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by Tommaso Virgili • January 5,
2019 at 5:00 am
- One might also
wonder where, in the European Convention on Human Rights,
"feelings" are mentioned. Following the court's
logic, would it be appropriate to cover the windows of
steakhouses not to hurt the feelings of animal activists? Or
only if they threatened to riot? Is the new ruling just a
capitulation to extortionistic threats of violence?
- The supposition
seems to be, "If you had just kept quiet, these bad
things (fill in the blank) would not be happening." It is
both a false premise -- the "bad things" might have
happened anyway, as they did, for example, when the Bataclan
Theater in Paris or the Brussels airport were attacked -- and
it is a demand for enforced self-censorship. Moreover, who
gets to decide who is accountable? Who watches the
watchers?
- How soon will the
public be asked to stop other activities -- drinking alcohol,
men and women dancing together, ringing church bells, art that
depicts the human image, separation of religion and state, and
equal justice under the law for women, to name just a few --
that also might hurt "religious feelings?"
- Will the ECHR's
Grand Chamber -- the only authority that could reverse the
decision -- correct this treacherous path?
The
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that criticism of
Islamic prophet Mohammed constitutes incitement to hatred and
therefore is not protected free speech. Pictured: A courtroom of
the ECHR in Strasbourg, France. (Image source: Adrian
Grycuk/Wikimedia Commons)
October 26 marked a historic day for Ireland, where
citizens, in a national referendum, overwhelmingly voted to repeal
the country's blasphemy law.
Blasphemy remains a serious offence in many parts of
the world, in some Muslim countries even requiring the death
penalty.
More astonishing is that even some European
countries are criminalizing "defamation of religion".
Recently, an actor was detained in Spain for failing
to appear in court where he would face the accusation of
"having insulted God and the Virgin Mary".
The outcome of the Irish referendum will entail a
modification of the Irish Constitution, which states in Article
40.6.1:
"The publication or utterance of blasphemous,
seditious, or indecent matter is an offence which shall be
punishable in accordance with law."
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