IT’S not only Jesus and Mary who make appearances on unlikely objects, as a report this week from Malaysia indicates.
A while back, an image of the Hindu elephant god Ganesha (may peanuts be upon him) manifested itself on a tree adjacent to a Chinese restaurant in Taman Sri Selayang, and began attracting a steady stream of devotees and curious onlookers.
Lord Ganesha
The tree then developed into a mini shrine with devotees bringing flower garlands and offerings of milk.
Apparently Lord Ganesha’s divine arboreal appearance had been preceded by a dream in which the god had appeared to the restaurant owner, who then began praying daily to the image on the tree. Others then followed suit.
But then along came a sacrilegious team of enforcement officers from the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) – and one of them proceeded to hack off the image with a parang, much to the shock of the lunchtime crowd.
This, not surprisingly, caused outrage among local Hindus, who staged a protest which led to the suspension of the vandal, identified only as Zaidin.
MPS councillor R Gopalan Krishnan said that no directive had been issued by the council for the removal of the image.
He acted on his own and has accepted responsibility. We have suspended him pending an inquiry. We will forward a report on this matter to state executive councillor Dr Xavier Jayakumar.
Hat tip: Anti.Relon
THIS Sunday, BBC Radio 5 is airing a disturbing programme focusing on the growing problem of Muslim gangs in British prisons.
According to the report, the Muslim prison population in England and Wales has sharply increased in recent years.
Muslims represent 12 percent (9,795) of the prison population in England and Wales, according to the latest available figures from 2008. This has risen by 50 percent over five years. In some high security prisons, the figures are well above average.
In 2008, the highest number of Muslim prisoners – 34 percent – were held in the high-security Whitemoor prison, which is among several jails at which bombs have been found.
A prison guard at HMP Whitemoor, where bombs have reportedly been found
A former inmate called Jay, 24, tells the programme:
Muslims run it. Muslims run the prisons and there’s nothing the screws can do about it. For a Muslim you’d say it’s good but for a non-Muslim, it’s very, very bad.
It is a claim which is backed by former prison officers and other inmates.
Jay has been in and out of prison for most of his life. He openly admits to helping to convert non-Muslim inmates to Islam and has meted out violence against anyone who dares to “disrespect” his religion.
It hurts as a Muslim to have someone disrespect my religion. If we deal with him one time, with violence, and show him what time it is, he will never disrespect our religion again.
He also believes prison officers have much to learn about Islam.
Islam is a very sensitive matter. And the screws don’t understand that. I respect what the screws do but they’ve got to understand our ways, where we’re coming from.
Speaking anonymously, a former prison officer, who worked at HMP Long Lartin, tells the Donal MacIntyre programme about cases where non-Muslim prisoners were seriously assaulted and intimidated for refusing to abide by unofficial rules imposed by Muslim gangs, about eating pork or listening to Western music.
She said:
Muslim gangs was something I was very concerned about – the situation changed where underworld gangsters who used to keep discipline and order were no longer in charge in the prison. The younger guys, who were being forced to convert, were doing it more for protection from a Muslim gang rather than follow the faith – most of them weren’t interested in the faith.
Colin Moses, national chairman of prison workers’ trade union, the POA, said not all Muslims in prison were in gangs, but acknowledged there was a growing problem.
People are being radicalised, forcibly radicalised by these gangs. We see it as a real danger, now and for the future of prisons.
And, he pointed out that those who were in gangs or converted to Islam often did it to carry out criminal activities.
As the Muslim population grows, the gangs are becoming more and more prevalent by the week and they fight to take control of the drug trade and the dealing of mobile phones in prison. This will make our prisons even more violent.
In a statement, a Prison Service spokesman said the allegations made about Muslim gangs were unsubstantiated. He said:
It is ridiculous to suggest that any gang ‘controls’ a prison. The Prison Service has a wealth of experience in dealing with gang activity and managing prisoners who form gangs. It is important not to conflate security issues with the prisoners’ religious identities. ‘Muslim gangs’ will be treated like other gangs in relation to security concerns.
We have a programme of work in place to respond to the risks of all forms of radicalisation and extremism in prisons (not only al-Qaeda influenced extremism). This work will continue to develop to support prisons in tackling this behaviour.
Listen to the full report on the Donal MacIntyre programme on BBC 5 live on Sunday, 14 March at 19.30 GMT. You can also download the free podcast or listen via the BBC iPlayer. You can contact the programme by emailing donal@bbc.co.uk.
FRESH from his appearance on the inside of a Marmite jar, Jesus Christ’s latest cunning stunt was to appear as burnt bacon residue on a frying pan.
Toby Elles and his Jesus Crust pan
Yes folks, yet another example of pareidolia – except that in this case the image appears to have been deliberately created by 22-year-old Toby Elles, a bank worker from Salford in Lancashire.
Certainly, even Daily Mail readers aren’t buying Elles’ story that the messiah “miraculously” appeared when he fell asleep after tossing some bacon rashers in the pan – and tossing back some beers.
The tosser claims he woke up in a smoke filled lounge, and on checking the pan saw a face staring back at him.
What? No smoke detectors? Stupid boy!
Said the Halifax bank cashier:
It’s some kind of miracle. If it wasn’t for the smoke it could have been a very bad situation, perhaps someone’s looking over me.
• People shouldn’t poke fun, its clear to me that he obviously has learning difficulties, no wonder why some banks are in trouble 
• Definitely not Jesus, no halo. I reckon its Che Guevara or Cat Stevens.
• I’m sorry, but I dont believe this. I think he’s a liar and decided to get a little creativity with his frying pan.
Jesus in a Marmite lid
Marmite Jesus appeared last year in Ystrad, Rhondda, according to the Allen family.
Exclaimed Gatheth Allen, 37:
When I first looked at it I wasn’t sure, but when I moved it away from me it started coming out. I thought yeah, she’s right – that’s the image of Jesus.
Mrs Allen added:
People might think I’m nuts, but I like to think it’s Jesus looking out for us.
Hat Tip: BarrieJohn
GERMAN Scientologists are trying to block the broadcast of a film that depicts the cult as dangerous and unethical.
The 90-minute film Bis Nichts Mehr Bleibt (Until Nothing Remains) tells the story of a family’s strife as a result of its involvement with the cult. According to this report, it tells the true story of Heiner von Rönns, a young man who decided to leave the organisation and subsequently lost all contact with his daughter.
An anti-Scientology protest in Germany
Scientology leaders claime the film is a piece of propaganda by Germany’s state broadcaster and have demanded to see it before it is aired at the end of the month.
Scientology officials insist that the film is incorrect and are investigating legal means to prevent the programme from being broadcast .
Jürg Stettler, a spokesman for Scientology in Germany said:
The truth is precisely the opposite of that which the ARD is showing.
Stettler said the organisation was planning its own film to “spread our own side of the story”.
Volker Herres, ARD’s programme director, has dismissed the accusations, saying the aim of the drama is to reveal the truth about the Scientology.
We’re not dealing here with a religion, rather with an organisation that has completely different motives. Scientology is about power, business, and building up a network. Its lessons are pure science fiction, it’s no religion, no church, no sect.
The row mirrors growing concern in Germany over the influence of Scientology. The group has several thousand members in the country, but its critics complain that it is anti-constitutional.
Hat tip: PaulEd
FOLLOWING the news this week that Irish police have arrested seven Muslims suspected of conspiracy to murder Swedish artist Lars Vilks who drew Big Mo’s head on the body of a pooch, the “offensive” cartoon has been given another airing in Sweden.
Vilks' drawing that led to Muslim fury
According to this report, leading Swedish newspapers yesterday published the cartoon as a sign of solidarity with Vilks.
Justifying its decision to reproduce the Modogtoon, Dagens Nyheter said in an editorial:.
Lars Vilks is not alone in this conflict. A threat against him is, in the end, a threat against all Swedish people.
The four men and three women accused of plotting Vilk’s assassination were arrested on Tuesday in the towns of Cork and Waterford in an operation coordinated with US and European security agencies.
Vilks has a 100,000-dollar (74,000-euro) bounty on his head from an Al-Qaeda-linked group.
One wonders how much more would the bounty would have been had Vilks put Mad Mo’s mug on porker.
Dagens Nyheter called on the Swedish state to give Vilks:
All the protection he needs.
It said authorities must take action:
Against an attack aiming at one of our most fundamental rights, freedom of expression.
The Expressen tabloid also published the cartoon with a picture of Vilks. The paper said:
Expressen decided to publish the drawing for two reasons: to allow readers to see the controversial work and to defend freedom of expression which is more and more threatened.
'What don't we want? Halal menus!'
UPDATE: See this report for more details on the Vilks conspiracy.
Meanwhile, we have learned that a French food chain’s decision to introduce halal-only menus at some of its outlets is proving about as popular as a fag-machine in a fitness centre.
According to this report around 70 angry Frenchies wearing pig masks invaded the Villeurbanne branch of Quick after it decided to strip pork products from its menu in order to serve the religious needs of the local population.
Protesters said it was unacceptable that a chain of restaurants should exclude and segregate the French in their own country.
HAT TIP: BarrieJohn (Modog) and Alan (piggies)
WHEN, back in 2006, a branch of Lloyds pharmacy in Rotherham was forced to apologise to a woman who was denied the “morning after” pill by a “deeply religious” employee, it was revealed that the man who refused to do dispense the pill was a Muslim, whose identity was never revealed.
But now that it’s happened again – this time in regard to a contraceptive pill – both the name of the female who refused to do her job, as well as her religious affiliation, are being kept from public scrutiny.
Jo-Ann Thomas, left, and Janine Deeley: both victims of religious zealotry
The first case involved Jo-Ann Thomas, 37. When she demanded to know why the pharmacist on duty was refusing her the pill, an assistant:
Went bright red, and after a pause said ‘I can’t tell you’.
Pressed on the matter, the assistant said:
Don’t say anything to anyone – it’s because of his religion.
Ms Thomas added:
I just stared at her with my mouth open. I was angry because he is a dispensing chemist and it is his job to dispense drugs. If he can’t do that on religious grounds then perhaps he should not be in the profession. This is a perfectly legal drug but there is a man introducing his own laws. It cannot be right that he can pick and choose the drugs he sells.”
I am a 37-year-old woman and not a daft girl who does not know what she is doing. And the chemist has no right to tell me whether I can or can’t take the pill. It’s my choice not his. It his religion not mine.
How many young girls has he turned away who need the pill? If they are his views why didn’t he come and face me and tell me. The chemist staff were trying to cover up for him and were embarrassed.
The pharmacists and staff at the pharmacy refused to comment but Dr John Radford, Rotherham’s Director of Public Health said:
Pharmacists do have the right to use their discretion in selling over the counter drugs. These drugs will be stocked by the pharmacy to be supplied when a prescription is written by a doctor. Any pharmacy refusing to sell a drug has a duty to provide the customer with information as to where they can obtain it including over the counter at an alternative pharmacy or via their GP or practice nurse on prescription.
A spokesman for Lloyd’s which operates 1,300 pharmacies across the country said :
We would like to take this opportunity to apologise to the customer. However, a pharmacist’s personal decision to refuse to supply the morning after pill is an issue for the community pharmacy as a whole.
The code of ethics put in place by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain allows pharmacists via a conscience clause the right to refuse.
The code states that if supplying the morning after pill is contrary to a pharmacist’s personal religious or moral beliefs they are entirely within their rights not to supply it.
Lloyds was forced to apologise again this week after a South Yorkshire woman, Janine Deeley, was turned away by the female chemist at Lloyds pharmacy in Duke Street, Sheffield, when she went to pick up her prescription.
The mother-of-two, 38, said:
The pharmacist said she had my other medication but wasn’t going to give me the pill. I initially thought that was a bit strange and perhaps I was supposed to pick them up somewhere else. She said no, she wasn’t giving me the contraceptive because it was against her religion. I thought she must have been joking.
She added:
I don’t mind the fact that she’s got a religion but she shouldn’t force it down anybody’s neck and it shouldn’t affect her work.
Miss Deeley also said she was worried teenagers like her two daughters, Carlie, 18, and 14-year-old Lauren, might be put off using contraception if they encountered such difficulties.
I don’t want the pharmacist to lose her job but I think that if she’s going to be a pharmacist she shouldn’t expect people to accept her religion. She should accept that, in this country, we have the legal right to contraception and, if it’s against her religion, she shouldn’t be doing that job.
A spokeswoman for Lloyds pharmacy said she was not aware which religion the pharmacist belonged to, and an investigation had been launched.
She added:
Lloyds pharmacy is very sorry that Ms Deeley was refused supply of her prescribed contraceptive pill at our Duke Street pharmacy.We have launched an investigation into the incident and been in contact with her to apologise for any distress and inconvenience caused.
A spokesman for NHS Sheffield added:
We take patient concerns very seriously and while we have not yet received a complaint from Ms Deeley we would be happy to investigate the matter on her behalf if she gets in touch through our normal complaints system.
Hat Tip: Ian E
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
