At just about the same time yesterday that I was ridiculing all the things that might be construed as blasphemy in different parts of the world, the story was breaking that an Indian mob had beaten to death a Muslim man on the suspicion that he had beef in his refrigerator.
The attack allegedly came moments after an announcement at a nearby Hindu temple that Mohammad Akhlaq had slaughtered a calf. The calf had gone missing several weeks earlier, according to the Indian Express. Rumors quickly spread around the neighborhood that Akhlaq was the culprit.
Incited by the announcement, the mob broke down Akhlaq’s door and dragged him into the street, where 100 men beat him to death with bricks, his family members told the Express. The invaders also dragged Akhlaq’s 22-year-old son, Danish, outside, beating him until he was close to death as well.
“They accused us of keeping cow meat …”
Because, you know, cows are sacred.
Again, then: Faith — belief without, or even in spite of, evidence, the unreasoning belief that pastors demand — is a moral error. The Holy Men are the great engine of human misery, and the sooner humanity comes to its senses and rids itself of their influence the better off we’ll all be.