Religious Sensitivity: Infringing on Civil Rights?

Ok, today was a tough day. An awfully early start for a snoozer like me - 7 a.m - to attend a presentation workshop up in Dublin. Now, I'm usually the type of person who isn't mentally aware enough to even comprehend the newspaper 'funnies' that early in the morning. However, after being handed my free copy of the Metro paper, there were two stories in particular that kick-started my brain into action - and without any caffeine too. Now that says a lot!

Firstly, there was the particularly tragic story of a Muslim Man in Malaysia who has been ordered by a High Court judge to be caned with six lashes and serve a year in prison under Shariah Law. His crime?

Theft? Assault? Vandalism?

No. This man's crime was the consumption of alcohol. Yes, you read that right. Drinking during Ramadan. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I don't recall the Koran specifically calling for punishment for those who drink alcohol. It is considered a deviant activity, disrespectful to religion, yada yada yada. But don't you think imprisoning someone for having a beer or two is taking it a bit too far. So far, in fact, that it infringes on these people's civil rights. Only two months earlier Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a Muslim woman, was sentenced to six lashes of the cane and a fine for having a beer in a hotel. These events have resulted in strong comndemnations from observers, including Amnesty International, who stress that the use of the cane as a punishment is prohibted by international law.

It just makes me wonder...how devout and abiding would Catholics be if the consumption of alcohol was prohibited by the Vatican? Random thought, but interesting. And in any case, what right do these groundless, Bronze Age ideas have in today's legal frameworks?

Freedom from religion never sounded so good to me....mmmmmm Beeeeeer....sacreligious!

Secondly, there was also the story of a Human Rights Watch analyst who was suspended for collecting Nazi memorabilia. Now, this fact first came to light in a pro-Israel blog, Mere Rhetoric.

What in the world is this all about? So if I buy a Nazi bayonet, I suddenly will become an anti-Semite, neo-Nazi? Historical artifacts are historical artifacts, and they have a very special value to people, which is not always directly related with the values of the original owners. And even so, did the Human Rights Watch completely overlook the fact that the man in question, Marc Garlasco, had a family history that was intertwined with the Second World War, with his German grandfather in fact being conscripted into the Nazi army.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong...but isn't this just another case of religious oversensitivity trumping rationality?

Oppressing freedom, curbing rational thought, infringing on civil rights.....nice additions to the C.V of the almighty god (sorry,no capital letter for the big man on this blog). Goes along nicely with sexual discrimination, genocide, terrorism...don't you think?