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→Criticism of religion: Link Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit | I have removed some of his critics from just one big block on the page to set out properly while also showing how he has responded. I have also set out certain contrevercies as these are not just political beliefs (they are in a seperate article) but personal inccidents where there has been controversy generated. i have tried, where possible, to include his defence and responce to said controversy. Tags: use of deprecated (unreliable) source nowiki added Visual edit | ||
Line 127: Dawkins sees education and [[consciousness raising|consciousness-raising]] as the primary tools in opposing what he considers to be religious dogma and indoctrination.<ref name="belief interview"/><ref name="education">{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Alexandra |url=http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,1958138,00.html |title=Dawkins campaigns to keep God out of classroom |accessdate=15 January 2007 |date=27 November 2006 |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London}}</ref><ref name="bright">{{cite news |url=http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,981412,00.html |title=The future looks bright |accessdate=13 March 2008 |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |date=21 June 2003 |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London}}</ref> These tools include the fight against certain stereotypes, and he has adopted the term ''[[brights movement|bright]]'' as a way of associating positive public connotations with those who possess a [[naturalism (philosophy)|naturalistic]] worldview.<ref name="bright"/> He has given support to the idea of a free-thinking school,<ref name="Powell">{{cite news |last=Powell |first=Michael |title=A Knack for Bashing Orthodoxy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/science/20dawkins.html |date=19 September 2011 |work=The New York Times |page=4 |accessdate=20 September 2011}}</ref> which would not "indoctrinate children" but would instead teach children to ask for evidence and be skeptical, critical, and open-minded. Such a school, says Dawkins, should "teach comparative religion, and teach it properly without any bias towards particular religions, and including historically important but dead religions, such as those of ancient Greece and the Norse gods, if only because these, like the Abrahamic scriptures, are important for understanding English literature and European history.<ref name="telegraph1">{{cite news |last=Beckford |first=Martin |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7849563/Richard-Dawkins-interested-in-setting-up-atheist-free-school.html |title=Richard Dawkins interested in setting up 'atheist free school' |newspaper=Telegraph |date=24 June 2010 |accessdate=29 July 2010 |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/gove-welcomes-atheist-schools-2037990.html |title=Gove welcomes atheist schools – Education News, Education |newspaper=The Independent |date=29 July 2010 |accessdate=29 July 2010 |location=London |first=Richard |last=Garner}}</ref> Inspired by the consciousness-raising successes of [[Feminism|feminists]] in arousing widespread embarrassment at the routine use of "he" instead of "she", Dawkins similarly suggests that phrases such as "Catholic child" and "Muslim child" should be considered as socially absurd as, for instance, "Marxist child", as he believes that children should not be classified based on the ideological or religious beliefs of their parents.<ref name="bright" /> ==== Criticism of creationism ==== Line 153 ⟶ 151: As a supporter of the [[Great Ape Project]]—a movement to extend certain moral and legal [[rights]] to all [[Hominidae|great apes]]—Dawkins contributed the article 'Gaps in the Mind' to the ''Great Ape Project'' book edited by [[Paola Cavalieri]] and [[Peter Singer]]. In this essay, he criticises contemporary society's moral attitudes as being based on a "discontinuous, [[speciesism|speciesist]] imperative".<ref>{{cite book | editor-first1= Paola | editor-last1= Cavalieri | editor-first2= Peter | editor-last2= Singer |title=The Great Ape Project |year=1993 |publisher=Fourth Estate |location=United Kingdom |isbn=978-0-312-11818-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/greatapeprojecte00cava}}</ref> Dawkins also regularly comments in newspapers and [[blog]]s on contemporary political questions and is a frequent contributor to the online science and culture digest ''[[3 Quarks Daily]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2010/06/the-winners-of-the-3-quarks-daily-2010-prize-in-science.html |title=3 Quarks Daily 2010 Prize in Science: Richard Dawkins has picked the three winners |date=1 June 2010 |accessdate=20 January 2016}}</ref> His opinions include opposition to the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]],<ref>{{cite news |first=Richard |last=Dawkins |title=Bin Laden's victory |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/mar/22/iraq.usa |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=22 March 2003 |accessdate=15 March 2008}}</ref> the [[Trident nuclear programme|British nuclear deterrent]], the actions of then-US President [[George W. Bush]],<ref>{{cite news |first=Richard |last=Dawkins |title=While we have your attention, Mr President... |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/nov/18/usa.politics1 |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=18 November 2003 |accessdate=16 March 2008}}</ref> and the ethics of [[designer babies]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/from-the-afterword-1.836155 |title=From the Afterword |first=Richard |last=Dawkins |work=Herald Scotland |date=19 November 2006 |accessdate=9 June 2014}}</ref> Several such articles were included in ''[[A Devil's Chaplain]]'', an anthology of writings about science, religion, and politics. He is also a supporter of [[Republic (political organisation)|Republic]]'s campaign to replace the [[British monarchy]] with a democratically elected [[President (government title)|president]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.republic.org.uk/Who%20we%20are/Our%20Supporters%20Include/index.php |title=Our supporters |publisher=Republic |date=24 April 2010 |accessdate=29 April 2010 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326212133/http://www.republic.org.uk/Who%20we%20are/Our%20Supporters%20Include/index.php |archivedate=26 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Dawkins has described himself as a [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] voter in the 1970s<ref>{{cite book |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |title=The Selfish Gene ''(1st extra chapter)'' |edition=2nd |year=1989 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=United Kingdom |isbn=978-0-19-286092-7 |chapter=Endnotes. Chapter 1. Why are people? |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/selfishgene00dawkrich }}</ref> and In 2009 Dawkins participated in a ''[[New Statesman]]'' project called "20 ways to save Labour" where he among others gave suggestions about how to make the Labour Party better. Dawkins's contribution stated:<blockquote>Stop toadying to [[Islam|Muslims]] and other "faith communities" as part of a general abolition of all religious privilege. Withdraw government support from schools that abuse children by teaching them they belong to a particular religion (as opposed to teaching them about religions and letting them make up their own minds when they are old enough). Abolish the automatic right of religious organizations to charitable status, and the automatic right of bishops to sit in the [[House of Lords]].<ref>{{Citation|title=Political views of Richard Dawkins|date=2020-05-08|url=https:https://www.search.com.vn/wiki/index.php?lang=en&q=Political_views_of_Richard_Dawkins&oldid=955632483|work=Wikipedia|language=en|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref></blockquote>He has been a voter for the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] since the party's creation. In 2009, he spoke at the party's conference in opposition to blasphemy laws, alternative medicine, and faith schools. In the [[2010 United Kingdom general election|UK general election of 2010]], Dawkins officially endorsed the Liberal Democrats, in support of their campaign for electoral reform and for their "refusal to pander to 'faith{{' "}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://libdems.org.uk/latest_news_detail.aspx |title=Show your support – vote for the Liberal Democrats on May 6th |date=3 May 2010 |publisher=Libdems.org.uk |accessdate=29 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414004332/http://www.libdems.org.uk/latest_news_detail.aspx |archivedate=14 April 2010}}</ref> In the run up to the [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017 general election]], Dawkins once again endorsed the Liberal Democrats and urged voters to join the party. In 1998, Dawkins expressed his appreciation for two books connected with the [[Sokal affair]], ''[[Higher Superstition: The Academic Left and Its Quarrels with Science]]'' by [[Paul R. Gross]] and [[Norman Levitt]] and ''[[Fashionable Nonsense|Intellectual Impostures]]'' by [[Alan Sokal|Sokal]] and [[Jean Bricmont]]. These books are famous for their criticism of [[postmodernism]] in US universities (namely in the departments of literary studies, anthropology, and other cultural studies).<ref name="postmodernism">{{cite journal |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |title=Postmodernism Disrobed |date=9 July 1998 |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=394 |issue=6689 |pages=141–43 |doi=10.1038/28089 |bibcode=1998Natur.394..141D}} For article with math symbols see [http://www.physics.nyu.edu/sokal/dawkins.html this link].</ref> Line 159: Dawkins has voiced his support for the [[Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly]], an organisation that campaigns for democratic reform in the United Nations, and the creation of a more accountable international political system.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://en.unpacampaign.org/supporters/overview/page/2/?mapcountry=allpro&mapgroup=pro |title=Overview |date= |work=Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly|access-date=9 October 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref> Dawkins identifies as a feminist.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/richarddawkins/status/280427716010983424 |title=Richard Dawkins |date=16 December 2012 |accessdate=3 May 2015 |website=Twitter |last=Dawkins |first=Richard}}</ref> Dawkins has said that feminism is "enormously important" and "a political movement that deserves to be supported".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.salon.com/2014/12/08/richard_dawkins_is_there_a_mens_rights_movement/ |title=Richard Dawkins: "Is There a Men's Rights Movement?" |work=[[Salon (website)|Salon]] |last=Kutner |first=Jenny |date=8 December 2014 |accessdate=1 February 2015}}</ref> === Other fields === Line 170: In 2014 he joined the global awareness movement [[Asteroid Day]] as a "100x Signatory".<ref name="Telegrapharticle">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/11272393/Asteroids-could-wipe-out-humanity-warn-Richard-Dawkins-and-Brian-Cox.html |title=Asteroids could wipe out humanity, warn Richard Dawkins and Brian Cox |newspaper=The Telegraph |first=Sarah |last=Knapton |date=4 December 2014 |accessdate=4 December 2014}}</ref> Dawkins worked alongside Welsh Musician [[Jayce Lewis]] contributing a recorded spoken word for the track "Exhale" from his 1998 book ''[[Unweaving the Rainbow]]'' to the Welshman's third full-length album ''Million.'' <br /> == Awards and recognition ==▼ == Controversy and Criticism == While is contribution to Science and rationalism cannot be doubted, Dawkins has attracted much criticism from fellow academics and philosophers as well as attracted much controversy in relation to some of his comments. === Criticism by scientists === A study of British Scientists by [[Rice University]] brought about heavy criticism of Dawkins. In an in-depth study of 137 British scientists 48 referenced Dawkins despite no questions being asked about him, 80% said they thought that Dawkins misrepresents science and scientists in his books and public speeches. Another common criticism was that Dawkins was too strong in his criticism of religion, one non religious biology professor described him as a “fundamental atheist' another said he was on a "crusade". However it should be noted 20% did mention him with positive views, owing to him challenging creationists and those who adhere to intelligent design. Paul Fidalgo, of the [[Center for Inquiry|centre for inquiry]], also challenged the saying that Dawkins has inspired millions and due to the size pool of the study this was understandable. <ref>{{Cite web|title=British scientists really, really dislike Richard Dawkins, new study discover|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/richard-dawkins-atheism-criticism-atheist-study-rice-university-science-scientists-a7389396.html|date=2016-10-31|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref> In 2014 biologist and Harvard University professor, E.O Wilson, criticised Dawkins on [[Newsnight]] calling him a Journalist and not a scientist.<ref>{{Cite web|title=|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/why-richard-dawkins-is-no-scientist-the-survival-of-the-least-selfish-and-what-ants-can-tell-us-9849956.html|last=|first=|date=|website=www.google.com|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref>His comments are below: <blockquote>“There is no dispute between me and Richard Dawkins and there never has been, because he’s a journalist, and journalists are people that report what the scientists have found and the arguments I’ve had have actually been with scientists doing research,” </blockquote>He also went on to answer questions about his opinions on Dawkins' book the selfish gene, stating: <blockquote>“I have abandoned it and I think most serious scientists working on it have abandoned it. Some defenders may be out there, but they have been relatively or almost totally silenced since our major paper came out.”</blockquote>The paper he referred to was a 2010 study published in [[Nature (journal)|Nature]] entitled [https://www.nature.com/articles/nature09205 The evolution of eusociality]. Dawkins attributed Wilson's comments to a disagreement over [[kin selection]], later tweeting “I greatly admire EO Wilson & his huge contributions to entomology, ecology, biogeography, conservation, etc. He’s just wrong on kin selection.” He later elaborated referencing a critical [[Prospect (magazine)|Prospect Magazine]] review of Wilson’s book [[The Social Conquest of Earth]]. <ref>{{Cite news|last=Johnston|first=Chris|date=2014-11-07|title=Biological warfare flares up again between EO Wilson and Richard Dawkins|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/nov/07/richard-dawkins-labelled-journalist-by-eo-wilson|access-date=2020-05-27|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Nobel Prize]]-winning [[theoretical physicist]] [[Peter Higgs]] and [[Astrophysicists|astrophysicist]] [[Martin Rees]] has equated Dawkins with the religious fundamentalists he criticises saying he has adopted "[[fundamentalist]]" view of non-atheists. Other scientists have accused him of promoting [[Scientism]], such as [[Francis Collins|Dr Francis Collins]] the head of the [[National Institutes of Health|National Institute of Health]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=New Templeton Prize winner criticises the 'scientism' of Dawkins|url=https://catholicherald.co.uk/new-templeton-prize-winner-criticises-dawkins-scientism/|last=Reporter|first=Staff|date=2020-05-21|website=Catholic Herald|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref> === Criticism by theologians and philosophers === Atheist philosophers such as [[Massimo Pigliucci]], [[Michael Ruse]] and [[John Gray (philosopher)|John Gray]] have criticised Dawkins. Their comments are below. Ruse has that Dawkins would fail introductory courses on the study of philosophy or religion. He has also said that Dawkins and New Atheism does science a "grave disservice" and does a "disservice to scholarship" at more general level. Ruse then stated that The God Delusion made him 'ashamed to be an atheist'.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Doherty|first=Tim|title=The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Philosophy of Religion|publisher=Routledge|year=2009|isbn=9781844658312|location=New York|pages=52–53}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Ruse on belief net|url=http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/scienceandthesacred/2009/08/why-i-think-the-new-atheists-are-a-bloody-disaster.html|last=|first=|date=|website=|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> Pigliucci has accused Dawkins and the leaders of the new atheism movement as adhering to scientism also saying, "I would actually go so far as to charge many of the leaders of the New Atheism movement (and, by implication, a good number of their followers) with anti-intellectualism, one mark of which is a lack of respect for the proper significance, value, and methods of another field of intellectual endeavor."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Pigliucci|first=Massimo|title=New Atheism and the Scientistic Turn in the Atheism Movement|publisher=|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=151–152}}</ref> Gray has denounced Dawkins as an "anti-religious missionary", whose assertions are "in no sense novel or original," suggesting that "transfixed in wonderment at the workings of his own mind, Dawkins misses much that is of importance in human beings." Gray has also criticised Dawkins's perceived allegiance to Darwin, stating that if "science, for Darwin, was a method of inquiry that enabled him to edge tentatively and humbly toward the truth, for Dawkins, science is an unquestioned view of the world." The Conservative philosopher Rodger Scruton accused Dawkins of 'recycling' evolution as a theory for everything such as "what the human being is, what human communities are, what our problems are and then how they’re not really our problems, but the problems of our genes".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Scruton|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/15/roger-scruton-notes-on-nonsense-richard-dawkins-original-sin-islamism-and-more|last=|first=|date=|website=|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> Scruton has also that Dawkins [[cherry picking|cherry-picks]] his data, and ignores the benefits of religion.<ref name="spectator.co.uk" /> [[Alister McGrath]], the Anglican Priest and Theologian called him "embarrassingly ignorant of Christian theology". His book, ''[[The Dawkins Delusion?]]'' – a response to Dawkins's The God Delusion – was published by [[SPCK]] in February 2007. The author and writer Rupert Short blames Dawkins and New atheists for promoting ignorance, stating that they have peddled an idea that all people of faith share a Creationist view of the world. Writing in the Spectator he states:<blockquote>Call out superstition by all means. But don’t display culpable ignorance by likening all manifestations of faith across the world to belief in the tooth fairy. Dawkins’s new book Outgrowing God is no less crude than his earlier diatribe The God Delusion. Once more, he’s lobbed a stone in a vain bid to hit the clouds.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/richard-dawkins-and-the-ignorance-of-new-atheism-|website=www.spectator.co.uk|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref></blockquote>In response to some of his critics, Dawkins maintains that theologians are no better than scientists in addressing deep [[cosmological]] questions and that he is not a fundamentalist, as he is willing to change his mind in the face of new evidence.{{sfn|Dawkins|2006}}<ref>{{cite web|title=When Religion Steps on Science's Turf|url=http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/dawkins_18_2.html|last=Dawkins|first=Richard|year=2006|work=Free Inquiry|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080419125549/http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/dawkins_18_2.html|archivedate=19 April 2008|accessdate=3 April 2008}}</ref><ref name="rdf-fundamentalist">{{cite web|title=How dare you call me a fundamentalist|url=http://old.richarddawkins.net/articles/1071-how-dare-you-call-me-a-fundamentalist|last=Dawkins|first=Richard|publisher=Richard Dawkins Foundation|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231022508/http://old.richarddawkins.net/articles/1071-how-dare-you-call-me-a-fundamentalist|archivedate=31 December 2012|accessdate=28 December 2012}}</ref> === Comments on Rape and Harassment === While Dawkins has said that feminism is "enormously important" he has still come under fire for some comments he has made. IN 2014 Dawkins was accused of [[victim blaming]], tweeting - "If you want to be in a position to testify & jail a man, don't get drunk," Amanda Marcotte, in ''[[Salon (website)|Salon]]'', criticized Dawkins by saying that "For someone who is a supposed rationalist, Dawkins refused to even acknowledge the basic difference between making the choice to break the law and being the victim of a crime." <ref>{{Cite web|title=Atheism's shocking woman problem: What's behind the misogyny of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris?|url=https://www.salon.com/2014/10/03/new_atheisms_troubling_misogyny_the_pompous_sexism_of_richard_dawkins_and_sam_harris_partner/|date=2014-10-03|website=Salon|language=en|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> In Vice News, in an article titled, ''The Atheist Movement Needs to Disown Richard Dawkins,'' Allegra Ringo writes he buys into a 'frat-boy mentality and he 'plays by his own God-free rules'. Dawkins was also the subject of another rape controversy when he tweeted, "Date rape is bad. Stranger rape at knifepoint is worse. If you think that's an endorsement of date rape, go away and learn how to think." [[Amanda Marcotte]] criticised this by saying that "He made a pretty serious logical error…He assumed that the amount of pain that a victim of injustice suffers is directly proportional to the contemporary social norms surrounding it, i.e. if a form of abuse was considered no big deal to most people in a society, the people directly victimised would also feel that way."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Richard Dawkins explains a principle he himself refuses to adhere to|url=https://www.rawstory.com/2014/07/richard-dawkins-explains-a-principle-he-himself-refuses-to-adhere-to/|last=Amanda Marcotte|website=www.rawstory.com|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> <br /> ==== Rebecca Watson incident ==== Dawkins was denounced for his comments about a video blog post by atheist blogger and writer [[Rebecca Watson]], an atheist blogger who was harassed at a convention in Dublin.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Atheists address sexism issues|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2011-09-15/atheist-sexism-women/50416454/1|website=USATODAY.COM|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> When Watson was in an elevator, she was propositioned by a man, who said "Don't take this the wrong way, but I find you very interesting, and I would like to talk more. Would you like to come to my hotel room for coffee?" Watson found this extremely inappropriate and later creating a post where she said "guys, don't do that." [[PZ Myers]] made a reactionary post.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Always name names! {{!}} ScienceBlogs|url=https://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/07/02/always-name-names|last=July 2|first=pharyngula on|last2=2011.|website=scienceblogs.com|language=en|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> On that post, Dawkins contrasted the "elevator incident" with the plight of [[Women in Islam|women in Islamic countries]] in a surprising post.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dawkins, Watson and the elevator ride|url=https://mg.co.za/article/2011-09-02-dawkins-watson-and-the-elevator-ride/|date=2011-09-02|website=The Mail & Guardian|language=en-ZA|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref><blockquote>Dear Muslima Stop whining, will you. Yes, yes, I know you had your genitals mutilated with a razor blade, and ... yawn ... don't tell me yet again, I know you aren't allowed to drive a car, and you can't leave the house without a male relative, and your husband is allowed to beat you, and you'll be stoned to death if you commit adultery. But stop whining, will you. Think of the suffering your poor American sisters have to put up with. Only this week I heard of one, she calls herself Skep"chick", and do you know what happened to her? A man in a hotel elevator invited her back to his room for coffee. I am not exaggerating. He really did. He invited her back to his room for coffee. Of course she said no, and of course he didn't lay a finger on her, but even so ... And you, Muslima, think you have misogyny to complain about! For goodness sake grow up, or at least grow a thicker skin. Richard Dawkins<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Sharing a lift with Richard Dawkins|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/david-allen-green/2011/07/richard-dawkins-chewing-gum|website=www.newstatesman.com|language=en|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref></blockquote>Dawkins was criticized by atheists, feminist groups and other for his remarks.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Richard Dawkins Torn Limb From Limb—By Atheists|url=http://gawker.com/5818993/richard-dawkins-torn-limb-from-limbby-atheists|last=Stern|first=Remy|website=Gawker|language=en|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> [[David Allen Green]] in ''[[New Statesman]]'' wrote that "One of the many problems here is that Rebecca didn't use her video to downplay the plight of Muslim women from the perspective of an American woman…Just because there is severe misogyny in one context doesn't remove the need to deal rationally and helpfully with its lesser manifestation in other contexts."<ref name=":1" /> PZ Myers responded by writing, "This isn't slightly bad. It's very bad. Atheist men are alienating the people we want to work with us on the very same problems…that you cited in your comment."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Oh, no, not again…once more unto the breach {{!}} ScienceBlogs|url=https://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/07/03/oh-no-not-againonce-more-unto|last=July 3|first=pharyngula on|last2=2011.|website=scienceblogs.com|language=en|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> After trying to clarify his argument:<blockquote>The man in the elevator didn't physically touch her, didn't attempt to bar her way out of the elevator, didn't even use foul language at her […] [Rebecca] was probably offended to about the same extent as I am offended if a man gets into an elevator with me chewing gum.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Richard Dawkins Gets into a Comments War with Feminists|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/07/richard-dawkins-draws-feminist-wrath-over-sexual-harassment-comments/352530/|last=Dickson|first=Caitlin|date=2011-07-06|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref></blockquote>Watson herself issued the following boycott of Dawkins as a response to his posts:<blockquote>[Richard Dawkins] will no longer be rewarded with my money, my praise, my attention. I will no longer recommend his books to others, buy them as presents, or buy them for my own library. I will not attend his lectures or recommend that others do the same.</blockquote>The incident was labelled "Elevatorgate"<ref name=":0" /> === Accusations of Islamophobia === Many have accused Dawkins of [[Islamophobia]]<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Emilsen|first=William W.|date=2012-08-01|title=The New Atheism and Islam|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/0014524612448737|journal=The Expository Times|language=en|volume=123|issue=11|pages=521–528|doi=10.1177/0014524612448737|issn=0014-5246}}</ref> However Dawkins has responded saying he is a frequent critic of Christianity and Islam does not get a 'free pass'. However he has also described Islam as more problematic than Christianity.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dawkins: Islam is 'one of the great evils in the world'|url=https://stellarhousepublishing.com/richard-dawkins-islam-is-one-of-the-great-evils-of-the-world/|last=N.B.|website=Stellar House Publishing|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> He as also maintained that he is critical of "the appalling misogyny and homophobia of Islam, I have criticised the murdering of apostates for no crime other than their disbelief"<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Richard Dawkins responds after being accused of Islamophobia|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/richard-dawkins-islamophobic-berkeley-event-cancelled-islam-muslim-uc-university-california-a7860281.html|date=2017-07-26|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref>, he is only critical of these practices and beliefs and thus is far from attacking muslims.<ref name=":2" /> Dawkins generated controversy when he tweeted "All the world's Muslims have fewer [[Nobel Prizes]] than Trinity College, Cambridge. They did great things in the Middle Ages, though."<ref>{{Cite web|title=HuffPost is now a part of Verizon Media|url=https://consent.yahoo.com/collectConsent?sessionId=1_cc-session_c2b752a6-7a8c-4944-846e-cf60518d0669&lang=en-gb&inline=false|website=consent.yahoo.com|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> These comments generated controversy. Defending himself he went on to say:<blockquote>"You can attack someone for his opinion. But for simply stating an intriguing fact? Who would guess that a single Cambridge College" and "Muslims aren't a race. What they have in common is a religion. Rather than Trinity, would you prefer the comparison with Jews? Google it."</blockquote>[[Owen Jones]] commented, "How dare you dress your bigotry up as atheism. You are now beyond an embarrassment."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Meikle|first=James|date=2013-08-08|title=Richard Dawkins criticised for Twitter comment about Muslims|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/aug/08/richard-dawkins-twitter-row-muslims-cambridge|access-date=2020-05-28|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Critics have also hit out at comments he made on twitter saying <blockquote>Of course you can have an opinion about Islam without having read [[Qur'an]]. You don't have to read ''[[Mein Kampf]]'' to have an opinion about [[Nazism]]." <ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=A Short History of Richard Dawkins vs. The Internet|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/08/short-history-richard-dawkins-vs-internet/312350/|last=Ohlheiser|first=Abby|date=2013-08-08|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref></blockquote>Dawkins has also stated that "Islam is the greatest force for evil in the world today"<ref>{{Cite news|date=2017-07-24|title=Richard Dawkins in US Islamophobia row|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40710165|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref>, generating further controversy and accusations of Islamophobia. He did however state that these comments were in reference to [[Islamism]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Richard Dawkins responds after being accused of Islamophobia|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/richard-dawkins-islamophobic-berkeley-event-cancelled-islam-muslim-uc-university-california-a7860281.html|date=2017-07-26|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> Other tweets occurred when at a debate at University College London when a Muslim speaker tried to segregate the sexes causing much controversy however Abby Ohlheiser writes in the Atlantic that 'Dawkins's response probably gained more attention than the incident itself: <ref name=":3" /><blockquote>''<nowiki/>'Who the hell do these Muslims think they are? At UCL of all places, tried to segregate the sexes in debate between @LKrauss1 and a Muslim.'<nowiki/>'' <ref>{{Cite web|title=Who the hell do these Muslims think they are? At UCL of all places, tried to segregate the sexes in debate between @LKrauss1 and a Muslim|url=https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/310609436722995201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E310609436722995201&ref_url=https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/08/short-history-richard-dawkins-vs-internet/312350/|last=Dawkins|first=Richard|date=2013-03-09|website=@RichardDawkins|language=en|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref>and ''<nowiki/>'How has UCL come to this: cowardly capitulation to Muslims? Tried to segregate sexes in debate between @LKrauss1 and some Muslim or other.''' <ref>{{Cite web|title=Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) {{!}} Twitter|url=https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E310609785252888576&ref_url=https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/08/short-history-richard-dawkins-vs-internet/312350/|website=twitter.com|language=en|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref></blockquote>His comments generated controversy, Dawkins mocked those who were calling him racist stating all he believe is that Muslims should not segregate the sexes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=I don't think Muslims should segregate sexes at University College London events. Oh NO, how very ISLAMOPHOBIC of me. How RACIST of me.|url=https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/310611998360625152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E310611998360625152&ref_url=https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/08/short-history-richard-dawkins-vs-internet/312350/|last=Dawkins|first=Richard|date=2013-03-09|website=@RichardDawkins|language=en|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> Dawkins also commented on the short film ''[[Fitna (film)|Fitna]]'', saying "[[Geert Wilders]], if it should turn out that you are a racist or a gratuitous stirrer and provocateur I withdraw my respect, but on the strength of ''Fitna'' alone I salute you as a man of courage, who has the balls to stand up to a monstrous enemy."<ref name=":3" />The film created an [[International reactions to Fitna|international uproar]], many saying it made Islam out to be the same as Islamism<ref>{{Cite news|last=Eteraz|first=Ali|date=2008-03-28|title=The Fitna farce|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/mar/28/thefitnafarce|access-date=2020-05-28|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>. ▲== Awards and recognition == [[File:Deschner Dawkins.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Receiving the [[Giordano Bruno Foundation|Deschner Prize]] in [[Frankfurt]], 12 October 2007, from [[Karlheinz Deschner]]]] | |||
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