Lest anyone think Muslims get off scott-free

I admit that I'm often hard on conservative Christians. And Jews. I try not to randomly bash, but depending on your POV, I can see how one could see it that way. One thing I am aware of is that I often don't talk about Islam on this blog. This does not mean I think Islam or Muslims should get a pass when they or their peers do or say things that make them seem like absolute loons, idiots, or just plain schmucks.

On that note, there are two news cases I've been following that make me absolutely furious. One is the Saudi rape case- one of the clearest examples of "blame the victim" I've ever seen, and an indictment of the Saudi legal (and political) system as well. By just about every Western and liberal standard, Saudi Arabia is morally bankrupt.

Ditto on the Sudan Teddy Bear case. As if you needed any more documentation that Sudan has absolutely lost its damn mind. And America continues to give Sudan aid, even while the government continues to do almost nothing about Darfur.

Is this an indictment of Islam? No. It's an indictment of lunatics. Call them Wahabbis, call them psychotics. Call them the "Dipshit" School of Islam. Whatever. This is wrong. In the twenty-first century, to imprison a teacher because HER STUDENTS voted to call a bear a name, is so mind-boggling I can hardly keep it all in my head. Get a godamn skin. And the same criticism, by the way, applies to other Muslims elsewhere in Asia, Africa, and apparently Europe, who think that they have a religious justification to kill or attack over being offended. That's my line in the sand. Be as offended as you want, give sermons, speeches, write a letter, stage a protest. The moment you throw a punch, or a bomb, or try to hurt someone, you cross a line, and this shit simply cannot be tolerated.

Do we have the right to tell these countries how to run themselves? Maybe not. Are we in a position to flex our military muscle? Certainly not now, thanks to Iraq. But we have no business supporting these regimes, either diplomatically or economically. If we can't stop them from oppressing their citizens, we can at least stop legitimizing them by being fig leaves for their madness. Start calling them on their crap, start pressuring the International community to lean on these guys. Neither the Saudis nor the Sudanese governments deserve our friendship or support. Draw a freaking line.