Imagine No Religion

There will probably be many posts across atheist blogs today on this. This will be my first September 11th in the atheist community. Religious fanatics flying planes into our buildings is genuinely frightening. What is even more frightening, I think, is how politically correct our country has become that many deny the link between religious fanaticism and 9/11.

Too often I hear people claiming that they are just hatemongers using religion as the rhetoric to have their cause embraced (though, I don't see how that is any better), or people claiming that it is just a few people perverting and misconstruing the message of Islam. Islam is the not the mask on the face of the problem; Islam is the hideous face of the reality of our situation. Denial is an inhibitor; we can have no rational discourse on the problem as there is no denying the link of religion. Islam promotes violence the same Christianity promotes misogyny and homophobia; the two are inextricably linked.

I don't have any big post planned for today, but I thought I would share words from two people already this morning.

Greydon Square -- The Dream



I'm dreamin' of a world with no gods at all
No separation, nobody takin' sides at all
No Holocaust, no one indoctrinatin' our children
No religious fanatics flyin' planes into our buildin's
Everybody playing in the game of life in which they can't lose
Instead of killing for an invisible man they can't prove

Nobody dyin' over a book
No Crusades, no war on terror headed by Bush
I'm dreamin' of a world where there is no such place as the Bible Belt
Instead of lookin' up you look inside yourself
And when you do find yourself, you gonna help somebody else
Instead of prayin' you'd do well to maintain your body's health

Now that's what I call a dream

KafirGirl relates her experience of walking home after having all eyes upon her in class on 9/11:

It was a 3 mile walk, at least, and I had plenty to think about on my way over. Somewhere along the way, I realized that I’d been hiding behind the word agnostic for 2 years. The word atheist, at that point, just seemed so final. If I used the word atheist, it would mean having to give up my back door, my Plan B, my escape route. There was no way out. I realized that I was tired — really, genuinely tired — of lying to myself. I knew with every fiber of my being that I could never just go back to being a Muslim again. I’d crossed the line, embraced logic, reason & reality. And there was no looking back.

I’m an atheist, I thought to myself. An atheist. And then I whispered it out loud, just to hear myself say it: I’m an atheist.

I’m an atheist.
And there is no looking back.