Author: R J Adams

The Guardian newspaper is reporting today that the London home of Martin Rynja, owner of the independent publishing house, Gibson Square, was firebombed last night. Rynja was uninjured in the attack.^[1]

In a recent article entitled, “Another Indication Bin Laden Is Winning”, Sparrow Chat recently wrote of the cowardly decision taken by publishing giant, Random House, to renege on its contract to publish the book, “The Jewel of Medina” by US journalist, Sherry Jones.^[2]

Controversy surrounded Denise Spellberg, an associate professor of Islamic history at the University of Texas, who is alleged to have stirred up the Islamic community after being sent a galley of the work for her appreciation.

The novel is based around the life of Aisha, a wife of the Prophet Mohammed, a woman revered among some sections of Islam, though not all.^[3] She is known to many Muslims as the “Mother of the Believers”, after a passage in the Qu’ran designating that name to the wives of the Prophet.

Following Random House’s decision, Gibson Square agreed to publish Jones’s book, and it is because of this, it is believed, the fire-bombing took place. Three men have been arrested in connection with the incident.

It can only be hoped that, if found guilty of the crime, these individuals will be incarcerated for a very long time. Their depraved minds and twisted religious ideals have no place in any civilized society. Freedom of speech is an institution in the western world as sacred as any religious text. Those who choose to live in Europe or America, then abuse the hospitality of its people by such violent reactions against social rights and privileges, frequently unavailable in their home nations, deserve to receive the full penalty of the law.

Ms Jones’s book was described by one critic as:

a rarity in Islamic-themed literature: an attempt by a Western woman to fictionalise the personal life of the Prophet and to bring to a wider audience one of the great feminist heroines of the Middle East”

That Denise Spellberg described it as a, “very ugly, stupid piece of work” may cause one to question her motives.

It’s to be hoped this incident will not deter Martin Rynja from his determination to publish the work. I, for one, will look forward to assessing it, and do not expect to find the ugliness and stupidity more likely secreted in Denise Spellberg’s heart, than between the pages of “The Jewel of Medina”.

^{[1] “Firebomb attack on book publisher” Guardian, September 28th 2008}

^{[2] “Another Indication Bin Laden Is Winning” Sparrow Chat, August 10th 2008}

^{[3] “Prophet Muhammad’s marriage from Aisha” Submission.Org}

Filed under: Terrorist defeats

Read how, ampoule exactly twenty-five years ago, this man……

……saved your life.

Filed under: Unsung heroes

I’m writing this as the presidential debate is about to begin. That’s assuming John McCain deigns to turn up, of course.

No, I won’t be watching.

What’s the point? Obama will be measured, polite, and respectful to McCain, who in turn will pull the ‘experience’ card and the, ‘I’m older and therefore must know better’, argument, when its perfectly obvious to a mentally-retarded, blind moose about to be slaughtered by Sarah Palin’s AK47, that this is one time that ‘older’ definitely doesn’t mean ‘wiser’.

What was he thinking? All this “I’m suspending my campaign to march on Washington and fix the economy” business? Could it fool anyone? No. Not even a mentally-retarded, blind moose about to be slaughtered by Sarah Palin’s AK47.

Can there truly be anyone left in this country who sees anything viable in the McCain/Palin ticket?

Let’s be honest, Obama’s not going to effect change. At least, not so’s you’d notice, even if you weren’t a mentally-retarded, blind moose about to be slaughtered by Sarah Palin’s AK47. This country isn’t run by presidents, or even politicians. It’s controlled by the humongous corporations. The politicians just do their bidding.

McCain’s only claim to fame is that he was tortured by the Viet-Cong. It may be cause for sympathy and a Purple Heart, but rewarding him with the presidency, fifty years after the event, is surely going a bit far.

If there is any one good reason for not voting McCain into office, it’s Sarah Palin. The US president is supposed to make decisions that turn out right for the country. Was his choice of vice president the right decision? Not even a mentally-retarded, blind moose, about to be slaughtered by Sarah Palin’s AK47, would agree that it was.

Here’s one good reason why John McCain should never be president of the United States: he’s cheapened the office. It may be hard to believe that the office of US president could be cheapened more than has been achieved by George W Bush, yet even before McCain sets foot in the Oval Office he’s managed to sink one stage lower than the present incumbent.

He did it by stooping to select a Republican vice presidential candidate who for entirely political motives might gain him the presidency, by virtue not of political experience and integrity, but solely because of her sex.

Hillary Clinton failed. John McCain tried to use that failure to his advantage, by picking Palin solely because she was female.

Let’s be honest, it is the only qualification she has.

Even if you were a mentally-retarded, blind moose about to be slaughtered by Sarah Palin’s AK47, you must surely understand that.

Filed under: No moose loose about this hoose