The Rational Fool: August 2010

essays

Do Gods Hate Children?

[WARNING: The material presented below contains graphic images of violence perpetrated on children. Viewer discretion is strongly advised]

We are not witches or wizards

The religious leaders offer help to the families whose children are named as witches, but at a price. The churches run exorcism, or "deliverance", evenings where the pastors attempt to drive out the evil spirits. Only they have the power to cleanse the child of evil spirits, they say. The exorcism costs the families up to a year's income.

During the "deliverance" ceremonies, the children are shaken violently, dragged around the room and have potions poured into their eyes. The children look terrified. The parents look on, praying that the child will be cleansed. If the ritual fails, they know their children will have to be sent away, or killed. Many are held in churches, often on chains, and deprived of food until they "confess" to being a witch.

--- David Harrison. 'Child-witches' of Nigeria seek refuge, Daily Telegraph.

Mom, where are you?

... in the words of my great inspiration Sally Armstrong, "There are no Western rights or Eastern Rights, there are only human rights."

No one will ever tell me that Muslim women or any women think it's ok to not be allowed to get educated or to have their daughters sold off at 8 years old or traded off at 4 years old because of cultural beliefs. No one will tell me that women in Afghanistan think it is ok for their daughters to have acid thrown in their faces. It makes me ill to think a 4 year old girl must sleep in a barn and get raped daily by old men. It's sick and wrong and I don't care who calls me an Orientalist or whatever I will keep raising money to educate girls and women in Afghanistan and I will keep writing letters and sending them in the back pack of my friend Lauryn Oates as she works so bravely on the ground helping women and girls learn what it is to exercise their rights. I believe in human rights so I believe everyone has the right their own opinion, I just wish that the energy that was used to write that story, that is just not true, could have been used to educate a girl in Afghanistan. That's what the girls truly want. That's what the Women in Afghanistan truly want.

--- Alaina Podmorow. A Very Young Activist's Reply, Butterflies and Wheels.

All I wished... to be your loving daughter

... 'Till one day the "Dai" went crazy!
Vacant eyed, she sat with her baby!
The GIRL was a
"Still-Born-Baby!"

But, did he notice the familiar blue?
On the neck of the baby, true!

They say, an act oft-repeated
By force of habit,
Can spell your own "doom",
If you don't cap it!!!

And now they say:
There is Ultrasound!
You don't "need" the "Dai" around…

--- Zoya Zaidi. "Girl Unborn".

If I am not cut and sewn, I won't be a virgin

Well, genital mutilation is used as an instrument. The cutting off of the clitoris is a measure to curb the libido of a woman. The sewing of the opening of a vagina is a measure to ensure that on the wedding night, a woman is a virgin.

And so if we were supposed to - if we were to let go of these convictions on virginity and chastity, female genital mutilation would disappear on its own. And I think all human rights activists, whether they're in the United States or outside of it, should go to the root cause. And it's these convictions on virginity, on the position of women that we ought to address, and not just the terrible symptoms of the mutilation itself.

--- Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Talk of the Nation, NPR.

Where does a father get the idea that his toddler son, barely two years and screaming in agony from malaria, is a witch who could somehow will his mother to collapse and die? Who sanctions acid attacks on young, school going girls? Which mad man wrote that only a male child can ensure immortality for the father? What makes virginity sacred, and sex out of wedlock a sin? Often the apologists tell us that it's culture or tradition, and not religion. This is just hogwash. Dig deeper, and you'll find gods lurking beneath these veneers, unseen and non-existent, nonetheless commanding with a charlatan's voice and in a charlatan's hand, besides a burning bush, on a mountain top, or beneath a mythical tree.

Do gods hate children? To an atheist like me the question is meaningless. It's like, "Do mermaids hate children?". Well, do those who claim to be messengers and followers of gods hate children? Yes, they do. At least some, and often violently, as the presentations above show. Especially when they are dealing with children of the female sex. Hate crime, that's what they are, hatred against the curious and the rebellious. If hate crimes against adults are considered particularly heinous, what should we do about hate crimes against children? Nothing, the religious are exempt!

When we, atheists, criticize irrational beliefs, social norms, and values, we are told not to be arrogant and dismissive. We are asked to make concessions for deeply ingrained norms and values that are difficult to change. We must let the draconian laws and barbaric practices be, and make room for the people to decide for themselves where precisely they should strike a balance between liberty and license. We should respect these religulous lies even if we don't concur with them, in the name of religious freedom, multiculturalism, tolerance, sensitivity, or whatever.

Are they serious? Should you even tolerate — forget respect — the stuff that are shown in these videos? You decide. Let reason, not religion, guide you.

humor

Reli-Genetics 101

President Barack Obama, apparently, was born a Muslim. Was he born with a Qur'an in his hands? No, of course, not. A label on his forehead, proclaiming "allahu akbar", perhaps? Impossible! A picture of Muhammad tattooed on his chest? Absolutely not, no one is allowed to draw Muhammad, silly! Then, how so Obasma was born a Muslim? According to ~~Rev.~~ Franklin Graham,

"I think the president's problem is that he was born a Muslim, his father was a Muslim. The seed of Islam is passed through the father like the seed of Judaism is passed through the mother. He was born a Muslim, his father gave him an Islamic name," Graham told CNN's John King in a televised interview that aired Thursday night.

Aha, now I get it. Obama germinated from a seed of Islam sown by his father, just as Einstein germinated from a seed of Judaism produced by his mother. Oh, you don't get it, still? Perhaps, these diagrams will help.

EINSTEIN

OBAMA

What about ~~Rev.~~ Franklin Graham, you ask. Oh, well, he probably thinks, "God said, 'Let there be Franklin Graham, and there was Franklin Graham, Christian and all'"!

DNA pictures adapted from dirkschweitzer.net

humor

Top Ten Weird American Beliefs

After reading about the recent Pew Forum poll that showed one in five Americans believing that President Barack Obama was a Muslim, I tracked down my friend, Hackerpalli Desirao, to help me conduct my own poll of American beliefs. With a few quick keystrokes on his iPhone, Desirao hacked into Pew's database server and got me the telephone numbers of everyone who was polled. In what can only be called an unscientific re-poll of the 3003 respondents to the Pew poll, I found out that my fellow Americans held several other astounding beliefs. Here are the top ten:

10: Every 100th American believes that 75 million years ago, Xenu, the dictator of the "Galactic Confederacy" unleashed billions of thetan souls on Earth, to infect every human being who refused to pay $6500 to the Church of Scientology to learn about this secret.
9: One out of fifty Americans believes that Jesus visited Bountiful, Utah: "And it came to pass, as they [the people of Nephi in the land Bountiful] understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him... Behold, I am Jesus Christ..."
8: Eight to eleven percent of Americans believe that Elvis is still alive, and the body buried in Graceland is nothing but a wax replica of the King.
7: One out of every five Americans believes that the sun spins around the earth, and may also believe that earth is flat. As the late Charles K. Johnson, former President of the International Flat Earth Research Society, put it, "Wherever you find people with a great reservoir of common sense, they don't believe idiotic things such as the earth spinning around the sun. Reasonable, intelligent people have always recognized that the earth is flat."
6: 34 percent of the respondents say they believe in ghosts. '"It was bad enough when the TV and lights inexplicably flicked on at night", says Misty Conrad, a homemaker from Hampton, Va.. When her daughter began talking to an unseen girl named Nicole and neighbors said children had been murdered in the house, it was time to move.'
5: Thirty-six percent of respondents overall said it was "very likely" or "somewhat likely" that federal officials either participated in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, or took no action to stop them "because they wanted the United States to go to war in the Middle East."
4: Every other American believes that "God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so." As the Genesis says, "And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air ... And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof ... And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man."
3: A majority (55%) believe in the imminence of "the Rapture", which is literally a celestial wedding of the bride, the "body of believers" and the Groom, Jesus Christ. This wedding celebration will take place in mid-air and will last for 7 days, which could be equivalent to 7 earthly years.
2: Nearly 2 out of 3 Americans believe that Mary miraculously conceived Jesus while remaining a virgin. A significant fraction of these may also believe that Mary herself was conceived without "the stain of original sin", or to put it more colorfully, with no f#%@ing whatsoever!
1: 100% of those I polled believe that Ann Dunham, President Obama's mother, actually gave birth to twins on August 4, 1961. She delivered first Malcom Malik El-Shabazz, a love-child of Malcom X in Seattle, WA. Immediately after delivering the first baby, Ann was transported in a secret Soviet Sputnik to Nairobi, Kenya, where she delivered Barack Hussein Obama, a parthenogenetic child of Barack Obama Sr.

Now, if the last one blew your mind, you are not alone. Really, Barack Obama has a twin brother? Which one is occupying the White House? It was Barack Hussein Obama who took the presidential oath, wasn't it? Then, who took the oath the second time, eh? Hm, the plot thickens!

spotlight

Hitchens on Mortality

Who says, "there are no atheists in foxholes"? Certainly not Christopher Hitchens, who is undergoing treatment for esophageal cancer:

[King] Passion: (Smiling.) Uncivilized ignorant fools, who imagine that spirit is something different from body, and reaps the reward of actions in a future state ; we might as well expect to find excellent fruit drop from trees growing in the air.

But assuming the existence of what is the mere creature of their own imagination, they deceive the people. They falsely affirm the existence of that which does not exist; and by their frequent disputations endeavour to bring reproach upon the Nastikas [who do not believe in the Vedas; atheists or materialists] who maintain the words of truth.

Who has seen the soul existing in a state separate from the body? Does not life result from the ultimate configuration of matter? Consider this attentively. They not only deceive themselves, but like-wise deceive the world.

--- Krṣṇamiśra. Prabodha Chandrodhaya, 7th Century CE [transl. John Taylor. The Rise of the Moon Intellect. Tookaram Tatya, Bombay:1886, p. 19].

spotlight

From Soraya M. to Sakineh M.

Writing from her prison cell, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a mother of two who has been sentenced to death by stoning in accordance with the Sharia, which is the law in the Islamic Republic of Iran, has sent this heart-wrenching message:

I am now quiet and sad because a part of my heart is frozen. The day I was flogged in front of [my son] Sajjad, I was crushed and my dignity and heart were broken. The day I was given the stoning sentence, it was as if I fell into a deep hole and I lost consciousness. Many nights, before sleeping, I think to myself how can anybody be prepared to throw stones at me; to aim at my face and hands? Why?

I thank all of you from Tabriz Prison. Mrs [Mina] Ahadi, tell everyone that I’m afraid of dying. Help me stay alive and hug my children.

--- Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani – Tabriz Prison

A press release from the Save Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani Campaign at the International Committee Against Stoning, warns of the imminent execution of Sakineh, following the rejection by Tehran’s High Court the chief of the 9th division, Davoudi, of an appeal to reopen Sakineh's trial. Reflecting a sense of urgency to pressure the theocratic government of the Islamic Republic Iran to desist from carrying out the execution, Ms. Mina Ahadi, the Coordinator of the International Committee Against Stoning and International Committee Against Execution has written an open letter to the heads of state to withdraw diplomatic recognition of the Iranian regime. I have reproduced an extract from the letter here:

The 21st-century world cannot and must not tolerate a regime that stones people to death. On behalf of the people of Iran I call on you to refuse to recognize the Islamic Republic of Iran. The real, feasible and civilized way for the world to be rid of the menace of the Islamic Republic is the overthrow of this barbaric, medieval regime by the power of the struggles of the people of Iran. So they expect you to support their legitimate, freedom-seeking struggles through refusing to recognize the Islamic regime as well as through its political boycott. A regime of stoning, torture, flogging, maiming, and execution is not worthy of recognition by any state or international body.

If you'd like to know more about the barbaric law that prescribes stoning to death of those who might or might not have broken current social norms regarding private relationships, watch the film, The Stoning of Soraya M.. For a preview, read my post by the same title, The Stoning of Soraya M..

Please visit the official site of the International Committee Against Stoning to see how you can contribute to the effort to save Sakineh. Thanks.

humor

Unseen God... er... Camera!

One India News reports:

Nodding to the argument that not letting Swami Nithyananda preach was in violation of freedom of speech, Karnataka High Court on Friday, Jul 9 waved a green flag for him to resume preaching again while relaxing his bail conditions.

The court has also permitted the sex scandal-tainted godman to report at the jurisdictional police station monthly once...

The sexcapades of the religious guru came to light in Mar 2010 when a sex tape showing him in compromising positions with a woman, reportedly Tamil actress Ranjitha, leaked to the media.

This sparked off public outrage and the police, which initiated a case against him for hurting religious sentiments found plenty of skeletons in his closet amounting to a pile up of a bundle of charges.

Without prejudice to the case against Mr. Nithyananda, and the veracity of the sex tape or its lack thereof, I expect the man to begin his sermon thus [with grammatical errors that can be ignored in the broader interest of one second enlightenment]: