“No, not by radical Muslims but by our own military. This email was forwarded to me from a soldier in Iraq whose friend is being harassed at another base for organizing a meeting of atheists on the base. The email was originally sent to Kathleen Johnson, the military director for American Atheists, who is currently serving in Iraq herself. The full email is below the fold:

Kathleen Johnson:
Thought you’d be interested in this report of the first-ever meeting of Atheist service-members in Iraq under the umbrella of the MAAF-Iraq chapter of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers. This meeting was put together by the same young MAAF member who recently had his second letter published in the Stars and Stripes.

One of our members, a young Atheist enlisted soldier, thought he would like to see if he could generate some interest in MAAF meetings at his Forward Operating Base (FOB) here in Iraq (not the base I’m at, by the way). He got things coordinated and started hanging flyers, and after weeks of having to re-hang his flyers almost daily because some vandal kept tearing them down, he finally succeeded in having a small MAAF meeting.”… (cont’d)

Read the rest here.

It’s sad that religion can even break down the ties and sense of “being-on-the-same-team” that exist between a tight knit, fraternal group like the military.

“LYNCHBURG, Va. – A Liberty University student who told a family member he had made bombs and planned to attend the funeral of the Rev. Jerry Falwell was apparently upset about an anti-gay fringe group that protested at the funeral, authorities said.

Officials were still trying to figure out what Mark David Uhl planned to do with the bombs. Police do not believe he intended to disrupt the funeral Tuesday or harm the Falwell family, Campbell County Sheriff Terry Gaddy said.

Uhl, 19, was being held without bond in the Campbell County Adult Detention Center on charges of manufacturing an explosive device. It was not known if he had a lawyer, and messages seeking comment left at numbers believed to belong to his family were not returned.

Uhl, of Amissville, was arrested Monday night after a family member contacted authorities, who found homemade bombs in the trunk of Uhl’s car, Major Steve Hutcherson said.

Gaddy described the five bombs as “sort of like napalm” and about the size of soda cans.”

Read more @ The Star >

In this case, Mr. Uhl is clearly the perpetrator of violence and he is wrong. I’m posting this story because his actions were in response to hate messages founded on religious beliefs.

“As a horrifying video of the stoning went out on the Internet, the British arm of Amnesty International condemned the death of Du’a Khalil Aswad as “an abhorrent murder” and demanded that her killers be brought to justice.

Reports from Iraq said a local security force witnessed the incident, but did nothing to try to stop it. Now her boyfriend is in hiding in fear for his life.”

From the Daily Mail >

Adults killing each other over religion is sad. But when the young die needlessly, tragedies like this become even harder to understand and explain to oneself. Why did this young girl need to die?

“A Myrtle Beach man and admitted atheist was attacked and robbed on Thursday night by a group of men who took offense to an anti-Christian phrase on his windshield.

The victim told police he was getting out of his car in the parking lot of the Crabtree Gym in Myrtle Beach about 8 p.m. when the men pulled up beside him and inquired about a derogatory statement on the back windshield of his car, according to an incident report.”

News story here >

For an interesting discussion on this incident, check out this site:

My own opinion on the subject is that while the man was asking for it (by having such a sticker on his car in a predominately Christian country), the Christians certainly didn’t have to give it to him.

“Does believing that “God is on our side” make it easier for us to inflict pain and suffering on those perceived to be our enemies? If we think God sanctions violence, are we more likely to engage in violent acts?

The answer to both those questions, according to new research, is a resounding “yes,” even among those who do not consider themselves believers.”

“”I think many people use God as their justification for violent and aggressive actions,” Bushman said. “Take the current conflict in Iraq as an example. Bush claims that God is on his side. Osama bin Laden claims that God, or Allah, is on his side.”

History is replete with other examples of wars fought in the name of God, involving nearly every religion on the planet.”

From ABC News >

Absolutely fascinating, *scientific* research supporting what, by now, should be obvious to any person with even the most basic, elementary knowledge of history.

“Two Christians in Pakistan have been taken into protective custody yesterday to protect them from militants who believe they are guilty of blasphemy and want to kill them, Release International has said.

Five Christians have been charged with blasphemy and others are linked with a case that has already led to a mob attack on a Christian colony in Punjab.

There are growing concerns that Christians in Toba Tak Singh could face further attacks from Islamist hardliners.”

“According to Muslims, Christians snatched a religious sticker bearing the name Mohammed from a Muslim boy and began beating it with their shoes. They claim angry Christians then went round to the Muslim’s home armed with a pistol and sticks and made insulting remarks against Mohammed.”

“The five Christians were charged with blasphemy after a squabble between children escalated into a mob attack on a Christian colony in the Punjab, causing Christians to flee their homes.

It is an illustration of how quickly tensions can spring up and get out of hand in a nation where blasphemy can be punished by the death penalty, RI has said.”

From Christianity Today >

I’ve often heard religious apologists say that if people weren’t fighting over religion they would find something else to fight over… as if it’s human nature to fight and religion is just an excuse that pops up frequently. Pray tell, what other than religion could motivate this specific chain of events?

Religion is a problem.