Let me start this entry with two positions: 1.. I am an atheist – I see no evidence if a creator being or god. I see only evidence for scientific reductivism. From this it follows that religion is a creation of man, and in it’s current state it is a political tool – it can be and is used for political tool. Marx called it the opium of the masses – a tool for mind control.

2. I am a liberal – thus I believe people can say whatever they want. When people are prevented from doing this, tyranny follows. What if Mandela was prevented from speaking out? Or martin luther King? People have a right to say whatever they want. My brother Luke once told me of an adage: I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend your right to say it to my death.

I hold the above positions firmly, and so I cannot condemn the publication of cartoons depicting the prophet Mohamed as a terrorist in a Dutch newspaper, even if they were probably penned by a bigot. I see clearly why there is so much furore, and I also see why they are deeply offensive to Muslims. Yet we have no right to censor such pictures. Part of the problem with religion is that it cannot be criticised, so it continues o be a political tool. It should be as open to satire as anything else, as it is the belief that religion should not be criticised that keeps the priests and mullahs in their pulpits. It’s time we lifted the curtain.

This aside, I can see great trouble following. Are wee seeing the beginnings of some kind of religious war?