An unexpected twist in the Rimsha Masih blasphemy case appears to have paved the way for her freedom from apparently false charges of desecrating the Quran.
In the meantime, the case has triggered a debate on how Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws are being used to settle personal scores and vendettas.
The BBC director general Mark Thompson has claimed that Christianity is treated with less sensitivity than other religions because it is “pretty broad shoulders”.
He suggested other faiths had “very close identity with ethnic minorities” and as a result were covered in a more careful way by broadcasters.
Outraged by nations that want to execute blasphemers and propelled by a deep belief in the freedom of expression, Lindsay is forging ahead with his “nothing is sacred” movement.
Wednesday marks the first organized observance of Blasphemy Day, a series of events, exhibits and lectures unfolding in a host of mostly North American cities that are part of a larger Campaign for Free Expression.
A controversial anti-blasphemy law is being scrapped by the Dutch government.
In scrapping the law the cabinet is meeting the demand of parliament where a majority of parties argued that offering religious groups an extra layer of legal protection is outdated.
As an alternative the cabinet is now seeking to strengthen anti-discrimination laws against groups whatever their background, thus taking the religious component out of the equation.
The boy, 16, was stopped by police in Biggera Waters after he was spotted wearing a t-shirt which claims “Jesus is a (expletive deleted)” and depicts a nun masturbating.
It is a t-shirt for English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth.
“My Sweet Lord,” an anatomically correct milk chocolate sculpture of Jesus Christ that infuriated Catholics before its April unveiling was canceled, returns Oct. 27 to a Chelsea art gallery, its creator said Tuesday. This time, artist Cosimo Cavallaro said he expects the public exhibit to proceed without a problem.
A planned Holy Week exhibition of a nude, anatomically correct chocolate sculpture of Jesus Christ was canceled Friday after Cardinal Edward Egan and other outraged Catholics complained.
The Blasphemy Challenge is a joint project of filmmaker Brian Flemming, director of the antireligion documentary The God Who Wasn’t There, and Brian Sapient, cofounder of the atheist Web site RationalResponders.com.
ATHENS — An appeals court yesterday overturned the conviction of Austrian cartoonist Gerhard Haderer for blasphemy over a comic book portraying Jesus as a marijuana-smoking hippie. Haderer, 54, was given a six-month suspended prison sentence in January for “maliciously insulting the Orthodox Church,” and his book The Life of Jesus was banned in Greece – causing protests from European human rights groups and other cartoonists. The book, published in several European countries, portrays Jesus as a hippie surfer who enjoys smoking marijuana with friends and celebrities, including Jimi Hendrix. The three-member court was unanimous in its ruling. Haderer was not
A Greek court will rule on Wednesday whether to allow sales of a cartoon book from Austria depicting Jesus Christ as a drinking buddy of Jimi Hendrix and a marijuana-smoking, naked surfer. Cartoonist Gerhard Haderer was found guilty by a Greek court of “malicious public blasphemy” this year and received a six-month suspended prison sentence for his take on the life of Christ – but he can only be detained if he comes to Greece. The book went on sale in Greece briefly in 2002, but the Orthodox Church was outraged and succeeded in having it immediately withdrawn through a