The rebuke came from the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board; the letter does not give more details, but I take it that the Board concluded that the judge’s actions in the Zombie Mohammed controversy were improper.
Archive | Blasphemy
Two-Year Blasphemy Sentence in Indonesia
Agence France Press (via the Jakarta Globe) reports: Tajul Muluk [a Shiite cleric] was arrested in April by police on the island of Madura off eastern Java amid anti-Shiite attacks that rights groups say were led by Sunni Muslims. “Based on witness accounts and evidence presented, the defendant has been proven legally and convincingly guilty […]
Malaysian Arrest of Borders Clerk for Selling Allegedly Blasphemous Book
The Star (Malaysia) reports: A bookstore manager was charged in the Syariah High Court here with distributing a banned book by Canadian author Irshad Manji. Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz, 36, was accused of distributing the book titled Allah, Liberty and Love, which had been translated into Bahasa Malaysia…. She faces a RM3,000 fine or […]
“The Salman Rushdie of Music”
Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal reports: Iranian rapper Shahin Najafi … is now being dubbed the Salman Rushdie of music after two influential clerics in Iran issued fatwas — religious edicts — justifying his murder on grounds of blasphemy [based on a song in which Najafi calls on a Shiite saint, Ali an-Naqi, to save Iran] […]
Debunking Claims of Water Miraculously Flowing from Jesus Statue + Criticizing Catholic Church = Criminal Complaints by Offended Catholic Groups in India
The Mumbai Mirror reports: CR 61/2012, Juhu Police Station, has been filed against miracle-buster Sanal Edamaruku, who is also founder-president of the Rationalist International, which has scientists such as Richard Dawkins in it. The FIR [apparently a First Information Report -EV] has been filed under IPC Sec 295A: Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage […]
Indonesia Prosecution for Posting “God Doesn’t Exist” on Facebook
The Guardian (UK) reports: When Alex Aan picked up a copy of Karen Armstrong’s Holy War from his local library in west Sumatra in 2005, he had little inkling of his own religious battle to come. But after posting “God doesn’t exist” on Facebook, the soft-spoken civil servant, 30, faces up to 11 years in […]
Forthcoming Kuwait Blasphemy Law with Death Penalty Provision
The Kuwait News Agency reports: Minister of Justice and Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Jamal Ahmad Al-Shihab confirmed Thursday that the government would not reject the anti-blasphemy bill… “Freedom of expression does not mean defaming or offending sanctities of nations,” Al-Shihab said…. The first [provision, passed Thursday by the National Assembly,] makes insulting or […]
Fear of Extremist Religious Violence Leads to Court Decision Barring Women from Praying at Religious Shrine
I didn’t hear about this when the decision was handed down in 2003, and when it was apparently enforced in 2009 and 2010, but I just noticed it and thought it would be a good addition to our Blasphemy category and our Freedom of Speech Restricted by Fear of Thugs category. From Prof. Sherry Colb, […]
British Engineer’s “When Will We Finish With the Damn Mosques” Yields 1 Month in Jail, in United Arab Emirates
The National reported, in February: JT, a Briton who works in the parks and recreation section at Abu Dhabi Municipality, … was reported to police by colleagues after he lost his temper during a meeting over delays to a project he was working on designing mosque gardens. “When will we finish with the damn mosques?” […]
“Insulting Islam” Leads to Egyptian Jail Sentence for “Arab World’s Most Famous Comedian”
Al Arabiya reports (see also BBC and Agence France Press): A Cairo court upholds a three-month jail sentence for Egyptian film star and the Arab world’s most famous comedian, Adel Imam, on charges of insulting Islam, Al Arabiya TV reported on Monday…. The 71-year-old celebrity said that among the works criticized are the 1994 production […]
Greek Court Dismisses Defamation-of-Nation Claims Against German Magazine
The AP reports: A Greek court dismissed defamation charges Tuesday against a German magazine that had illustrated an article on Greece’s economic crisis with a doctored photo of the Venus de Milo statue [draped in a Greek flag and raising her middle finger]. The 2010 Focus magazine article, headlined “Cheats in the European family,” appeared […]
Blasphemy Arrest in Kuwait, for a Twitter Message About Mohammed
Reuters reports: Kuwaiti authorities arrested a man late on Tuesday for insulting the Prophet Mohammad via his Twitter account, the Interior Ministry said …. The man, whose name was not disclosed, defamed the Islamic faith and slandered the Prophet Mohammad, his companions and his wife, the ministry said in a statement issued on state-run news […]
Pakistan: Life in Prison for Blasphemy
So reports Pakistan Today (thanks to Prof. Howard Friedman (Religion Clause) for the pointer. The defendant was a police officer, who allegedly “uttered blasphemy in a conversation with him and two other men, Javed Iqbal and Hafiz Shahid, on street crime. [The complainant] had alleged that the [defendant] called Hafiz a ‘Maulvi’ and used blasphemous […]
“Jesus Christ Superstar” Performance Canceled Due to Religious Outrage in Belarus
Telegraf.by reports (Russian language version here): Homel eparchy of Belarusian Orthodox Church has succeeded in [cancellation] of performance of the St. Petersburg Theatre “Rock Opera,” which arrived in Belarus on a tour with the rock opera “Jesus Christ – Superstar.” The local authorities were requested to abolish the rock opera. The believers’ [outrage] was also […]
Egyptian Christian Imprisoned for 6 Years for Insulting Mohammed
From BikyaMasr: Egypt has jailed a Christian man for 6 years on charges of showing contempt of religion and insulting the Prophet Mohamed, the country’s state-owned al-Ahram newspaper reported on Thursday. The court, in the southern Egyptian province of Assiut, said that Makram Diab, a school employee, had made offensive remarks against Islam’s prophet, according […]