Today is #InternationalBlasphemyRightsDay. It marks the anniversary of the publication of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons in Denmark, which resulted in violent protests, riots, and more than 250 reported deaths. humanists.international/get-involved/c….
Today is about raising awareness. Blasphemy laws still exist in the 21st century. And wherever they exist they undermine human rights and freedom of expression. They lend a false legitimacy to those who commit acts of murder & violence in their name.
13 countries worldwide maintain the death penalty for blasphemy or apostasy (leaving religion) and it remains a criminal offence in over 40 more. Vigilante murders, imprisonment, 'honour killings' - these are the just some of the symptoms of blasphemy laws.
The list of countries & cases is tragically too long. One only has to read about the Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi, our Nigerian colleague Mubarak Bala, or the atheist Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, to understand the severity with which blasphemy is punished.
As part of the @EndBlasphemyLaw coalition, we campaign to end blasphemy laws domestically and abroad. Many people don't know that such laws weren't abolished in England & Wales until 2008, an and Scotland in 2021, following successful humanist campaigning.
Since we co-founded the @EndBlasphemyLaw campaign in 2015: Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Iceland, Malta, France, New Zealand, Canada, Greece, and Scotland have all joined the international movement in repealing their blasphemy laws.
Northern Ireland's retention of this law weakens the UK’s position in opposing state-sponsored capital punishment, extremist violence, or vigilante murder committed in revenge for so-called ‘blasphemy’ in countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Today is about putting human rights before 'religious feelings'. As we've seen in the news this week, a teacher in Pakistan was sentenced to death for insulting the 'the finality of prophethood'. It's absurd that this is happening and that blasphemy laws still exist in the UK.
We campaign on this tirelessly, & bring blasphemy to the attention of the UN Human Rights Council every year. Mere accusations (with no evidence or proof) are enough to be landed in prison. The laws are used to supress religious minorities, apostates, and humanists worldwide.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
