Community > Posts By > sjmarotta

 
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Mon 01/26/09 05:30 AM
you may wish to read: Aayan Hirsi Ali's books: "The caged virgin" and "Infidel". I would start with infidel.
Salmon Rushdie was raised in India and is an atheist critic of Islam. "The Satanic Verses" is a marvelous novel (not offensive in my estimation) and the fatwa that it earned him is now in its twentieth year. (he is still alive! so: praise be to alla, i suppose.) jk. niether of these great writers and thinkers can go anywhere without special detail gaurding them against those who seek to do them harm in the name of "faith"

There is a great poem (called, i think, the Rubaiyat) writen by an atheist in the moslem world about a thousand years ago. I love this poem and the authors name is Omar Khayyam, it should be easy to look up. here are three stanzas from his poem on atheism:
Allah, perchance, the secret word might spell;
If Allah be, He keeps His secret well;
 What He hath hidden, who shall hope to find?
Shall God His secret to a maggot tell?
...
The Koran! well, come put me to the test—
Lovely old book in hideous error drest—
 Believe me, I can quote the Koran too,
The unbeliever knows his Koran best.

And do you think that unto such as you,
A maggot-minded, starved, fanatic crew,
 God gave the secret, and denied it me?—
Well, well, what matters it! believe that too.

the full poem can be found in Christopher Hitchen's anthology of atheistic writings entitled: "The Portable Atheist" (and very reasonably priced.)

here is a link to recent article i read saying that atheists in the moslem world are seeking refuge online:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gDbe7jLj3MCsPjoNANluA8OpMubg

maybe we will meet some on here. ok i'm out for now.

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Mon 01/26/09 05:09 AM
Nietszche, no doubt.