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Two political leaders in Pakistan were murdered for speaking out against blasphemy laws that had been used to oppress religious minorities. Disturbingly, many Muslim intellectuals stayed silent regarding this injustice. Why were they so defensive?
Other religions need not be a threat. As the Dalai Lama said, the problems facing the world are related to the ego and the emotions. And all the religious traditions of the world provide a path to confront one's selfishness and emotional struggles.
Modern atheists in the West and modernist Muslims in Islam are both abusing religion. Their discourse about God has been influenced by the popular demand for scientific empirical verification, and they have lost confidence in the ability of figurative language to open a way to truth.
It has been argued that if people do not believe in a God who will condemn them for bad actions, they will feel free to act outrageously. The claims of Christopher Hitchens give pause to reflect upon whether ethical thinking needs to include God.
Christopher Hitchens appeared on Q+A last week with Frank Brennan and others to debate questions of belief. Hitchens was a sharp debater, relentless in pointing out the flaws in fellow panelists' arguments. But Brennan was a worthy opponent.
Many in the media have labelled the bombings in Jakarta as the work of jihad. When we understand the Qur'anic verses that advocate jihad in their proper historical context, it is clear that the Qur'an expresses acceptance and respect for non-Muslims.
The scriptures of both Islam and Christianity are full of paradoxes. Some readers of paradoxes simply emphasise only one part of the paradox. Critics of Islam and of Christianity feast on one-sided interpretation of this sort.
The scriptures of both Islam and Christianity are full of paradoxes. Some readers of paradoxes simply emphasise only one part of the paradox. (Full text of Herman Roborgh's Dialogue Australasia article, May 2009.)
The deployment by Western nations of more troops to Afghanistan will serve to exacerbate the Taliban's rising influence across the border in Pakistan. The history of Jesuit involvement in Pakistan reveals an alternative solution.
Herman Roborgh reviews the revised third edition of John L. Esposito’s Islam: The Straight Path.