Where is the age of Muslim Enlightenment?

Posted on by Opher

Christianity used to be a draconian religion with rabid fundamentalist values. It adored burning people alive, torturing them and doing the most heinous punishments. The price for not believing was protracted agony and death. Millions of people were hideously murdered in the name of Christianity. Everyone was forced to abide by religious values, wear ridiculous costume and worship.
Fortunately there was a rebellion and an age of enlightenment followed that separated State from Religion. We became a civilised culture with freedom and choice. Centuries of enslavement was swept away. The church lost its power.
Unfortunately this is not true in the Muslim world.
There is no separation of secular from religious in many Muslim states. People are forced to abide by religious dogma. The penalty for not doing so is barbaric – death by stoning or beheading.
In a modern world with universal human rights this is simply wrong. Imposition is wrong! It is time moderate Muslims rose up and created a moderate Islamic response to Islamic fundamentalism. This fascism cannot be tolerated. It needs opposing. That opposition should not be violent but verbal.
Words carry power
Where is the voice of moderate Islam?

Join the new Zeitgeist! – Let’s build a better world!Woody Guthrie

Woody Guthrie – This machine kills fascists!

Posted on by Opher

Woody Guthrie used to go around with a sign saying ‘This machine kills fascists’ on his guitar. You cannot defeat fascism, such as Islamic fundamentalism, through violence. You win people over with the power of words.
Justice, freedom, equality and fairness carry more power than an atomic bomb!

Join the new zeitgeist! Build a better world with a smile and a handshake!

Woody Guthrie

Anthropocene Apocalypse – World population now heads for 11 billion!!

Posted on by Opher

The average size family in the Yemen is 7 children. This is a pattern mirrored in most of the third world and many parts of Africa.

It is unsustainable.

We are destroying our planet, using all the resources, ravaging the wilderness, chopping down the forest and eating anything that moves.

The world is being devastated.

Seemingly this is God’s will and destiny. That is what is so appalling about religion!!

We need some sanity. Help build a better zeitgeist!

Read all about it. What are the solutions?

Al-Shabab beheads quarry workers for not being Muslim. Where are the moderate voices?

Posted on by Opher

Al-Shabab and IS are both targeting non-muslims. The penalty for not being a Muslim is death.
If you cannot recite tracts from the Koran without a flaw you are shot or beheaded.

Seems a little bit extreme to me but I still haven’t heard all those moderate Muslims speaking out against this bigoted intolerance and extreme savagery.

What would the response be if British thugs decided to butcher all Muslims in Britain? Would that provoke a response?

It is time that reasonable, civilised Muslims speak out against all violence.

Help build a new positive zeitgeist!! Two wrongs never make a right!! Violence breeds violence!!

Islamophobia

Posted on by Opher

I was accused of being Islamophobic. I wanted to make it quite clear that I am not. I am an extremely tolerant antitheist. I do not care what belief system any person adheres to. I believe that all beliefs are equally daft but that everybody is entitled to their own views. I would stand up to support the right of anybody having whatever faith they want. I would love to see the demised of all organised religions. I think they are responsible for a lot of the world’s wrongs but I would want to bring this about through discussion, logic and sanity and not through violence.
I happen to believe that Islam is the biggest offender against human rights in the present day. It is intolerant, violent, dogmatic, bigoted and extremely primitive in its ideology.
But I am not Islamophobic.
However, I am completely opposed to:

a. Indoctrination (particularly of young children)
b. Enforcement of rituals, dress-codes and practices associated with religion
c. Female circumcision
d. Misogyny and misogynistic practice (such as disenfranchising women, preventing women being educated, making women wear veils, burqas and shapeless clothing, making women walk paces behind men, preventing women driving cars, keeping women locked indoors, stoning women to death for having been raped etc.)
e. Barbaric stoning to death
f. Barbaric beheadings
g. Flying airplanes full of innocent people into buildings full of innocent people
h. Punishments and death sentences for apostasy

I believe in tolerance, equality and freedom. I believe it is essential that all civilised people should speak out against abuse to human rights.
I wish moderate Muslims would speak out against the atrocities being carried out in their name. The fact that they are largely silent says it all!
I believe people should have the right to chose a faith or no faith and the right to change their minds.
I believe that the murderers who are orchestrating out suicide bombings, stonings, beheadings, torture and gang-rapes under the guise of religious doctrine are guilty of crimes against all humanity and should be locked away for life.
No sane god would sanction such cruel, savage behaviour. They are fanatic fundamentalists who are deluding themselves and others.

Sharing this planet with the fanatics of any religious persuasion is a frustrating, infuriating, bewildering and demoralising experience. They are all the low point of human civilisation. It is incredible to me that these savages really believe they are carrying out the wishes of any god or religious doctrine.

Surely it is time for all reasonable people to speak out!!

Read what I think of religion in my three books:

The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights!! – Sanity in the midst of fanaticism!

Posted on by Opher

In order to have freedom you have to stand up for freedom!!

PREAMBLE
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article 1.
•All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.
•Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3.
•Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4.
•No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5.
•No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6.
•Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7.
•All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8.
•Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10.
•Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11.
•(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
•(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12.
•No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13.
•(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
•(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14.
•(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
•(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15.
•(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
•(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16.
•(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
•(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
•(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
^ Top
Article 17.
•(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
•(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
^ Top
Article 18.
•Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19.
•Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20.
•(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
•(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21.
•(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
•(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
•(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22.
•Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23.
•(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
•(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
•(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
•(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24.
•Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25.
•(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
•(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26.
•(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
•(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
•(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27.
•(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
•(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28.
•Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29.
•(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
•(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
•(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30.
•Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

The most important document in the whole of history!!

Posted on by Opher

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is undoubtedly the most important document in the history of mankind! Every one of those red poppies in that picture is a real human being who died for freedom! It would be stupid to allow our freedom to be usurped by religious or political fanatics. If we were to have a poppy for every person who was cruelly murdered by religious fanatics they would probably cover the whole of England!!

I am sure that most tyrannical religions would like to rip the declaration of human rights to shreds.

I am sure that most dictators, torturers, fanatics, despots, and mad generals would like to have it destroyed.

The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights stands as a beacon of hope in a world ruled by barbarity, cruelty, stupidity and thoughtlessness.

I particularly like article 26!! That is the only hope for the world!! Education overcomes superstition!

THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

PREAMBLE
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article 1.
•All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.
•Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3.
•Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4.
•No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5.
•No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6.
•Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7.
•All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8.
•Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10.
•Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11.
•(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
•(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12.
•No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13.
•(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
•(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14.
•(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
•(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15.
•(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
•(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16.
•(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
•(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
•(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
^ Top
Article 17.
•(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
•(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
^ Top
Article 18.
•Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19.
•Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20.
•(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
•(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21.
•(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
•(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
•(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22.
•Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23.
•(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
•(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
•(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
•(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24.
•Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25.
•(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
•(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26.
•(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
•(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
•(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27.
•(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
•(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28.
•Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29.
•(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
•(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
•(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30.
•Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

It is beyond me why anyone would support such a barbarous religion – can someone explain?

Posted on by Opher

Islam is the fastest growing religion.
How can that be?
There is no clearer example of misogyny, cruelty, barbarism, intolerance, indoctrination, primitive behaviour, mindlessness or lack of morality anywhere else.
Why is it such a draw to young people?
The end result of that fanaticism is a world without music, tolerance or love.
Do we really want our women in shackles, subservient and side-lined?
It looks like a mediaeval nightmare to me!

Why not build a fair, tolerant zeitgeist and a world of love, tolerance and equality?

Religion is an excuse for the powerful to control everyone else!

Can anyone explain?

Beheadings – primitive cowardice of a religion bereft of morality!

Posted on by Opher

The perverted minds of modern-day barbarians using religion as an excuse for their barbaric thuggery.
History is littered with the horrendous acts of religious fanatics as they force their ridiculous views on others through torture, cruelty and the infliction of as much pain and terror as they can manufacture.
No sane god would sanction the cruelty of religious fanatics.
Stoning
Burning
Beheading
Crucifixion
Impalement
Indoctrination of children

Judaism and Christianity have both had their barbaric pasts but Islam is presently the most inhuman.

If there was a god who sanctioned such things he would have to be fundamentally evil.

It is time we put religion back into its mediaeval past along with all its crusades, jihads, pogroms, inquisitions, blasphemy laws and other superstitious nonsense constructed out of the fears, weaknesses, stupidity and flawed logic of men.

There is no god. It is time we stopped using that excuse and grow up. There is no justification for beheading an innocent man, flying a plane full of innocent people into a building or forcing women to have to wear burqas.

Let us build a new zeitgeist built on fairness and equality!!

Nick Harper Brilliant!!! – at the wonderful Ropery in Barton 2014

Posted on by Opher

I’ve seen Nick tens of times in different venues all over the country but rarely as good as this!!

This is a new mature Nick, slightly more restrained, less chaotic and loud. A more thoughtful, humorous Nick.

Right from the start he set up a delightful relationship with the audience who warmed to his anecdotes, asides and humour.

Nick was in fine form, bending notes, doing impossible chords, mad tuning in songs, changing broken strings without pause all complete with a voice that soared into impossible heights. It was magical.

The new songs sounded great as well! And that album is out next week!

If you haven’t seen him recently – look out for him coming your way – it’s not one to miss!!

If you are unfamiliar check out his stuff on Amazon and purchase the great CD ‘Seed’ to begin with. You’ll end up with them all!

Check him out on You-Tube!