Blasphemy

Blasphemy is the defamation of the name of one or more gods. These may include using sacred names as stress expletives without intention to pray or speak of sacred matters. Sometimes blasphemy is used loosely to mean any profane language, for example in "With much hammering and blasphemy, the locomotive's replacement spring was finally fitted." In a broader sense, blasphemy is irreverence toward something considered sacred or inviolable. In this sense, the term is used by Sir Francis Bacon in the Advancement of Learning, when he speaks of "blasphemy against learning."

Many cultures disapprove of speech or writing which defames the deity or deities of their established religions, and these restrictions have the force of law in some countries.

In Western countries, there has been recent movement towards the repeal or reform of blasphemy laws, with these laws only being infrequently enforced. However, on June 29, 2007, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg adopted a rule on blasphemy, religious insults, and hate speech against persons on grounds of their religion. Some American states still have blasphemy laws on the books from the founding days, such as those in the Massachusetts General Laws. The last person to be jailed in the United States for blasphemy was in Massachusetts, in 1838. In England, the blasphemy laws have never been repealed, with the last person in Britain to being sent to prison in 1921 for the crime.

Pakistan has the strictest anti-blasphemy laws in countries where Muslims are in the majority. In 1986, Section 295C to the Pakistan Penal Cose was introduced, mandating the death penalty for "use of derogatory remarks in respect of the Holy Prophet." On June 3, 2006, Pakistan banned the film for being blasphemous.

Under Christian theology, blaspheming the Holy Spirit is spoken of as unforgivable. In Islam, blasphemy constitutes speaking ill of Muhammad, or any other prophet mentioned in the Qur'an, which cites proper punishment for the offense as being, "...execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land."

Etymology

From Middle English blasfemen, from Old French blasfemer, from Late Latin blasphemare, from Greek blasphemein, from blaptein, "to injure," and pheme, "reputation." Blasphemy, which was opposed to "euphemy", and has also given "blame" from Old French blasmer.

History

Blasphemy in Judaism and the Old Testament

The Old Testament is the Holy Bible of Judaism. To blaspheme is to say that the Holy Bible is wrong, false, untrue, not the Word of God. The Old Testament was written by the priests and the prophets of the time; we even know their names. They wrote laws, stories, dialogues, and commandments, and they signed them “said God,” “said Moses,” “said Abraham," “said Adam,” “said Eve,” “said the snake,” etc.

Other Biblical prophets watched as the Bible writers took the name of God in vain for their own commandments,. and they railed against this sin right in your Holy Bible endlessly. God said of the Bible-writing priests and prophets, "They say, 'Says the Lord', when the Lord has not sent them." The God of Mount Sinai called the Holy Bible writers forgers of His will. (Ezekiel 13:1-22). God said of the Bible-writing priests and prophets, "You Prophesy by Baal, Beelzebub, Satan!" (Jeremiah 2:8).

According to the accurate translation of the Hebrew Tanach, the Old Testament, God said of the scribes, the bible writers: "They reel with wine and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet are confused with wine, they err in vision, they stumble in giving judgment. All tables (God’s two stone tablets) are covered with filthy vomit; no place is clean." God accused the Bible writers of being ignorant drunks leading all into disaster by covering His Word, his two stone tables, with their filthy vomit, the Holy Bible. (Isaiah 28:7-15).

God of Mount Sinai said in the Tanach that the Holy Bible writers wrote "commandment upon commandment, line upon line, here a little, there a little; in order that we all may go and fall backwards and be broken and ensnared and taken." (Isaiah 28:13). God called the Old Testament other than the two tablets, "feces". God cursed the Bible writers and their offspring and vowed to spread the feces on their faces! (Malachi 2:1-3). God called his covenant with Moses, Levi, the 10 commandments the "Truth".

Blasphemy in Christianity

Of Blasphemy, from the Narrenschiff (The Ship of Fools); woodcut attributed to Albrecht Dürer

Jesus Christ was said to be the Jewish-born Rabbi, the Messiah of Christianity and Islam. His job was to purify the 613 commandments in the Old Testament down to God’s 10. Jesus said that when he returned he would command his angels to bring God’s two tablets into God’s temple and gather up the Holy Bibles and throw them into the fire and burn them. (Matt. 13:24-30 KJV). Jesus Christ said that the Prophet Isaiah was right when God said through Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 29:13, "Full well you reject the commandments of God, that you may keep your own traditions. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." (Mark 7:6-9 K.J.V.).

Jesus called the extra 603 commandments forgeries of men signed “God,” and "heavy burdens grievous to be borne placed on men’s shoulders by the scribes and Pharisees.” (Matthew 23:1-4). In Matthew 23, Jesus launches into an absolute diatribe, calling the bible writers venomous snakes spewing their deadly poison into your bibles which poison would lead you all into the fire

In the third book of the Old Testament, Leviticus 24:16 states that those who speak blasphemy "shall surely be put to death."

Christian theology may condemn blasphemy, as in the Luke 12:10, where blaspheming the Holy Spirit is spoken of as unforgivable.

However, in the simpler message of the time of Jesus, when Christian ideas relied upon the influence of natural authority against the then secular religious power of the Second Jewish Temple period, (positions exchanged in the centuries that followed), this admonishment may be interpreted as warning against an actual reaction from the Holy Spirit in the form of a curse that can irreparably harm a person (and thus be unforgivable but not by dictate). This statement in effect establishes the importance of this aspect of the Godhead, rather than setting an arbitrary law.

A careful reading of Mark (from the American Standard) shows this: Mark 3:29 "But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin."

Blasphemy in Islam

Blasphemy in Islam constitutes speaking ill of Muhammad, of any other prophet mentioned in the Qur'an, or of any Biblical prophets. The Qu'ran also states that it is blasphemy to claim that Jesus Christ (the son of Mary) is the son of God (5.017). Speaking ill of God is also blasphemy. In Islam, blasphemy is considered a sin. The Qur'an says "He forgives all sins, except disbelieving in God [blasphemy]." In Islam, if a person dies while in blasphemy, they will not enter heaven, except if said person repented before death.

In Muslim countries, blasphemy is considered a very serious offense and may be punishable by death if charges are proven. British author Salman Rushdie's novel, The Satanic Verses, was seen by many Muslims to contain blasphemies against Islam, and Iranian clerical leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa in 1989 calling for Rushdie's death. More recently, the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons were criticised in part on the basis that they were blasphemous against Muhammad. The Egyptian government under pressure by the parliament banned the film The Da Vinci Code, and is to confiscate the novel for containing blasphemy.

The rule is: any belief, action, or saying which belittles Allah (God), his books, his messengers, his angels, his rites, the well-known practices of his religion (such as prayer), his rules, his promise (such as paradise), or his threat (such as hellfire) is blasphemy. Hence, the human being must use caution with the utmost effort to avoid blasphemy.

So it is clear that in Islam, blasphemy is a matter that must be studied well in order to avoid it at any cost, for the one who dies as a blasphemer will be sentenced to hellfire without end. Also, it should be noted that in Islam, it is not a condition for the one to be judged as a blasphemer that he must have liked or believed in the blasphemous saying, action, or belief. This is confirmed by the saying of Muhammad, "A person may utter a word he thinks harmless, which results in his falling the depth of seventy years into Hellfire."

This is opposed to Christianity, for example, in which teachings differ as to what constitutes blasphemy. The terms of blasphemy, as labeled by the Christians, is much less inclusive then that in Islamic Law.

About blasphemy and apostacy, the Qur'an says;

“

The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter; Surah Al-Maidah 5:33

”

Blasphemy in other religions

Buddhism

Many religions present a set of dogma and then insist that people believe them, even when such dogmas appear strange or have been explained by science to be false or without basis. Buddhism has no place for such doctrines. It does not require blind faith but actually suggests its adherents to think, to question and to develop acceptance based on understanding.

Being totally self-confident, Buddhism opens itself to query and scrutiny. There is no concept of blasphemy in Buddhism. Questions on Buddhism are often answered with rationality, respect, and honesty. The religion claims that says sincere followers of other beliefs are also rewarded in the afterlife. Buddhism is not like a football team or a political party. You don’t join it for the purpose of condemning others. Buddhism teaches that what we do now determines what happens to us in the future. This is a natural law in accordance with scientific principles and applies to everyone regardless of their religious label.

Hindusim

Islam/Christianity offer one simplified set of morals and values contained in single book. Hinduism offers a rich variety of texts and encourages debate, which is better for a securely established culture that can devote time to the pursuit of knowledge.

Both Islam/Christianity regard human beings as far superior species on the planet, and believe that God made the rest of the world for human consumption. Hinduism and other Eastern religions believe humans are part of environment and put stress on respecting all creatures. According to Hinduism, no religion or holy book transcends reality; no prophet owns reality. Reality plays with people and their beliefs, caresses them for a while, and tosses them in a bin to send them in oblivion for centuries. The earlier people realize this, the better it is for their religion.

There is no word blasphemy in Hinduism. The concepts of "utmost freedom of thought and action" attracts many to Hinduism. Hinduism never forbids any one to question its fundamentals. Hinduism has never banished anyone, since he or she wrote a wrong scripture or did not observe a particular ritual. Mahathma Gandhi wrote, "even atheists can call themselves as Hindus." In fact, both the Charvaka and Nastika philosophies which existed during the Vedic period, rejected the existence of God and considered religion as an aberration.

Jainism

In Jainism, blasphemy is the teaching of the false; the hindrance of the true religion; the denegration of the saints, of the images of gods, and of the community, of the canon; and the rape of sacred objects, all of which cause the state of darsana-mohaniya-k (a disturbance of the knowledge of the religious truth inherent in one's natural disposition).

An example of the Jain legal view on blasphemy occurred in Mangalore, India, where the police arrested B. V. Seetharam. editor of Kannada, the evening daily newspaper of Karavali Ale, along with his wife, Rohini. They were taken to the Panambur police station for the "blasphemous reporting and personal abuses" against the spiritual leader of Jainism, Munishree Tarunsagar.

The arrest was done following complaints filed by Jain organizations against Seetharam. The organizations had alleged that the articles had hurt their religious sentiments. The complaint also alleged that several reports and articles on the visit of Tarunsagar and the Digambaras (followers of one of the two mani sects of Jainism), which were published in the newspaper, had hurt the Jain community.

Blasphemy laws

European initiatives

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg adopted on June 29, 2007 Recommendation 1805 (2007) on blasphemy, religious insults, and hate speech against persons on grounds of their religion. This Recommendation set a number of guidelines for member states of the Council of Europe in view of Articles 10 (freedom of expression) and 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion) of the European Convention on Human Rights. In this area, there is also considerable case-law by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

The United States of America

Some states still have blasphemy laws on the books from the founding days. Chapter 272 of the Massachusetts General Laws states, for example:

Section 36. Whoever willfully blasphemes the holy name of God by denying, cursing or contumeliously reproaching God, His creation, government or final judging of the world, or by cursing or contumeliously reproaching Jesus Christ or the Holy Ghost, or by cursing or contumeliously reproaching or exposing to contempt and ridicule, the holy word of God contained in the holy scriptures shall be punished by imprisonment in jail for not more than one year or by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars, and may also be bound to good behavior.

The history of Maryland's blasphemy statutes suggests that even into the 1930s, the First Amendment was not recognized as preventing states from passing such laws. An 1879 codification of Maryland statutes prohibited blasphemy:

Art. 72, sec. 189. If any person, by writing or speaking, shall blaspheme or curse God, or shall write or utter any profane words of and concerning our Saviour, Jesus Christ, or of and concerning the Trinity, or any of the persons thereof, he shall, on conviction, be fined not more than one hundred dollars, or imprisoned not more than six months, or both fined and imprisoned as aforesaid, at the discretion of the court.

According to the marginalia, this statute was adopted in 1819, and a similar law dates back to 1723. In 1904, the statute was still on the books at Art. 27, sec. 20, unaltered in text.[1]. As late as 1939, this statute was still the law of Maryland.[2] It is unclear from the statutes and notes when Maryland's blasphemy statute was last prosecuted.

The last person to be jailed in the United States for blasphemy was Abner Kneeland in 1838, as decided by the Massachusetts case Commonwealth v. Kneeland. However, this was prior to the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment incorporating the Bill of Rights to apply to the states and not just the federal government.

The United States Supreme Court in Joseph Burstyn, Inc v. Wilson 1952 held that the New York State blasphemy law was an unconstitutional prior restraint on freedom of speech. The court stated that "It is not the business of government in our nation to suppress real or imagined attacks upon a particular religious doctrine, whether they appear in publications, speeches or motion pictures."

Pakistan

Among Muslim-majority countries, Pakistan has the strictest anti-blasphemy laws. In 1982, President Zia ul-Haq introduced Section 295B to the Pakistan Penal Code punishing "defiling the Holy Qur'an" with life imprisonment. In 1986, Section 295C was introduced, mandating the death penalty for "use of derogatory remarks in respect of the Holy Prophet."

In 1990, the Federal Shari’ah Court ruled that the penalty should be a mandatory death sentence, with no right to reprieve or pardon. This is binding, but the government is yet to formally amend the law, which means that the provision for life sentence still formally exists, and is used by the government as a concession to critics of the death penalty. In 2004, the Pakistani parliament approved a law to reduce the scope of the blasphemy laws. The amendment to the law means that police officials will have to investigate accusations of blasphemy to ensure that they are well founded, before presenting criminal charges.

However, the law is used against political adversaries or personal enemies, by Muslim fundamentalists against Christians, Hindus, and Sikhs, or for personal revenge. Especially Ahmadi Muslims are victims of the blasphemy law. They claim to be Muslims themselves, but under the blasphemy law, they are not allowed to use Islamic vocabulary or rituals.

The Pakistani Catholic bishops' Justice and Peace Commission complained in July 2005 that since 1988, some 650 people had been falsely accused and arrested under the blasphemy law. Moreover, over the same period, some 20 people accused of the same offense had been killed. As of July 2005, 80 Christians were in prison accused of blasphemy.

Christians in Pakistan protested Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code as blasphemous, with support of Muslims as well. On June 3, 2006, Pakistan banned the film. Culture Minister Gulab Jamal said: "Islam teaches us to respect all the prophets of God Almighty and degradation of any prophet is tantamount to defamation of the rest."

United Kingdom

Blasphemy laws in England have never been repealed. The last person in Britain to be sent to prison for blasphemy was John William Gott on December 9, 1921. He had three previous convictions for blasphemy when he was prosecuted for publishing two pamphlets which satirised the biblical story of Jesus entering Jerusalem (Matthew 21:2-7), comparing Jesus to a circus clown. He was sentenced to nine months' hard labor.

In 1977, Denis Lemon, the editor of Gay News was found guilty of blasphemous libel for publishing James Kirkup's poem "The Love that Dares to Speak its Name" which allegedly vilified Christ and his life (Whitehouse v. Lemon). Lemon was fined £500 and sentenced to a suspended sentence of nine months imprisonment. It had been "touch and go," said the judge, whether he would actually send Lemon to jail.

In 2002, a deliberate and well-publicised public repeat reading of the poem "The Love that Dares to Speak its Name" took place on the steps of St Martin-in-the-Fields church in Trafalgar Square and failed to lead to any prosecution.

The last prosecution for blasphemy in Scotland was in 1843.

Other nations

There has been a recent tendency in Western countries towards the repeal or reform of blasphemy laws, and these laws are only infrequently enforced where they exist. Blasphemy laws—nowadays often altered to include blasphemy regardless of religion—exist in several countries, such as in: Austria (Articles 188, 189 of the penal code); Denmark (Paragraph 140 of the penal code) (It was up to revision in 2004, but failed to gain majority, and has been discussed since, and especially after the Mohammed cartoons crisis); Finland (Section 10 of chapter 17 of the penal code. Unsuccessful attempts were made to rescind the law in 1914, 1917, 1965, 1970 and 1998); Germany (Article 166 of the penal code); Greece; Islamic Republic of Iran, Ireland; Iceland; Italy;*The Netherlands (Article 147 of the penal code); New Zealand[Section 123 of the Crimes Act 1961); Norway (section 142 of the the Norwegian Penal Code never applied); Spain (Article 525 of the penal code); and Switzerland (Article 261 of the penal code).

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Heins, Majorie. Sex, Sin, and Blasphemy: A Guide to America's Censorship Wars, New Press, 1998. ISBN 978-1565840485
• Levy, Leonard. Blasphemy: Verbal Offense Against the Sacred, from Moses to Salmon Rushdie, University of North Carolina Press, 1995. ISBN 978-0807845158
• Levy, Leonard. Blasphemy in Massachusetts, Da Capo Press, 1973. ISBN 978-0306702211
• Marsh, Joss. Word Crimes: Blasphemy, Culture, and Literature in Nineteenth-Century England, University of Chicago Press, 1998. ISBN 978-0226506906
• Plate, S. Brent. Blasphemy: Art that Offends, Black Dog Publishing, 2006. ISBN 978-1904772536
• Villa-flores, Javier. Dangerous Speech: A Social History of Blasphemy in Colonial Mexico, University of Arizona Press, 2006. ISBN 978-0816525638

External links and references

• Maledicta: The International Journal of Verbal Aggression (ISSN US 0363-3659)
• [http://www.brentonpriestley.com/writing/blasphemy.htm Comprehensive academic study comparing

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