Criticising Islam Islam will be the topic of the next Central Victorian Atheists and Freethinkers Gathering, to be held tomorrow night in Kyneton. The speaker will be John Perkins, the founding president of the Secular Party of Australia. John has spoken widely on the problems presented by Islam for freethinkers. He points out that among the various religions, Islam seems particularly sensitive to criticism, with responses from Muslims ranging from indignation to violent reprisals for those who have been deemed to have insulted or betrayed the faith. "But non-Muslims who dare to voice their concerns about Islam are also subject to degree of sanction from fellow Western liberals," says Perkins, "who tend to label such criticism as unwarranted Islamophobia". Perkins questions whether these views are justified and asks is there a psychology of cultural relativism at play? "My take on the problem," said CVAF convenor, Ian Robinson, "is that while Christianity is based on a number of conflicting recollections of first century gossip, which leaves a lot of wriggle room for dodging difficult questions, Islam developed in the full light of history, so its human origins are clearly, if not glaringly, obvious, and therefore Muslims are rightly fearful of critical analysis, as it threatens to bring their whole edifice crumbling down." Perkins will explore such problems and make some informed conjectures about where society is headed on these issues. John Perkins is an economist, mathematical modeller, software developer, part-time inventor and author. He has qualifications from universities in Melbourne and London, and as well as being president of the Secular Party of Australia, he is a member of the Humanist Society of Victoria, the Rationalist Society of Australia, the Australian Skeptics and the Atheist Foundation of Australia. As usually, members gather from 6.30 for a drink and a meal and the speaker is introduced at 7.30. The meeting is open to all members of the public committed to the free discussion of ideas in a civilised manner. Wednesday, June 19, 6.30 for 7.30, upstairs at The Albion Hotel, 41 Mollison Street, Kyneton.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:08:41 +0000
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