Phillip ,certain members of the muslim clergy have not escaped the eye of the chaser team.

From what i saw of the almost all muslim sbs panel show, Salam Cafe, there seemed no lack of self satire ,there, either.

Actually, I’ve had it comparatively easy, having a white face and Aussie accent and all. When the religious discrimination is coupled with racism, it’s a pretty tragic indictment.

Having said that, I do feel a turn in the wind, since the election.

My paternal grandfather came from Irish Catholic stock, although he was an aetheist himself. He married my grandmother, a Protestant, in a Proddy church.

My father, an atheist on a rural property, drove Italian POWs (working for him and my grandfather) to the Catholic church once a week during the war. They all came to his “atheist” funeral (cemetery only) as well.

Moral of the story, atheists often have a sense of morality, decency and integrity, uncomplicated by sectarian and theistic divides: certainly superior to some leaders of said institution in question; of far lesser stature and far lesser principles IMHO than my father.

Interesting Silkworm your comment on comparative ’slamming’ of Islam. My view on that expressed here before, is that a temporary exception applies for caution and moderation, given the perception (rightly or wrongly) of the GWOT among many of its adherents, as being prima facie, a war of violence against their religion. Some slack on the rope is required.

Umm Yasmin, in the case of a Muslim near and dear to me, she was accosted alone by another customer in a supermarket for “soiling” clear plastic wrapped meat. She had changed her mind and put it back on the shelf, and was literally frogmarched to the store’s office to get management to “discipline” her… “dirty wogs” etc etc. The only reason I didn’t facilitate a civil action for false arrest/imprisonment was because that racially/religiously sick dude was both old and physically sick.

Paul Burns, re

yeah, they did that sort of thing

Immortalised by Dave Allen, the yell from the confessional box:

YOU DID WHAT???

Result? The local parish priest used to come around and stand on the footpath outside their house, yelling that they were ‘living in sin’. ]

And of course this kind of Bigotry was celebrated in song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFjRMnycp5s&feature=related

Result? The local parish priest used to come around and stand on the footpath outside their house, yelling that they were ‘living in sin’. Until my grandmother threw a tub of dirty laundry water over him. The priest was never heard of again.

“The Dork Side of the Farce”: Paul, I love it!

I also loved Nasking’s brilliant description of the communion wafer “hijack” “scandal” in Florida - “Crackerjack”!

Ah, but Anakin/Vader was an apostate – of the worse kind (he killed the kiddie Jedis too). And then he copped ‘Jedi justice’ in the inferno.

Which pretty much sums up the history of the Church’s treatment of apostates (and other rabble).

Paul Norton: “The dork side of the farce, perhaps.”

Pretty much the funniest thing I’ve read all day. But I guess it’s been a slow morning…

Certainly funnier that the Chaser’s set up of an attempted punch-up with an Islamic cleric. Perhaps the clowns don’t take on people at mosques because they’re afraid of Anthony Mundine. I know I would be…

Also, any protest against Islamic figures will always draw out those same genuinely bigoted turds - they’re likely to actually be there, so pretty much impossible to distance yourself from.

Not that this wouldn’t be happening now too - I’m sure there are some plain old anti-catholics putting themselves about. But as a matter of degree…

This means that symbolic stunts against the Catholic hierarchy can be performed without any automatic affiliation being assumed with large numbers of bigoted harassers. The same is not true of symbolic stunts against Islamic figureheads - a protestor is automatically going to be assumed to be affiliated with the bigots. Who wants to take on that affiliation voluntarily?

Part of the explanation might be lapsed Catholics and old Coms can’t help themselves.

Isn’t that the same thing?

Pretty funny picture, though. I emailed it to my brothers, and a friend. I hope no-one minds.

And after this he went to a synagogue.”

Thank you Zoot, you’ve set my mind at rest.

“Now tell me just one instance of a protest against the establishment of a Catholic school.”

Silkworm,

We both know I can’t do that. Not in Australia, anyway, although I would imagine the situation would be different in Saudi Arabia, and certain parts of Northern Ireland.

Silkworm,

I did say I am not a religious person, so you must have misread the first part of my message. I acknowledge that there were protests at Camden, but what I was getting at was that one never sees overt mockery of Islam in the same manner as what is displayed by the picture, which as you would have noticed from my message, I also found funny. I think I saw the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence mentioned somewhere in the replies to the post, but perhaps I am mistaken and read about them in another post. Given that Islam promotes the execution of homosexuals simply for being homosexual, one might think the Sisters would have plenty of reason to parade around making fun of Islam, but I am yet to see it, or to hear about it. I did not specifically intend to hijack this post into a discussion of Islam v Christianity, but just to make the point that no-one mocks Islam as readily and openly as they do Christianity. I think it’s because we all know what would happen if they did. By the way, I am an atheist.