Kenders' Musings

....and sit down and discuss the utter subjugation of their respective flocks.

....and sit down and discuss the utter subjugation of their respective flocks.

At least, that seems to be the gist of what one columnist for the Daily Illini seems to be making.

Eric Naing, whose opinion piece today is titled "Osama bin Domino's Pizza", states:

Imagine a place where religious extremists control all aspects of life: entertainment, health care, education, even morality. This may sound like some remote Iraqi village under the influence of a Shiite cleric, but if you substitute "remote Iraqi village" with "tomato field in southwestern Florida," and "Shiite cleric" with "guy who founded Domino's Pizza," you get the town of Ave Maria.

Now, let's leave out for a moment that people that may choose to live in Ave Maria will actually CHOOSE to move there, knowing full well what they are going into, and let's also toss out the stark differences between Catholicism and Islamism, and focus on.......wait.....let's go back to that very important part between the differences between Catholics and Muslims, shall we?

In a Muslim society, say for example, Saudi Arabia, the Law from the Koran is the Law of the Land. You cannot drive to the next town over and toss aside your burka and take a dip in a pool in a thong bikini while discussing the finer points of stoning apostates.

Of course, since Shari a IS the Law of the Land, nobody has that freedom, so it is equal. Maybe that is the draw that Islam has on lefties in America. It promises equality across the board based on gender. Hhhhhmmmmm......got to remember to check into that theory.

Naing’s article goes on to state;

Mr. Monaghan plans to impose his will by owning all commercial property in Ave Maria....Aside from the obvious constitutional issues Ave Maria faces, a larger issue of what the Christian right has become emerges.

Since when is owning property, and dictating the terms of the lease, which is what Mr. Monaghan plans to do, a "constitutional issue?"

The disconnect that the left has regarding religion astounds me. Equating Catholicism with Robertson’s brand of Christianity and Radical Islamists is almost the height of inanity that Mr. Naing hits in this article. I say almost.

He tops out his worthless screed by continuing on to equate South Dakota's brand-spanking new anti-abortion law to communism while gratuitously tossing in a completely unrelated bit that one can only take to reference the ID vs. Creationism debates;

The bodies of all women in South Dakota are being declared state property while children are being force-fed junk science and bogus creationist theories.

Let's place this entire thing in context now shall we?

In America, Land of the Free and Home of the Brave, a man has the Freedom to build a town and run it as he sees fit, if he can afford it.

If some imam wanted to start a Muslim town I am sure the ACLU, and probably Eric Naing, would defend their right to do just that.

The difference would be in a Catholic town you wouldn't be able to buy a condom or watch a skin flick, and their is no Right in ANY of our Founding documents to either of those things, and in a Muslim town under Shari a Law women would have to wear Burkas and one could not stand on a street corner and preach the Christian Gospel.

The problem there is that in America, one cannot be forced to wear clothing based on religious edicts, nor kept from their Right of Free Speech.

Do you see now?

Ogre has some thoughts on this as well.

If you are as upset about this as I am, I encourage you to post about it and get the word out. I also encourage you to call and write the Daily Illini. The DI's number is 217-337-8300 and the e-mail in question is opinions@dailyillini.com, but you can also mail the interim editor (yes the editors who ran the cartoon are STILL suspended) at editor@dailyill