by Heather Hastie | Jan 8, 2015 | Democracy, Freedom of Speech, Human Rights, International Politics, New Zealand, Religion
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...
by Heather Hastie | Dec 7, 2014 | Atheism, Religion, Terrorism
Most mornings, the first thing I do is read my favourite website: Jerry Coyne’s Why Evolution is True, named for his book of the same name. It’s still the day before in Chicago, where Professor Jerry Coyne usually writes from. So, when I wake up a there are already a...
by Heather Hastie | Nov 25, 2014 | Atheism, Religion
Reza Aslan’s latest Salon article worries me. Not just because of the content – that’s the same as always and like Jerry Coyne at Why Evolution is True, I’m getting a bit tired of it. What worries me is that I’m starting to recognize his style. I haven’t...
by Heather Hastie | Oct 30, 2014 | Atheism, Religion, Terrorism
One of the journalists I most admire is Christiane Amanpour. I never miss her show Amanpour on CNN International if I can help it. On 21 October though she disappointed me – she fell into the trap many liberal Americans do (and New Zealanders too, as I’ve...
by Heather Hastie | Oct 21, 2014 | International Politics, Middle East, NZ Politics, Religion, Terrorism
Islamophobia-phobia is the fear of appearing to be Islamophobic. I have to give credit to author and television personality Greg Gutfeld (Fox News’s The Five, Red Eye) for the term. The Five is a guilty pleasure of mine, and it was while watching this show that I...
