Convicted For Calling Muhammad A 'Paedophile'
“After having gone through this material at the first two hearings, the audience of the case had a clear expectation that Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff would be acquitted of the charges and have her name cleared. But at the end of the second hearing, the judge added an unexpected twist to the case:
She inquired of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff about her comments that the actions of Muhammad would today be considered ‘paedophilia’. While ensuring a nod of approval from the prosecutor, she then extended the charges to also encompass “Denigrating the teachings of a legally recognized religion”.
Paul Haggis Vs. the Church of Scientology
“I asked Haggis why he had aligned himself with a religion that so many have disparaged. “I identify with the underdog,” he said. “I have a perverse pride in being a member of a group that people shun.” For Haggis, who likes to see himself as a man of the people, his affiliation with Scientology felt like a way of standing with the marginalized and the oppressed. The church itself often hits this note, making frequent statements in support of human rights and religious freedom. Haggis’s experience in Scientology, though, was hardly egalitarian: he accepted the privileges of the Celebrity Centre, which offers notables a private entrance, a V.I.P. lounge, separate facilities for auditing, and other perks. Indeed, much of the appeal of Scientology is the overt élitism that it promotes among its members, especially celebrities. Haggis was struck by another paradox: “Here I was in this very structured organization, but I always thought of myself as a freethinker and an iconoclast.”
A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I'm An Atheist
“Why don’t you believe in God? I get that question all the time. I always try to give a sensitive, reasoned answer. This is usually awkward, time consuming and pointless. People who believe in God don’t need proof of his existence, and they certainly don’t want evidence to the contrary. They are happy with their belief. They even say things like “it’s true to me” and “it’s faith.” I still give my logical answer because I feel that not being honest would be patronizing and impolite.
The Doom Boom
“Secular apocalyptic thinking continues; indeed, it thrives. The cold war may be over, but the world is not right. America is caught in a seemingly endless foreign conflict; we are in an economic downturn of a kind not seen since the 1930s; and above all hangs—or perhaps more accurately, chokes—the threat of global warming.
How Einstein Divided America's Jews
“In 1921, Albert Einstein’s first trip to America triggered the kind of mass hysteria that would greet the Beatles four decades later. But as newly published documents show, it also tore a sharp rift between European Zionists and some of their fellow Jews across the Atlantic.
America's True History of Religious Tolerance
“The idea that the United States has always been a bastion of religious freedom is reassuring—and utterly at odds with the historical record
The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment
“In 2003, several prominent Jewish philanthropists hired Republican pollster Frank Luntz to explain why American Jewish college students were not more vigorously rebutting campus criticism of Israel.
The Sheikh Who Got Away
“How the United States got Lebanon’s leading Shiite cleric dead wrong — and missed a chance to change the Middle East forever.
