Blasphemy laws
2012 09 28
Since the UN Genereal Assembly has apparently been hit by a wave of stupidity, after some ignorant Muslims where incited to go crazy over a crappy movie insulting their beloved prophet Muhammad, I'd like to advocate that no amount of speech, so hateful and/or disrespectful as it may be, will ever justify a physically violent response. And to suggest that the problem is blasphemy (a victimless crime) and not the intolerance of Muslims to any critique of their wild unbased beliefs, should be an insult to anyone who puts any value on freedom.
The definition of blasphemy alone should be sufficient to show how ridiculous it would be to outlaw it in any way: According to Merriam-Webster, blasphemy is
the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God.
This technically means that pretty much everyone wold be guilty of blasphemy. No matter what god (if any) one might revere, they are a blasphemer of other people's gods. If one believes the Quran, as so many sadly do, they belive that
idolatry or polytheism. i.e. the deification or worship of anyone or anything other than the singular God, or more literally the establishment of "partners" placed beside God (Shirk - Wikipedia)
is an unforgivable sin. And Muslims seriously demand that others should respect this inherently intolerant view?!
In my opinion Freedom of Speech becomes meaningless when you're not allowed to say what others don't like to hear. It's one of the things the USA have got exactly right and I agree that we must defend even the ugliest speech.
And to end on one of my favourite quotes:
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. (Evelyn B. Hall)
