By Onnik Krikorian

Sheki, Azerbaijan comments on observing Ramadan in Azerbaijan. The blog says that the holiday is a time for sharing and remembering relatives that have passed away as well as those also marking the tradition.

By Alexey Sidorenko

Bloggers share pictures [RUS] and video [RUS] of the unusually populous celebrations of Uraza Bairam (internationally known as Eid ul-Fitr [EN]), an important Muslim holiday. Paul Goble notes [EN] critical reactions in the press and a new wave of anti-Islamic sentiment provoked by the event.

By Rezwan

Greatbong at Random Thoughts Of A Demented Mind criticizes the Indian government and the local media for trying to downplay the news of the recent communal clashes in Deganga, West Bengal.

By Rezwan

Bangladeshi blogger Jerome D'Costa opines that Pastor Terry Jones and the Florida Church's Koran burning program is unchristian and immature and this will adversely affect the Christian minorities across the world.

By Janine Mendes-Franco

KnowTnT.com says of the U.S. pastor who intends to burn the Quran on September 11: “Let us get to the real heart of this matter, which is not about God's love but about MAN'S HATE. I hope that everyone out there will listen when I say God's love will NEVER stem from hate…”

By Janine Mendes-Franco

“Yesterday, many Guantanamo residents and Cubans in general celebrated the nativity of Our Lady of Charity (Caridad del Cobre), the mother and patron saint of Cuba since 1916″: Havana Times reports.

By Ayesha Saldanha

As in the rest of the Arab world, fewer women in the Gaza Strip wore the hijab 20 or 30 years ago. The “Islamic revival” over the last few decades has resulted in an increase in the wearing of headscarves and other forms of “Islamic” dress, a phenomenon which in Gaza grew with the rise of Hamas. Today the majority of women in Gaza wear the hijab; however those who do not frequently face social pressure to do so. Sometimes the pressure is institutional; there have even been cases of Christian schoolgirls being pushed to wear the hijab. In this post we hear from Asmaa Al-Ghoul, a journalist and blogger who was arrested last year for not wearing a headscarf; she is furious that a friend who refuses to wear the hijab has not been allowed to graduate from university.

Palestinian university students. Photo courtesy of PalFest under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Asmaa writes:

في معظم البلدان يحدث التمييز العنصري ضد المحجبات في تركيا وفرنسا وتونس وهذا شيء معظمنا ضده لأن فيه تجاوز للعلمانية كما قال فوكاياما ، إلا في غزة التمييز العنصري ضد من لا يرتدين الحجاب..فتجد القوانين الظالمة، والتعليقات الجارحة، والكلمات السخيفة ونظرات الاستحقار، والاستخفاف بأخلاق غير المحجبات..انه عالم غزة الصغير..نحتاج فيه لمن يدافع عن حقوق غير المحجبات وغير المجلببات وغير المنقبات…انها تراتبية ترسخ التعامل مع المرأة على أساس أنها جسد… In most countries discrimination takes place against women wearing the hijab – in Turkey, and France, and Tunisia – and that is something that most of us are against because it violates secularism, as Fukuyama says. Only in Gaza is the discrimination against those women who don't wear the hijab… You will come across repressive rules, hurtful comments, stupid words and contemptuous looks, and scorn for the morals of women not wearing hijab. In the small world of Gaza we need someone to defend the rights of women who don't wear the hijab, or the jilbab, or the niqab… It's a system that establishes the idea that women should be treated as bodies. ومن هنا لنتابع الحكاية :
قبل قليل استمعت لحلقة اذاعية للناشط الرائع رامي مراد على صوت الشعب، تتحدث عن التمييز العنصري ضد الطالبات في جامعة الأزهر، وكان شي مخجل جدا ما يحدث في الجامعة، خاصة أنه مسكوت عنه منذ سنين، وأعرف ان هناك جامعات في الجوار تقوم قوانينها بالأساس على هذا التمييز العنصري ولكن تلك الجامعات تابعة لأحزاب بعينها وفقدنا الأمل فيها منذ زمن..خاصة بعد ان اصبحت هي والحكومة واحد واستطاعت فرض تغييرها بالقوة والسلطة والقوانين.. From here we follow the story:
A short while ago I listened to radio programme by the wonderful activist Rami Murad on Sawt Al-Sha'ab [Voice of the People, a radio station affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine], which was talking about discrimination against students in Al-Azhar University. Something very shameful has been happening in the university, especially so as it is something that has been silenced for years. I know that there are universities nearby whose rules are based on this discrimination, but these universities belong to certain political factions, and we lost hope in them a long time ago… Especially after they and the government became one and the same, and they could impose their changes by force and authority and laws…

Asmaa is referring to the fact that Al-Azhar University has a strong association with Fatah, which would normally indicate a less religiously conservative environment than that of the Islamic University of Gaza which is affiliated with Hamas. She continues:

أما ما هو جديد كلياً أن ذلك يحدث في جامعة الأزهر، والمصيبة منذ عشرين عاماً، فعلى جميع الطالبات ارتداء الحجاب كشرط لتسلم شهادة التخرج كي تكون صورهن الموجودة في الشهادة بالحجاب….وسواء كانت الطالبة مسيحية أو مسلمة أو علمانية أو ليبرالية أو شيوعية أو أي شيء لازم تحافظ على سريان التيار، وتضع قطعة القماش على رأسها لتنال شرعية الجامعة وتنال شهادتها..كم هو شيء مخجل يا جامعة الأزهر…!!
هل تريدين يا أزهر أن تكوني ملَكية أكثر من الملك وتقليد التخلف المحيط بك وتقولي والله بنخرّج طالبات محترمات؟..بما أنه الحجاب وعدمه صار مقياس للأخلاق عندك!..يقول د.رياض العيلة على الراديو وبالفم الملآن والفخور: هذا عرف جامعي يتناسب مع الواقع..أي واقع اذا كانت الكثيرات من طالبات الأزهر لا يرتدين الحجاب..أم أنه يقصد واقع الجامعة المجاورة له منذ عقود..ولا يريد أن يتهمهم أحد بالانحلال كما تحجج أحد العاملين في الجامعة لخريجة صديقة حين طالبت أن تكون صورتها على الشهادة كما هي في الواقع أي بشعرها.. But what is entirely new is that this is happening in Al-Azhar University - yet the terrible thing is that it has been for twenty years. All female students are required to wear the hijab as a condition of receiving their graduation certificate, so that their picture is on the certificate with the hijab…Whether the student is Christian, Muslim, secular, liberal, communist, or anything, she has to maintain the the established practice of the movement, and put a piece of cloth on her head to get the university's legitimacy and degree. How shameful this is, Al-Azhar! Al-Azhar, do you want to be more monarchic than the monarch and the tradition of backwardness surrounding you, just to be able to pretend that you produce respectable students - since wearing a hijab or not has become a measure of morality for you? Dr Riyadh Al-Aila says on the radio in a loud, proud voice, “This university custom matches the reality…” What reality, if many of the students of Al-Azhar don't wear the hijab? Or does he mean the decades-long reality of the neighbouring university? And no one wants make accusations of decadence, like one of the employees of the university did who argued with my graduate friend when she asked for her picture on her certificate to be as she is in reality, with uncovered hair.

Asmaa is angry:

ان تعاملنا مع الفتاة يوما بعد يوم يقوم فقط على أساس أنها عورة وفتنة وليست انسانة..يقول د. العيلة على الراديو..: “البنت نص متر بكون صدرها مبين”، هل هذا كلام أكاديمي من رجل حر يا عالم؟ هل يعقل هذا التمييز ضد الفتاة والتعامل معها أنها صدر وبطن ورجلين..كلام هدفه التحقير من المرأة وتعمد أن تظهر كأنها تبرز جسدها لأنها تحب العري والعهر ويجب أن نغطيه لها…فيتبرع الجميع بتغطيته: الجامعة والمجتمع والحكومة والأخ والزوج والأم والخطيب..كأننا مصنوعات من الفاحشة ودون عقل وروح وإرادة… Our daily dealings with girls are based solely on their being sexual objects and not human beings… Dr Al-Aila says on the radio, “A girl [without hijab] is showing half a metre of her chest.” Are these academic words from a free man, o world? Is it comprehensible, this discrimination against girls, and dealing with them as chests and abdomens and legs? This talk is aimed at belittling women and intends to show that they expose their bodies because they love nakedness and fornication, and it's necessary to cover them… And everybody seems to volunteer to do that: university, society, government, brother, husband, mother and fiancé… As if we are all sinful creatures without minds, souls and volition.

Younger girls are also affected:

حزنت وغضبت العام الماضي حين وضعت مديرة المدرسة شقيقتيّ التوأم وأخريات في ساحة المدرسة الثانوية تحت الشمس في محاولة لاجبارهن على الحجاب..وتوجهتُ كالمجنونة إلى المدرسة، فقالت لي المديرة وقتها : بدي أكسب فيهن أجر …ههههههه شي مضحك..في غزة تحول التربوي والمحامي والقائد والصحافي والجرسون والشرطي، إلى دُعاة وشيوخ، مش بس الحكومة ثيوقراطية مجتمعنا كله ثيوقراطي ..اي مجتمع رجال دين ونساء دين… Last year I was saddened and angered when the headteacher of their school put my twin sisters and other girls in the playground of the secondary school under the sun in an attempt to force them to wear the hijab. I stormed off to the school like a madwoman, and the headteacher at the time said to me, “I want to receive God's reward because of them.” Ha-ha, that's funny… In Gaza the educators, lawyers, leaders, journalists, waiters and policemen have all turned into preachers and sheikhs. It's not just our government that is theocratic, but our whole society; it's a society of male and female clerics…

And Gaza's Christian minority is not exempt:

تقول طالبة مسيحية اسمها نادين أنها لا تستطيع أن تعلق شهادة تخرجها من جامعة الأزهر في البيت كيف وهي محجبة، صديقتي الخريجة… لم تضع الحجاب للصورة وتناضل من أجل ذلك، وكلنا فخراً بها ..قالت:لا لا أريد شهادتي لأني لا أخجل من قناعاتي، وهي الآن لم يندرج اسمها ضمن حفلات التخرج التي تغلق سيارات الأهالي الشوارع من أجلها هذه الأيام، كما أنها من المفترض أن تسافر لدراسة الماجستير ويجب أن تأخذ معها شهادتها الأصلية..كيف ذلك؟ A Christian student called Nadine says that she cannot hang her graduation certificate from the University of Al-Azhar in her house as she is wearing the hijab in it. My graduate friend did not put on the hijab for the picture, and is struggling because of that. We are all proud of her… She said, “No, I do not want my certificate, because I am not ashamed of my convictions.” Now her name is not included in the graduation parties, for which people's cars are blocking the streets these days. She is supposed to travel to study for a master's, and she should take her original certificate with her… How?

Asmaa ends:

ختاماً..
أذكر حين دخلت الأزهر أنا ذاتي كنت محجبة، كانت صورتي في البطاقة الجامعية محجبة، وبعد أن خلعت حجابي في عام 2006 بكامل ارادتي لأني كنت أرتديه ليس وفقها بل تبعا لإرادات محيطة بي، رفضت الجامعة تغيير صورتي للحجة ذاتها، وحتى الآن أجاهد من أجل ذلك..
وأقول لصديقتي الخريجة…ستكونين كما تريدين
يكفيك فخراً أنك لست ضمن القطيع.. In conclusion…
I remember that at the time I entered Al-Azhar I myself wore the hijab; the picture of me on my university ID was in hijab. After I removed my hijab in 2006 (entirely by my choice, because I had been wearing it not because I agreed with it but of course because of the wishes of those around me), the university refused to change my picture under the same pretext, and until now I am fighting because of that…
I say to my friend the graduate, be who you want to be.
You should just be proud that you are not following the flock.

By Jamshid Sultanzada

The Republic of Silence has shared [fa] a video from film maker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy. How does the Taliban convince children to become suicide bombers? Propaganda footage from a training camp in Pakistan is intercut with interviews of young camp graduates.

By Mong Palatino

The Supreme Court of Indonesia has found the former editor of Playboy Indonesia guilty of violating the country's indecency laws. Media groups and bloggers protest the decision as “criminalization of the press.” Playboy Indonesia contained no nude pictures.

By Senor Pablo

Brunei on the eve of Ramadan. Photo from the Flickr page of tylerdurden used under CC License Attribution 2.0 Generic

Ramadhan is the ninth month of the Muslim Calendar and  the month when Muslims around the globe observe fast (refrain from eating, drinking and sexual relations) from dawn till dusk for some 30 days.  During this month, Muslims ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance and help in refraining from everyday evils, and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds. Just like others around the world, bloggers in Brunei have been sharing their own thoughts on the holy month. Charity seems to be a common thread in blogs and other social media sites.

AnakBrunei blogs about a local bank initiative to help financially-challenged families in the preparations for the end of Ramadhan festivity.

“Kind-hearted organisations have played their roles in giving back to the community and Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam yesterday travelled within the Brunei-Muara District lugging with them clothes, hampers, monetary donations and, most importantly, joy to a number of families struggling with finances.”

Arabfamillies donates food to some 20 mosques around the country. Brunei Lifestyle writes about donations through SMS

“In Brunei, the fasting month is usually mark with more donations like donating cash (more to credit actually) via SMS for the orphans. I don’t want to start arguing on how the system is managed, let’s just donate sincerely and whole-heartedly.”

My name is Goddess reminds her readers on the importance of peace and solidarity,

“Do you know what is better than charity and fasting and prayer? It is keeping peace and good relations between people, as quarrels and bad feelings destroy mankind.”

Geek in White quotes from a post of Queen Noor of Jordan: Ramadan Lessons for All of Humanity

“Ramadan is the holiest month of the Islamic year. We observe it this year against a backdrop of intensifying global human suffering, caused by economic hardship, human rights abuses, military conflict and terrorism, and the rapidly multiplying disastrous consequences of climate change. Muslims have an opportunity to use the days of this month as God intended: to reflect on our own humanity and our collective duty towards our fellow human beings. True religion isn’t built of the manifestations of piety through prayer — turning faces towards the east or west — but requires good deeds and action that manifest and express the essential values of our faith.”

Meanwhile,  Turquoise and Roses makes an interesting observation on the different working hours during Ramadhan.

“Posted this up for my foreign readers who may find this interesting. Well you know, maybe, because not many countries in the world practice this.  One of the greatest things about fasting during Ramadhan in Brunei is the fact that, for one whole month, we operate on different working hours than the other 11 months of the year. It’s one of the persk of fasting in a Muslim country although am not sure what it’s like in Indonesia, Malaysia and the other Muslim-majority countries in the region.  Working during Ramadhan is also a very different experience compared to normal working days. Everyone seems to be in a mellow mood and for some reason everyone comes to work late! Don’t be surprised when things get done a bit slower than usual.”

Ramadhan is also the month when many undertake business opportunities to provide services for those who are fasting.  Popular bloggers, RanoAdidas and funnyman Kurapak joined forces for the second year in a row to come up with a ‘breaking the fast’ eateries directory called Love Food Hate Waste. To date they have included 60 local eateries and generated over 100,000 hits since 2009.  This year they brought along Cookie Monsterz, a  local foodie to provide reviews of selected restaurants. Ranoadidas explains the project concept

“The title speaks for itself. We are supposed to appreciate the food that we take and try to minimise wastage if possible. It's very common that we tend to take more than we can consume and hence, there is also food wastage especially during Sungkai. So guys, let's be aware and don't eat too fast.”

Kapow Burgers. Photo from AnakBrunei

Other bloggers like Soulkonekshen with his now famous KAPOW Burger,  Lucky Hoofs and her chocolate cake roll  ‘Tapak Kuda' and Sas Monroe’s The Cakery with her infamous brownies, used this month to gain entrepreneur experiences in selling their respective products, either at the Ramadhan Stalls or online. They have utilised Twitter, blogs and Facebook to promote their businesses.

Bruneians abroad have not left behind the home tradition of breaking the fast together. Brunei Student Society in Brisbane organises POTLUCK Iftar to gather Muslim students.

By Adil Nurmakov

With an average age of 24, Tajikistan is one of the world’s youngest countries. But this may be a curse rather than a blessing, argues Tajik Voice exploring youth culture in this country and covering two topics - religion and life prioroties.

By Adil Nurmakov

Askhat reflects on Oraza, the Muslim fasting in Kazakhstan, by reviewing the Internet users' comments and questions they ask online on the forums and specialized websites about fasting.

By Rezwan

Back To Bangladesh posts some mouth watering pictures of the traditional Chawk Bazar Iftar Market in old Dhaka.

By Lee Yoo Eun

As the nation’s biggest holiday ‘Chuseok’ — the Korean version of Thanksgiving day — approaches, families have already started feuding over the holiday preparations. The universal clash between family members during the holidays has intensified in Korea. This issue: the ancestral worship and the tomb maintenance. Severe arguments have broken out between family members over who is responsible for managing the state of family tombs and whether they will forgive Christian members of the family that are absent from ancestral worship ceremonies.

Clash 1: Who will maintain the tomb?

It is usually the oldest son of the household who is expected to visit ancestors’ burial mounds to trim plants, pluck twigs and clean the area surrounding the grave site. In reality, however, it is the one who loses the power struggle or is too kind to pass the responsibility onto others. The tomb maintenance is not as easy as it sounds. It takes almost an entire day to clean three or four tombs of immediate ancestors and several days to clean more than ten to 20 tombs of extended families. The tombs are often located several hours drive from the city and for white collar workers who have no experience in agricultural labor, it can take several hours to become familiar with a weeding machine. In many cases, bee hives are hidden around the tombs resulting in several sting-related deaths nation-wide during tomb cleaning season.

An image of a burial mound.

Complaints about family member’s evasion from the grave site responsibilities have started mounting on open discussion sites during the last week. Several tens of thousands have read the articles and immediately below thousands have actively responded, sharing the same stress and giving tips on how to deal with irresponsible siblings. Netizen ID: Cricket, the wife of a youngest son of the family, wrote in her first few sentences that while her husband went to bed early for the following day's grave site cleanup that starts early in the morning, she is too angry to sleep. Her husband, she says, is too gentle to argue with his older brothers who take advantage his good nature.

이제 추석이 다가오니 벌초를 해야 하는데, 매년 똑같다. 울 남편이 거의 혼자 벌초를 다 한다. 20개가 넘는 묘를 이틀 동안…몇 해전부터 남편이 혼자 하길래 너무 성질이 나서 화를 다 내도 남편은 그냥 냅 두랜다…뒤에서 지켜보는 시어머니 더 밉다. 큰아들이 허리 아프다니 어떻 하냐 시면서 오히려 나에게 슬쩍 하소연 하신다..작년에는 벌초하는 날 허리 아프다더니 낚시간 거 가 뽀록났는데.

The Chuseok approaches and the tomb cleaning needs to be done. It is always my husband who does the tomb cleaning by himself every year- 20 tombs, for two straight days…For several years, he (had to) do all the work by himself and I once lost my temper (because of the unfair situation) but he calmed me down and told me to let go…My mother-in-law only aggravates the situation. She keeps telling me that the oldest son has back pain and so on. (In order to convince the writer that the older son can not perform the duty) In last year’s tomb trimming period, we discovered that he went fishing while lying about his back pain.

A reply was posted immediately by netizen ID: Sanggong whose article starts out ‘I totally understand your situation as a person who once had trimmed his uncle-in-law's tombs’. He said that he and his brother have trimmed ten tombs and suggested to ID: Cricket that she persuade her mother-in-law to gather money to hire several people from a professional tomb-trimming service. This new tomb-trimming business has taken off in Korea recently due to huge demands. A tomb-trimming company, after receiving orders and the tomb's locations online, sends staff to the site and later posts pictures of the clean burial mounds on the company web site.

ID: Sanggong later blamed both his own and his wife’s families on their irresponsible behavior. He said that while rich celebrities and successful business men of his family refused to chip in to cover the trimming cost, his wife’s brother and sister always evade the trimming duty, saying they are Christians.

Clash 2: Religious Belief VS Family Conformity

Even though Christian sects make up over 30 percent of the Korean population, Christians are still minority in family power dynamics. Churches claim that the practice of ancestral worship is a form of idol worship and ban its members from worshiping at the tombs or in front of the indoor ancestral shrine, or from eating food served at the ceremony. This ban has unintentionally turned the nation’s biggest holidays — the Lunar New Year’s day and the Chuseok — into religious battlefields. Christian members often refuse to bow down in front of the ancestral shrine while other family members urge them to follow the tradition for the sake of family conformity. They pressure Christian family members because the act of bowing down, especially to their own deceased parents or ancestors, is not an issue for them and is even encouraged. This leads to many Christians feeling that they are being persecuted. Blogger Chanjkim who introduced himself as a Christian scientist, shared his own story of the argument he had with his mother.

제사상 앞에서 우두커니 서 있는 나 자신의 모습이 어머니에게는 불성실하다고
느껴졌을 것이다. 어느 날 어머니 앞에서 제사를 드리지 않겠다고 했다. 형제들은 종교의 자유를 인정한다며 그렇게 하라고 했지만 어머니는 가족의 화합을 깨는 행위라면 받아 드리지 않았다.
나는 여전히 어머니의 고집을 꺽지 못했다.

My mom must have judged me as irresponsible when she saw me standing in front of the ancestral shrine blankly (without bowing down). One day I announced in front of her that I would not take part of the ancestral worship. My brothers understood me and said that they respect the freedom of religion, but my mom did not approve it, calling it an act of breaking the family’s harmony. I still couldn’t convince her.

Blooger Kimfrancois criticized the Christian practice of prohibiting people from worshiping their own ancestors as ‘weird' and expressed his worries on the extinction of a beautiful tradition.

벌초를 하고 성묘를 하는 것은 자기가 태어난 곳, 우리를 이 세상에 나오게 해주신 조상님들께 해드리는 최소한의 예절인데 일부 종교에서 우상숭배라고 하여 이를 우습게 아는 이상한 풍습이 만연되는 것은 참으로 안타까운 일이라 하겠습니다.

Trimming the tomb and bowing down at the ancestral shrine are the minimum courtesy to the deceased ancestors who gave life to us. It is regretful to watch some religion’s weird custom of disrespecting it, calling it idol worship.

Clash 3 : Tradition vs Convenience

Even for the most strict followers of Confucian traditions, the  labors required for the complicated sets of rituals are difficult. To save significant amounts of time and energy on the ceremony, many new businesses related to the rituals were created and now thrive in Korea. There are the tomb trimming agencies, catering services for the ritual foods, the leasing of shrine equipment, and professional commentators for rituasl. These businesses are,  of course, not in line with the true spirit of with ancestor worship.

Images from The Deaga Jesa, an online ritual food catering company.

The blogger Chanjkim cited in the previous paragraph commented that even though his religion does not approve of ancestral worship, it is lamentable to watch the ritual downgraded into cempty and soulless formalities.

스키장에 간 가족에게 대신 제사상 차려 준다는 괴이한 뉴스가 오래 전에 있었다. 믿음을 갖고 생활하는 나이지만 이런 뉴스를 접하면서 드는 생각은 괘씸하다는 것이었다…그리고 추석과 설만 되면 비슷한 뉴스가 있어왔다. 제례에 사용되는 전이나 부침이를 대신 만들어 주는 사업이 번창한다는 것이다…정성과 마음이 빠져있는 조상에 대한 예의, 스키장에서의 제사상 대행업, 제례음식의 상업화, 이런 것들로 미루어 보아 제사 풍습은 그리 오래지 않아 사라질 것으로 예상된다.

I once heard a news report on this ridiculous case of a ritual catering service where the company makes the worshiping table and does the rituals for a family that all went out skiing (during the holiday). Even to me, who has a different religion, it is insolent… Similar news can be heard around the New Years and the Chuseok; for example, the fried (ritual) food catering businesses are flourishing around these times of the year. The insincere, heartless courtesies for the ancestors, the ritual catering service and the commercialization of the ritual food; all these foretell the extinction of the ancestral worship in a foreseeable future.

It is probably neither the old Confucianism nor the Christianity, but the Capitalist system in which Koreans live that is to blame. The big holiday of Chuseok is just around the corner (from September 21 to 23). The family reunion may be delightful but no one welcomes the stress they bring along.

By Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

On July 27th, José Luiz Datena [pt], a famous Brazilian TV host who runs a show called Brasil Urgente on national television, “delivered a speech of deep prejudice and bigotry against atheists, against those who ‘do not have God in their hearts'”, according to Robson Fernando, from blog Arauto da Consciência [Herald of Consciousness, pt].

Photo shared by Flickr user Juliano Marques under a CC license ( Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

Blog Ateus do Brasil [Atheists from Brazil, pt] explains what triggered the discussion:

Ele criou uma enquete no seu programa para as pessoas responderem se acreditavam em Deus ou não. Quando viu que muita gente tava votando “não”, ele abriu o berreiro.

“Como nós temos mais de mil ateus? Aposto que muitos desses estão ligando da cadeia.”

“Ateus são pessoas sem limites, por isso matam, cometem essas atrocidades. Pois elas acham que são seu próprio Deus.”

“É só perguntar para esses bandidos que cometem essas barbaridades pra ver que eles não acreditam em Deus.”

Disse que só quem não acredita em Deus é capaz de cometer crimes. Disse que ateus são “pessoas do mal”, “bandidos”, “estupradores”, “assassinos”. Disse que a culpa da violência e da corrupção do nosso país é dos ateus.

“Quem é ateu pode desligar a televisão, ou mudar de canal pois eu não faço questão nenhuma de que assistam o meu programa.”

Além disso ele disse que respeita todo mundo, mas se tem uma coisa que ele não gosta é “gente que não acredita em Deus porque não pode ser uma pessoa boa”.

He created a poll on his program for people to respond whether they believed in God or not. When he saw that a lot of us were voting “no”, he began to roar.

“How come we have over a thousand atheists? I bet that many of these are calling from jail. “

“Atheists are people without boundaries, that's why they kill, commit such atrocities. Because they think they are their own God. “

“Just ask criminals who commit such atrocities to see that they do not believe in God.”

He said only those who do not believe in God are capable of committing crimes. He said that atheists are “evil people”, “bandits,” “rapists,” “murderers.” He said the atheists are to be blamed for our country's violence and corruption.

“Those who are atheists can turn off their TV or change channels because I do not care if any [of you] are watching my program.”

In addition, he said he respects everyone, but if there's one thing he dislikes it is “people who do not believe in God because they cannot be good people.”

Such angry comments on atheists triggered a furious reaction [en] from bloggers and Atheist organizations [pt], such as the ATEA, that called on all netizens to contact the TV station that runs Datena's show to complain, and also called for a protest on Twitter:

A emissora tem uma página de comunicação com os telespectadores. No momento, o envio de mensagens para o Brasil Urgente está desabilitado, mas uma alternativa é dirigir suas reclamações aos programas de jornalismo. Pode-se ainda utilizar sites como o reclameaqui, o Twitter [Twibbon] ou o Tag #CalaBocaDatena, também do Twitter. Em breve, daremos notícia sobre a série de ações judiciais a que daremos início.

The station has a contact page for viewers. The facility to send messages to Brasil Urgente has been disabled, but an alternative is to direct your complaints to current affairs programs. You can also use sites like reclameaqui [complain here], Twitter [Twibbon] or use the #CalaBocaDatena tag, also on Twitter. Soon, we will give news about the series of lawsuits that we will begin.

Paulo Lopes, on his blog, adds [pt] that the Atheist organization ATEA (Brazilian Association of Atheists and Agnostics) asked for a right to reply and, at the same time, that Datena exploited the situation to attract more attention and viewers. For the blogger, they are both taking the issue a bit too far:

A associação atribui ao episódio uma importância que ele não tem. “Esta causa é importante e pode significar um grande salto em nossa luta por reconhecimento”, exagera.

Datena tem aproveitado a reação dos ateus para exercitar o seu destempero verbal. No dia 17 deste mês, de olho no Ibope, ele disse que deseja que os ateus se “lasquem”. Dúbio, reafirmou que “quem não acredita em Deus geralmente não tem limites” e em seguida falou que nunca meteu “o pau em quem não acredita em Deus”.

The association [ATEA] has attributed to the episode an importance that it does not deserve. They play up: “This is an important cause that might mean a great leap in our struggle for recognition”.

Datena has taken advantage of the atheists' responses to exercise his verbal distemper. On the 17th of this month [August], with an eye toward the Ibope [Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics] stats, he said that he hopes atheists “screw themselves”. Caught in two minds, he reaffirmed that “whoever does not believe in God generally has no boundaries” but then said he has never “criticized severely those who do not believe in God.”

Photo by Flickr user Swperman shared under a CC license ( Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

On the 17th August, Datena commented live on his show on the ATEA's request, once more insulting Atheists. In response to this the blog Bule Voador commented that he needed “someone to teach him logic, please” [pt].  Bule Voador [Flying Teapot, pt] blog also posted excerpts from the Brazilian legal code, and tips from a lawyer, in order to help netizens to open lawsuits against the host. A transcription of Datena's hate speech can be found here [pt] and some more angry reactions can be found at the blogs No Lado Escuro da Lua [On the Dark Side of the Moon, pt] and Lindo Dia Feio [Beautiful Ugly Day, pt].

Video responses

The audience found an equivalent way to react to the display of prejudice on primetime TV. The blog Sedentário e Hiperativo [Sedentary and Hyperactive, pt] posted a video of Pablo Villaça, editor of the website Cinema em Cena, criticizing Datena's attitude and offensive comments on Atheists. Robson Fernando also posted a series of YouTube video responses with netizens criticizing Datena that can be found here, here and here.

YouTube user DanielFragaBR's presents a video advising Atheist individuals who feel offended by the hate speech on how to sue Datena. Back in June, well before the controversy, the video-blogger had already noted that:

Ser ateu no Brasil é como ser católico no inferno

Being an Atheist in Brazil is like being a Catholic in hell.

By Hamid Tehrani

Pro regime forces attacked Ghoba mosque in Shiraz while a pro reformist religious leader delivered a speech and prayed. Here are the photos in Behdabra blog.

By Juliana Rincón Parra

American Muslim groups are using online video in a collaborative project to try and explain what Islam is about in an attempt to defuse the rise of anti Islam racism and fear spurned by a community center to be built near Ground Zero in New York City. Via.

By Janine Mendes-Franco

As Haiti struggles in the aftermath of the January 12 earthquake, The Livesay Weblog reminds us of the power of kindness.

By Janine Mendes-Franco

As Haiti struggles in the aftermath of the January 12 earthquake, The Livesay Weblog reminds us of the power of kindness.

By Veronica Khokhlova

Two more posts from Beslan - here and here (RUS) - by Marina Litvinovich (LJ user abstract2001): “Six years without the children… Six years without the truth…”