So declare a fatwa on me

I discovered this morning (fascinating that quite old men like me are still capable of learning new facts - the perpetual student in me still lives) that a fatwa does not equal a death sentence.

It is only a specific type of fatwa, the sort of thing that was imposed upon Salman Rushdie and Taslima Nasrin. Still an extraordinarily evil device to use in such circumstance IMHO though - using an antiquated religious belief to encourage cold blooded murder essentially.

If Wikipedia is to be believed (always a major point, but it was the quickest source of reference available), a fatwa is only binding in Shia Islam and not in Sunni Islam (translation for Christians out there - like the Inquisition was only used by the Catholic church, not the Protestant churches, in the 17th and 18th centuries).

Even so ....

There is nothing like fear to keep the sheep in the pen.

I watched a number of highly impressive recordings of Sam Harris speaking yesterday. His acknowledgement that Islam is far more dangerous than any other religion seems very accurate. I read also a number of his pieces and he constantly hit the nail on the head. The dangers of liberal tolerance facing the intolerance of this antiquated beast of a belief system are not to be underestimated.

It is like patting on the head a hungry animal that has not eaten for three days and expecting it not to bite.

Toleration can only work in these circumstances with a belief system that embraces similar expectations. As Harris has pointed out, there is no allowance in Islam for disobedience, and to ignore the concepts of jihad and the like and talk of "moderate Muslims" and the "religion of peace" misses the point very clearly and very dangerously.

That there are moderate Muslims results from the people concerned not embracing their religion in full - rejection of the concept of jihad is not to take the system as a whole and to leave out one of its significant parts.

For brief snippets of Harris's works, I would check out the series on Wikiquotes under his name headed simply "Islam". He doesn't lack humour, but he is very perceptive and accurate.

And for further reach on the subject, read the quotes of Taslima Nasrin and Ayaan Hirsi Ali on their respective pages. Both will give you a female perspective on this brute of a belief system.

So much eventually is based on this disguised political agenda where Muslims will simply breed the rest of humanity off the face of the planet and enforce a near universal caliphate on the planet as a whole. This is admittedly a very long way off, but one thing to remember is this law on apostasy which is so rigorously enforced in the Islamic world - namely a death sentence for non-believers.

One of the YouTube pieces where Richard Dawkins is being interviewed about apostasy brings up this point. Dawkins pointed out that he knows of atheists living in the Muslim world, who dare not admit to their scepticism due to this inane antiquated rule.

It is hardly surprising. Advance requires scientific knowledge, scientific knowledge flies in the face of outmoded belief systems, and if the scientist is to help his/her country move forward with the technology that will improve the life of his/her people, (s)he better keep his/her scepticism quiet.

Ridiculous? Of course it is ridiculous. It does not need a fatwa though, it is simply the law.

And, dear Muslim reader, you do not like my views on your belief system? Then go and see your local imam and have him put a fatwa upon me - a specific one like that placed on Salman Rushdie and Taslima Nasrin. I am an old man with a very limited income (I know as much about poverty as you ever will) and no children, and very little of a worthwhile future left, but it might nonetheless satisfy your blood lust and your ignorance.