Blasphemy refers to the act of showing disrespect, irreverence, or contempt towards religious beliefs, deities, or sacred objects. It typically involves speaking or acting in a manner that is considered offensive or sacrilegious within a particular religious context.
The Bible defines blasphemy as the act of speaking against God or sacred things in a disrespectful or reviling manner. There are many passages in the Bible that deal with blasphemy, and the severity of the sin is often emphasized.
In the Old Testament, blasphemy is often punished by death. For example, in Leviticus 24:16, it says that "whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him."
In the New Testament, Jesus also speaks about blasphemy. In Matthew 12:31-32, he says that "whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come."
There is some debate about what exactly Jesus means by "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit." Some people believe that it refers to denying the work of the Holy Spirit, while others believe that it refers to attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan.
A 20-year-old Scottish student from Edinburgh, Thomas Aikenhead, was the last person in Britain to be executed for blasphemy. He was prosecuted for denying the veracity of the Old Testament and the legitimacy of Christ's miracles. Aikenhead was hanged for the crime on January 8, 1697 and was said to have died Bible in hand, "with all the marks of a true penitent".
The 1989 movie Visions of Ecstasy was the only film ever banned in the United Kingdom for blasphemy. Following the 2008 repeal of the blasphemy law, the film was eventually classified by the BBFC for release as 18-rated in 2012.
In some countries, blasphemy is not a crime. In the United States, for example, a prosecution for blasphemy would violate the Constitution according to the decision in Joseph Burstyn, Inc v. Wilson. The United Kingdom abolished its laws in England and Wales against blasphemy in 2008.
The last person to be convicted of blasphemy in the United States was an Arkansas man who in 1928 put a sign in his storefront reading, "Evolution Is True. The Bible's a Lie. God's a Ghost." He spent three months in jail.
The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published controversial editorial cartoons depicting Muhammad on September 30, 1975. They sparked protests across the Muslim world by many who viewed them as Islamophobic and blasphemous.
Some countries, especially countries which have Islam as the state religion, regard blasphemy as a serious offence. Pakistan, for example, has legislation which makes execution a penalty for blasphemy.
Pakistani Christian mother-of-five Asia Bibi was safely resettled in Canada in April 2019 after spending nearly eight years on death row. She was sentenced to death under Pakistan's blasphemy law but released after the Supreme Court acquitted her on October 31, 2018.
In Pakistan the mere accusation of blasphemy against Muhammad is enough to incite a vigilante killing by a mob of angry Muslims.
The Quran and the hadith do not mention blasphemy. According to Pakistani religious scholar, Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, nothing in Islam supports blasphemy law. Rather, Muslim jurists made the offence part of Sharia; the penalties for blasphemy can include fines, imprisonment, flogging, amputation, hanging, or beheading.
The 1989 movie Visions of Ecstasy was the only film ever banned in the United Kingdom for blasphemy. Following the 2008 repeal of the blasphemy law, the film was eventually classified by the BBFC for release as 18-rated in 2012.
In some countries, blasphemy is not a crime. In the United States, for example, a prosecution for blasphemy would violate the Constitution according to the decision in Joseph Burstyn, Inc v. Wilson. The United Kingdom abolished its laws in England and Wales against blasphemy in 2008.
The last person to be convicted of blasphemy in the United States was an Arkansas man who in 1928 put a sign in his storefront reading, "Evolution Is True. The Bible's a Lie. God's a Ghost." He spent three months in jail.
The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published controversial editorial cartoons depicting Muhammad on September 30, 1975. They sparked protests across the Muslim world by many who viewed them as Islamophobic and blasphemous.
Some countries, especially countries which have Islam as the state religion, regard blasphemy as a serious offence. Pakistan, for example, has legislation which makes execution a penalty for blasphemy.
Pakistani Christian mother-of-five Asia Bibi was safely resettled in Canada in April 2019 after spending nearly eight years on death row. She was sentenced to death under Pakistan's blasphemy law but released after the Supreme Court acquitted her on October 31, 2018.
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| Reuters (File Photo) |
In Pakistan the mere accusation of blasphemy against Muhammad is enough to incite a vigilante killing by a mob of angry Muslims.
The Quran and the hadith do not mention blasphemy. According to Pakistani religious scholar, Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, nothing in Islam supports blasphemy law. Rather, Muslim jurists made the offence part of Sharia; the penalties for blasphemy can include fines, imprisonment, flogging, amputation, hanging, or beheading.
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