Loss of Privacy

Veena Malik has stood up to a misogynistic culture in the hopes of changing people’s ideas. While some would not expect Veena Malik to be on a reality TV show, she did so because she was trying to break the Indian stereotype that Muslim Pakistanis are all crazy fundamentalist terrorists. She does a lot to raise awareness to charitable works. Veena is also supporting six siblings and paying for their way through school. If she did nothing else in life, these three things are highly admirable.

At the heart of the problem, Veena has been called a bad Muslim and a bad representative for the Pakistani people. She is outspoken. She does not travel with a male family member. She is unmarried. She does not dress as commanded to by the Qur’an. Veena counters with the belief that it is she who should be able to determine what is and is not a good Muslim. I say she is right. She is being judged by fundamentalists and an outdated book instead of by the things she has actually done. The Qur’an may say she’s a bad Muslim, but I said she’s a good person and it’s the latter that should count far more.

At the end of the video, Veena Malik makes a very significant point that everyone, regardless of nationality, needs to listen to. When people in the house were slandering her, making fun of her, and being disgraceful towards Pakistanis, where were her people and the Pakistani media then? Did they defend her? Did they call out those who were being racist? No, they let her stand alone.

I am very impressed by Veena Malik and I really hope I never have to read the headline that she was honor killed. However, it should come as no surprise to anyone that the Taliban has now threatened her and her family. I don’t care if people think that Veena is an attention seeker or a vapid woman. No one deserves threats on their life or innocent family members simply for speaking their minds and voicing an opinion.

Go tell your representatives to stand up for fact-based education.

By now, you’ve probably heard about the Texas State Board of Education’s moves to impose educational standards into its textbooks intended to indoctrinate Texas public school students with a telling of U.S. history that is based in extremist religious ideology.

You’ve probably also heard about some of the more jaw-dropping proposed changes to the curriculum, such as booting Thomas Jefferson off of a list of influential thinkers in place of explicitly religious figures, and the totally fabricated assertion that our system of government is based specifically on the laws of Moses. This comes from the same group of theocrats who famously fought to undermine evolution in science classes and delete from science textbooks the scientific consensus on the age of the universe because they conflict with the Bible.

As terrible as this religious imposition is for Texas students, all Americans have reason to fear. Due to the size of the Texas textbook market (and because other highly populated states do not use statewide textbook contracts in the say way), the backward dictates of its theocratic school board effect textbooks used by public school students all across the country.

Someone in Congress is finally standing up to this abuse of power and unconstitutional overreach by the religious extremists on the Texas State Board of Education. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (T-DX) recently introduced a resolution (H. Res. 1593) that supports fact-based curricula in public schools without meddling by those with an avowed religious agenda. Students in Texas and all across America need to know that Congress wants them to have an education based on facts and science, not myth and religious bias.

TAKE ACTION NOW: Watch the video message above from Secular Coalition for America Executive Director Sean Faircloth supporting Rep. Johnson’s resolution, and then tell your member of Congress to become a co-sponsor.

Sign it.

From Al Jazeera:

Israeli authorities have demolished at least seven homes in different Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem.

The homes are the first to be torn down since October 2009 and have provoked strong criticism from the Palestinians who say it proves Israel is not committed to peace.

Al Jazeera’s Sherine Tadros reports.

Yeah, it doesn’t offend me. It’s a freedom of speech issue to me and you should be allowed to paint whatever you want. It’s called social commentary. If you don’t like it, don’t go see it.

These are some photos I’ve collected from last week’s Everybody Draw Mohammed Day.

Taken from the Norman Rockwell painting:

Of course, poking fun at anything needs a yo dawg.

Over on reddit, there was an interesting discussion as to whether folks were okay with making fun of 9/11, since people were making fun of Islam and Mohammed. So, here’s a picture from that discussion.

There are also now talks from Muslims about Everybody Draw the Holocaust Day and Everybody Deny the Holocaust Day.  To each his own.  Free speech is vital to society.  Tacky, distasteful, or intelligent, we all need to protect free speech.