Blasphemy laws

[ludwig]

I thought people might be interested to know that further this question related to the blasphemy laws in Pakistan..

http://www.theanswerb...y/Question965848.html

..a politician who dared to speak up against them has been assasinated....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/...d-south-asia-12111831

Blasphemy laws in the 21st century - what a joke eh?

[Huderon]

Ludwig, blasphemy laws may well be outdated (but it's surprising how many countries still have them - yes Christian countries too), but in themselves they are not // hate filled //.

Now I am well aware that people do use them in some countries to persecute individuals or groups they don't like, but that is people making use of the laws of their own countries for their own ends, no matter whether those ends are genuinely religious or not. Nothing new there, nor is there anything new in demagogues and rabble-rousers manipulating people.

What I object to is everyone in a group being tarred with the same brush ("all Catholic priests are paedophiles", "all Muslims are terrorists") which, while not explicitly stated, does seem to be the attitude of some people. I have come across people of various religious persuasions, and none, whom I like, and others whom I dislike. I don't let my dislike of some prejudice my view of all

[mibn2cweus]

"often at the risk of being judged - and misjudged"
And from what I seen, mostly misjudged.
O boy, I know what's coming next . . . "What do you mean, 'mostly'?" ;o)

[ludwig]

// What I object to is everyone in a group being tarred with the same brush //

Fair enough, but that's not what happening in this thread. It's intolerance itself that is being attacked here. Intolerance as manifested through a despicable philosophy that would advocate the death penalty for the 'crime' of blasphemy.

[mibn2cweus]

//Ludwig, blasphemy laws may well be outdated (but it's surprising how many countries still have them - yes Christian countries too), but in themselves they are not // hate filled //. //

Laws against blasphemy are not simply outdated. They were never justified. Such laws were created for one purpose only, to silence those who dare to question 'godma' . . . definition coming to an urban dictionary near you some day soon.

[naomi24]

Mibs, not at all. I agree with you. :o)

Did anyone watch last night's Channel 4 news report on the reaction in Pakistan to this? Very disturbing indeed.

[naomi24]

^^Sorry, for those who didn't see it that's very vague. The report showed footage and spoke of the enormous support being displayed for the assassin. Madmen all!

[mibn2cweus]

Naomi, I was contrasting 'mostly' with 'totally' with regards to being misjudged . . . but perhaps you caught on to that attempted poke at humour? ;o)

[ludwig]

I didn't see it Naomi but it doesn't surprise me. I also wouldn't be surprised if half the people showing support for the gunman are scared to do anything else for fear they suffer a similar fate as the politician or the christians.
Then again maybe not - maybe there is a genuine mass support for the idea - who knows?

[naomi24]

Ludwig. we can only hope that half the people are scared. Rather that than they all be in silent agreement with madmen. Here's a link to the news report - and the interview with the Pakistani writer, Kamila Shamsie, really is worth watching.

http://www.channel4.c...governor-laid-to-rest

Huderon, the problem with people saying, as you do, you don't want to tar them all with the same brush is that we end up reluctant to tar anyone with any brush. Reading some of the posts in the News section, or in Religion & Spirituality, one could very easily be forgiven for thinking that Muslim extremists and archaic religious beliefs are a complete figment of the imagination.

Mibs, it's rare but sometimes I do catch on quickly. ;o)

[Huderon]

I'll try to explain this, but probably won't do a very good job of it, and then withdraw.

In a society where religion is at the very core of daily life, god becomes, for the believers, a very real entity. In such a society, losing your temper with someone and saying, for example, "Damn you !" is calling on god to condemn someone to eternal punishment for no good reason. This puts your soul at risk, and also the souls of those who support you. In a society with that mindset, blasphemy laws make sense to THEM.

Islam itself is not a //despicable philosophy// but it's adherents are human and just as prey to all the nasty little thoughts, jealousies and ambitions that affect everyone else in the world. I'm sure you can think of a few people in this country who have their own "despicable philosophy".

Until you have complete separation of church and state within a nation, the church will always have a great deal of influence over the laws of of that nation, and even with separation enshrined in law the church can still exert a lot of influence over government (think of the Republic of Ireland, or even the USA). I don't think that separation is going to happen any time soon in places like Pakistan, but I do believe that it will happen eventually

[mibn2cweus]

Huderon, Your ‘explanation’ goes a long way in pointing out the faulty premise underlying the chain of logic that follows and inevitably leads to these kinds of actions, but falls short in making the vital distinction between understanding why people do the wrong thing and excusing them for their actions. If all anyone needs to do whatever the hell they please is to create, or more simply, lean on an existing faulty premise then we are all in for a world of hurt as a rational species culminating in the death of the last innocent victim.
In order to weed out the source of this evil we must look much further and deeper than to the blasphemy laws that some are still able to question without fear of reprisal. We need to follow the logic all the way back to the Big Bang, the belief in an invisible overseer of reality whose existence requires and demands our devotion and protection. Anyone who condones and supports a belief in this absurdity has the blood of yet one more innocent victim and the lives of those ruled by fear of recognizing and pronouncing who the real hero is in this story, on their hands.

[naomi24]

^^I think that about covers it.