Xanthippa's Chamberpot

It took the Western society several centuries to separate the Church and the State. I like that.

No longer are great thinkers like Bruno (and many, many others) burned alive for the crime of saying what they think… It took a lot of work and many lives, but we have achieved a wonderful thing: we govern ourselves by laws which are made by men (I use the term inclusively) – so they can change to accommodate our evolving society. As flawed as this system is, this system respects our human rights, regardless of who we happen to be.

In contrast, all forms of religious laws are necessarily oppressive: they are dictated by immutable dogma which does not evolve along with the society. Here, I should be clear that I am not critical of religious laws that people choose to impose upon themselves in addition to the society’s legal system. I do not mean the term ‘religious laws’ in this sense. What I am describing is using religious laws as the legal system of a society. That is a very different thing.

The effect of dogma-based legal systems are always to freeze the society in the time and place where these laws were formed. As the circumstances of the society change, this society has no room to evolve to accommodate these changes… Social stagnation necessarily follows.

We have seen this replayed in many societies, in many different times. That is why I find it so surprising that some Western democracies are returning to this oppressive system.

As many of you may be aware, Britain has instituted Sharia courts as part of its legal system. Yes, it is true. Sharia court decisions are now legally binding in Britain. Yes, it is true. Even though the Sharia courts operated in Britain in an unofficial capacity for years (and this was widely reported on early in 2008), their ‘official’ status is not all that widely known about, especially in the USA. Perhaps this is because this happened in September of 2008….when much of the Western media was busy covering the US presidential election (and not much else).

I must be honest here – Sharia scares me. It scares me a lot. As an immigrant (and as someone who still helps immigrants learn English), I get to meet a lot of people who come to Canada from all kinds of places: including places where Sharia is the legal system.  They have helped me understand exactly how Sharia works…  And even though we have succeeded in exorcising the spectre of official Sharia in Ontario, there is more and more ‘Sharia creep’ in our society. 

This makes me feel powerless and frustrated.  Which is why I was very happy to find that there IS something every one of us can do to help stop Sharia’s growth!  It may not be much, but every avalanche starts with a snowflake…

The above link is a petition which people worldwide can sign to protest the institution of Sharia Courts in Britain.  One does not have to be British to sign it.  Every signature counts:  it was the large scale protests by Muslim women in Europe that helped avert the imposition of Sharia on our Canadian Muslims. 

So, if you, too, think that separating state from religion – be it a church, a mosque, a temple or a coven – if you think separating these is a good idea, here is your chance to stand up and be counted.  (Well, actually, more like ‘click and be counted’, but you get the idea..)

Here is the statement from the petition:

Global Statement

Sharia Law is discriminatory, cruel and barbaric.

People of all nations should be unequivocally supported in their struggle against Sharia law and should be able to live in societies where universal human rights and nationwide citizenship rights are guaranteed.

There is no place in the 21st century for Sharia.  Full stop.

The full manifesto is here.

You can sign the petition here. 

(edit – adding in a video on it)

Go forth and sign!  And don’t forget to share the linkie with your friends!