Tim Blair

"They are worried drinkers could wander into the mosque by mistake after leaving the pub."

could they get that drunk?

I wonder what the story would be if a Christian church was protesting the same thing for the same reasons. Somehow, I get the sense that the religious side of the conflict would be receiving much more of a sneer in the coverage.

Here in Houston, we occasionally see the clash of our two main religions, Protestant Christianity and, of course, strip clubs. Usually, the church wins out in mediation, and the club opens elsewhere. Same applies to mosques and synagogues.

Sometimes I think it's because the congregation a) are worried about their kids being exposed to lasciviousness and b) the male parishoners don't want to be so easily recognized in both places.

From the article: “The mosque is hosting special events during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Art exhibitions, guided tours, food sampling and an Arabic coffee day are among the highlights of the Discover Islam programme.”

No mention if the exhibit includes popular Islam practices of polygamy, amputations-as-punishment, denial of voting rights, jihads, fatwa’s, and 72 virgins for murdering Jews.
–

Steve in Houston: Absolutely right on. The same crowd that sneers at the "backwardness" and "lack of sophistication" of conservative Christianity falls all over themselves to be "tolerant" of the same behavior when it's exhibited by Muslims.

Christian churches can elect women bishops and appoint gay priests, march in anti-war protests -- it doesn't matter. The Left will always despise Christianity no matter what, because Christianity shaped Western culture to a large degree and the Left despises Western culture.

You can see this hypocrisy when they wring their hands over every Palestinian death while they ignore the much larger death toll of innocents in the Sudan. The Left can't find a way to blame either Christianity, white people, the US, Western Civilization, Israel or capitalism for the atrocities in the Sudan, so they simply don't exist.

Never, ever, come between a Scot and his "wee dram". Talk about dangerous!...

Being of Scottish descent, I'm positively torn on my feelings. No, I'm not, but still, it's nice to say.

“The mosque is hosting special events during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Art exhibitions, guided tours, food sampling and an Arabic coffee day are among the highlights of the Discover Islam programme.”

These people are participating in The Fringe, and they're worried about untoward aspects of western culture creeping into their mosque? It's The Fringe, for chrissake!

In addition to Christianity having helped shape the hated Western culture, it has a very concrete view on right and wrong and the difference between them. The belief that there is such a thing as good and evil without the mitigating influence of being exotic and therefore good pretty much dooms it forever in the eyes of the tranzis.

Im amazed they managed to bring women and children into it. Didnt get it in till the final paragraph, but it's there.

Perhaps the Imam would like to rustify the city or better still, move out into outer Iran.

umm, kids - the reason why this story that was linked to wasn't "sneering" in its coverage was that it was 'Muslim News'. not because evil lefty self-hating westerners love backwards muslims and hate progressive christians, but because it was written by the group involved. exactly the same slant would have been taken if 'catholic weekly' or whatever had reported the protests over a pub next door to a cathedral.

John the difference being that if a pub opened next door to a cathedral, the churchwould probably have a controlling intrest in it or at least be some of its best clients. I still remember growing up in a piss poor town in Hervey Bay called Howard. The pub was over the road from the only catholic church in town. During a particularly heavy storm season, the church lost its roof so the pub opened its doors every Sunday for mass, and then put the refreshments on afterwards. Admitedly, it turned out to be too popular and it took over 6 months to put a new roof on the church. Most of the cost of this came from raffles that were held in the pub.

To be sure, and where did the St Patrick's Day march end every March 17?

okay, bad example. maybe i should have run with the strip club or brothel ideas i rejected. anyway, my point (with amended comparision) remains - that's what people do when they object to something - they protest, and favourable others pick up on this.

Apparently archaeologists have uncovered relics from a bronze-age "pub" on the site of the mosque (broken glass, blood, hair, missing teeth) etc so confirming that drinking was there first.

THe problem will come when a Scottish brewery wants to put a pub in Saudi Arabia next to a mosque. Imagine how sympathetic the local council will be when they try to stop the call to the faithful because it interrupts the drinkers or the "Mad Monday" promotions become "Funky Fridays" ...

It's a if we are trying to be more tolerant of them than they are of us ... could this be true

A drunk in a Mosque? About as popular as a pork-chop in a Synagogue!

Why doesn't the European Union just acknowledge the inevitable and declare itself an Inslamic State. Shut down all pubs now, its going to happen anyway.
Especially if defenders of Western values like Pim Fortuyn keep getting assinated.

Of course in the mid-east, during Roamn times anyway, pronographic clay street signs and pavement stones littered even the holiest of cities, pointing the way to the nearest brothels.But, of towel heads, the cartoons would depict camels.

That's like a very quick murder.

I've got a bar in my mosque- we have a very relaxed relationship with Allah.
(And the bastard is always in the dunny or inspiring the slaughter of infidels when it's his shout).

Or both.

I'll have a Crownie, thanks, Allah Akbar!

Imagine if they tried to put a pub near a cooroboree site and drunk people then stumbled through the site...What? That happens regularly? Oh. . .Booraloola in the NT you say.

LabRat said: "In addition to Christianity having helped shape the hated Western culture, it has a very concrete view on right and wrong and the difference between them."

Ok.

Mike Hunt said: "Why doesn't the European Union just acknowledge the inevitable and declare itself an Inslamic State. Shut down all pubs now, its going to happen anyway. Especially if defenders of Western values like Pim Fortuyn keep getting assinated."

Hmmm... The same Christianity that helped shape WESTERN culture with it's very concrete view on homosexuality, as demonstrated time and tiresome time again, is that gaydom is a "lifestyle CHOICE", and also a "moral issue"... oh and also EVIL, WRONG, DESPICABLE and SICK, a sign of decadence, decay and so on ad nauseam. On the other hand, along strolls the late Pim Fortuyn, supposed defender of all things holy in western values. But wait! Our Pimmie was also unabashedly homosexual, totally out in a kind of in-your-face-make-no-mistake sort of way, damned proud of it and quite prepared to defend that aspect of his personality/character as innate and immutable. Oh and also - he didn't profess to be the slightest bit religious, never mind "Christian".

T'would appear there is a high degree of philosophical & epistemological inconsistency at work here. It would be most interesting to eavesdrop on LabRat and Mike Hunt as they work this particular knot out. Oh and BTW, Fortuyn was not killed by a Muslim or even for his views on race relations or integration. He was killed by an animal rights activist who targetted him for reasons the assassin has yet to articulate clearly (but, from what is know so far, have nothing to do with Pim's gayness, nor his views on foreigners or animals).

By the way Mike...the part where you mention getting "assinated"? Was that some feeble attempt at a clever pun on Fortuyn's sexual orientation?

'Cuz for the record, Mike, Pim apparently had QUITE the active GAY sex life. By rights he was prolly getting properly "assinated" by a gentleman caller (or callers) every weekend. Repeatedly. Whoo-hoo, the defense of "Christian values" (barf!) is strong in the land of dykes (on bikes).