The Holy Man
The Raven continues our weekend "Focus on the Fanatic" with several stories guaranteed to make you feel delightfully sane and normal—compared with these crazed zealots.
Our designated hitter is that pious font of religious inspiration, the Reverend Jerry Falwell. Seems that a major brouhaha has erupted in the Middle East over Falwell's references to the prophet Mohammad, made last week during an interview on CBS News. Falwell, known for his theological scholarship and tolerance for diverse faiths, remarked that Islam's leading prophet "was a—a violent man, a man of war." Subsequently, riots between Muslims and Hindus broke out in the city of Sholapur, south of Bombay.
- The rioters attacked each other with knives and stones during the strike called to protest what Falwell said on CBS News last week. Muslim organizations called Falwell's remarks derogatory and blasphemous.
 Falwell did, it must be stressed, highlight the superiority of orthodox Christianity over Islam with precision and logic: "Jesus set the example for love, as did Moses," Falwell said. "I think Muhammad set an opposite example." Thanks to the Reverend's pithy comments, 3 rioters died from police gunfire and 2 others died from stab wounds. This all started when Muslims poured into the streets in outrage, targeting "shops, homes and vehicles," according to police. Hindus in the area met them in kind and the religious celebration began in earnest. By Monday, street protests were erupting throughout India and a demonstration was held outside CBS News HQ in New York.
Today, Sheikh Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, a "leading Shi'ite Muslim religious authority," took the fracas to an international level in a press release that links Falwell's remarks with U.S. foreign policy.
- "All Muslims must make a stand against this attack on Islam, its prophet and Muslims themselves," Fadlallah said.
Fadlallah, by the way, is a "former spiritual mentor" to Hezbollah guerrillas and has never been a big fan of the U.S., so one can assume he misinterpreted Falwell's message of love and brotherhood. For his part, Falwell is preparing a new series of lectures titled "Buddha the Pederast," aimed at spreading the Good News to Asian heathens.
Broward Coward
Remember Broward County, heart of the election scandal involving Florida's hapless attempts to tally a vote? The picture is lot clearer now thanks to this story about Jimmie Davis Jr. Seems that Davis, a 43-year-old deputy supervisor of elections, has just been fired over what have been described as around 800 "reprehensible" e-mails he shot off to Florida A&M University journalism school graduates, beginning last March.
- "The e-mails were anti-American, an extreme point of view and anti-government," said Broward County Commissioner Ben Graber. "His whole philosophy was very, very negative. He's working for the public, in a public facility, using public equipment. My view is we're not going to pay you to do this. Go write it somewhere else."
So what, exactly, was Davis saying that got him sacked? Nothing very extreme:
- "If it wasn't for the oppression that Africans in AmeriKKKa had endured I wouldn't have wrote about Black issues."
And regarding the 4th of July: "Negroes, colored folks, Black people, African Americans or whatever we accept as a title from Uncle Charlie are celebrating a holiday that has no cultural or significant value to our well-being."
Now that Davis has been terminated from his $46,000-a-year job, he'll have lots of time to use his home computer to continue his glad tidings.
The Politics of Sex
A few years back Alabama was making headlines over a law that banned the sale of sex toys. The story moves forward a notch today. AP reports that in Birmingham, U.S. District Judge Lynwood Smith Jr. has finally ruled that the law is unconstitutional.
- "The ultimate result is that plaintiffs have shown that the fundamental right of privacy, long recognized by the Supreme Court as inherent among our constitutional protections, incorporates a right to sexual privacy."
Moreover, the ruling notes that the State of Alabama does not have "a legitimate interest" in the sale of sexual devices. These are considered in the realm of consensual private activities among adults. While it has taken the court four years of litigation to reach this decision, we're glad they made the right decision. As Sherri Williams, owner of the "Pleasures" chain of adult boutiques, noted in her affidavit to the court, "My boutiques offer a large variety of romance oriented products marketed simply as 'Adventures in Romance.'" Mais oui! An attorney for the plaintiffs ejaculated that her clients were orgasmic with the result and are awaiting the DA's counterthrust.
1:43:40 PM 
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Saturday, October 12, 2002
