Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1770

Another Female Interviewer on a Muslim News Show Dares Defy a Male Guest

Female Muslim TV hostsare beginning to make a delicious habit of their uppity insolence.

Last month we enjoyed the spectacle of a Saudi TV host losing her composure andlaughing in amale guest’s face when he proposed something absurdly sexistand offensive.

Now it’s the turn of interviewerRima Karaki of Lebanon’sAl-Jadeed TV. When she attempts to rein in her loquacious, time-wasting guest, London-based IslamistHani Al-Sibai,the manquickly goes from irritatedto upset to nasty.

This version of event...

In the Footsteps of the Prophet, Australian Muslim Marries a Child — and Pays the Price For It

For some reason, the perpetrator’s identity is being kept secret. But let’s call him Mr. Mo, in recognition of the self-proclaimed prophet who, just like Mr. Mo, was apassionatepedophile.

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

A Lebanese man [residing in Australia] was “determined” to marry a 12-year-old girl he saw in a mosque, despite being told it was illegal.

Mr. Mosucceeded in marrying the preteen girland consummating the relationship, after he

… embarked on a “determined and deliberate pursuit of...

A Redditor Who Said “Oh My God” Got This Corrective Letter From a Christian

After using the phrase “Oh my God,” Redditor PreepyCasta received this amazingpassive-aggressive note from an anonymous Christian well-wisher:

I heard you using the Lord’s name in vain, probably unknowingly, but I care enough about you as a person to tell you what you might not know what you are doing when you use his name in vain. Saying “Jesus Christ” or “oh my God” is very common now and you probably hear it all the time and it’s probably the reason why you say it withoutreally giving it mu...

It’s All Part of God’s Weird Plan…

We’ve all been there:

Click over to see what God’s plan looks like.

(via Pie Comic by John McNamee)

Leader of Amish Beard-Cutting Gang, Free From Hate Crime Charge, Receives Reduced Sentence

Without a doubt, the best religion story of 2011/2012 happenedwhen a gang ofAmish vigilantes illegally entered the homes ofvarious brethrenwhom they accused of doctrinal impurity and forcibly cutthe victims’beards. It didn’t hurt the news value (or the comedyquotient) that the gang leader was a man named Samuel Mullet.

Mulleteventually receivedaneye-popping, frankly ridiculous prison sentence of 15 years, mostly because the prosecutors presented his admittedly inexcusablebehavior as a hate cri...

Tonight, a Guest Speaker at a Christian College Will Argue “Against Critical Thinking”

We sometimes joke on this site about how pastors should let teenagers proofread their church signs before certain unintended messages get spread around the Internet.

You’d think a Christian school would have an easier time of doing that… but tonight, Ontario-based Augustine College will be hosting a public lecture called “Against Critical Thinking”:

Today’s academic culture overemphasizes critical questioning and doubt. This fails to train us how to assent to truth. For that we need a pedagogy...

Ken Ham Defends His Theme Park’s Discriminatory Hiring Practices by Posting Support Letters from Children

Creationist Ken Ham still doesn’t understand why the state of Kentucky rescinded potential tax breaks from his Ark Encounter theme park.

The short explanation is that the park — a for-profit business — was discriminating in its hiring. You can’t do that if you want the subsidies.

But that hasn’t stopped Ham from filing a lawsuit against the state.

Today, Ham defended his position by posting letters from children urging Governor Steve Beshear to allow proselytizing and discriminatory hiring becau...

Document Shows Egyptian Atheist Received Prison Sentence for Denying Miracles and Supporting LGBT Rights

In 2013, 20-year-old Sherif Gaber was arrested for starting a Facebook group about religion. His own post on the subject explained his deconversion:

I started to see the contradictions between the Quran and scientific facts, and day by day for 2 years after searching and reading I knew the truth. Then I became an atheist and hid it for a few months. Then I admit it despite knowing that I might get killed any moment…

…

Even though I’m not afraid to say I’m an atheist to everyone who asks about my...

Pat Robertson Advises Parents to Skip Their Gay Child’s Wedding

What the hashtag for problems that only Christians seem to have? Because this “ethical dilemma,” with a parent debating whether or not to attend the wedding of her child because it’s a same-sex ceremony, just doesn’t exist in my world:

Good thing we have Pat Robertson to set us straight:

You don’t agree with it… You’ve got to stand there and be a witness to it. By your attendance at the ceremony, you are agreeing with it… I just wouldn’t go. I would tell your child, “I love you but I cannot con...

Three Kids Died In a Traffic Accident In Front of Their Mom, But No Worries: God Suffers and Empathizes

Picture this:

A mother and her three children were walking to the grocery store. They waited for the crosswalk sign to signal that it was safe to cross the street. But it wasn’t safe. A driver ran the red light, severely injuring the mother, and killing her three children.

That unfathomable tragedy happened in Adam Ericksen‘s community not long ago. Ericksen, a progressive Christian, blogs at Patheos’ catchily-namedTeaching Nonviolent Atonement, and he wrote aboutthe accidentwithlots of obvious...