For me, the Free Speech Union doesn’t really make much of a case. I mean, sure, the more precise the definition, the better, but “negative and prejudicial stereotyping of Muslims” is fairly clearly what they’re about, and fairly clearly does not apply to criticism of religion and Islam in general.
I mean, one has to recognize that there is a significant and unhealthy element of prejudice – that arguably, isn’t really a bit theological, it’s simply tribal. If you can devise a superior formula that more precisely targets this … well, it’s probably too late, but that’s where this effort should have gone. If there is a better formula, which I doubt.
The real problem is already here, in places like the universities that can be jerked around by victim of oppression factions, because they’re run by spineless fund-raising business admins who don’t care about free speech at all. Who knows that your tsar won’t be a little more judicious? Couldn’t be less.
“Occupy the Field” is a legal theory in the realm of constitutional law referring to the scenario where federal law renders state law ineffective due to a conflict or inconsistency between the two. In defining Islamophobia, one could compare it to the case of the Higgs boson that occupies the Higgs field, or the so-called God particle. Religionists would argue that the God field preempts all other fields of law. They could also claim the God particle was first discovered in the Quran, the authority in all matters metaphysical. God help us.
Physicists will never forgive Leon Lederman for dubbing the Higgs boson the “God Particle” in order to whip up interest in a book. It never had anything to do with God.
Curious how godly particles get, I had to look this up. Found an account at space.com:
The Higgs boson’s nickname “the God Particle” was solidified upon its discovery, namely as a result of the popular media. The origin of this is often connected to Nobel Prize-winning physicist Leon Lederman referring to the Higgs boson as the “Goddamn Particle” in frustration with regards to how difficult it was to detect.
Business Insider says that when Lederman authored a book on the Higgs boson in the 1990s the title was to be “The Goddamn Particle” but the publishers changed this to “The God Particle” and a troublesome connection with religion was drawn, one which bothers physicists to this day.
Still, it’s hard to overestimate the importance of the Higgs boson and the Higgs field in general, as without this aspect of nature no particles would have mass. That means no stars, no planets, and no us  —  something which may help warrant its hyperbolic nickname.
But God damned or not, damned glad it’s on the job.
Without the Higgs field and the Brout-Englert-Higgs mechanism, all fundamental particles would race around the universe at the speed of light. This theory doesn’t just explain why particles have mass but also, why they have different masses.
I was excited to see that there’s also a Sun Goddess particle, that being my preference as an object of worship, but it turns out this was just a matter of naming the unusually hefty cosmic ray Amaterasu, name of the Japanese sun goddess.
Ah at last a good “overlapping magestera” argument. Poor old Einstein fell fowl with his suspicion of quantum entanglement theories and Eisenbergs Uncertainty principle…All immediately leapt upon by the moronic ignorant sheep of god bothering….
Is an “anti-Moslem hate tsar” a tsar who is against Moslem hate, or is it a hate tsar who is against Moslems? Likewise, is an “anti-sex harassment force” a force that is against sex harassment, or a harassment force that’s against sex? And is an “anti-voter fraud group” a group that’s against voter fraud, or a fraud group that’s against voters?
If you protect one Religion yet offer no such protection for all the similarly absurd god bothering rivals then surely the propagation of cultural division is state sponsored and almost certain to completely destroy one of the major pillars of democracy. Free Speech…
And every science teacher in the land is about to be sacked for offending muslim knobheads who are offended by thories that are backed up by hard facts…
Donn Cave, are you aware that mass was defined by the Council of Trent in 1570, predating the discovery of the Higgs boson, and not just mass in general, but The Mass? Those theologians were outstanding in their field, tipping cows, trying but failing to invalidate Galileo’s experiments, and wiping cow patties from their feet before resting on their laurels. It was not until they tried tipping fowls that rose vertically on the attempt that they had finally disproven, even before its conception, Newton’s universal law of gravitation, which relies heavily on the concept of mass.
Jesus & Mo (the characters) are absurd, blinkered, and oddly very sweet. J&M (the cartoon) is brilliant: sharp, delicious, irresistible. Salman Rushdie
Jesus and Mo cartoons are wonderfully funny and true. Richard Dawkins
Jesus and Mo make the world a better place, bless their little hearts. Ophelia Benson
In a world defined by outrage and offence and liberal spinelessness, Jesus and Mo is a treasure, whose value we should never fail to recognize. Read them. Laugh. And think. Kenan Malik
The brilliant, celebrated, freaking hilarious atheist comic strip ... Greta Christina
...rays of sanity in a befuddled world. Keri Hulme
The liveliest depictions of Muhammad currently available... Malise Ruthven
J & Mo is the funniest and most consistently thought-provoking cartoon strip on the Net. In a saner world, it would run in a major newspaper. Nelson Jones, Heresy Corner
Consistently amusing, frequently thought-provoking and often heart-warming. New Humanist
Jesus & Mo is one of the most wonderful things on the internet.. JT Eberhard
Wittily captures much of the absurdity of religious apologetics. Mano Singham
I love jesusandmo.net cartoons - witty and sharp! Katha Pollitt
Often hilarious, frequently wry, these cartoons do what all the best cartoons do: they tell the truth through humour. Terry Sanderson, NSS President
...a wonderfully acid British cartoonist... Nick Cohen
I love the scrappy mockery of Jesus and Mo. Freedom of speech
includes the freedom to mock any person, any thing, any activity, and
any belief -- and J&M stands up for this unflinchingly Richard Stallman
...empowering, important and deeply progressive, not to mention hilarious... Council of Ex-Muslims
March 25, 2026
For me, the Free Speech Union doesn’t really make much of a case. I mean, sure, the more precise the definition, the better, but “negative and prejudicial stereotyping of Muslims” is fairly clearly what they’re about, and fairly clearly does not apply to criticism of religion and Islam in general.
I mean, one has to recognize that there is a significant and unhealthy element of prejudice – that arguably, isn’t really a bit theological, it’s simply tribal. If you can devise a superior formula that more precisely targets this … well, it’s probably too late, but that’s where this effort should have gone. If there is a better formula, which I doubt.
The real problem is already here, in places like the universities that can be jerked around by victim of oppression factions, because they’re run by spineless fund-raising business admins who don’t care about free speech at all. Who knows that your tsar won’t be a little more judicious? Couldn’t be less.
“Occupy the Field” is a legal theory in the realm of constitutional law referring to the scenario where federal law renders state law ineffective due to a conflict or inconsistency between the two. In defining Islamophobia, one could compare it to the case of the Higgs boson that occupies the Higgs field, or the so-called God particle. Religionists would argue that the God field preempts all other fields of law. They could also claim the God particle was first discovered in the Quran, the authority in all matters metaphysical. God help us.
She would if She could. 🙂
Physicists will never forgive Leon Lederman for dubbing the Higgs boson the “God Particle” in order to whip up interest in a book. It never had anything to do with God.
Curious how godly particles get, I had to look this up. Found an account at space.com:
But God damned or not, damned glad it’s on the job.
I was excited to see that there’s also a Sun Goddess particle, that being my preference as an object of worship, but it turns out this was just a matter of naming the unusually hefty cosmic ray Amaterasu, name of the Japanese sun goddess.
Ah at last a good “overlapping magestera” argument. Poor old Einstein fell fowl with his suspicion of quantum entanglement theories and Eisenbergs Uncertainty principle…All immediately leapt upon by the moronic ignorant sheep of god bothering….
I will add anyone with a modicum of intelligence who states that they ‘believe’ in a god are definately telling porkies as Mark Twain pointed out…
M27Holts
What kind of fowl?
I was attacked by a goose when I was about the same height as the goose.
I hate them.
hates them forever
Is an “anti-Moslem hate tsar” a tsar who is against Moslem hate, or is it a hate tsar who is against Moslems? Likewise, is an “anti-sex harassment force” a force that is against sex harassment, or a harassment force that’s against sex? And is an “anti-voter fraud group” a group that’s against voter fraud, or a fraud group that’s against voters?
Leaping moronic ignorant god bothering sheep. And that’s just the opposition. Then there’s the system
that lets’m be’m.
If you protect one Religion yet offer no such protection for all the similarly absurd god bothering rivals then surely the propagation of cultural division is state sponsored and almost certain to completely destroy one of the major pillars of democracy. Free Speech…
And every science teacher in the land is about to be sacked for offending muslim knobheads who are offended by thories that are backed up by hard facts…
Fell fowl? Are you ducking the issue, M27?
Donn Cave, are you aware that mass was defined by the Council of Trent in 1570, predating the discovery of the Higgs boson, and not just mass in general, but The Mass? Those theologians were outstanding in their field, tipping cows, trying but failing to invalidate Galileo’s experiments, and wiping cow patties from their feet before resting on their laurels. It was not until they tried tipping fowls that rose vertically on the attempt that they had finally disproven, even before its conception, Newton’s universal law of gravitation, which relies heavily on the concept of mass.