Monday, May 4, 2009
Religion There Is No Morality Without Religion
Posted by Dan Savage on Mon, May 4, 2009 at 1:59 PM
BBC:
The body of a man believed to be homosexual has twice been dug up from a Muslim cemetery in Senegal. The man, in his 30s, was first buried on Saturday before residents of the western town of Thies dug up his body and left it near his grave, police say.His family then reburied him, but he was once more exhumed by people who did not want him buried there. His body was dumped outside the family house.
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1
Shouldn't Islamic Sanitation laws about handling dead bodies prevent these people from digging him up in the first place?
3
We should go to war with these Arab heathens to teach them a thing or two about how to treat gays.
Don't you think, Dan?
Don't you think, Dan?
4
This made me viscerally ill.
@3 Arab, really?!? Do you know where Senegal is? Hint: no where near the Arabic part of the world.
@3 Arab, really?!? Do you know where Senegal is? Hint: no where near the Arabic part of the world.
5
we are NOT going to get the 3rd world, especially overcrowded, undereducated west africa, to behave according to our standards. we are foolish to try.
6
This should be a warning; Do not let Radical Religious Extremists ever gain the upper hand here in America. Stand up to them and call them the evil they are. Be it Pope, Imam, Rabbi, what ever. If you don't stand up to them, they will dig up your body and throw it around like trash.
9
@1 and 7
When have we ever honestly expected religious extremists to actually follow their holy writings? Fundamentalist Christians in this country regularly adhere to doctrines that have literal or no scriptural basis, why would it be different elsewhere?
When have we ever honestly expected religious extremists to actually follow their holy writings? Fundamentalist Christians in this country regularly adhere to doctrines that have literal or no scriptural basis, why would it be different elsewhere?
11
Seriously, this is hardly shocking. Do you really think someone convicted of witchcraft back in the 1600s could have been buried in a Christian cemetery?
Religious kooks are religious kooks the world wide. Same brand, different flavors.
Religious kooks are religious kooks the world wide. Same brand, different flavors.
12
Unequal unto death.
Denying this man the dignity of a proper burial, and his family the comfort of having him safely interred in accordance to their belief system is barbaric on a level that many may not fully comprehend.
Postmortem persecution of a minority group is, sadly neither new nor limited to any one region, society, or religion.
In the American West the bodies of some Native Americans would be treated in such a manner by the non-Natives to deny the spirit of the deceased rest or relief - this was also done as a demoralizing symbol to others.
Denying this man the dignity of a proper burial, and his family the comfort of having him safely interred in accordance to their belief system is barbaric on a level that many may not fully comprehend.
Postmortem persecution of a minority group is, sadly neither new nor limited to any one region, society, or religion.
In the American West the bodies of some Native Americans would be treated in such a manner by the non-Natives to deny the spirit of the deceased rest or relief - this was also done as a demoralizing symbol to others.
14
I have come to the conclusion that religion is little more than an ancient form of justifiable savagery. From ritual cannibalism to it's many forms of justifiable murder, it really says so much about how little mankind on the whole has advanced in civility.
15
hasn't most of Africa run out of excuses for bad behavior and its failure to provide a humane standard of living for its people? The whole, "if we're fucked up it's because of white, euro-american oppression/exploitation/colonialism/blah,blah,blah" excuse is starting to feel a bit tired after 40 years of continued use.
16
@15,
What are you talking about? Senegal is doing reasonably well for an African country, with a mostly functioning democracy, something resembling a middle class, and no strife to speak of.
What are you talking about? Senegal is doing reasonably well for an African country, with a mostly functioning democracy, something resembling a middle class, and no strife to speak of.
17
Michael@15: for once, bizarrely enough, I am with Kesh. The strawman you set up hasn't been valid in about a decade. Are you reliving ancient college days?
20
There is no religion without compassion.
Here there's no compassion for the dead, for the murdered, for the family, for the community. This is not religion.
Here there's no compassion for the dead, for the murdered, for the family, for the community. This is not religion.
28
Did he die of AIDS?
Even if he didn't just say that he did and that it's very communicable from corpse to extremist.
Even if he didn't just say that he did and that it's very communicable from corpse to extremist.
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