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Thursday, January 31, 2008

So this is what we are fighting for?


breakfast news comment
Afghan MPs back blasphemy death
The upper house of the Afghan parliament has supported a death sentence issued against a journalist for blasphemy in northern Afghanistan. Pervez Kambaksh, 23, was convicted last week of downloading and distributing an article insulting Islam. He has denied the charge. The UN has criticised the sentence and said the journalist did not have legal representation during the case.

So this is what NZ is fighting for is it? This is what we are shooting people in Afghanistan for is it? A regime that executes a Journalist because he hands out an article on women’s rights in Islam? That’s what we are sending troops in for is it? Call me old fashioned folks, but propping up a regime and supporting them with troops so that they can execute Journalists for disseminating equal rights articles seems distasteful.

12 Comments:

At 31/1/08 9:31 am, Blogger Anti-Flag said...

What's ridiculous about this story is there's no evidence in Islam where blasphemy (if you'd even call this blasphemy) is punishable by death. The fact that the Quran invites you to challenge it (thereby criticising it) reflects on the fact that it does not hinder discussion and encourages free thinking. The problem is, many Muslims don't agree!

 
At 31/1/08 10:40 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

So the Quran is not the problem, just the medieval attitudes of the people in these backward nations.

 
At 31/1/08 11:27 am, Blogger Bomber said...

...
Yawn - oh come on Adam and TJ - Christianity has had its share of witch burners and queer hangings, radical interpretations are hardly new, perhaps if the West stopped causing coups and propping up dictators the people of that region might not use radical interpretations.

 
At 31/1/08 11:38 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ah now we're getting down to it: It's all the fault of the shadowy network we like to call the "west". Not the religion of peace itself, hell no.

And even if it is, thats okay because cristianityistentimesworse!!!!! Am I right guys?

Yawn. How about the Teddy Bear named Mohammad? The West's fault? The rape victim on Saudi Arabia getting sentenced to a whipping? The West? no?

Lift ya game Bomber, Hows ya blodd pressure? Pull yer socks up (am I doing this right?)

Yawn, fart, cough, zzzzzzz

 
At 31/1/08 11:46 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah to be fair though Bomber, Christianity has kinda evolved to a point where the word of god is now able to be questioned, case in point, there haven't been too many hagings, witch burnings etc etc for quite some time...Islam seems never to have gone through such a transition...

 
At 31/1/08 11:58 am, Blogger Anti-Flag said...

Anonymous: How about you lift your game up and actually analyse the situation with better tools. Consider the impact of colonialism which disrupted the world of the colonised in every sense of the word (see Edward Said's Culture and Imperialism) and consider further the repercussions of war and poverty on the lives of many in the Muslim world.

Today, the era of colonialism continues. Instead of having military rule over these people, the colonialist bourgeoisie (the government, institutions, plutocracy etc) maintains control via despotic regimes who show loyalty to them. These regimes control their population not only through repression, but also numbing their minds by controlling the kind of education they receive (if any), distorting their ideas and ensuring tribalism and other cancers reign. Why else do a lot of Muslims in the Muslim world have little understandings of the actual teaching of Islam? Because it poses as a danger to those who rule over them.

Take for example, this current case of the Afghan journalist. A little more research into the story would lead you to realise it's not a simple case of "Islam's brutality and primitiveness". The journalist didn't even write the article, but merely distributed an article he had downloaded. Local warlords- who had been looking to punish the family because his brother had written damning reports on human rights violations by these warlords- took it as an opportunity to get back at his brother. Motivated by this political agenda, they conveniently used a misconception of how to deal with blasphemy in Islam (which many Afghans would not be aware of) and used it as a warning to silence his brother.

 
At 31/1/08 12:59 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Here Anti flag goes again, every one else's fault - never the religion of peace, I'm not even going to bother reading your drivel about colonialsim.

I have yet to see you even once condenm the mohummad teddy bear, rape victim's hipping sentece, rioting of the Danish mohummad cartoons I could go on but can't be arsed. Why is that?

 
At 31/1/08 1:26 pm, Blogger Anti-Flag said...

Anonymous: You're a funny one. You can't be bothered reading what I say about colonialism which was a whole chunk of my post yet can be bothered replying? Amazing.

Muslims who say Islam is a religion of peace don't bother elaborating. By that, they mean, "yes, we're peaceful, in accordance to the spirit of Islam, until we have to defend ourselves from your rape of our lands and resources". So what that means is it's not a pacifist religion- especially when one considers the history of colonialism.

As for condemning the teddy bear, rape and cartoon incident, I am under NO obligation to be condemning anything just because someone is telling me to- driven under the ridiculous misconception that these people are a reflection of me and my own beliefs? Why should every Muslim have to? It's ridiculous. Everytime a Christian commits a crime, do we expect every Christian to condemn the act? No, because common sense tells us it's a give in. Nor is the act the reflection of the community the person belongs to. But if you do wish to know my thoughts on these issues, check out my blog.

 
At 31/1/08 1:28 pm, Blogger Anti-Flag said...

Tj: Yes, because the Western experience should be replicated everywhere. Can you say cultural colonialism?

 
At 31/1/08 3:35 pm, Blogger Bomber said...

...
Anonymous said...
Ah now we're getting down to it: It's all the fault of the shadowy network we like to call the "west". Not the religion of peace itself, hell no.

And even if it is, thats okay because cristianityistentimesworse!!!!! Am I right guys?

Yawn. How about the Teddy Bear named Mohammad? The West's fault? The rape victim on Saudi Arabia getting sentenced to a whipping? The West? no?

Lift ya game Bomber, Hows ya blodd pressure? Pull yer socks up (am I doing this right?)

Yawn, fart, cough, zzzzzzz


You are providing such a basic evaluation of the issue it is difficult to know where to begin. I suppose all Christians are bigots based on the 'troubles' in Ireland are they?

 
At 31/1/08 4:12 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Reading your blog and the rash generalisations you make about all Americans, the English, Australians, the police, national or act voters, old people, Christains, Pakehas, business owners, farmers, "our right wing friends" etc etc, the answer to your question is probably yes.

 
At 8/2/08 7:39 am, Blogger Bomber said...

No I just like to challenge the bigotry I see in posts like yours, you seem to hate Muslims, that's your right, but I think you do need to be honest, how about actually printing your name instead of anonymous posts? So based on your above answer all Christians are bigots? Wow, well that shows where your head is at doesn't it anonymous poster, no wonder you post anonymously

 

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