@Nabil - as I mentioned in an earlier comment, a lady advisor to UN regarding the Islamic push to make criticizing Islam an international crime (her name escapes me, but it's in my original comment, along with a link to her article), says:
"on account of the new openness available through satellite, internet and mobile phone technologies, disillusioned Muslims are rejecting and leaving Islam in unprecedented numbers."
Actress Elham Shahin to sue TV sheikh over insults >> Link
Egyptian actress Elham Shahin is to file a case against Sheikh Abdallah Badr of conservative TV channel 'El-Hafez', who regularly criticises the actress, according to a report on Ahram Arabic news website.
Shahin says that she will be making claims related to the channel's programmes to the Attorney General. She decided to take the case to court after she was mentioned for the second time on the channel in a programme this week, which discussed whether religious scholars should put limits on artistic expression.
During the programme on Saturday, 1 September, one of the presenters said to the sheikh: "If you as a sheikh will discuss economics, then we should get Elham Shahin to discuss religion."
The programme presenter then apologised, adding: "We hope artist Elham Shahin will find God's guidance; who knows." The sheikh then reportedly said: "I hope God guides her, and we would take care of her."
@ Nabil Tarek Basiouni- they may not be at quite the Atheist stage, but free thinking, and sick of old men making violent and destructive rules - doth make renegades. Viva la Revolution!
It seems the internet and this site, as well as many other of similar form and function are reaching thinking people everywhere. Welcome!
Some other like-minded folks in Wise County, Texas and yours truly have organized the Wise Free Thinkers and Skeptics MeetUp and all are invited to participate either from long distance or in person. See the MeetUp website to find us. Cheers all!
@Ken Huges - why don't you post a link to the "Meet Up" Website? When did Texas start allowing free thinkers? Do we need a Green Card? I wouldn't want to get shot by the Border Patrol --
Wise County - isn't that just west of the Muslim Cemetery on Hwy 280?
And yes, Wise County, an oxymoron for the most part, is west of the Modlem graveyard, which is east of the Jehova's Witness weirdness, so-called Kingdom Hall on 380, not 280. I live 5-miles east of Decatur out in the country where one can almost see one other home in the winter only and it's quiet and incredibly peaceful and home security is not an issue unlike Fort Lauderdale where we had bikes stolen off of our front and back porches at various times.
You're a little off, Ken - the Muslim Cemetery is west of the Jehovah's Witless church, not east.
I registered for your site, but it asked for my real name, and I never give that to anyone. We'll see if my request is accepted.
Meanwhile, you might enjoy checking out my website, www.in-His-own-image.com - some here read it regularly. It's intended to be read like a book, so it's best to open any page, scroll to the bottom, where you'll find a button marked, "FIRST" - clicking on that will take you to the beginning, after that, navigation is self-explanatory.
Who knows, you might find substance for one of your meetings - my daughter (bless her little pea-pickin' heart) hosts Bible Studies in her home every Sunday - the idea of an "Un-Bible" Study appeals to my perverse nature!
Mohamed - I'll try to make it, should I bring chips and dip?
BTW, for any interested, the Avaaz website, containing the Malala petition to be presented to the Pakistani President upon completion of one million signatures, in an effort to pressure Zardani into providing safe schools for Pakistani girls, is temporarily down, thanks to Hurricane Sandy, but at last count, there were nearly 850,000 signatures. It should be back up shortly, hopefully today, as no one can sign until it is.
I've harbored a fantasy of visiting Egypt for most of my life that to this point has reached its 68th year, so it has been a while. I came close once, but no banana. I've read so much about Egypt from ancient history to modern times that I need to put some actual experience on my fantasy.
The Malala site is still down, I'll let you know when it's back up.
The invitation sounds great - I love trying different foods, and having lived six years in Mexico, I've come to love spicy food.
My greatest concern is that I'd be arrested by the Morality Police for whistling at girls - there's just something about a woman in a drab, formless burqah that really turns me on - I'm an eye man!
@Monica - isn't religion great? Don't you think we need lots more of it?
That little boy is gone, and that poor woman will have to spend the rest of her life, living with what she's done, but mark my words, she will never once blame her religion!
Actually, Mohammed, I don't believe he's quite as useless as you might believe - he hasn't been able to get Republicans to work with him, has been part of the problem, but now that he doesn't have to concern himself about being re-elected, he can afford to twist arms for the next four years and hopefully get a lot more done.
I guess the next serious issue, is short of complete world capitulation, what would be required to turn angry, Islamic jihadists into peaceful Islamic neighbors?
@archaropterx i think turning angry jihadists into peaceful neighbors is a very very optimistic opinion. He might do something useful this time though as you say for the American people.
Oh I think he's already done a lot of useful things for the American people - you have to understand that the American people are still recovering from 8 horrible years of "W," who, along with some bad business practices by some of W's corrupt cronies on Wall Street and in the petroleum industry, nearly bankrupt this nation. And Obama also had to struggle with a Republican-dominated House of Representatives, who was determined to create such a gridlock that Obama wouldn't be able to accomplish anything over his 4-year Presidency, and thus make it easy for him to be defeated in 2012.
Obviously that didn't happen, and now Obama has nothing to lose and the Republicans nothing to gain, so they should be able to work more closely together during the next 4 years. The US will recover nicely, IMO.
It's the International scene - the conflicts between Islamic theocracies and democracy, the conflicts between Israel and most Arab nations, and the Persian Problem, that I would like to see him take the lead on.
Good to know - there are so many cool ex-Muslims out there. If there were only some way to neutralize that Islamic death threat for apostasy, I'm guessing there would be droves of bail-outs.
The Secular Coalition of America is an atheist organization that tries to work with members of State and Federal government to increase freedoms for the non-religious. Sometimes they approach appropriate parties in the UN to attempt to acheive the same goal world wide. I received this today:
UN: On Oct. 26, two representatives from the secular community -- Matt Cherry of the International Humanist and Ethical Union and myself -- had the chance to meet privately with the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Heiner Bielefeldt. For those unaware, Bielefeldt is essentially the UN's watchdog on abuses of the rights to freedom of religion and belief. Matt and I shared with him a report including information on global laws that restrict the rights to freedom of belief and expression, and the many cases of secular people being punished for de-converting or criticizing religion. Bielefeldt was grateful, remarking that he had never before received such a report from secular representatives at the UN, and that he would like to foster a relationship with us in order to become more informed regarding our issues. This is especially fantastic news because Bielefeldt's annual reports are largely based on information passed to him by NGOs, and he has ability to bring attention to cases and issues we are concerned about. We will let you know when our report is ready for release and keep you updated as things move forward. Anyone who would like to suggest questions or remarks for these meetings can email mdedora@centerforinquiry.net. More information on the Committee and all its events can be found athttp://unforb.wordpress.com/ (Thank you to Michael DeDora for this update, mdedora@centerforinquiry.net, 646.706.6080)
@archaeopteryx well dont worry me and a couple of guys were there with them walking and hearing their stupid chants while drinking beer.. The truth is eventually those islamists are gonna start fighting one another over whose version of sharia is correct and i hope when this happens it will be our time to shine :)
Is it safe to organize and demonstrate openly for a more secular government? It seems to me that loss of tourism dollars would be a good selling point. Pakistan, for example, is not exactly the tourism capital of the world!
If anyone runs across someone who's riding the fence, who hasn't really decided which way to go, offer them this, and ask them to just think about it --
actually there is no chat room for the group, however u can help yourself with the wall and say whatever u want ..or u can add a topic for all of us to discuss.
You can also chat privately with an individual, off of the public chat room, though I'm not entirely sure how to do it. I just know that others have opened chat windows to me that way.
kOrsan would be a good one to ask, or I'm sure it can be figured out, with enough effort. Possibly, by checking several boxes in your "Friends List," you can initiate chats with multiple friend, but I'd suggest emailing the site administrators for instructions.
851,383 - the Malala petition is up and running once again, but we were at 835,000 before Hurricane Sandy, when the website was knocked offline, and we're only a bit above that now, as you can see. We still need nearly 150,000 signers, so if you know anyone who hasn't signed but might like to, please ask them to do so at http://www.avaaz.org/en/malalahopenew/?slideshow
archaeopteryx
@Nabil - as I mentioned in an earlier comment, a lady advisor to UN regarding the Islamic push to make criticizing Islam an international crime (her name escapes me, but it's in my original comment, along with a link to her article), says:
"on account of the new openness available through satellite, internet and mobile phone technologies, disillusioned Muslims are rejecting and leaving Islam in unprecedented numbers."
Oct 9, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
@archaeopteryx : thats a great thing :D
Oct 11, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
@Nabil Tarek they are probably new atheists, i think its the best thing we got out of the revolution. People apparently started to think freely.
Oct 11, 2012
Hope
Actress Elham Shahin to sue TV sheikh over insults >> Link
Egyptian actress Elham Shahin is to file a case against Sheikh Abdallah Badr of conservative TV channel 'El-Hafez', who regularly criticises the actress, according to a report on Ahram Arabic news website.
Shahin says that she will be making claims related to the channel's programmes to the Attorney General. She decided to take the case to court after she was mentioned for the second time on the channel in a programme this week, which discussed whether religious scholars should put limits on artistic expression.
During the programme on Saturday, 1 September, one of the presenters said to the sheikh: "If you as a sheikh will discuss economics, then we should get Elham Shahin to discuss religion."
The programme presenter then apologised, adding: "We hope artist Elham Shahin will find God's guidance; who knows." The sheikh then reportedly said: "I hope God guides her, and we would take care of her."
Oct 15, 2012
Marvel
what's really funny is that the Sheikh has fabricated photos of Elham Shahin Photoshopping her face over the body of a Romanian Porn Star
Oct 16, 2012
Hope
Ha! maybe he's a fan of that porn star! LOL!
Oct 19, 2012
Marvel
Role reversal...
Source: "I am not ashamed of myself any more" by Artist Boushra Almutawakel from Yemen.
Oct 23, 2012
archaeopteryx
That is SO cool, Marvel - any chance you could upload that to a Taliban website? That would REALLY freak them out!
Oct 23, 2012
Suzanne Olson-Hyde
@ Nabil Tarek Basiouni- they may not be at quite the Atheist stage, but free thinking, and sick of old men making violent and destructive rules - doth make renegades. Viva la Revolution!
Oct 23, 2012
Marvel
Oct 28, 2012
Marvel
ملحدين جامعة القاهرة aka Cairo University atheist .. i just stumbled upon this group today .. very interesting
http://www.facebook.com/MlhdynJamtAlqahrt
Oct 28, 2012
Mohamed Algendy
Any active users in this website ? I'm interested to know a community that thinks the same way .
Oct 29, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
@MohamedAlgendy Well you found the right place to be, this is a community that thinks - which is enough - come on we are in Egypt
Oct 29, 2012
Ken Hughes
It seems the internet and this site, as well as many other of similar form and function are reaching thinking people everywhere. Welcome!
Some other like-minded folks in Wise County, Texas and yours truly have organized the Wise Free Thinkers and Skeptics MeetUp and all are invited to participate either from long distance or in person. See the MeetUp website to find us. Cheers all!
Oct 29, 2012
archaeopteryx
@Ken Huges - why don't you post a link to the "Meet Up" Website? When did Texas start allowing free thinkers? Do we need a Green Card? I wouldn't want to get shot by the Border Patrol --
Wise County - isn't that just west of the Muslim Cemetery on Hwy 280?
Oct 29, 2012
Ken Hughes
My pleasure and honor,
http://www.meetup.com/Wise-Free-Thinkers-and-Skeptics/
And yes, Wise County, an oxymoron for the most part, is west of the Modlem graveyard, which is east of the Jehova's Witness weirdness, so-called Kingdom Hall on 380, not 280. I live 5-miles east of Decatur out in the country where one can almost see one other home in the winter only and it's quiet and incredibly peaceful and home security is not an issue unlike Fort Lauderdale where we had bikes stolen off of our front and back porches at various times.
Oct 29, 2012
archaeopteryx
You're a little off, Ken - the Muslim Cemetery is west of the Jehovah's Witless church, not east.
I registered for your site, but it asked for my real name, and I never give that to anyone. We'll see if my request is accepted.
Meanwhile, you might enjoy checking out my website, www.in-His-own-image.com - some here read it regularly. It's intended to be read like a book, so it's best to open any page, scroll to the bottom, where you'll find a button marked, "FIRST" - clicking on that will take you to the beginning, after that, navigation is self-explanatory.
Who knows, you might find substance for one of your meetings - my daughter (bless her little pea-pickin' heart) hosts Bible Studies in her home every Sunday - the idea of an "Un-Bible" Study appeals to my perverse nature!
Oct 29, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
@Ken Even better, if anyone is passing by Cairo make sure to meet up with us. First round on me :)
Oct 30, 2012
archaeopteryx
Mohamed - I'll try to make it, should I bring chips and dip?
BTW, for any interested, the Avaaz website, containing the Malala petition to be presented to the Pakistani President upon completion of one million signatures, in an effort to pressure Zardani into providing safe schools for Pakistani girls, is temporarily down, thanks to Hurricane Sandy, but at last count, there were nearly 850,000 signatures. It should be back up shortly, hopefully today, as no one can sign until it is.
Oct 30, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
@archaeopteryx Thanks for the link of the Paki President.
Well for the chips and dip no need come and taste Sakanaky, Kobaba and Somosa :) cant be explained but tasted ;)
Oct 30, 2012
Ken Hughes
I've harbored a fantasy of visiting Egypt for most of my life that to this point has reached its 68th year, so it has been a while. I came close once, but no banana. I've read so much about Egypt from ancient history to modern times that I need to put some actual experience on my fantasy.
Oct 30, 2012
archaeopteryx
The Malala site is still down, I'll let you know when it's back up.
The invitation sounds great - I love trying different foods, and having lived six years in Mexico, I've come to love spicy food.
My greatest concern is that I'd be arrested by the Morality Police for whistling at girls - there's just something about a woman in a drab, formless burqah that really turns me on - I'm an eye man!
Oct 30, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
@Ken Well its time you come then, try and catch up before they ban alc. Egypt is really cool for a visit actually
Oct 31, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
@archaeopteryx hahah eye man, soon they will even cover that, we still dont have Morality Police here "Coming soon" though :)
Oct 31, 2012
archaeopteryx
@Monica - isn't religion great? Don't you think we need lots more of it?
That little boy is gone, and that poor woman will have to spend the rest of her life, living with what she's done, but mark my words, she will never once blame her religion!
Nov 4, 2012
Marvel
She also hit him with a hammer, a rolling pin and a slipper.
and of course you can blame Satan for all this madness ... typical
Nov 4, 2012
archaeopteryx
Children are not for hitting.
Nov 4, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
www.thinkatheist.com/group/athiest-stoners
This is a very important group the name says it all.. its by our very own Ziad and Mohamed
Nov 6, 2012
archaeopteryx
OBAMA WON!!!!!
Nov 6, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
Congrats archaeopteryx, you got no crazy guy in the White House but you still have the kinda useless guy which is better in a way :)
Nov 7, 2012
archaeopteryx
Actually, Mohammed, I don't believe he's quite as useless as you might believe - he hasn't been able to get Republicans to work with him, has been part of the problem, but now that he doesn't have to concern himself about being re-elected, he can afford to twist arms for the next four years and hopefully get a lot more done.
I guess the next serious issue, is short of complete world capitulation, what would be required to turn angry, Islamic jihadists into peaceful Islamic neighbors?
Nov 7, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
@archaropterx i think turning angry jihadists into peaceful neighbors is a very very optimistic opinion. He might do something useful this time though as you say for the American people.
Nov 7, 2012
archaeopteryx
Oh I think he's already done a lot of useful things for the American people - you have to understand that the American people are still recovering from 8 horrible years of "W," who, along with some bad business practices by some of W's corrupt cronies on Wall Street and in the petroleum industry, nearly bankrupt this nation. And Obama also had to struggle with a Republican-dominated House of Representatives, who was determined to create such a gridlock that Obama wouldn't be able to accomplish anything over his 4-year Presidency, and thus make it easy for him to be defeated in 2012.
Obviously that didn't happen, and now Obama has nothing to lose and the Republicans nothing to gain, so they should be able to work more closely together during the next 4 years. The US will recover nicely, IMO.
It's the International scene - the conflicts between Islamic theocracies and democracy, the conflicts between Israel and most Arab nations, and the Persian Problem, that I would like to see him take the lead on.
Nov 7, 2012
archaeopteryx
Here's a blog some of you might have an interest in:
No fun in heaven
Nov 7, 2012
Marvel
I've been following Taslima Nasreen ever since i read her book Raja.. she's a very interesting person .. i love her
Nov 7, 2012
archaeopteryx
Good to know - there are so many cool ex-Muslims out there. If there were only some way to neutralize that Islamic death threat for apostasy, I'm guessing there would be droves of bail-outs.
Nov 7, 2012
archaeopteryx
The Secular Coalition of America is an atheist organization that tries to work with members of State and Federal government to increase freedoms for the non-religious. Sometimes they approach appropriate parties in the UN to attempt to acheive the same goal world wide. I received this today:
Nov 8, 2012
archaeopteryx
Not really great news, Guys --
Egyptian Islamists rally for Shariah law
Nov 9, 2012
Marvel
Nov 10, 2012
archaeopteryx
I can't imagine it's spontaneous, I'm guessing planned an organized by Islamists trying to force their beliefs onto the entire country.
Nov 10, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
@archaeopteryx well dont worry me and a couple of guys were there with them walking and hearing their stupid chants while drinking beer.. The truth is eventually those islamists are gonna start fighting one another over whose version of sharia is correct and i hope when this happens it will be our time to shine :)
Nov 10, 2012
archaeopteryx
Is it safe to organize and demonstrate openly for a more secular government? It seems to me that loss of tourism dollars would be a good selling point. Pakistan, for example, is not exactly the tourism capital of the world!
Nov 10, 2012
archaeopteryx
If anyone runs across someone who's riding the fence, who hasn't really decided which way to go, offer them this, and ask them to just think about it --
Nov 10, 2012
Skeptical Wanderer
Hey guys... Is there a chat room for this group ? Please let me know if it does exist..Cheers
Nov 11, 2012
Marvel
actually there is no chat room for the group, however u can help yourself with the wall and say whatever u want ..or u can add a topic for all of us to discuss.
Nov 11, 2012
archaeopteryx
You can also chat privately with an individual, off of the public chat room, though I'm not entirely sure how to do it. I just know that others have opened chat windows to me that way.
kOrsan would be a good one to ask, or I'm sure it can be figured out, with enough effort. Possibly, by checking several boxes in your "Friends List," you can initiate chats with multiple friend, but I'd suggest emailing the site administrators for instructions.
Nov 11, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
@Skeptical Wanderer - Nice seeing you here too buddy
Nov 12, 2012
Marvel
Nov 13, 2012
archaeopteryx
De-volution!
Nov 13, 2012
archaeopteryx
851,383 - the Malala petition is up and running once again, but we were at 835,000 before Hurricane Sandy, when the website was knocked offline, and we're only a bit above that now, as you can see. We still need nearly 150,000 signers, so if you know anyone who hasn't signed but might like to, please ask them to do so at http://www.avaaz.org/en/malalahopenew/?slideshow
Nov 13, 2012