Sunday, February 12, 2006

Beware zealots of all stripes

In India, Hindu nationalists – extremists like those who destroyed an ancient Muslim mosque over 10 years ago and attacked Deepa Mehta's films in recent years – have now turned their attention to artwork:
A painting depicting "Mother India" as a naked woman by the country's best-known artist has been pulled from an auction after protests by rightwing Hindu nationalists.
Remember, religious extremism, hypocricy and zealotry are not limited to just America's Christian right with its creationist censorship of evolutionary biology in schools, or the escalating Muslim extremist militancy over such things as the Danish cartoons, or a Catholic government minister's attempts to retain control over his ban of the abortion drug in Australia.

A rose by any other name is still a rose. Thorns and all.

2 Comments:

At February 13, 2006 9:29 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Not to mention Danna Vale - whose Sydney electorate of Hughes takes in parts of Sutherland Shire where the race riots took place in December. Mixing racial and religious fears like she did in her comments today mean that she is either very very stupid, or is pandering to those fears for electoral gain, or possibly both. If Howard had any integrity he would sack her. As if.

 
At February 14, 2006 9:57 am, Blogger Mark Lawrence said...

If readers are wondering what racist comments Danna Vale made, the ABC News online carried the story here.

Wasn't she demoted in Howard's recent cabinet reshuffle? She lost Veterans' Affairs, I believe. Yet, I think she still acts as one of Howard's pit-bulls – like Bill Heffernan.

 

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