Blasphemy

From RationalWiki

Blasphemy is an impious utterance or action concerning God, gods, or sacred things. Frequently the definition is extended to include anything which would be regarded as “bad language”. Blasphemy is considered by some to be barely anything more than a thought-crime committed against a non-existent entity. In places with strong religious based law, blasphemy laws can be, and are, used against those who don't even subscribe to the beliefs being blasphemed against.

[edit] Blasphemy in Modern Law

In the times of the Old Testament, blasphemy was punishable by death and used to be a criminal offense in many western states. Although the laws may still exist on the statute books they are not now enforced in most western countries.^[1]. In the UK the obsolete blasphemy law was repealed in 2008. ^[2] However, blasphemy prosecution do still occur throughout the world:

The Austrian artist Gerhard Haderer created can published a satirical book about a cannabis-smoking, surfing Jesus. The book was published in Austria. He was subsequently tried in absentia for blasphemy in Greece and received a six month sentence.^[3]. (The sentence was revoked on appeal.)

The death penalty for blasphemy still exists in a number of Muslim countries such as Iran ^[4], Pakistan ^[5] and Saudi Arabia.^[6]

Even in the "new" Afghanistan blasphemy remains a capital offense. In January 2008 Sayed Pervez Kambaksh was sentenced to death for blasphemy after a five minute trial. This followed reports he had downloaded from the internet un-Islamic material on women's rights.^[7]

Indonesia is a little more liberal, there you only get a four year jail sentence. ^[8]

In potential EU member Turkey, Islamic creationist Harun Yahya succeed in getting Richard Dawkins' website banned on account of its alleged blasphemous content.^[9]