Islamic Scholars Say No To Scanners

Opposition to full-body airport scanners continues to grow with some Muslim-American groups joining the fray.

A body of North American Islamic scholars has issued a fatwa, or religious decree, forbidding Muslims from passing through the devices …

Now, it isn’t my intention to slam Islam in this post. Truth be told I dislike all organized religion. Some of my libertarian friends oppose the scanners for philosophical reasons.

While I understand the resistance I disagree with it. Airplane hijacking and/or bombing is a favourite tactic of terrorists. One only has to look at the events of Sept. 11 to see how deadly the results can be. Frankly, when I get on a plane I want to be assured that I’ll be getting off safe with all body parts intact.

Flying is not a right, it’s a privilege. It’s also a contractual arrangement. By purchasing a ticket you agree to be bound by whatever terms are in place. If one finds the terms unacceptable then the solution is obvious – don’t purchase a ticket.

Of course the exercise is academic anyway since compliance is currently voluntary.

Living In the Stone Age

On my About page you’ll note the following line (if you actually cared enough to read that far) “I attended a private Catholic school for the first 9 years of my schooling life …” This was not a personal choice but rather something I had to do in accordance with the wishes of my parents. All in all I’d say it was a rewarding experience and a good choice considering the choice of alternate schools in my old neighbourhood. As I became older however, I turned my back on mainstream religion. Why? For precisely the reasons outlined in the following story.

The new Equality Bill is currently winding its way through Parliament in the UK, and while from far perfect, came under a vicious attack from the Vatican for all of the wrong reasons. From the the Times Online,

The Vatican condemned Britain’s proposed equality law yesterday, complaining that legislation to give homosexual equal rights “violates natural law”.

The Vatican condemned the proposed equality law? Really? Well I condemn the Vatican and its medieval mentality. The Vatican further stated the equality bill violates natural law. I accuse the Vatican of not only violating common sense but of trying to interfere with the process of granting basic human rights.

While I respect the right of the knuckle-draggers in the Vatican to hold to any belief they like the sexual orientation of a person is nobody’s damn business. I’m a little sick and tired of the practice of prying into the private lives of others and dictating to them how those lives should be lived.

The fact a basic right can be denied someone purely on the basis of sexual orientation disgusts me. What disgusts me even more is those who defend the practice.

Blogging Tories member Rightchik stated something in a recent post that struck a chord in me. I quote,

What isn’t natural is that a young man I truly cared about is dead. Dead because life was unbearable because of the constant beatings and discrimination he took from people who thought his sexual orientation wasn’t natural.

As I have progressed through life I like to think I have evolved, have become wiser. Things I used to believe in I no longer do and vice-versa. The fact someone took his life because society (and I speak in generalities) made it unbearable troubles me.

Lest I be accused of being a sanctimonious oaf let me state for the record that I am far from perfect. I have my faults, biases and weaknesses just like the rest of you. But I am trying to work through those. And when I find sanctioned discrimination such as the type outlined here it angers me.

Here’s a little tip for those in the Vatican who would impose their antiquated views on the masses. You want more people to flock to the church and embrace your god? Drop the medieval rhetoric and join the rest of us in the 21st century. It’s not that bad. Really.

Credits:
photo courtesy Wikipedia
quotes www.timesonline.co.uk
http://rightchik.blogspot.com