Well the Christian worshippers do anyway. The clergy.... that's a different story really.

But yeah, that's some f**ked up shit.

World's oldest joke:

Q: What do you get when you roll over a 10 year old boy?

A: A 10 year old girl!

That's the Roman translation, anyway. I didn't hear it in the original Aramaic.

Looks like it's going to be a bumpy summer...

It is my recent experience that the fundamentalist Christian rhetoric (there are lot's up here in Idaho) has begun to increase in intensity, particularly surrounding the Obama / wright relationship. The one thing missing from these conversations is I seem to be the only one who has seen the entire sermon that Wright gave (on Youtube), which is entirely different than what one is led to believe from the sound bites shown. Once the sermon is seen in it's entirety, it is well thought out and even somewhat inspirational.

Suggesting now that Mohammed was a pedophile, without an educated context of his time and society, seems to me counterproductive. This is not to say I condone anyone having sex with children, far from it. But I don't think you would have to look far into European history to see children married off between the royal families, and nobody is suggesting that is still relevant.

You want to talk about the Taliban raping young boys, you got my attention. Putting swastikas on mosques is simply inflamatory.

. Eric,
It is not a suggestion. It is history. Mohammed was a pedophile.
So what? Justify it if you want.
Do the Christians and the Jews cut someone’s throat for pointing out Abraham was guilty of incest? No. They point out that he was tricked, as feeble of a defense as that is.
Let the Muslims defend Mohammad’s actions if they dare. Hopefully they won’t issue a Fatwa on me for the Abraham thing....since they claim him also.
As far as your Mosque comment...that depends on the mosque.

"Mohammed married a 6-year-old girl, and had sex with her when she was 9."

Why do we believe this, when we do not believe the bulk of other statements made by the religious?

While horrid by modern standards think about this. At the time your were a man at 13 (barmitsfas) and at 54 he was the equivalent of an 80 yo today, possibly even older. So this would be the equivalent of an 80 yo getting hot and heavy with a 16 yo high school student. This will still get your ass locked but it's not as disgustingly horrid as it first appears. Life span doubled so back then people got older faster. It's till freaking nasty.

I hate to appear stupid but can someone explain the joke about rolling over a 10-year-old boy? I can't think of a funny interpretation, or even any interpretation at all (ie I'm not being a sourpuss).

Actually, appearing stupid's not all bad.

I'm guessing tat the joke is, a 10 year old boy has a nice tight hole on the back, so can easily substitute for a 10 year old girl?

It is true that in centuries past our contemporary sexual morays did not exist...well the ancient Greeks are notorious for their involvements with young boys. True also that marraige was also very young.

Not only in Greek culture, but in most of the cultures of the ancient world, one couldn't rely on someone making it to 18 to bear children, life was nasty, brutish, & short for almost everyone.

That said, what the Koran describes as Mohammed's marraige to Aisha is probably accurate, we can also infer from the almost "by the way" style in which it was written, that it was hardly an unusual union within his society.

Given that it was the 7th century, it seems harsh even to me, to attempt to judge that era by the standards of this one. No matter how much I must repress my gag reflex in disgust.

The problem it seems, at least to me, isn't what Mohammed DID way back then in the 7th century, any more than the battle of Chalons is a big deal for modern Mongolia.

The problem is what Mohammed WROTE, which for the 7th century was a relatively progressive & reform minded book. Today it is still taken as canon and "the one true way" by a billion people who herald the call to violence, repression, slavery, and death, as the very word of God himself through the lips of his prophet.

In short, a call to build a Moslem empire, begun 14 centuries ago...is still being sounded, and now its cry is taken up by radicals within the bosom of Europe & the United States itself. In noble urge for tolerance, we have clutched a snake to our collective chests and said, "live and let live". We have forgotten that while it may be our way to "let live" for the snake that means, "let me strike".

It almost is enough to make one long for the mad devotion of the 11th century European crusader.

How sad is THAT?