Stephen Fry Blasphemy Investigation

[ludwig]

I thought this was a joke article from one of those spoof news sites when I first saw it. There are lots of questions here but I'll go with 'Does anyone think he'll actually be charged with the offence?'

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/06/stephen-fry-police-investigation-blasphemy-branding-god-utter/

[Mamyalynne]

Wonder how long the procedure to decide whether to prosecute or not will take.

[pixie374]

I would hope that free speech would override any "blasphemy" anyway.

[Khandro]

"Please Mr Torquemada Mr Fry (apt name!) and I, don't believe there is a God at all, so if you will kindly unfasten us from this rack we'll be on our way."

[naomi24]

Khandro, do you admire what he did?

[mibn2cweus]

Blasphemy is an anti-concept intended to silence through coercion due criticism of an unsupportable position.

[Old_Geezer]

That's weird. I could have sworn I posted the best (and totally inoffensive) answer earlier in this thread, but I can't seem to find it now. Am I just missing seeing it, or was it so informative and preventing of further discussion/disagreement​ that it was remove to allow further argument ?

[Old_Geezer]

My mistake, it is here http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/News/Question1551497-2.html.
Too many threads on the same issue.

[Jackdaw33]

Now, now, OG. You should realise that there are some new mods (as well as old ones) on this thread. It's all about muscle-flexing.

[vetuste_ennemi]

/I would hope that free speech would override any "blasphemy" anyway.//

"Free speech" will override this[i case of blasphemy, I'm sure, Pixie, but free speech has already been suppressed in other cases. You didn't see the Charlie Hebdo cartoons, which caused the deaths of twelve journalists, on the BBC, did you? Don't think the Times or the Independent showed them either, did they? And Fry would never, I repeat [i]never] have made that same statement using the Arabic word for God.

It would have seemed incredible to anybody in the West even forty years ago (I'm quoting Douglas Murray here) that in the second decade of the 21st century we would be talking about blasphemy laws and "the cartoon crisis". Yet that is what we have. This is the funeral of a national hero (there's some very nice music in it):



Half of Britain's imams have come from that same place,mostly in the last twenty years. That fact alone. seeing what is being celebrated in the video, ought to give anyone concerned about free speech pause.

[Khandro]

Jack; one of mine was deleted earlier because I committed the cardinal sin of criticizing a certain moderator as being like J.C. Junker, (unelected and seemingly all powerful). Better read this one quickly.

[pixie374]

It does seem incredible, vestute. But terrorists caused the deaths and the fear. This is about whether the law agrees.

[Jackdaw33]

Khandro, I can't possibly imagine who that might be!!

[Mamyalynne]

O_G's post wasn't removed it as on a different thread , what's with all the paranoia?

[Jackdaw33]

OG did actually acknowledge that fact, some 30 minutes or more before you posted. Paranoia? I should co-co!

[pixie374]

Who is it jackdaw?

[Jackdaw33]

Who is what?

[pixie374]

17:19 and khandro's...

[Jackdaw33]

What part of 'I couldn't possibly imagine' do you not understand?

[pixie374]

The sarcasm? Cowardly sideswipes without the guts to name names.

[ummmm]

He's talking about Andy...