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Fool me once

Counterintuitive as it may seem, I don’t have good feelings about a Biden presidency in the United States. Undoubtedly, Biden will be better for America than Trump. But for the rest of world?

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Compassion

They rail against compassionate imams. I think to myself: “What’s wrong with being compassionate?” Every verse of the Book, but one, begins, “In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.” Compassion is a trait to aspire to it. We need more of it, not less.

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Guns

The society awash with guns seems to have no respect for human life. What a surprise. Police officers use guns like mobile phones, casually firing at will at the faintest whiff of threat. A glance, a word, a silent thought: all of these can get you killed in the lands of guns. A disability, skin …

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0.1%

“It’s just the flu.” Yes, well the 1918 H1N1 pandemic was also just the flu. We have to decide what sort of society we want to be. Do we just let the old, poor and infirm die, dismissing them as 0.1% of the population? Very rational, so long as it’s not your relative, friend or …

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Strange allies

Protestant evangelism has surely gone astray when it makes alliances with atheists in its assault on the Muhammadan way.

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Refutation

Here is the refutation of the refutation of the refutation, on and on ad nauseam, droning on in full public view online and in private forums, chat groups, YouTube videos and heated arguments amongst friends and enemies. It never ends.

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To extremes

From extremes to extremes. From hyper-piety to hyper-rebel.

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Freely give

Scholars, preachers, muftis, sheikhs: please don’t monetise your content. Don’t make it a revenue stream, enabling adverts on your videos, begging for donations to support your efforts. Do it for the love of it, giving freely, teaching when you can, in between the day job which pays your bills. Let your knowledge be your charity …

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The steep path

I understand the need of disenfranchised people to stand together in solidarity, but Ex-Muslim activism comes across as just another sect, its activists behaving exactly like the fundamentalists they decry. There are former Muslims, lapsed Muslims, irreligious Muslims, agnostics, converts to other faiths, seekers and small e ex-Muslims; most of these I can get along with …

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Baloney

Once more, Muslims share via WhatsApp apparently profound insights, oblivious to their origin on nationalist forums filled with threads decrying Islam and brown people. It turns out that were it not for mutual hatred, most of these folk would get on like a house on fire. Apart from the superficial contempt for each other’s way …

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The apparition of religion

Politicians the world over are masters at exploiting religious imagery and patriotic sentiment to deflect and co-opt. We will see it here, we will see it there. As the recession deepens, as unemployment rises, as general discontent worsens, we will see our leaders deploy symbols which the masses can embrace. This is happening all over …

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Wicked men

Wicked men exploit the naivety of children in the name of religion. I am not of the “throw away the key” school of thought, no matter how stupid and foolish the teenage runaways were. A fourteen or fifteen year old is not mature enough to navigate religious bullying and pious propaganda. I feel sorry for young …

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Symbols

Look beyond the grandiose gestures of politicians presiding over failing economies and tanking approval ratings. It will take more than an appeal to religious sentiment to right the ship. This is mere distraction politics. Symbols made sacred.

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Dear tech reviewer

I love your channel and style — have been a subscriber for years — but increasingly I wish tech reviewers lived in the same world as the rest of us.

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To be nobody again

In the pre-internet age, there were very few ways the commoner could seek to influence the world beyond their immediate community. For those with talent or good looks, there was always the promise of stardom in music, sport or acting. For the lucky few there was a publishing contract. For the astute, perhaps a career …

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