The Brunei Times has a review of my critique of Muslim attitudes toward science, An Illusion of Harmony. The review is interesting. Not because it has any substance; it consists largely of invective. But it’s an interesting example of what those of us who want to be critical of Islam face. Even when you avoid … An Illusion of Harmony review

Ted Rall, the cartoonist and opinion writer, has an interesting piece out called “Onward Christian Panderers.” It’s mostly complaints about politicans sucking up to the Christian Right—nothing unfamiliar, though well-expressed. It’s worth mentioning, however, that while Rall might not be a great fan of organized religon, he is a theist. We should notice how many, … Ted Rall on pandering to the religious

PZ Myers reports on his experiences at the Freedom From Religion Convention, including a lengthy description of Christopher Hitchens’s talk, where Hitchens apparently goes of the deep end and gives full rein to his revenge fantasies against Muslims. Great. With Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens, we get two prominent and articulate spokespeople for godlessness who … Hitchens, apparently, is bleeding insane

There’s an interesting interview with political scientist Mitchell Cohen in the leftist magazine Dissent. One of Cohen’s virtues is that he refrains from discussing the “New Atheists” in terms of the media stereotype of the angry atheist. He also displays a critical attitude toward political Islam that is refreshing in leftish circles. Heh, he even … Mitchell Cohen on “The New Atheism”

The Centre for Inquiry Ontario has made a video of the talk I gave on “Science and Religion in Islam” on October 3 at Ryerson University in Toronto, plus the Q & A, and Q & A’s after I gave a similar talk in other institutions. It’s pretty dark and the slides are not very … Video for Ontario talks on science and Islam

Sam Harris and Salman Rushdie have an important op-ed in the LA Times, “Ayaan Hirsi Ali: abandoned to fanatics.” In fact, I’d add this: Ayaan Hirsi Ali gets a lot of accusations that her critique of Islam is not sophisticated enough, that she oversimplifies things, or that her tactics do not really help the Muslim … Freedom to criticize

There’s a very interesting article on The Edge, by psychologist Jon Haidt, called “Moral Psychology and the Misunderstanding of Religion.” Haidt takes some ill-conceived cheap shots at the so-called “New Atheists,” but that that shouldn’t get in the way of some important questions he raises. Haidt suggests that in some ways, religiosity is more socially … Are religious people more generous?

An interesting book by Thomas W. Clark came my way recently. Encountering Naturalism: A Worldview and its Uses is a well-written, short (101 pages) book that serves as a very readable, non-academic introduction to naturalism. It’s very light on scientific and other technical considerations, focusing instead on other questions readers new to naturalism might have. … Encountering Naturalism

In some of my recent talks about science and religion in Islam some Muslims in the audience asked me whether I thought there were scientific mistakes in the Quran. I’ve answered such questions very diplomatically so far. I usually point out that all this depends on how you interpret the text, that Muslims have a … Overly diplomatic?

Watch this. Keep in mind that this is an American politician—a Republican mayor of San Diego. And not only does he come out in support of gay marriage (that’s only civilized, I figure), but never in his speech is there any religious reference. Amazing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnTwrnKb61Q