Stephen Law

Jeff Goldblum is being criticised for asking whether Islam is anti-gay and anti-women. See e.g. this article in The Independent. Stats suggest e.g. the Muslim population in the UK for example does have a problem with homophobia (according to a survey a third of all UK Muslims think a wife should be forced to obey her husband, and 0% of UK Muslims think homosexuality is acceptable). And certainly that religion traditionally does (but then so does Christianity). At the same time I think Islamophobia is real and pernicious and probably much m ore of a problem than e.g. antisemitism in the UK (again, surveys bear this out). Perhaps we simply shouldn't ask such questions about Islam for fear of stoking such prejudice. On the other hand, perhaps liberals self-censoring - deliberately avoiding mentioning such facts or asking such questions - actually stokes Islamophobia by, in effect, stifling free speech re Islam and also feeding the 'double standard' narrative

(Here's a draft from something I am working on - image is entirely borrowed. REVISED 18/6/21) Jack takes a bite of cake tells Sarah about a second famous case.   JACK: Here’s a another UFO story I think you’ll find it hard to explain. It was the first case of alien abduction to get lots of publicity. SARAH: Abduction? JACK: Yes - alien abduction is where humans are taken by aliens. This case happened back in1961. Betty and Barney Hill were out driving in their car at night. It was a beautiful clear night and the stars were twinkling. Then, after a while, they spotted a mysterious light behind them. It was a UFO! And what was most scary is that the UFO started to chase their car.   ILLUSTRATE: CAR BEING CHASED BY A LIGHT - PANICKED COUPLE INSIDE.   SARAH: The UFO chased them? JACK: Yes! Scary, huh? Then, when Betty and Barney finally got home, they found that two whole hours had mysteriously disappeared.   ILLUSTRATION: BARNEY