Atheism

5 Reasons Why Atheists Are Good For The World

- Roshan

As you probably know, I am an atheist. Quite frankly, though, I couldnā€™t care less whether you are an atheist or religious. Thereā€™s no reason why a contrast in belief systems should ever stop two people from getting along.

One thing I will say, though, is that atheists are good for the world. And I donā€™t think you can argue that even if you are deeply religious. Here are just five reasons that prove the world is a better place for having people that do not believe in a higher being.

#1. Scientific & technological advancements

Science and technology are two key components in human evolution. Our species would have still progressed without atheism, but there is no doubt that atheists have played a major role in the developments.

Atheists donā€™t merely accept the hand that is dealt by nature. Experts explain here how genetically modified humans are possible thanks to tech and science. Meanwhile, there are many other aspects of medical science and discovery that may not have occurred without atheists.

#2. Intelligence

There are several studies that show a positive correlation between atheism and intelligence. While Iā€™m probably not the greatest example of that, I assure you it does exist.

Thatā€™s not to suggest atheists are actually smarter. However, atheists are perhaps more inquisitive as they pose existential questions. Contesting the notion that ā€œGod just made it happenā€ certainly has an impact.

#3. Peacekeeping and integration

It would be far too simplistic to state that all wars are caused by religion. Still, itā€™s impossible to ignore that it is a common factor. Atheists are more likely to integrate with people from other walks of life. Marxist views show that atheists have been guilty of atrocities too. Atheists tend no to kill others in the name of atheism. The fact that terrorism is very rare in Scandinavia and non-religious regions gives further credence to the argument.

#4. Belief system makeup

Many people view the failure to believe in a higher power as an unnatural perspective. On the contrary, this study shows that it is just as natural as religious beliefs. After all, they are all (including atheism) ideologies that have been passed down.

If a society can exist with different cultures that believe in varying gods, thereā€™s no reason non-believers canā€™t be involved too.

#5. Human choice

While I donā€™t believe in any religious script, I wouldnā€™t rule out the possibility that I could be wrong. Still, the scripts were all produced many years ago. As such, many of the teachings simply donā€™t match up with modern life.

Atheists are often behind the fight for equality relating to sexuality, race, and other key human issues. Without them, thereā€™s a strong chance that religion would still be playing catch up. The fact that people are able to live more freely can only be a positive ā€“ even if you disagree with their decisions.

One last note ā€“ I do believe that the world is a better place thanks to religion too.

FAQ To Atheists – Part 1

- Roshan

I came across this site that publishes answers to frequently asked questions to atheists or about atheism or about atheists. I decided to see if I can provide my own answers, so these are just my personal answers.

1. Can you prove that God doesn’t exist?

A. How can anyone prove something doesn’t exist when it hasn’t been proven to exist in the first place? And it doesn’t work like that. Prove your god or gods exist.

2. What would it take to prove to you that a god exists?

A. Proof. Solid proof. Not some quotes from a book or how many people believe in it or “look at the trees/baby’s smile”. And no amounts of threats will do the job either.

3. How do you know you are right?

A. I don’t. That’s why I say I do not believe in your god. How can that be right or wrong? You say that a god exists and I don’t say that no gods exists, just that I do not believe because of a lack of evidence.

4. Why do atheists support gays so much?

A. I don’t. I support every human who wants to his or her life without harming themselves or anyone else. Gays, LGBT, Transgenders – they deserve to be happy (same as you) and live their own lives (same as you) without you hindering/hurting/killing them. If they don’t harm you, how on earth does it affect you?

5. Have you tried to believe in God?

A. Yes, my parents tried to indoctrinate me into their religion, same as yours probably did and for a while it worked. Then I turned 13 and started questioning. At the age of 19 I became an atheist. I still don’t believe that any god exists.

Documentary On Indian Atheists

- Roshan

Write about a TV show or documentary youā€™d love to see get made.

I’d like to see a big production documentary or a large scale tv show about a minority in India, a minority of which I am a part of. I am talking about atheists in India. Yes, in the land of 8000 gods plus Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Jainism and a few others – we exist!

So how about a documentary about the history of atheism in India, from the time and possibly before the Vedas and onto modern days. Interview prominent atheists, public figures who happen to be atheists, meet and talk with atheists groups and see what their views on life are and how they go about their daily lives in India.

That is what I would want to see get made.

Prompt from 52 Writing Prompts to Inspire Your Next Blog Post

Are You Less Religious Than Your Parents?

- Roshan

Are You Less Religious Than Your Parents?

I’m an atheist. My parents are religious hindus. So I’d say that I’m definitely a heck of a lot less religious than them. By far. Here is the deal – if I ask them questions about their religion and what the gods have done and why they have done it, after a few minutes they admit that they have no clue as to why or how and they readily admit that they do not understand most of it but that they don’t question it.

I have also noted that as they have grown older they have become more religious to the point where they feel like it is expected of them. Mum started reading scriptures every morning at sunrise and at sunset – because that is what she feels she is expected to do. She didn’t do that a few years ago. She reads then aloud (not too loud) and she cries in between. She used to only light the lamps at the pooja section of the house (and now apartment) in the morning and the evening and that was it.

Dad too will watch any shitty tv program as long as there is a hindu god element to it. It doesn’t matter if it’s really, really bad. He will watch that shit. He goes for readings of Ramayana or Gita and listen to them many times – but if you ask him a few questions he won’t really know what to say. And that’s ok! Just not enough to convince anyone else. Or me.

Prompt from The Learning Network at The New York Times

Fear The Fundies

- Roshan

Youā€™re locked in a room with your greatest fear. Describe whatā€™s in the room.

Religious fanatics! That’s right, fundies who will want to slit your throat if you do not believe in the same god as they, follow the same religion as they do and they way that they do and also do not do all the stuff that they do. Or they want to kill you just because you do not believe in any sort of imaginary beings unlike them. Those kind of fundies who are the scum of the earth and the worst beings on this planet.

Those kind of people who won’t listen to reason, won’t try and see anything but their narrow view of the world and will not even contemplate that they could be wrong. And that they are wrong. And that the religion that they claim to be following and which is supposed to be peaceful and loving, isn’t really stopping them from doing bad & downright evil things. And that they should really stop only wanting to follow a religion when they should be more considerate and caring about their fellow humans.

Those people scare me the most. They aren’t really human in the proper term. You can reason with humans. These folks, you can’t.

Prompt from The Daily Post at WordPress.com

Undo

- Roshan

If you could un-invent something, what would it be? Discuss why, potential repercussions, or a possible alternative.

Religion! All of them shitty little immature fucking ones. Which is almost all of it. Get rid of the clergy and them holier-than-thou morons and fuckwads. Get rid of centuries of torture, war, strife, people taking advantage of people and lots of money being wasted on imaginary beings.

Just imagine the destruction we could have avoided and the scientific & technological advances we could had if those shitty religions hadn’t held us back. We would surely be exploring some of the galaxy by now and by that I mean common man actually going into space and more people walking on alien surfaces. Who knows, we could be colonizing planets by now! And meeting alien races from other solar systems and making friends with them.

And not to mention cured diseases, gotten rid of hunger & thirst and most diseases. Also housing for all the homeless.

Prompt from the Daily Post at WordPress.com.

Theistic Satanism VS LaVeyan or Atheistic Satanism

- Roshan

THEISTIC SATANISM (also known as traditional Satanism or spiritual Satanism) is the belief that Satanā€”as prefigured in (most prevalent) Christian and/or Islamic (less often) contextsā€”is a supernatural being or force that individuals may contact and supplicate to, and represents loosely affiliated or independent groups and cabals which hold such a belief. Another characteristic of Theistic Satanism include the use of ceremonial magic. Unlike LaVeyan Satanism, as founded by Anton LaVey in the 1960s, theistic Satanism is theistic as opposed to atheistic, believing that Satan is a real entity rather than an archetype.

LAVEYAN SATANISM (also known as ATHEISTIC SATANISM or Modern Satanism), referred to simply as Satanism among adherents, is a religious philosophy founded in 1966 by Anton LaVey and codified in The Satanic Bible in 1969. Its core beliefs and philosophies are based on individualism, epicureanism, secularism, egoism, and self-deification, and propagates a worldview of naturalism, Social Darwinism, and Lex Talionis.

Contrary to popular belief, LaVeyan Satanism does not involve “devil worship” or worship of any deities. It is an atheistic philosophy that uses the character of Satan as a symbol of pride, carnality, liberty, enlightenment, undefiled wisdom, and of a cosmos which Satanists perceive to be permeated and motivated by a force that has been given many names by humans over the course of time.

The Invention Of Lying

- Roshan

The Invention Of Lying is a 2009 fantasy romantic comedy co-written & co-directed by Ricky Gervais and Mathew Robinson. The film The film stars Ricky Gervais as the first human with the ability to lie and has a supporting cast featuring Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Louis C.K., Rob Lowe and Tina Fey. The movie has a not so subtle dig at religion, in particular Christianity.

The film is set in a city in current times but in an alternate universe or reality in which no human has the ability to lie and hence tell the truth at all times. This makes for harsh & blunt truths being said at all points, which comes out unintentionally cruel and ofcourse totally hilarious for us the viewers. As there is no lying there is no concept of religion or god/gods at all. As there is no fiction the film & television industry has no movies but documentary style narratives & lecture style historical readings. Mark Bellison is a lecture film writer who is struggling as he has been assigned the “boring” 1300 period and is about to get fired. He goes on a date with the more successful and pretty Anna McDoogles, who tells him that she is not physically attracted to him because of his appearance and his financial status but is only going out with him for dinner as a favour to their common friend Greg. Also Anna’s mother is pressurizing her to get married and have kids. Anna seems to enjoy his company though.

The next day he is fired from his job as his films are not drawing enough interest and his landlord evicts him as he has only $300 left and the due rent is $800. Mark goes to his bank to withdraw the $300 but as the system is down the teller asks him how much money is in his account. Something reacts in his brain and he says $800 remembering the due amount instead of $300, thereby telling the world’s firstĀ  lie. The system comes back on but instead of giving him only $300 as it shows in his account, the teller assumes that the computer is faulty and gives him $800! Mark tests out his new found ability to lie by telling a gorgeous woman that they must have sex or the world will end. She believes him ofcourse but he is unable to go through with it and pretends that he gets a call saying that the danger has passed. He then uses lies in preventing a police officer (Edward Norton) from arresting his friend Greg for drunk driving, getting money from a casino, and stopping his neighbour Frank Fawcett (Jonah Hill) from committing suicide. This last one makes him realize that he can do a lot of good for people as well by just lying to them. He then writes a screenplay about aliens invading the earth in the 1300, forging documents, and then that all the humans who remained had their memories wiped. The script is sold and he becomes wealthy from the sales of the movie.

Mark then asks out Anna again, hoping that his success plus the fact that she enjoyed talking to him will make her see beyond his appearance, but though she has a good time she says that she is still not attracted to him as if they were to have kids, she’d end up with “fat kids with snub noses” like him. As they finish dinner, Mark gets a call from the old age home – his mother has been taken to the hospital as she is near death. When he goes to see her, a tearful Mark consoles her and addresses her fear of eternal nothingness by creating the concept of an afterlife (though not mentioned as heaven) where everyone who dies has mansions of their own and gets to be with all their friends and family. She dies happy while the doctors and nurses appear awed by what he says. As news travels, a large crowd gathers outside his building to get more information about the afterlife. Spurred by Anna & Greg Mark comes up with “ten rules”, that he writes on the back of pizza boxes and that he talks to a “Man In The Sky” who controls everything and promises great rewards in the good place after you die, as long as you do no more than three “bad things”.

Later while they are sitting on a park, a now rich (living in a huge mansion) Mark asks Anna about the possibility of marriage and Anna asks him, if they marry, would his now being rich and famous make their children more physically attractive. Mark wants to lie but does not because of his feelings for Anna. Meanwhile, Mark’s rival at work, Brad Kessler, who used to be extremely mean to him, pursues Anna romantically and Anna feels that genetically they are a perfect match. As he can now have the one thing that Mark cannot have, Brad brags about his looks & physique to Mark, which makes Anna uncomfortable. They get engaged and Anna invites Mark to attend – in a scene where Anna hasn’t seen Mark in a few weeks, the depressed Mark hasn’t cut or shaved his hair in a while and comes to the door in a robe looking like Jesus (nearly killed me) – but Mark tries to get her to break off the engagement. Later Anna sees some boys bulling a chubby kid in the park eating ice cream and she runs to his support. Wiping away his tears, she cheers him up.

On the day of the wedding Greg encourages Mark to shave his beard and cut his hair and pursue Anna. Mark goes to the venue (a church like building, where you can “sit and think about the man in the sky”) where he objects to the marriage, but the officiant informs him that only the Man in the Sky can stop the wedding. Brad and Anna both ask Mark to ask the Man in the Sky what Anna should do but Mark refuses to say anything and leaves, wanting Anna to choose for herself. Anna walks out and Mark confesses his ability to lie and tells her that the Man In The Sky was made up. Anna struggles to comprehend the concept and asks why he did not lie to convince her to marry him; Mark states that it “wouldn’t count”. Anna confesses that she loves him. Some time later, the now-pregnant Anna and Mark are shown married with a son, who, it is implied, has inherited his father’s ability to lie.

Funny, silly and sweet and it has some awesome moments without being too in your face or slap-sticky in nature. It’s a different kind of humourous movie and may need an open mind to fully appreciate it. Nevertheless, I’d recommend this movie for everyone to watch. 8.5 outta 10!

Hypothetical Situation Question

- Roshan

This question comes from a discussion I had with a friend of mine. The discussion of a hypothetical situation was – We discover a planet or planets/moons in another solar system that are perfect for us (without doing any terra-forming or anything of that sort) weather wise et all and are really beautiful and it would be really beneficial for us (health wise etc) to move there. And suppose that humanity does actually become technologically advanced enough to ship as many humans and equipment needed and it’s purely voluntary as you can also remain here on earth.

She says the really religious people will choose to remain and work it out on earth and most of those (90%-95%) who are secular / agnostic /atheists and perhaps not too religious will choose to go. Do you guys agree? Would you opt to go to this planet or planets and live there in this situation? Or would you choose to remain on earth?

Sundown In The Queen Of The Arabian Sea

- Roshan

Ah, sunset. You are more beautiful & expansive than my humble 5mp camera on my phone can ever capture. Mother nature, Earth, universe – I am but a tiny dust in the wind in the billions of years post the big bang and cannot even begin to describe the grand vastness & awesome of the universe. But one thing is for sure – I will never insult you by crediting all this wonderfulness to some non-existent, insolent deity or deities in the sky who is/are too incompetent & impotent to create anything at all!





All photos were taken on my BlackBerry Bold 9870’s 5 mega pixel camera this evening about a quarter to 7pm.

Never One Thing Or One Incident

- Roshan

Describe a memory or encounter in which you considered your faith, religion, spirituality ā€” or lack of ā€” for the first time.

It was never one thing or one incident that made me open my eyes and my mindĀ  and call myself an atheist. I remember I was 13 when I started question the existence of gods (as my family is Hindu). I couldn’t believe that such things actually sat in heaven and ruled over the destinies of mankind by interacting with them from time to time. I’d say that although I stopped believing in gods or god (the Abrahamic concept of god is even more laughable) at the age of 13, I didn’t even know the meaning of the word atheist and so I didn’t call myself that. I just stated to people that I didn’t believe.

Although I wanted to. At one point I thought of genies and how cool it would be if I found 1 or several genies and they all had to grant me wishes (because that’s basically what praying is all about, you want something for either you or people you love). I was more of an agnostic at that age and it took me to the age of 19 to fully comprehend and understand what an atheist is (I had no books, fellow atheists and remember no internet to help guide me through this process). I battled it out as to what I was or what I believedĀ  in. Some people were mean to me personally when I said that I couldn’t believe in a god or gods; nowadays I would laugh at the kind of comments people said (my age or older). Also as I pointed out to a few of my friends; even if I was wrong and such a creature called god existed, why the hell would people want to worship it? By all standards, it or they were unworthy or worship and love that was being bestowed upon by humans who believed.

So now, so many years later I am extremely comfortable with the label of “atheist”. Because it just means “one who does not believe in a god or gods”. The people who believe that there is some extra baggage that comes with the label are really stupid or ignorant or pretending or, worse, manipulated by their religion. I don’t claim to know anything for certain but I don’t have to – first the proof of a god or gods have to clear for everyone. And which god or gods! Then we shall talk about whether the fucker or fuckers are worthy of worship. So come up with the proof, until then – have a nice day! Besides, it important as to how you behave, how you treat other humans and animals and how you live your life without harming others and trying to get along with as many people as you can that matters! Not how much you “mentally masturbated”!

Oh and PS – if you think you can comment and “show me” the proof, I’ve heard all of them before and no it’s not proof of anything!

Prompt from the Daily Prompt At WordPress.Com.

10 Things You Wonā€™t Believe Are In The Bible

- Roshan
10 Things You Wonā€™t Believe Are In The Bible (I can)

Many of us will have learned of some of the most famous Bible stories during our childhood, from the tale of the Good Samaritan to the feeding of the five thousand. Itā€™s a very long collection of texts though, so some pretty interesting tales have inevitably fallen through the cracks ā€“ weā€™ve found ten of the most unbelievable just for you, complete with chapter-and-verse references to prove weā€™re not making this up!

1. Kids Mock Bald Guy, Get Mauled To Death By Bear (2 Kings 2:23-24)

A follicly-challenged man called Elisha is leaving the town of Bethel after having healed the waters of the town by adding salt to them. As he does so, a large group of children followed him and threw insults at him, the ancient equivalent of ā€œBaldy, Baldy! Get lost, Baldy! LOLā€. Elisha, having just saved the townā€™s water supply, was a little put-off by this pack of ungrateful kids and turned around to curse them ā€“ not in the &*%! sense, but in the ā€˜I curse you in the name of the LORDā€™ sense. It seems the LORD was listening as two ā€˜she bearsā€™ emerge from the nearby wood and tore apart 42 of the insolent children. Serves them right, pesky youngā€™uns.

2. St Paul Endorses Subservience of Women (1 Timothy 2:12)

ā€œI do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.ā€ This supposedly direct quote from St Paul was in response to a question over whether women were allowed to teach men in church. Of course, this sentiment is not reflective of the beliefs of many modern Christians, though the Catholic Church has no female clergy and the introduction of women into the ranks of the Anglican church was, and continues to be, a matter of great controversy among leaders of that particular faction.

3. Righteous Man Offers Virgin Daughters To Rapists (Genesis 19:8 )

Lot, whose wife was famously turned into a pillar of salt, was a resident of famed holiday resort ā€˜city of sinā€™, Sodom. One day, two angels (who are apparently sexually irresistible) came to stay at Lotā€™s house, at which point a horny mob knocked at Lotā€™s door demanding to ā€˜knowā€™ (yes, in the Biblical sense) the angels. Lot was an honourable fellow, so instead of handing over his guests, he instead offered the mob his two daughters to do with ā€œas is good in your eyesā€. Charming!

4. OMG = Death Sentence (Leviticus 24:10-16)

Speaking the Lordā€™s name in vain, otherwise known as blasphemy, was taken pretty seriously during the time of Moses. This passage in Leviticus describes the first incidence of it in which a man blasphemes during a fight, prompting Moses to ask God how this offence should be punished. Godā€™s response: have him stoned to death by the entire community. Think about that next time youā€™re expressing surprise or frustration on the internet, because God knows what those letters stand forā€¦

5. Peterā€™s Gospel Tells Slaves ā€˜Tough Luckā€™ (1 Peter 2:18 )

Not the most constructive part of the New Testament, Peter apparently issues some sort of behavioural guidance to those poor unfortunates who have found themselves and their entire lives literally owned by another human being. Instead of suggesting something along the lines of ā€œSlaves, itā€™s totally okay to try and rebel against the evil man who considers you merely property ā€“ remember Moses?ā€, he tells slaves to submit themselves ā€œwith all respectā€ to their masters, even if they are being treated cruelly. Lovely sentiment there from the man who became the first Pope.

6. Donkey Tells Rider Where To Go (Numbers 22:28-30 )

A gentleman by the name of Balaam is riding along on his ass (stop snickering, weā€™re talking about the Bible here ā€“ thatā€™s a donkey), whipping it to keep it under control. All of a sudden, God gives the donkey the power of speech, whereupon it takes the opportunity to have an argument with Balaam over the aforementioned beatings. Apparently not surprised at being spoken to by a donkey (maybe heā€™d seen Shrek?), Balaam threatens to kill it, before God steps in and gives him a stern telling-off. I wonder what God would think of jockeysā€™ whips.

7. Men With Intact Genitalia Must Be Exiled (Genesis 17:14)

As God is telling Abraham his holy duty, he lays down the rules on circumcision: that it must be performed on boys at the age of eight days, that it symbolises a covenant between Abraham (and his descendants) and God, and of course that any man who does not lose his foreskin shall be cast out from his entire community. Even new slaves that are bought by Abrahamā€™s house must lose a little part of themselves, as if being a slave wasnā€™t bad enough already. Itā€™s all there in Book No. 1, folks.

8. God Lays Down Rules On ā€˜Number Twosā€™ (Deuteronomy 23:13-14)
And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:God-Lays-Down-Rules-On-ā€˜Number-Twosā€™

Clearly not wanting to be accused of not offering guidance on every potential incident in oneā€™s life, Deuteronomy clarifies exactly what one should do when they canā€™t quite make it to the latrine in time. All men are told to carry ā€œa paddleā€ with them at all times, so that when they evacuate their bowels they can ā€œdig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which comethā€. The reason for the giving of this seemingly obvious public health advice is apparently so that God does not tread in oneā€™s doings, as He ā€œwalketh in the midst of thy campā€¦ therefore shall thy camp be holyā€.

9. David Buys His Wife With Othersā€™ Tips (1 Numbers 18:25-27)

David (he of Goliath-slaying fame) wanted to marry the daughter of Saul, who asked for the payment of one hundred Philistine foreskins as dowry (or bride price). David clearly thought this was a bargain (rather than the request of a madman), bringing back instead two hundred Philistine foreskins, getting himself Saulā€™s daughterā€™s hand in marriage and no doubt quite a few brownie points with the in-laws.

10. Breaking Up A Fight By Grabbing Your Husband By The Balls? Never Shalt Thee Be Ambidextrous (Deuteronomy 25:11)

More rules from Deuteronomy, this time dealing with the highly probable situation whereby two men are engaged in one-on-one combat and one manā€™s wife intervenes by way of grabbing her husbandā€™s junk and pulling him out of the arena of conflict. This is unacceptable in the eyes of the Bible, which calls for the woman to have her hand cut off immediately, with no pity whatsoever to be offered unto her. Charming.

A Few Wonderful Quotes

- Roshan

The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshiped anything but himself. – Richard Francis Burton

Deaths in the Bible. God – 2,270,365 not including the victims of Noah’s flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, or the many plagues, famines, fiery serpents, etc because no specific numbers were given. Satan – 10

Jesus’ last words on the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” hardly seem like the words of a man who planned it that way. It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure there is something wrong here. – Donald Morgan

George Bush says he speaks to god every day, and Christians love him for it. If George Bush said he spoke to god through his hair dryer, they would think he was mad. I fail to see how the addition of a hair dryer makes it any more absurd. – Sam Harris

The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. – George Bernard Shaw

We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty Humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes – Gene Roddenberry

Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned.

Man created God in his image : intolerant, sexist, homophobic and violent.

Religion does three things quite effectively: Divides people, Controls people, Deludes people. -Carlespie Mary Alice McKinney

A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death. – Albert Einstein

Tolerance

- Roshan

TOLERANCE

This was a reader’s ‘Letter to the Editor’ on Tolerance, published in the UK daily “SUN”. Unsure of it’s authenticity and writer but here goes:

“I am truly perplexed that so many of my friends are against another mosque being built in London on the Thames? I think it should be the goal of every Englishman to be tolerant. Thus the Mosque should be allowed, in an effort to promote tolerance.

That is why I also propose that two nightclubs be opened next door to the mosque, thereby promoting tolerance from within the mosque. We could call one of the clubs, which would be gay, “The Turban Cowboy”, and the other a topless bar called “You Mecca Me Hot.”

Next door should be a butcher shop that specializes in pork, and adjacent to that an open-pit barbeque pork restaurant, called “Iraq o’ Ribs.” Across the street there could be a lingerie store called “Victoria Keeps Nothing Secret “, with sexy mannequins in the window modelling the goods.

Next door to the lingerie shop there would be room for an adult sex toy shop, “Koranal Knowledge “, its name in flashing neon lights, and on the other side a liquor store called “Morehammered.”

All of this would encourage the Muslims to demonstrate the tolerance they demand of us, so the mosque problem would be solved. If you agree with promoting tolerance and you think this is a good plan, please publish my letter.”