The Guardian reports:
Ireland is to hold a referendum [this fall] on removing a blasphemy ban from the constitution, the justice minister announced yesterday.At the beginning of the year, the republic introduced legislation making blasphemy a crime punishable with a fine of up to €25,000 …
The law defines blasphemy as “publishing or uttering matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion, with some defences permitted”….
Here are Atheist Ireland’s 25 blasphemous quotations, which were put up in response to the law. It includes quotes from Jesus, Mohammed, Mark Twain, Tom Lehrer, Pope Benedict XVI (the current Pope), and of course Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Some of those items (including the last one) probably wouldn’t be blasphemous under modern law, though you still won’t catch me saying Jehovah. Oh, wait! D’oh!
RT says:
Get the stones!
March 16, 2010, 1:26 pmJavert says:
If he sinks, he’s not a witch.
March 16, 2010, 1:34 pmrbj says:
That was a meal fit for Jehovah.
March 16, 2010, 1:44 pmCrunchy Frog says:
It’s a fair cop.
March 16, 2010, 2:15 pmdearieme says:
From the Mark Wadsworth blog, quoting Martin Gilbert:-
“An attempt was made by the Government of India [in 1927] to introduce a new section in the Indian penal code, to make it a criminal offence to insult the religion, or intentionally to outrage, or attempt to outrage, the religious feelings ‘of any class of His Majesty’s subjects’.
This proposed new section of the law was submitted by the government to the … Indian Legislative Assembly… During the ensuing debate it became clear that nothing could be done: the Muslim members of the assembly supported the new section, the Hindu members opposed it”.
March 16, 2010, 4:31 pmMartinned says:
Cool story, but what point are you trying to make?
March 16, 2010, 4:50 pmdearieme says:
Take your pick, Martinned:-
1)Some questions recur, rather than being settled.
2)Islam is the new Roman Catholicism, or vice versa.
3) India was better run then than Ireland has been more recently.
4) The coolest stories invite the reader to make the point.
If I were to make a point, it might be that it’s rather amusing to see Americans fretting about other people’s blasphemy laws, given the censorship they impose on themselves under the dictates of PC.
March 16, 2010, 5:04 pmElliot says:
Anyone know if the Irish Catholic Church has taken a public position on this?
March 16, 2010, 7:41 pmKevin R says:
I think he said ‘blessed are the cheesemakers’.
March 16, 2010, 9:13 pmRicardo says:
A very recent post-script to this is that the Indian Muslim artist M.F. Husain has been subject to boycotts, death threats and vandalism by Hindu fundamentalists and also faces criminal charges due to his artistic depictions of nude Hindu goddesses. It seems that India’s Hindu fundamentalists in the VHP, Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal and other such groups got the message from the Danish cartoon controversy that as long as you are willing to use violence and intimidation, you can force other people to “respect” your religious beliefs and icons.
Husain has since moved to Qatar and renounced his Indian citizenship. He is generally considered by the artistic community in India to be the country’s equivalent of Picasso but now fears setting foot in his country of birth due to both death threats and the possibility of being arrested for the “crime” of hurting others’ religious sentiments.
(Incidentally, the whole case struck me as odd from the beginning. Perhaps someone who knows more about Hinduism can comment, but I’m quite sure I have seen ancient bare-breasted depictions of the goddess Parvati on display in the British Museum and other places. There seems to have been no historical injunction against any kind of nude or sensual depiction of Hindu goddesses. Of course, the whole point of blasphemy laws is that any vocal minority that is willing to stir up enough trouble can have its own extreme views on what is or is not acceptable be binding on everyone else.)
March 17, 2010, 12:29 amcearta.ie » Referendum should thoroughly revise free speech clause says:
[...] | Attracta | Dispatches | Human Rights in Ireland | Human Rights World | Guardian | Jurist | Volokh | William Quill). This was confirmed on Wednesday by Carol Coulter writing in the Irish Times (ABC [...]
March 21, 2010, 10:02 pm