar, the president of Afghanistan is Hamid Karzi.
The West has learned no such thing. Canada and Europe restrict freedom. They don’t give out death penalties, but they dole out jail time.
#5–gquaglia–thanks. My very bad==although all the issues are the same, except for every fact I used. (smile!)
–and I’ve traveled to both countries. Rats!!
#4 bobbo
“Sapper Etienne Gonthier, a 21-year-old combat engineer from Quebec, was identified Thursday as the latest Canadian soldier to die as a result of a roadside bomb…
Two other soldiers travelling with Gonthier were slightly injured when their light armoured vehicle triggered a roadside bomb about 35 kilometres southwest of Kandahar City.”
I don’t think these guys ‘invaded’ Afghanistan in their own interest or were staying in their own interest.
I also don’t see any ‘mischaracterization’. Would you care to elaborate?
Sometimes I get the impression that I’m the only one who notices – How is it that all-powerful deities are somehow incapable of dealing with heretics and unbelievers on their own? Since when does a being that can do anything require our services to punish those who “betray” them?
…which is totally bypassing the even more absurd question of why an all-powerful being needs to be respected / loved / worshipped by His inferior creations.
I’m not a deity, yet I feel no need to compel amoebae or bacteria to love me. Yet the creator of the Universe is as insecure as a teenage kid? Suuure. Riiiight.
“Respect me, or I’ll bust a cap in yo ass.” Yessir, Mr. God, sir. “Well, for some strange reason, I can’t do it myself, so I’ll order my peeps to do it for me.”
Oh, brother. 😛
#10 THC
The trouble is, by the time you’ve gotten half-way though that logic lesson, they’ve already lopped off all three of your heads.
Sometimes the sword is mightier than the pen, neh?
#9–Cinaedh–ok, keep me twisting on my confusing Pakistan with Afghanistan. I deserve that.
But, you are making your own case even worse. When you refer to “we” I’m thinking the GOUSA, or Canada, or the Coalition or whatever standard of “world players” you want to use. If you want to bring this down to the individual troops–why there I would say the motives are mixed.
“The name of today’s military operation is Enduring Freedom. We defend not only our precious freedoms, but also the freedom of people everywhere to live and raise their children free from fear.”
— George W Bush, 07 October 2001
Text: President Bush Announces Military Strikes in Afghanistan
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
# 13 pedro said, What can I say, the religion of love strikes again.
For centuries, Christians have been killing for God too. It it’s not just middle ages. It was no accident that the “Land Letter” (http://tinyurl.com/3c28fb)was released before the Iraq invasion giving theological justification for a morally indefensible war.
And it isn’t just Christianity — Hindus and Jews are currently engaged in bloody religious wars.
And it isn’t just religion — under Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot, untold millions were killed in the name of atheistic dialectical materialism. And the killing didn’t stop then, Maoist are still killing innocents in a couple of countries.
So, OK, fine, go ahead criticize Islam.
But you are an intellectual sham if you single them out.
Almost nobody’s hands are clean. Islam isn’t alone and they aren’t nearly the worst.
#12 bobbo
This time it’s my error for not paying sufficient attention. You have my apology.
Adherents to a religion get radicalized, intolerant & crazed to the same degree that their “faith” becomes less tenable & believable.
Gross overpopulation doesn’t help either. When a credulity crisis hits Mexico it’s gonna get ugly down there. Will implode into amorality like the Muslim world has. No more bonehead religion to keep the peasants on the straight & narrow. They will come spilling across our southern border & ruin everything.
Just a pleasant prognostication for the future :-()
The future is chaos … get some pop corn and enjoy the ride.
#3 – But, the question is should we tolerate intolerance?
No.
And if not, what should we do about it?
Kill zealots in mass numbers.
#10 – How is it that all-powerful deities are somehow incapable of dealing with heretics and unbelievers on their own?
I’m operating on the assumption that this is a rhetorical question.
0. Eideard. If a god-like person appeared and convinced you, without any question what-so-ever, that He indeed was the creator of the universe, would you obey if God asked you to kill all infidels? You’d think about it anyway to say the least.
RBG
Greg: “And it isn’t just Christianity — Hindus and Jews are currently engaged in bloody religious wars.”
Christians are fighting Moslems in Indonesia and the Philipines to keep from being converted or murdered.
Hindus are fighting Moslems in India to keep from being converted or murdered.
Jews are fighting Moslems in the Holy land to keep from being converted or murdered.
Moslems are fighting Moslems in Darfur, Iraq, Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan (shall I continue)?
Christians, Jews, and Hindus are not fighting each other anywhere.
But, the people fighting for survival are as bad as the people trying to murder them?
You’d think he’d go down fighting or go into hiding instead of just sitting there waiting to be arrested.
The answer is: OF COURSE !!! Put any group of RELIGIOUS FANATICS IN CHARGE, and the will put the rest of the population through their own brand of religious hoops !!! And of course, it ends up with the FANATICS DEMONSTRATION THEIR “GOD-GIVEN” AUTHORITY WITH MURDERING NON-BELIEVERS !!!
I sure miss Jim Jones, them was some kind of christians and could teach them talibans a thing or two.
This article is interesting when looked at in conjunction with the above story about nuking Afghanistan. There’s a clash of civilizations underway and as long as there are those who ‘love death more than you love life,’ well, you can count on more killing for sure.
Best to keep your powder dry and your head down.
If a god-like person appeared and convinced you, without any question what-so-ever, that He indeed was the creator of the universe, would you obey if God asked you to kill all infidels?
Why would a god need me to do their dirty work? Sounds like a lazy ass god to me.
#21
Pot meet kettle
#29 – Whatever.
It’s religious extremists who are attacking the rest of us. Rather than advocating that we defend ourselves againsts them, would you be happier if I advocated inviting them over for brunch.
Extremists of all stripes have no intention to ever stop until we are dead or converted. It isn’t “intolerance” to destroy an enemy that is attacking you.
Killing zealots en masse is the way to go then? Sounds a lot like zealotry to me.
“Killing zealots en masse is the way to go then? Sounds a lot like zealotry to me.”
Hmm. OK. So, if, let’s just say, we were to find out, on unimpeachable authority, that a certain town in Afghanistan was 100% occupied by Taliban and al-Qaeda, no one else, and beyond any doubt, would you:
a) bomb said town out of existence;
b) send in U.N, peacekeeping forces to arrest all and hold them for Western-style trials; or
c) open dialog with them and try to convince them of the errors of their ways
Is solution a) zealotry? Or simply a proactive defense of civilization? Or what exactly?
#31 – I’m typing anonymously at Dvorak Uncensored… I’m not addressing the United Nations. I add a little extremism to incite a little feedback. In real life, I’m vaguely more even tempered.
But I stand by the principle. A very hard, aggressive stand must be taken against religious extremism no matter what the faith, in order to ensure that all (including the extremists) can live their lives freely.
When elected Grand Master Of Earth, I’ll have only two rules regarding faith… 1) Practice what you will freely, so long as you do not impose your faith on others. 2) Proselytize your faith with the barrel of a gun, and you will be met with overwhelming force and no mercy.
Since that isn’t gonna happen, all I can really do is bitch about it on John’s Blog.
(Hey John. Thanks again for the blog!)