The Brotherhood of Misogynists

The use of religion and culture to violate women’s rights is a vile and cowardly pursuit, but is distressingly prevalent throughout the world.

The U.N. Commission on the Status of Woman which has been lobbying since 1946 for the advancement of women, is at the moment pushing for acceptance of the declaration on woman’s rights. However Egypt, Iran and Russia together with the Vatican (no surprises there!) are “threatening to derail the women’s rights declaration by objecting to language on sexual, reproductive and gay rights.” Egypt in opposition, has unashamedly proposed an amendment which will allow men to once again hide behind religious and cultural values.

In a disturbing parallel move, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood posted a statement on its website which claims that the declaration will among other things, destroy society by allowing women to travel freely, work, use contraception and control the household finances. That kind of thinking would be hysterical if it was not so shockingly infantile and backward. Even more worrying is that according to the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies, this is a position favoured by many Arab governments.

You will no doubt laugh hysterically, but these are the ten objections to the declaration contained in the statement on the Muslim Brotherhood’s website, that they believe will lead to decadence:

1. Granting girls full sexual freedom, as well as the freedom to decide their own gender and the gender of their partners (ie, choose to have normal or homo- sexual relationships), while raising the age of marriage.
2. Providing contraceptives for adolescent girls and training them to use those, while legalizing abortion to get rid of unwanted pregnancies, in the name of sexual and reproductive rights.
3. Granting equal rights to adulterous wives and illegitimate sons resulting from adulterous relationships.
4. Granting equal rights to homosexuals, and providing protection and respect for prostitutes.
5. Giving wives full rights to file legal complaints against husbands accusing them of rape or sexual harassment, obliging competent authorities to deal husbands punishments similar to those prescribed for raping or sexually harassing a stranger.
6. Equal inheritance (between men and women).
7. Replacing guardianship with partnership, and full sharing of roles within the family between men and women such as: spending, child care and home chores.
8. Full equality in marriage legislation such as: allowing Muslim women to marry non-Muslim men, and abolition of polygamy, dowry, men taking charge of family spending, etc.
9. Removing the authority of divorce from husbands and placing it in the hands of judges, and sharing all property after divorce.
10. Cancelling the need for a husband’s consent in matters like: travel, work, or use of contraception.

This retarded mentality roughly translates into “Woe be unto men if we can’t have multiple wives, but heaven help us if we allow them to travel freely, use contraception, file for divorce, accuse us of rape, decide how to spend money… and fuck other women.”

Why are these men so afraid of women?

Are we in the Twilight Zone?

Earlier this week a guy in Greece was arrested and charged with blasphemy for lampooning on his Facebook page, a dead cleric who belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church.

The details of his act are unimportant, but the response to it is. It is patently absurd that there are still laws governing the archaic concept of blasphemy, and that it is actually punishable under so-called civilized penal codes around the world.

Meanwhile in Pakistan

In the same week a Christian teenager from Islamabad who was accused of blasphemy, was reported to have had her case referred to a Juvenile Court. She is accused of tearing pages out of a “holy book.” Had the case not been transferred to the lower court, she was under threat of being executed, under strict Pakistani law.

There are several disturbing aspects to this case, apart from the absurdity of blasphemy laws. The girl was apparently mentally challenged and a minor to boot. One of her main accusers, a Muslim cleric was found by the police to have planted the evidence (torn pages from a holy book) on her person and has yet to be dealt with properly. But still the minor girl’s prosecution continues, albeit in a Juvenile court.

We really need to ask ourselves why a so-called holy book should be regarded with more deference than the life of a human being. Have we reached the height of civilization and are we on the downward spiral? Or are we in the fabled twilight zone? Think that’s too extreme? Hang around for a bit…

The results of poor film-making

Protests around the world are still continuing over the making of a film by a few Americans that is deemed to be insulting to Islam’s prophet, Muhammad. The protests in certain parts of the world have resulted in the deaths of dozens of innocent people. I could provide the link here to an excerpt of the film posted on YouTube but it’s really not worth wasting time over. It’s a sloppy piece of drama, and is not really important. What is important is the reactions to it, which are irrational, and absurd in the extreme.

Can you really imagine an all-powerful deity (were he or she to exist off course) who would be so pitifully impotent as to rely on puny humans to protect his or her dignity? You do? Why are you worshipping such an abomination?

Apart from the often violent protests, people have tried to engage in (reasonably) peaceful debate over the whole incident, but once again, it only managed to degenerate into pathetic calls for censorship and special protections to be applied to religions. Take this guy for example who wrote a blog not only appealing for the censorship of blasphemy, but tried to disingenuously condone the violence that such blasphemy provokes with consummate ease.

Still think the world is normal?

Dancing in Afghanistan deadly too

Towards the end of last month, the Taliban in Afghanistan (yeah, unfortunately  these retarded troglodytes still pollute the earth) beheaded 15 men and two women for the “crime” of dancing together at a party. Shock! Horror! Men and women together… at a party? What were they thinking?

You may be thinking that this is a quaint custom peculiar to Afghanistan only, and we should overlook this isolated incident? No, no no. Religions the world over condemn men and women to death, sometimes for acts that are far less innocuous.

And lest you be thinking that I have singled out Islam for special attention, that was not my intention. It’s just coincidental that this religion is involved in a high number of unsavory acts which are grabbing the attention of the world at this moment in time. I am quite convinced that religiots of other persuasions are quietly getting on with the job of damning mankind all over the world. And it’s not a good thing when it’s hidden from scrutiny.

And so we come to the evil twin

Enough about religion. Let’s not forget about the antics of politicians, and their brand of politics that make one wonder if the world has gone crazy. Politics is the evil twin of religion. Don’t believe me?

I could bore you with acts of political incongruity around the world right now, but I think you could easily think of many – the killings in Syria by Assad’s regime, conflicts all over Africa, despots who still rule with impunity, the farcical election politics in the USA between the Democrats and the Republicans. There is much civil unrest at various locations in the world right now, all motivated by some form of politics.

But, I want to look closer to home, to South Africa.

The ruling party here is at war with itself. Factionalism and greed is tearing a once honourable organization apart. The ANC has succumbed to the same despicable acts which they once fought against. I suppose it was inevitable.

Julius Malema a former youth leader expelled from the ANC, is fighting corruption charges, including tax evasion. He still enjoys the support of a fairly large number of people, politicians included, some of whom dance and sing outside the courtroom, and hold night vigils for him. Is it normal for civilized people to support unquestioningly, a person of such character?

But here’s an even bigger absurdity. The President, Jacob Zuma, a semi-literate, scandal-plagued, patriarchal degenerate, is honoured by the United Nations by being appointed to their Education Panel. This honour could not have gone to a more undeserving person. In a country where the education system is barely functional, mostly due to the mal-administration of the Ministry by a woman personally appointed by Zuma, is a grievous insult to the many schoolchildren who have been affected so severely.

So, I hope you’ll forgive me for thinking that we’ve either crossed over into the Twilight Zone, or are slipping down the slope of de-civilisation.

Bones of the Hills by Conn Iggulden [Book 3 in the Conqueror Series]

Upon completing the third book in this riveting series, I realized that each book had me feeling a little different emotionally about the great Mongol warrior Genghis Khan.

In the first book I felt nothing but admiration and respect for the young Khan who grew up surviving great odds to ultimately unite the Mongol nation under his rule. In the second book I was left in awe of his ability to command thousands of men from different tribes, and fascinated by his sharp mind and tactical planning, but just a little apprehensive about the savagery he could unleash. In the third book I continued to marvel at his ambition to conquer, but was angered by his estranged relationship with his oldest son, Jochi, and appalled at the death and destruction he could bring about at the wave of a hand.

But ultimately I had to relent and admire one of the great men of history. It was also sad to see the mighty Genghis meet his end, just as he was about to embark on a second round of conquest in China.

Bones of the Hills focuses more on his relationship with his sons Chagatai, Ogedai and Tolui, but more especially his bitterness towards Jochi, his eldest son who he thinks was conceived through the rape of his wife. We are also made painfully aware of the bitter rivalry and hatred between Jochi and Chagatai, the heir favored by Genghis. Through this rivalry we sympathise with Jochi for his bravery and principles, while despising the cowardice of Chagatai. While Conn Iggulden chose to have Jochi killed on orders from Genghis for the purposes of this narrative, historically that is mere speculation because the circumstances of Jochi’s death are not clear in the records.

Also in the third installment of the Conqueror series we learn more about Tsubodai, The most successful and fearsome general in the Khan’s army of warriors, as they conquer the Muslim lands of Afghanistan and present-day Iran and Iraq. This books focuses on the battles with the Shah and later his son Jelaudin.

Genghis eventually rebukes his favoured second son Chagatai to name Ogedai as his heir. We are also briefly introduced to Kublai, son of Tolui, Genghis’s youngest son, who is the focus of later books in the series and eventually his successor.

After the sedentary pace of the second book, Bones of the Hills moves along quite briskly and it’s hard to put down. The death of Genghis Khan at the end is quite unexpected and leaves one a little deflated. However there is the fourth book to look forward to…

Abaya urrrrgghhh!

It was pretty hot today. The climate control in my car was at full tilt.  It was therefore a little disconcerting, gazing in my rear-view mirror at two women in those black tent-like outfits, riding in an older-model car that obviously did not have the same comforts.

I could not tell if they were comfortable or happy; all I could see were their eyes through a rectangular slit cut in the headdress which formed part of the ensemble known as an abaya, traditionally worn by Moslem women.

I resisted thinking about what they had on underneath and failed. I hope it was nothing because perhaps that would have made them slightly less hot. I really don’t know; I have never tried wearing a shapeless tent-like outfit before.

At this point, I know there will be those who will accuse me of being disrespectful towards the Islamic religion. Well…. I’m being no more insolent towards Islam, than I’m towards every other religion; I have the same loathing for all religions. Don’t take it personally.

This is not about your religion; well not entirely. It’s about the women who are affected by it. Maybe I’m presumptuous, but I can’t imagine any women willingly dressing up in tent-like outfits on a hot day. I’m not saying it does not have practical applications in some parts of the world; it just seems so impractical and silly on a hot day in this part of the world.

Women would have to be absolutely terrified of the maker of such a dehumanizing religious law, not to mention the cruel earthly guardians self-appointed to enforce it. That would be about the only reason for dressing up like that, apart from dementia and a bad case of self-loathing.

Women’s beauty is meant to be shown off and celebrated. It’s meant to be enjoyed by both men and women alike. I just can’t abide any archaic law that prevents me from savouring the beauty and form that makes up a women.

Women have a right to live with freedom and dignity. She should not tolerate any god or man who would take that away from her, lest she be prepared to live in mental and physical slavery for the rest of her life.

Persecution or annoyance?

People are always saying that they feel persecuted. But in most cases, is it really persecution they’re feeling or just plain annoyance?

Just this morning I read a blog post by a young Ugandan women studying in South Africa who feels that Christians around the world are being persecuted…for being Christian. But is what she is describing, really persecution, or just plain annoyance at the proponents of presumably opposing religions claiming that their gods are superior, or that the Christian god is false? This is merely a case of disagreement over ideological principles, which may lead to isolated cases of physical violence and terror, but this is hardly evidence of a systematic campaign of persecution.

However, the persecution of alleged witches during the history of Christianity was real, and was as a result of misguided Christians demonstrating their perceived superiority.

Homosexuals on the other hand also claim to be persecuted. Are they really?

Yes, in the case of homosexuals, large-scale persecution is both visible and measurable. They are not just feeling annoyed at heterosexuals; there is tangible evidence for both physical and psychological torment being directed at them. They have every right to feel aggrieved at others who systematically torment them because of their choice of sexual orientation which is not an ideological principle.

Persecution is also evident where race is concerned. Generally people’s of the darker races have every right to feel victimized by lighter skinned people’s, but that does not mean that there are no cases where the opposite is also true. Racial discrimination most certainly constitutes an act of persecution because one does not choose which race to be born into.

So, the next time I hear someone of  Christian, or Muslim or any other religious persuasion complaining of being persecuted, please spare me the false anguish. Your annoyance at being called out by your opposition or even non-believers, is pitiful.

Shock! Horror! Christmas decorations and wearing a Santa costume is threatening to other religions…well one in particular

I’m non-religious, but even I can appreciate and enjoy the festive spirit, the Christmas decorations, the fat Santa’s, and especially the beautiful traditional music being played everywhere.

The stores and malls everywhere are annoyingly overcrowded with shoppers whizzing around to get in that last-minute shopping, but even that is not enough to make one hopping mad. The rush of people is in a sense wonderful to observe, and be part off [OK, a weird sense]. Anyway, it is good to see people looking far happier than any other time of year.

Personally, I don’t think it has much to do with the fact that it’s the claimed anniversary of the miraculous birth of a mythical supernatural entity. Or even the far more believable pagan festivals it is based upon. I suspect it has more to do with the fact that people look forward to a much-needed break from working for the corporate crooks, or having a little more money to spend if the corporate crooks were amazingly more generous. Perhaps it’s because the traffic is much easier, what with the corporate crooks and those who somehow have a bit more money, all being down at the coast. Or just the mundane desire to pig out, for once.

For whatever reason, people are just a little bit happier this time of year, and it really pisses me off when someone tries to fuck with that state of being.

So, imagine my disgust when I read this report of one Muhyidin Junaidi, one of the chairmen [how many do they need?] of the Indonesian Council of Ulema, a Moslem religious authority, who had the following scrooge-like drivel to mouth off about:

[The decorations] are too demonstrative, and that might incite a counterproductive reaction from the Muslim community.

But it should not be excessive, otherwise it might hurt the feelings of the Muslim community.

And from another source:

We received complaints from a number of malls’ employees who are forced to wear Santa Claus costumes which are against their faith. Such things should not have happened.

We need to restrain Muslims from joining the festivities.

I mean WTF. How is it possible?

• That decorations can be demonstrative, invoke counterproductive reactions, and hurt someone’s feelings. [Are Moslems so fragile?]
• For an article of clothing to be in conflict with a religion? Is that rational or sane? What does it say about the religion, or the person who believes such nonsense?
• To restrain people from wanting to enjoy themselves? Perennial threats of eternal damnation? That’s the crux of religion, isn’t it?

These absurd religious bodies should stop interfering in people’s happiness and concentrate on the losing battle to make themselves more relevent in a society that is increasingly becoming conscious of their kill-joy tendencies.

Thou shalt not burn the book

I’ve been following with increasing annoyance, the furore surrounding Florida clergyman, Rev Terry Jones’ hypocritical threat to burn a pile of the Islamic holy book, the Quran on the anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy this Saturday.

The whole sordid episode raises some rather perplexing and disquieting questions about people and religion in particular:

• Has it not occurred to the Reverend that burning of books, even one masquerading as the ultimate word of some cosmic father-figure, went out of fashion with the dark ages? Has it not struck him as hypocritical, not to mention childish for two religions, which are equally complicit in causing human suffering and misery, to have a go at each other.
• Why would a person who supposedly preaches about love and understanding, ignore the pleas of practically the entire world (discounting the 50-odd congregants of his church and those irresponsible morons who donated what they think are 200-odd fire-bound Qurans), and insist on going ahead with this mad scheme?
• What are the limits to free speech and expression? Should there be any in a free world?
• Why is religion allowed to hold the world to ransom, every time some pathetically  insecure fool thinks that his all-powerful maker, prophet or clergyman is being denigrated? And more importantly, why doesn’t any all-powerful entity stand up for himself rather than allow puny, irrational, hot-headed humans to skirt up for him (or her, or it)?
• Would the burning of the Bible or Bhagavad-Gita, or Torah or even the Scientology Handbook, elicit the same feverish response from competing faiths, as this incident did? What does that say about the evolution of some religions as opposed to others? What indeed does it say about the dangers of religious fervour?

Already, the response from the Muslim world is not good; burning of effigy’s and flags has commenced in predominantly Islamic countries, and protestors flock the streets spewing hatred for the Rev Jones, Christians in general and off course, the despised Western world. No doubt, the hatred is being reciprocated in equal measure by individuals and groups in the Western world.

Meanwhile the Rev Jones is still praying for guidance to his course of action. Somehow, I have this knowing feeling that he will get an answer from his god before Saturday dawns; which I am pretty sure will be to stall his foolhardy quest. He will off course claim the moral high ground. It’s the expected outcome in these crazy religious matters. Anyway, it’s highly likely that this was all just an elaborate stunt to create publicity for his poorly attended church.

Off course, I could be totally off the mark, and Jones could go ahead with the book-burning; he looks crazy enough to emulate all those suicide bombers before him.

Why do so many religious people hate themselves so much?

Judging by some of the comments on my blog posts, I have  to conclude that many religious folks practise a form of self-loathing that could only be inspired by scripture, and reinforced through frequent worship sessions, by the clergy or other religious instructors. The proclivity to undermine ones personal self through various forms of self-denial, self-hatred, self-loathing, penance etc. seems to be very evident among Christians, but is by all accounts, absolutely intrinsic to Islam. Although not so openly evident in other religions, it is surely practiced to some degree.

Take this recent comment on my post Viva la Vida – What does it all mean?, “None of us deserve God, yet He gives us that opportunity, none of us deserve life, yet He gives us life and a chance to seek Him and become One with Him. Chris Jesus died for us; God became what we are that we might be what He is.” Why would a normal, sane and rational person believe that he does not deserve life? It could be expected of a person with psychological problems to have such insecurities, but what triggers such atypical thoughts in a normal, healthy person?

Here again, a commentator on my post The More You Learn, The More You Realize How Little You Know, maintains that you don’t know what’s best for you, only god does: “He IS the Creator after all. He knows what’s good for you. and you’re only ONE out of how many people on this planet??” Unless someone is deliberately taught this piece of imprudence,” how would that person come to believe such an absolute which is impossible to verify or prove, with or without science?

And on a blog I posted, Hate Not the Believer, where I made reference to a Melbourne cleric who advocates that beating your wife is acceptable, the same (female) Muslim commentator had this to say: “and in terms of the whole wife/husband..woman/man thing..there’s always a reason in Islam. cause we don’t see Islam as a religion…rather, it is the way of life” Is it normal for a women to allow herself to be beaten, because an archaic text in a religious book condones paternalistic thuggery? What sinister force compels a women to deny herself any self-respect, by accepting that there is always a reason for her being mistreated and maligned?

Time and time again you will hear clerics screaming from the pulpits (and now from every kind of media imaginable) that man is a worthless sinner. Man is damned and can only obtain “salvation” if he accepts the “word of god” and “gives his life” to one “creator” or the other. Some religions (one in particular) even go so far as to proclaim that only total and unrelenting “submission to god” is a pre-requisite for a “life in heaven,” whatever that is. And the key to making people believe such nonsense is in creating a terrifying fear of the unknown; the unknowable, unprovable, irrational, mother-of-all-fears, HELL. Other religions may not have the concept of HELL, which is probably why self-hatred is not that evident there. Such is the work of clerics; to perpetuate and maintain the fear of a punishment after death. For without this fear, people would have no need to hate themselves so much while they are alive.

Perhaps Ayaan Hirsi Ali was referring to secular Europe when she wrote so eloquently in her book Infidel, “Life is better in Europe than it is in the Muslim world because human relations are better, and one reason human relations are better is that in the West, life on earth is valued in the here and now, and individuals enjoy rights and freedoms that are recognized and protected by the state. To accept subordination and abuse because Allah willed it – that, for me would be self-hatred.”