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Dear Editor,
The trouble with ‘Islamophobia’ is that the term conflates two things: (1) dislike of or disbelief in the tenets of Islam (the religion); and (2) fear of, or dislike of, people just because they are Muslims.
I have no problem with 1, as it applies to me; but 2 is clearly unethical – as is dislike of people just because they are Catholics, Chinese, French, German, Irish, Jewish or Romanies. We need separate terms for each meaning.
Also, religious beliefs should not be privileged. Someone should be allowed to say that Jesus was not the son of God (Yahweh), Mohammed was not the prophet of Allah, and ‘sacred book X’ is not worth believing.
People are entitled to respect; ideas are not. I am offended by advertisements for meat, gambling, horse racing and a few other things. But that is just too bad. I am not entitled to be shielded from offence.
Nigel Sinnott
Albanese grasping at straws in response to synagogue attack
I felt sure that I would see comment from members of the Rationalist Society to the following two recent news reports: ‘Anthony Albanese vows to financially support rebuilding of Adass Israel Synagogue’ (ABC), by Jacob Greber on 10 December 2024; and ‘Albanese calls for protest ban outside places of worship as critics warn against ‘kneejerk reactions’ (The Guardian) by Josh Butler and Caitlin Cassidy...
