Freedom of Speech Archives - Heather's Homilies

On Charlottesville and Freedom of Speech

Heather Hastie — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 02:46:21 +0000

As I said in my post on Charlottesville, the destruction of a statue is one I don’t agree with. I think that has a lot to do with my education in history, and perhaps also a general dislike for that sort of action. I suspect everyone here would agree with me that the burning of […]

The post On Charlottesville and Freedom of Speech appeared first on Heather's Homilies.

Bangladesh: Another Atheist Blogger Hacked to Death

Heather Hastie — Thu, 14 May 2015 02:45:02 +0000

On 21 April, Bangladesh’s The Daily Star published an opinion article entitled The extent of freedom of expression. It was written by senior law lecturer Mirza Farzana Iqbal Chowdhury of Daffodil International University, a private university in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka. It took the same line I have seen over and over again from Bangladeshi […]

The post Bangladesh: Another Atheist Blogger Hacked to Death appeared first on Heather's Homilies.

Evolution, Religion, and Freedom of Speech

Heather Hastie — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 05:56:27 +0000

Yesterday (26 March) was Richard Dawkins’s 74th birthday. I’m a big fan of Dawkins – it was while watching one of his documentaries a few years ago that I realized that I was an atheist, and had been at least agnostic since I was a child. The God Delusion was my first foray into atheist […]

The post Evolution, Religion, and Freedom of Speech appeared first on Heather's Homilies.

New Zealand Man Jailed for Blasphemy in Burma

Heather Hastie — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 02:59:25 +0000

I wrote about New Zealander Philip Blackwood here in January when he was still awaiting trial after his arrest on 10 December last year. 10 December is International Human Rights Day, and so I thought it particularly ironic that he was arrested for his particular “offence” on that day. So what did he do? He, […]

The post New Zealand Man Jailed for Blasphemy in Burma appeared first on Heather's Homilies.

The Injustice of Sharia in Saudi Arabia

Heather Hastie — Sat, 07 Mar 2015 04:24:19 +0000

Most of you have probably see the video below of Maajid Nawaz trying to get some of his fellow Muslims admit that some of the punishments in Sharia are inhumane. For whatever reason, they simply won’t say that punishments like stoning to death are wrong. Sometimes, they won’t even admit that those are the sort […]

The post The Injustice of Sharia in Saudi Arabia appeared first on Heather's Homilies.

New Zealand’s Blasphemy Law Must be Abolished

Heather Hastie — Sun, 18 Jan 2015 22:38:45 +0000

According to Wikipedia: Blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God, to religious or holy persons or things, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. Blasphemy laws, therefore, are designed to protect religion (usually the dominant religion of a country) from criticism. They make the ideas of religion […]

The post New Zealand’s Blasphemy Law Must be Abolished appeared first on Heather's Homilies.

Derek Fox Blames the Victims – Fallout From the Charlie Hebdo Massacre

Heather Hastie — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 04:21:40 +0000

Well, we knew it would happen. In my last article on this I said: I hope this revolting act will help those who decry any criticism of Islam as Islamophobia recognize just what a problem it has the potential to be. Any belief system that includes an invocation to kill critics and unbelievers, and rejects […]

The post Derek Fox Blames the Victims – Fallout From the Charlie Hebdo Massacre appeared first on Heather's Homilies.