Very unfortunate; the AP reports: A piece of artwork denounced as obscene by church members and allegedly ripped up by a Montana woman using a crowbar won’t be returned to display because of safety concerns, city officials said Thursday. “The incident yesterday was very troubling and also very impactful on the city staff, volunteers and […]
Archive | Blasphemy
“A Defense of Free Speech by American and Canadian Muslims”
By Eugene Volokh on September 28, 2010 1:53 pm in "Hate Speech", Blasphemy, Freedom of Speech, Religion and the Law
From The American Muslim: We, the undersigned, unconditionally condemn any intimidation or threats of violence directed against any individual or group exercising the rights of freedom of religion and speech; even when that speech may be perceived as hurtful or reprehensible. We are concerned and saddened by the recent wave of vitriolic anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic […]
Blasphemy Arrests in England
News.com.au reports: British police have arrested six people on suspicion of inciting racial hatred over a YouTube video apparently showing them setting fire to copies of the Koran…. I realize this is from an Australian publication, but its motto is “FROM ALL ANGLES,” so I take it they see their job as covering England as […]
“Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” Author Goes Underground
Seattle Weekly, via Althouse: [O]n the insistence of top security specialists at the FBI, she is… moving, changing her name, and essentially wiping away her identity… in effect, being put into a witness-protection program—except, as she notes, without the government picking up the tab. It’s all because of the appalling fatwa issued against her this […]
Advertisement Banned in the UK Because of Blasphemy
By Eugene Volokh on September 16, 2010 11:42 am in Blasphemy, Freedom of Speech, Religion and the Law
From the UK Advertising Standards Authority: A magazine ad for Antonio Federici ice cream showed a heavily pregnant woman dressed as a nun standing in a church holding a tub of ice cream in one hand and a spoon in the other. Text stated “Immaculately Conceived … ICE CREAM IS OUR RELIGION”…. Ten readers challenged […]
Something to Watch Out for If You’re Using Rackspace
The San Antonio News-Express Web site reports, Rackspace Hosting Inc. hosted the Florida church’s website, but stopped providing services late Wednesday after determining the Dove World Outreach Center violated a provision in its contract regarding hate speech, a Rackspace spokesman said. The company received complaints that the center violated the acceptable use policy, which is […]
New Jersey Public Transit Employee Fired for Blasphemy
By Eugene Volokh on September 15, 2010 1:55 am in "Hate Speech", Blasphemy, Freedom of Speech, Religion and the Law
The New York Daily News reports: [Derek Fenton, t]he protester who burned pages from the Koran outside a planned mosque near Ground Zero has been fired from NJTransit, sources and authorities said Tuesday…. “Mr. Fenton’s public actions violated New Jersey Transit’s code of ethics,” an agency statement said. “NJ Transit concluded that Mr. Fenton violated […]
Queensland University Suspends Lawyer for YouTube-Distributed Blasphemy
By Eugene Volokh on September 14, 2010 2:23 pm in "Hate Speech", Atheism, Blasphemy, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Speech at Colleges and Universities, Religion and the Law, Religious Freedom
The Brisbane Times reports that: A Queensland University of Technology lawyer[,] … Alex Stewart[,] has taken leave from his non-academic position as a QUT [Queensland University of Technology] commercial contracts lawyer after controversy erupted over a YouTube clip in which he smokes self-made cigarettes rolled in pages from the [Koran and the Bible] before rating […]
Prosecution for Insulting Religion — This Time, Buddhism
By Eugene Volokh on May 17, 2010 12:25 pm in Blasphemy, Freedom of Speech, Religion and the Law, Religious Freedom
InfoLanka.com reported in late March: Sarah Malanie Perera [was] detained in the [Sri Lankan] capital Colombo for allegedly offending the spiritual leader of Buddhism …. [I]t is understood two of her recently published books offended ethnic Sinhalese Buddhists, who account for about 70 per cent of Sri Lanka’s 20 million population…. The 38-year-old, who previously […]