Below The Beltway

If someone can please tell me the difference between the mullahs in Iran and the mullahs in Saudi Arabia, I’d appreciate it:
(New York, May 13, 2008) – Courts in Jeddah should dismiss cases against a Saudi web critic and a Turkish barber charged with “insulting” Islam, an unequivocal violation of freedom of expression protected under [...]

When Pope Benedict XVI visits Ground Zero in New York, he will pray for the redemption and conversion of Islamic terrorists:
The Pope will pray for the redemption of Islamic terrorists when he visits the site of the September 11 attacks in New York next week.
The pontiff will call for terrorists to convert to Christianity, saying: [...]

A Saudi Arabian woman was the victim of another insane honor killing recently for the “crime” of having a Facebook profile:
A young Saudi Arabian woman was murdered by her father for chatting on the social network site Facebook, it has emerged.
The unnamed woman from Riyadh was beaten and shot after she was discovered in the [...]

Pope Benedict XVI baptizes a Muslim convert to Catholicism:
Italy’s most prominent Muslim commentator, a journalist with iconoclastic views such as support for Israel, converted to Roman Catholicism Saturday when the pope baptized him at an Easter service.
As a choir sang, Pope Benedict XVI poured holy water over Magdi Allam’s head and said a brief prayer [...]

I’ve already written about John Hagee, an anti-Catholic bigot evangelist preacher who has lined up behind John McCain.
But Hagee isn’t the only nutjob preacher riding the Straight Talk Express.
Meet Rod Parsley:
Senator John McCain hailed as a spiritual adviser an Ohio megachurch pastor who has called upon Christians to wage a “war” against the “false religion” [...]

Last January, when Minnesota’s Keith Ellison was about to become the first Muslim Member of Congress, Virginia Congressman Virgil Goode went off on what can only be described as an insane rant, the details of which can be found here, here, and here.
Well, someone better tell the Congressman to take a Xanax, because we’ve got [...]

Apparently, there is no end to the depths of irrationality that our friends in Saudi Arabia will stoop to:
Human Rights Watch has appealed to Saudi Arabia to halt the execution of a woman convicted of witchcraft.
In a letter to King Abdullah, the rights group described the trial and conviction of Fawza Falih as a miscarriage [...]

At least not if the Archbishop of Canterbury has anything to say about it:
The Archbishop of Canterbury says the adoption of certain aspects of Sharia law in the UK “seems unavoidable”.
Dr Rowan Williams told Radio 4’s World at One that the UK has to “face up to the fact” that some of its citizens [...]

The King of Saudi Arabia has pardoned the rape victim who was sentenced to 200 lashes for being in public with a man:
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has pardoned a female rape victim who had been sentenced to 200 lashes for being alone with a man at the time of the [...]

A 16 year old girl in Canada is dead after being choked to death by her father for refusing to wear the hijab:
TORONTO, Ont. — A 16-year-old girl has died after allegedly being choked by her father over a dispute with her family over her refusal to wear the hijab, the Islamic headscarf worn by [...]