4 ms·

Sharia law doesn't necessarily enter into it. You can't sell dildos and vibrators in Texas, and it's not because of Sharia law. Hindu activists in India made

Sharia law doesn't necessarily enter into it. You can't sell dildos and vibrators in Texas, and it's not because of Sharia law. Hindu activists in India made death threats and stormed theaters because of a film about a lesbian relationship. Sharia law is not the only reason for repressive attitudes toward sex. I mean, really. They're, what, 30-40 years behind the cultural norms of the US, in this case? You don't really need to pin that on Sharia, when it's far more likely that it's just cultural. It wasn't that long ago in the US that nothing was open on Sundays.

alanh 16y ago
> You don't really need to pin that on Sharia, when it's far more likely that it's just cultural. (emph. added) Because cultural reasons are completely separate from religion? Religion is the only reason people like to tell others what they can and can’t do in private, especially in a democracy like Texas, where it shouldn’t be considered Constitutional to outlaw "dildos and vibrators."
- jonhendry 16y ago
  A agree, but there's a tendency among some these days to tout the boogeyman of sharia law. And there's an implication that there's something alien about Libya, that being restrictive of sexual matter is somehow unique to sharia law, that without sharia law Libya would be just like the US, and that Christians wouldn't do anything similar. Which is just nonsense. Conservatives are conservative. Libya did this thing, and John Ashcroft covered up a statue's tit. Bringing sharia into it is just buying into the latest thing pants-wetting wingnuts are using to scare themselves.
  - alanh 16y ago
    Maybe I’m foolish, but I think that denying the involvement of sharia law buys us nothing, but recognizing similarities with other conservative censorship tendencies (e.g. in Christendom) — as you have — can be a enlightening.
jacquesm 16y ago
> They're, what, 30-40 years behind the cultural norms of the US, in this case? And the us is another 10 to 20 years behind some other parts of the world in this respect.

alanh 16y ago

> You don't really need to pin that on Sharia, when it's far more likely that it's just cultural. (emph. added) Because cultural reasons are completely separate from religion? Religion is the only reason people like to tell others what they can and can’t do in private, especially in a democracy like Texas, where it shouldn’t be considered Constitutional to outlaw "dildos and vibrators."

jonhendry 16y ago
A agree, but there's a tendency among some these days to tout the boogeyman of sharia law. And there's an implication that there's something alien about Libya, that being restrictive of sexual matter is somehow unique to sharia law, that without sharia law Libya would be just like the US, and that Christians wouldn't do anything similar. Which is just nonsense. Conservatives are conservative. Libya did this thing, and John Ashcroft covered up a statue's tit. Bringing sharia into it is just buying into the latest thing pants-wetting wingnuts are using to scare themselves.
- alanh 16y ago
  Maybe I’m foolish, but I think that denying the involvement of sharia law buys us nothing, but recognizing similarities with other conservative censorship tendencies (e.g. in Christendom) — as you have — can be a enlightening.

jacquesm 16y ago

> They're, what, 30-40 years behind the cultural norms of the US, in this case? And the us is another 10 to 20 years behind some other parts of the world in this respect.