“I’m in hiding! I don’t want to be asked by Australian law enforcement agents whether I’m an Australian first and a Catholic second or vice versa,” writes Father Bob Maguire. Bob says that asking whether Australian Muslims put global Islam before local loyalty reminds him of the way Catholics were persecuted in the 1920. “That atmosphere is not good for clear thinking. You and I need to maintain the right to think deeply and clearly before we ratify political decisions to destroy lives and property.”
Can Muslims use Emoticons?
Islam bans the pictorial representation of the human form, part of its fight against idolatry. So are Muslims allowed to use emoticons? The :-) smiley is a human face — and very pictorial.
Are Islamic nations doomed to second-rate communications because they can’t text as fast as Christians and Jews, for whom “:-)” instead of “I’m smiling” is as natural as “etc” instead of “and the rest”?