{"id":92525,"date":"2012-08-23T10:08:28","date_gmt":"2012-08-23T09:08:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uncut.indexoncensorship.org\/?p=6720"},"modified":"2019-09-17T11:19:41","modified_gmt":"2019-09-17T10:19:41","slug":"five-bizarre-blasphemy-cases-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/?p=92525","title":{"rendered":"Five bizarre blasphemy cases"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>An 11-year-old girl with Down\u2019s Syndrome <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-asia-19320229\">was<\/a> last week arrested in Pakistan, after an angry mob demanded that the girl be punished for allegedly desecrating the Qur\u2019an &#8212; the Islamic holy book. The young girl is a resident of a Christian neighbourhood on the outskirts of Islamabad, from where over 600 citizens have now fled after calls for her arrest were accompanied by threats to burn Christian homes in the area. This isn\u2019t the first blasphemy case we\u2019ve seen come out of Pakistan &#8212; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.financialexpress.com\/news\/facebook-charged-with-blasphemy-in-pakistan\/952463\/0\">earlier this year<\/a>, charges were brought against Facebook for hosting \u201cblasphemous content\u201d. In September 2011, a young Christian school girl <a href=\"http:\/\/www.humanrightsfirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blasphemy_Cases.pdf\">was expelled<\/a> for misspelling a word on an exam question tied to a poem revering the prophet Muhammad.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Religious sensitivities have mostly been responsible for silence from Pakistani politicians on the controversial laws &#8212; slammed internationally for their usage against religious minorities in the country. Politicians speaking out against the laws have faced hardship, and even in some cases &#8212; death. In January this year, governor of the state of Punjab Salman Taseer was <a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2011\/mar\/2\/pakistan-minister-murdered-for-criticism-of-islam-\/?page=all\">slain<\/a> after criticising the law, and\u00a0Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-south-asia-12621225\">was murdered <\/a>last year after speaking out against the country\u2019s blasphemy laws, under which 1,000 cases have been lodged against individuals for allegedly desecrating the Qur\u2019an since 1998.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, Pakistan is not alone in upholding vague blasphemy laws that make it easy to clamp down on free speech in the name of protecting religion. Here are some ridiculous blasphemy cases from around the world this year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RUSSIA &#8212; PUSSY RIOT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ALS92big4TY\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Three members of feminist punk group Pussy Riot were this month <a href=\"http:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/2012\/08\/russia-pussy-riot-found-guilty\/\">sentenced<\/a> to two years in prison after being charged with \u201chooliganism motivated by religious hatred\u201d for a 40-second performance staged in Moscow\u2019s Christ the Saviour Church. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Ekaterina Samutsevic were arrested in March for their \u201cpunk prayer\u201d &#8212; which invoked the Virgin Mary to cast out Russian President Vladimir Putin. The case has garnered international outrage, as local activists believe that the charges brought against the women are actually politically motivated.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TUNISIA &#8212; PERSEPOLIS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><object width=\"420\" height=\"236\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/bw2NQm1XbI8?version=3&amp;hl=en_US\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed width=\"420\" height=\"236\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/bw2NQm1XbI8?version=3&amp;hl=en_US\" allowFullScreen=\"true\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" \/><\/object><\/p>\n<p>In post-revolution Tunisia, the General Director of a TV station that <a href=\"http:\/\/uncut.indexoncensorship.org\/2012\/05\/tunisia-michael-parker\/\">aired<\/a> a film depicting God as an old bearded man, was prosecuted and fined for \u201cviolating sacred values\u201d. Nabil Karoui\u2019s station, Nessma TV, aired the animated film Persepolis, based on Iranian artist Marjane Satrapi\u2019s graphic novel by the same name.<\/p>\n<p>And concerns about freedom of expression in Tunisia only seem to grow, as its ruling Islamist party <a href=\"http:\/\/uncut.indexoncensorship.org\/2012\/08\/tunisia-blasphemy-ennahda\/\">moved<\/a> to outlaw blasphemy in a bill filed on 1 August. If passed, \u201ccursing, insulting, mocking, undermining, and desecrating\u201d religious symbols from the three Abrahamic faiths (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity) could lead to two years in jail, as well as a hefty fine of 2000 TND (\u00a3794). \u00a0While the ruling Ennadha Party <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/2012\/08\/10\/158549262\/anti-blasphemy-law-introduced-in-tunisia\">claims<\/a> to want to protect free speech, blasphemy is treated differently &#8212; in the name of protecting an \u201cArab Muslim identity\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><strong>INDIA &#8212; SANAL EDAMARUKU<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><object width=\"420\" height=\"315\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/kUqhq9MuRG8?version=3&amp;hl=en_US\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed width=\"420\" height=\"315\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/kUqhq9MuRG8?version=3&amp;hl=en_US\" allowFullScreen=\"true\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" \/><\/object><\/p>\n<p>Indian skeptic Sanal Edamaruku, <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sanal_Edamaruku\">has built<\/a> a career out of challenging religious superstitions and mystics. Edamaruku now <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.newhumanist.org.uk\/2012\/07\/sanal-edamaruku-update-indian-catholics.html\">faces<\/a> blasphemy charges for \u201cdeliberately hurting religious feelings\u201d after pointing out that the \u201cmiracle\u201d of \u201choly water\u201d dripping from a crucifix in a Mumbai-based Catholic church was actually the result of a leaky pipe rather than divine intervention. He potentially faces jail time, and is currently remaining outside of the country in order to avoid arrest.<\/p>\n<p><strong>EGYPT &#8212; NAGUIB SAWIRIS &amp; ADEL IMAM<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/uncut.indexoncensorship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/bearded-mickey-mouse-and-minnie.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-6732\" title=\"bearded-mickey-mouse and minnie\" src=\"http:\/\/uncut.indexoncensorship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/bearded-mickey-mouse-and-minnie.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"318\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, beloved Egyptian comic Adel Imam was sentenced to three months in jail for \u201cinsulting Islam\u201d in films he made in the early 1990s. A Cairo court eventually <a href=\"http:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/2012\/04\/egypt-adel-imam-sentence-blasphemy-sentence-dropped\/\">dropped<\/a> the charges, which were brought against the comic by Islamist lawyer Asran Mansour, for allegedly ridiculing political and religious figures. Also this year, Islamists accused Coptic businessman Naguib Sawiris of \u201cblasphemy and insulting Islam\u201d after he posted a picture of a veiled Minnie and bearded Mickey Mouse on the social networking site Twitter. The charges were eventually dismissed. Both of these case <a href=\"http:\/\/uncut.indexoncensorship.org\/2012\/06\/what-will-morsi-mean-for-free-speech\/\">sparked<\/a> outrage and fears that a clampdown on free expression in the country might take place, as the newly elected President Mohamed Morsi is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.<\/p>\n<p><strong>POLAND &#8212; POP STAR DODA<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/uncut.indexoncensorship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/doda.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-6736\" title=\"doda\" src=\"http:\/\/uncut.indexoncensorship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/doda-300x222.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"222\" \/><\/a>Well-known Polish pop star Doda <a href=\"http:\/\/www.christianpost.com\/news\/poland-fines-blaspheming-pop-star-for-criticizing-bible-67386\/\">was fined<\/a> at the start of the year for comments she made in a 2009 interview, where she said that she had difficulty believing in the Bible, as it \u201cwas written by someone drunk on wine and smoking some herbs\u201d. Doda, who launched her career with a solo album entitled Diamond Bitch, was fined 5,000 zlotys by Polish authorities for her comments &#8212; deemed to be offensive in the deeply Roman Catholic country.<\/p>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\"><\/div>\n<p><em>Sara Yasin is an Editorial Assistant at Index on Censorship. She tweets from <a title=\"Twitter: Sara Yasin\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/missyasin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@missyasin<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An 11-year-old girl with Down\u2019s Syndrome was last week arrested in Pakistan, after an angry mob demanded that the girl be punished for allegedly desecrating the Qur\u2019an &#8212; the Islamic holy book. The young girl is a resident of a Christian neighbourhood on the outskirts of Islamabad, from where over 600 citizens have now fled [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[4061,4060],"tags":[4596,13580,708,13581,7376,100,60,13247,7351,2056,4390,5091,3899,7352],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92525"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=92525"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109382,"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92525\/revisions\/109382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=92525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=92525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=92525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}