The 10 Minute Islamic Marriage

The BBC has an interesting little article all about temporary Islamic marriages, or to be more precise, temporary short term marriage as practised within Shia Islam called Nikāḥ al-Mutʿah; that’s Arabic for “pleasure marriage”, and that name perhaps gives you an insight into what this is really all about. The BBC article takes the following line … … Read more

#royalbaby overload

Why oh why have vast swathes of the UK population gone quite frankly nuts? As an acknowledgement of this new reality, the BBC is offering wall-to-wall coverage of what is essentially no news at all. OK, this is hard to type, so lets get it out … I confess, I’m a republican … (shudders, did … Read more

12 year old Egyptian has a few home truths to say – this is the real Egypt

The tale of the “Emperor’s New Clothes” by Hans Christian Andersen is all about two weavers who promise an Emperor a new suit of clothes that is invisible to those unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent. When the Emperor parades before his subjects in his new “clothes” nobody dares say the rather obvious truth, and then a child cries … Read more

The trauma involved in leaving a cult

Chartered Psychologist Jill Mytton has been speaking at the Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society’s Division of Counselling Psychology in Cardiff about children who grow up in religious cults. Her observation is that they face considerable difficulties, not only during their childhood, but also after leaving the group. She explains … “Second-generation adult survivors of high-demand … Read more

Philosophy Games for Children

Children can benefit from learning philosophy from a young age. It is not necessary to drill them on Descartes and Kierkegaard; children can learn logic, evaluate ethical dilemmas, learn empathy, and consider the way they experience the world around them by playing philosophical games that are fun and simple. Keeping the age of the children … Read more