Politics. Culture. Controversy.
Porn and religious fundamentalism just don’t mix. Or do they? Well, it appears so.
Take the case of Aliaa Magda al-Mahdy, 20. In protest against Egypt’s illiberalism and religious fundamentalism, in December, she and a male friend posted nude photos of themselves on their blogs. The Muslim-majority state exploded with shock, furor, debate, and assertions of medieval values.
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The 80s British anarcho-punk band Conflict is hanging in there — like U2, the Rolling Stones, and all the other bands that they no doubt detest. So, as the decades old slogan says, “Punk’s [or 'Punx'] not dead.”
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From People of Shambhala
People of Shambhala is a new website dedicated to raising awareness of the discrimination, oppression, and violence suffered on a daily basis by minority religions around the world today, especially under Islamic or Islamist regimes.
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Last month Britain’s Independent newspaper reported that the controversial English Defence League movement, which campaigns against radical Islam, had signed a “pact” with the relatively new British Freedom Party. The Independent’s headline suggested that, through the alliance, the EDL was preparing to “storm local elections.”
During the Balkans war of the 1990s, Alija Izetbegović, then Bosnia’s President, was championed by the Western media. For Western reporters, educated in the humanities, Bosnian Muslims were Europe’s new Jews besieged by Serbian nationalists – Europe’s alleged new Nazis.
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The breathtaking contempt at the heart of the British government for its own people and for democracy was showcased by its Conservative-Liberal Democrats coalition on October 24. Prompted by popular sentiment, a non-binding motion on Britain and the European Union was scheduled to be debated by MPs. The motion proposed holding a referendum, giving the public a chance to express their opinion on whether the country should withdraw from the EU, or remain a part of the EU, perhaps with the intention of negotiating some powers back from Brussels.
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On Friday, France passed a ban on praying in the streets. The ban came in response to the two thousand Muslims that had been gathering regularly in northern Paris, and praying in the streets in scenes of mass worship. On the same day, the Netherlands proposed legislation outlawing the wearing of the burka in public.
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A just-published report by the Committee on Standards in Public Life shows that the British public trusts their politicians less today than prior to the election. The findings were based on polls conducted between 2004 and 2010. Fifty three percent of those polled in 2010 — the last time the poll was taken — felt that only a few or no politicians are “in touch with what the public thinks important.”
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President of the Copenhagen-based International Free Press Society Lars Hedegaard has said that free speech is ”under pressure from various sources,” including national Governments, the European Union, the UN, and Islamic radicalism. Bloggers and law-abiding citizens, it was claimed, have been arrested in Europe in recent weeks for expressing opinions that the authorities disapproved of.
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Activists with the controversial anti-Islamist English Defence League protested outside Bedford prison yesterday (Wednesday) in a show of support for EDL leader Stephen Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson). Approximately 30 members of the EDL gathered near the entrance of the prison, where Mr. Robinson is being held, holding pictures of the EDL leader and other signs reading “Free Tommy Robinson.” A number of EDL flags were also on display.
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