Protecting the right to believe the unpopular:

I had forgotten about the proposed case.
Asra Q. Nomani, a Muslim woman and former Wall Street Journal reporter wants to sic the IRS on the likes of me. To be honest, Ms. Nomani has congregations that gather in Mosques primarily in mind, but her reasoning and proposed action applies to any of us who believe that the tenets of our faith include any substantive difference between male and female. Al Mohler does a good job pointing out the issues, here.

Yesterday I attempted to deal with the later half of 1 Timothy 2. (Check our website later; the message should be posted.) This morning Mohler's article reminded me of the enforcer that Ms. Nomani and her allies want to make the upholder of their view of things. Whether you agree with him or not, it is clear that the Apostle Paul maintains that there are differences between women and men, and their place in the church. If I understand her reasoning correctly--a line of thought shared by others--Ms. Nomani thinks that the considerable force of the IRS should be unleashed on the likes of me--a prospect that chills my bones even in the July heat.

Like Mohler, I have no interest in arguing Islamic Theology. It is clear, however, that Nomani's argument is one that is based in the truth claims (many of which I reject) of Islam. She claims that Mohammad did not require the gender-separation, practiced in many 21st Century Mosques, therefore modern Imams should not. It is this apartheid that is at the root of her objection. See here.


Ms. Nomani is in no way forced by the IRS or any other government entity to participate in a place, or system, of worship that she regards as faulty. I have no idea what mechanisms exist within Islam for the reform of practices, especially forms of worship deemed to not be in keeping with the teachings of their founding prophet. As one who considers himself both a Protestant and an Independent, I could (but I haven't been asked) give advice on one route leading to reform.

Bottom line:
I really have little if any interest in what goes on in the Mosque where Ms. Nomani worships. I am vitally interested, and I maintain that you should be, in the idea that the force of government agencies should be involved in telling religious organizations what they should and should not believe. (I do acknowledge that the government ought to be involved if women or others are forced to be involved in a system to which they object. Ms. Nomani is not being so coerced.)

If I am to be free to publicly interact with some of the Apostle Paul's unpopular thoughts, then I must be willing to grant other religious entities the freedom to teach beliefs with which I disagree.

It's STTA.