As for the divine sacrifice: to whom was it offered? (Forgive me if this was answered somewhere above – all those long paragraphs in tiny type …)

You, sir, have a great mind.

Apologies for the delayed reply. I’ve had a death in the family and haven’t much been (and still, truthfully, am not) in the mood for contemplating this topic. It doesn’t sound as though we are at odds quite as much as it initially seemed. Perhaps we can resume the discussion if (or perhaps when) it becomes relevent again in a future comic.

Take care.

This entire discussion seems to me to be a microcosm of the point made by quite well be Sam Harris that religious moderation protects harmful religious fundamentalism from criticism. Some disagree with him on this but I think he’s spot on.

“Now if they are the ones who wear it, and they don;t mind it, then why should I bother criticizing it?” Well I’m not going to criticize someone who makes a choice that is truly their own, free from coercion and in doing so doesn’t make life harder for others. If Muslim women want to wear a hijab (ignoring the fact, I guess, that they’ve almost certainly been subject to some brainwashing, indoctrination or deception simply to end up as a Muslim) but will defend the right of others to not be forced wear it then I’ll happily support them. I’m still going to challenge unfounded and irrational belief when it raises its head.

I’d repeat the same disclaimer from last time but I think we are both happy to forgive one another for some sloppy spelling and suchlike by now

Also, A Christian, since you no longer live by the old testament, why can’t gays marry? By my recollection of the new testament, Jesus said nothing of that.

Christians like to cherry pick from the bible but they don’t like it when outsiders do it in reverse. Within a couple of pages of Moses revealing the ten commandments, the bible sets out guidelines for selling a slave, and very specific instructions about under which circumstances and how an owner could beat his slave. The bible also sets a price for the sale of a daughter. And this book is supposedly the source of morality???

You said “…so it was a sign that their husband was wealthy enough to keep them idle.” I’d like to emphasise the KEEP part. Does the suggestion that women are kept by their husbands not offend you immediately?

I am familiar with the historical root of this custom. I especially like to that note that darker colours became most prominent because darker dyes were more expensive so as a status symbol were more effective. In any case it doesn’t really matter why a custom originated, it’s the affect it has now that is important. It also seems to me irrelevant as to weather of not wearing a hijab or burka is mandated by the quran the problem is that it is mandated throught the islamic world. In many area you are harshly punished for not following this rule while in others you may just find people are just a little colder toward you. I’m sure there are even regions in islamic countries where no one would bat an eye if you went out uncovered.

Neglecting to criticize something because it is “an integral part of their culture” is, if you ask me, cowardly. The best line of arguement to get me to chill about this issue would be something along the lines of: “There are more important battles for equality to be waged, by taking a stance on this subject you are just making it harder because muslims feel that you are just attacking their culture because it’s different.” I don’t really buy this either but its worth some consideration.

I’m not doing a great job of articulating my thoughts today (because, of course, I’m usually great at it ) my apologies for that. I hope you are right that progressives within the islamic world will win out over the fundamentalists, I struggle to find much optimism on that line. Progressives don’t seem to have won the battle with fundamentalists within christianity yet and it seems much easier to interpret the bible in a more moderate way than it is the quran.

(btw, you are correct, I am in western europe. I’m also too hungover to proofread this so apologies for any hideous mistyping or gramatical errors.)

TRiG.:)

Ok, what the hell? You are suggesting that somehow this is not an extra level of control? “No no, you women are far too pure, you should just stay at home. And do what I tell you because, believe me, I’m just trying to keep you pure.” I actually haven’t come across this apologetic line before (that islam views women as closer to god), but then I’m only up to chapter 5 of the quran (reading a couple of different analyses of it, don’t have the patience for the text itself) so maybe it comes up later.
This does however beg the question, what the bloody hell does a hijab protect you from? The only thing that springs to mind is that its supposed to somehow make you an unappealing rape target and for that its clearly not working. The laws on rape in islam (presumably from the hadith) are disgusting, even in the more moderate versions of Sharia.

It doesn’t matter if the stated reason for a certain practice is in some way holy (a claim, by the way, which is completely without evidence or reason), if all it does in practice is to give rise to huge inequality, suffering and subjugation then it is an evil practice.

I think you’re missing the point (there is only one drawing of each character); the way the cartoon is drawn is fairly irrelevant and in fact makes it all the more appealing as it is the deeper meaning that makes it so attractive.