Charlie Hebdo, the West and the Need to Ridicule Religion

Attacks like the one on January 7, 2015, against the newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris are becoming all too common. Threats by Islamic terrorists and dictatorial regimes have been happening since Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie in 1989. In this talk, Ayn Rand Institute senior fellow Onkar Ghate discusses how to defend freedom of speech in the face of religious attacks. This talk was recorded on Saturday, July 4, 2015, at the Objectivist Summer Conference 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina. CLICK ON A TIME STAMP TO JUMP TO THAT SECTION: Main lecture: 0:00:03 How Western reactions to attacks have emboldened Islamic totalitarians 0:08:37 The need to mock and marginalize religion (historical evidence and current state) 0:18:38 How the term “Islamophobia” stifles rational discussion 0:29:30 How the doctrines of multiculturalism and ethnicity stifle rational discussion 0:35:33 How religionists attempt to place religion beyond rational criticism 0:45:17 The need for bold atheists to marginalize faith through satire and ridicule Questions and Answers: 0:52:31 Q&A #1: What’s your opinion of Pat Condell’s videos attacking and ridiculing Islam and religion in general? 0:53:53 Q&A #2: Can you comment on Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s view that Islam has to go through a reformation? 0:58:01 Q&A #3: What does your view of Islam’s evil imply for how Muslims should be treated? 1:00:52 Q&A #4: Does deism belong in the same category as Christianity and Islam? 1:03:43 Q&A #5: Do the West’s values and actions cause Islamists to attack us? 1:05:15 Q&A #6: How can atheists best explain that their stance on morality does not depend on faith? 1:08:12 Q&A #7: How do we fight political correctness, especially in the form of anti-blasphemy laws? 1:10:43 Q&A #8: Is ridiculing blind faith really an effective way of combating it? 1:13:53 Q&A #9: What is the current state of the culture with respect to faith and atheism? 1:15:35 Q&A #10: What is the value of art that depicts, without causal explanation, the horrors of religious movements? 1:17:55 Q&A #11: How does your use of the term “Islamic totalitarianism” relate to your rejection of the terms “moderate” and “extreme” Islam? 1:19:49 Q&A #12-A: How does one reason with an individual who is addicted to faith? 1:25:27 Q&A #12-B: Don’t people need to root out the things that interfere with their ability to reason? SUBSCRIBE TO ARI’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL https://www.youtube.com/subscription_... ABOUT THE AYN RAND INSTITUTE ARI offers educational experiences, based on Ayn Rand's books and ideas, to a variety of audiences, including students, educators, policymakers and lifelong learners. ARI also engages in research and advocacy efforts, applying Rand's ideas to current issues and seeking to promote her philosophical principles of reason, rational self-interest and laissez-faire capitalism. We invite you to explore how Ayn Rand viewed the world — and to consider the distinctive insights offered by ARI's experts today. EXPLORE ARI http://www.AynRand.org FOLLOW ARI ON TWITTER https://twitter.com/AynRandInst LIKE ARI ON FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/AynRandInsti... EXPLORE ARI CAMPUS https://campus.aynrand.org/ BUY “DEFENDING FREE SPEECH” ON AMAZON https://www.amazon.com/Defending-Free...