Marriage is love.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Freedom and Democracy - relative terms.

Some time ago, there was a bit of a furor in the Liberal Blogosphere over the whole "some Islamic Nations execute gays and lesbians" issue. Subsequent to that topic, some people argued for Islam, and some argued against. Many of the arguments sounded a lot like this.

FOR: Islam is a misunderstood religion.

AGAINST: You nuts? They lop our heads off!

FOR: Islam is a religion of peace.

AGAINST: Excuse me - but that whole "lop our heads off" issue? I'm a fag/dyke and I'm NOT on-board with this!

FOR: Islam is a religion of compassion.

AGAINST: So, you are saying I get some general anesthesia before Islam lops my head off for liking boys/girls?

FOR: You are a bigot - one only sees this sort of behavior out of extremists driven to that point by oppression, suffering, and poverty.

AGAINST: Saudi is a poor, suffering, oppressed country? The servants don't have sufficient income for their own bullet-proof Mercedes, so they support public beheading of GLBT folk (and everyone else; the Human Rights Watch Article linked here)? The expression "Turkish Prison" makes us fags/dykes just a bit afraid: whazzup with that, do you think?

FOR: I said, you are a bigot.

AGAINST: I'm into self-preservation, thanks. With even the liberals like sHillary Clinton selling us out, I think we need to pick our friends carefully.

FOR: RACIST! RACIST! RACIST!

AGAINST: Oh, put a sock in it, will ya?!

And on and on and on it goes, much like I just described above.

Until now - because Russ is a brilliant, attentive, insightful news reader and commentator.

Russ (reporting here, at Pam's Blog and here, at his own Radical Writ) comments on how the newly-free, newly-elected, Democratic Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is faring . . . and how the citizens, freed of the oppressive, violent Taliban, have voted Quranic Sharia Law in.

That is right - the VOTERS in Afghanistan make the Quran their Constitution, JUST like under the Taliban.

The upshot?

The upshot is right here, on the Feminist Afghanistan Organization, RAWA's, website: An Afghani Man who chose to convert to Christianity, per Quranic dictate, has been formally arrested, charged, and, if found guilty, will be beheaded. Just like this guy was, in Saudi Arabia. This photo is one of the few available images from Saudi's infamous "Chop-Chop-Square." This photo is a bootleg, taken by a Westerner, of an official Saudi State execution.

Saudi Arabia does not allow images taken of State Executions. Because of the strict Quranic enforcement of governmental policy, the irony is the tourist who took this picture was, himself, taking a risk: he could have been next at Chop-Chop Square to lose the hand holding the camera as the official punishment would be having the offending, camera-holding hand severed from his body . . . just above the wrist.

While I would not mind seeing such an end for some of the JEEEEE-zzuuzz'lubbin, Holier-than-thou, self-absorbed, judgmental AmTaliBangelist Types (because I'm an Angry Liberal filled with Rage and Hate), I must say that Russ's analysis is dead on.

And so are the linked articles.

So go check it out, come back, and comment: are WE getting closer to such days ourselves between the AmTaliBangelist and the Spineless Dem crowd?


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