Anti-Blasphemy Laws

                I read an article about anti-blasphemy laws and how they work. At first I had no idea what blasphemy was and decided to look it up. According to dictionary.com, blasphemy is the "impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things." So basically, it is words, or actions, that insults, offends, or criticizes God or an object in the faith of God. In many countries, people are prosecuted for committing blasphemy, by which are called “anti-blasphemy laws.”

                The article illustrates the fact that the blasphemy laws lead to the arrest of religious minorities for hurting the religious majorities’ feelings. It states that “anti-blasphemy laws have nothing to do with "respect" or "sensitivity" to religious sentiments but are all about authority, control and social domination.” The articles further explains how this is a useful tool by the governments.  

                Recently, a video clip came out titled “The Innocence of the Muslims” that sparked outrage and protests in the Middle East. The man that posted the video has been arrested but the television station that broadcasted it and possibly started all of the chaos and protests, has not been subject to legal scrutiny. They say that they were merely informing the public of the “in defense of Islam.”

The Emir (President) of Qatar Sheikh, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani recently gave a speech to the UN that placed all of the blame on the maker of the video, and none on the television station that broadcasted it. Because this broadcast of the video was ultimately what sparked all of the outrage and made the video more known to everyone, I think they should have some of the blame and at least be somewhat held responsible for it. If the laws are that strict and prosecute people for doing lesser things, one would think that the government wouldn’t have any trouble prosecuting the television station for it. (313)