> You can't normalize politicians saying stuff like "our ancient civilization had nuclear energy".

Richard Dawkins: Do you actually believe that Muhammed split the moon in two? Do you believe that Muhammed flew to heaven on a winged horse, for example? I pay you the complement of assuming that you don't.

Mehdi Hasan: No, I do. I believe in miracles.

Richard Dawkins: You believe that?

Mehdi Hasan: Yes.

Richard Dawkins: You believe that Muhammed went to heaven on a winged horse?

Mehdi Hasan: Yes, I believe in God. I believe in miracles. I believe in revelation.

Hasan is a respected journalist and opinion maker. I don't see people saying things like `you can't normalize journalists believing stuff like "Muhammed split the moon in two/Muhammed went to heaven on a winged horse"` about him or others like him who follow one of the Abrahamic faiths.

This, my dear friends, is Abrahamic privilege at work.

Completely irrelevant. I find this whataboutism as a very common pushback when I comment on my sadness on the direction of India. I have no connection, but I have empathy for my friends that feel like they lost a home.

> This, my dear friends, is Abrahamic privilege at work

I mean, yes. There are idiots in the world, and they're not limited to one religion. We generally decry putting them in positions of power, particularly over eduction.

Most Indians are in fact happy about that slide, given that 80%+ of the country are Hindus. What a shame!

It is presumptuous to suggest that every Hindu is happy with the slide to Hindutva.

There is a silent secular majority in the country that wants absolutely nothing to do with this drivel (i.e., the slide referred to in the parent and what some politicians say as referred to in the GP post).

We have always had crackpots (sometimes crackpots in positions of power/influence) who spout nonsense on all flavors of political ideology. Unfortunately, media (traditional and social media) amplifies the nonsense.

As a secular Indian, I highly doubt that majority, or even plurality of Indians are secular. If anything, I've seen most of my friends go from being secular to conservative moderates/hardliners in last few years. I know quite a few people who would support Muslim genocides, including my family.

Agree with you, majority are going from secular to conservative. May be the secular party should ask why.

But also want to add that Indian version conservatives aren’t really comparable to the western one. Just take this issue on evolution itself Hindus and Buddhists are among the most who believe in evolution.

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2019/02/06/the-evolutio...