Is shaving blasphemy?

Greetings.

Jewish date:  25 Nisan 5770 (Parashath Shemini).

Today’s holidays:  Day 10 of the ‘Omer (Judaism), Friday in the Octave of Easter (Roman Catholicism), St. Tommy Geogiarides (Church of the Subgenius), Feast Day of Francis Bacon Lord Verulam and Feast Day of Rabelais and Feast for the Three Days of the Writing of the Book of the Law (Thelema).

Topic 1:  “Georgian convicts swap cells for monastery”:  This is an interesting approach to rehabilitating criminals.

Topic 2:  “Islamic groups block shaving contest”:  Gillette Pakistan decided to create a new world record of the most people shaving at the same time.  I see no problem with Islamic groups protesting the contest, claiming that shaving is against Islam.  After all, freedom of speech includes expressing offense, no matter how innocuous others think something is.  However death threats are beyond the limits of civil society and legitimate discourse; threatening to kill one’s opponents does not make one’s claims any more correct.  Very strange is referring to the contest as “blasphemous”, as if it were all about defaming Islam.  (People interested in defaming Islam usually are much more explicit.)

Topic 3:  For today’s religious humor:  “Ceiling Cat please hides me!!”:



Peace and Shabbath shalom.

Aaron

“Chicago: Supremacist Group Conspires Against Rights”

Greetings.

Jewish date:  5 Ṭeveth 5770 (Parashath Wayyiggash).

Today’s holiday:  Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent (Roman Catholicism).

Worthy causes of the day:  “Alliance for Climate Protection | Hold big polluters accountable” and “Cut Global Warming Pollution from Big Emitters - The Petition Site”.

Topic 1:  “Chicago: Supremacist Group Conspires Against Rights”.  This article deals with a conflict of freedom of religion with the limits of freedom of speech.  The Islamist group Ḥizb ut-Taḥrir America has been preaching that any Muslim who leaves Islam should be killed.  And the article notes that Muslims in the United States have actually put this into practice multiple times.  The author of the article is, naturally, outraged, complaining of the failure of the government to do anything about it.  Whether the views Ḥizb ut-Taḥrir America are valid in Islam is a matter for Muslim scholars to decide, but the author of the article does make a valid point about freedom of religion, that Ḥizb ut-Taḥrir America is crossing a line.  We live in a society which has collectively decided to give everyone freedom of religion.  This includes the freedom to believe and practice something other people do not approve of.  This has nothing to do with acceptance or everyone being equally right.  The government is not in the business of being the ultimate arbiter of truth, and we prefer keeping it that way.  As such, we have learned to at least barely tolerate each other and thus make each others’ lives a bit easier.  Ḥizb ut-Taḥrir America is trying to live by an incompatible set of rules, working to impose Islam on everyone, whether they want to live under planetary Islamic dominion or not, and promoting killing people who decided they did not want to be Muslims.  The contradiction is real, and the author of the article is right that the US government should intervene if they want to guarantee freedom of religion.

Topic 2:  For today’s religious humor:  “Hark da”:

Apparently these cats are having a little trouble with the lyrics...

Peace.

Aaron