 This is much welcome and long overdue. For years we have chronicled here how Muslims use the blasphemy laws to victimize non-Muslims in Pakistan. But given the way things are going there these days, this initiative is unlikely to succeed. "All Christian Parties Conference to End Blasphemy law set to launch movement," from the Pakistan Christian Post, October 18 (thanks to Jeffrey Imm): Islamabad: October 18, 2009. (PCP) Pakistan Christian Congress PCC extended invitation to leaders and organizations which are struggling to repeal blasphemy law in Pakistan to participate in All Christian Parties Conference on October 25, 2009, at Rawalpindi Press Club. The invitations were given to Christian members of parliament who raised voice to repeal blasphemy law in House while Christians selected by Pakistan Peoples Party PPP and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz group PML(N) were decide not to invite including Shahbaz Bhatti, Federal Minority Minister imposed on Christian by PPP. General Zial-ul-Haq formulated Hadood Ordinance and introduced Blasphemy law but Section 295 B and C of Pakistan Penal Code were legislated during PPP and PML(N) regimes.
The Blasphemy is subject to capital punishment in Pakistan and used against Christians on business rivalry and personnel grudges.
The blasphemy law is also being used by Muslim majority in Pakistan to desecrate Holy Bibles and burnt down Churches. On accusations of blasphemy Islamic militants have destroyed hundreds of homes and killed dozens in year 2009, while children, women and elders were burnt alive. The federal government of Pakistan and Punjab provincial government failed to secure life and property of Christians and to adopt necessary measure to stop violence against Christians.... Source: JihadWatch 
 UN rights body approves US-Egypt free speech textBy FRANK JORDANS
GENEVA — The U.N. Human Rights Council approved a U.S.-backed resolution Friday deploring attacks on religions while insisting that freedom of expression remains a basic right. The inaugural resolution sponsored by the U.S. since it joined the council in June broke a long-running deadlock between Western and Islamic countries in the wake of the publication of cartoons depicting the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. The resolution has no effect in law but provides Muslim countries with moral ammunition the next time they feel central tenets of Islam are being ridiculed by Western politicians or media through "negative racial and religious stereotyping." American diplomats say the measure — co-sponsored by Egypt — is part of the Obama administration's effort to reach out to Muslim countries. "The exercise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression is one of the essential foundations of a democratic society," the resolution states, urging countries to protect free speech by lifting legal restrictions, ensuring the safety of journalists, promoting literacy and preventing media concentration. Rights groups cautiously welcomed the resolution as an improvement on earlier drafts, but said Egypt was in no position to lecture other countries about free speech as it has a poor record on the matter. "Egypt's cosponsorship of the resolution on freedom of expression is not the result of a real commitment to upholding freedom of expression," said Jeremie Smith, Geneva director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies. "If this were the case, freedom of expression would not be systematically violated on a daily basis in Egypt," he said. Others warned that the resolution appears to protect religions rather than believers and encourages journalists to abide by ill-defined codes of conduct. "Unfortunately, the text talks about negative racial and religious stereotyping, something which most free expression and human rights organizations will oppose," said Agnes Callamard, executive director of London-based group Article 19. Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iRHXSIoJJdXQpG3kPrRO2LWMnWTAD9B2UIIG0
 Muslim Fatwa Call to Kill a German Girl (Dena Milany)
By Bassam Allen
Sheikh Abu Hassan, head of the Fatwa Committee, and former adviser to Al-Azhar issued a "fatwa" to "shed the blood" of the German Girl Dena Milany, who adopted an invitation on Facebook to use the Quran as a "Toilet" paper. Sheikh Hassan said that in case it was proved that Dena is responsible for this group, then she MUST BE KILLED, (if it is possible to get access to he). Abu Hassan said for the "Al-Youmalshba" Newspaper: Although this girl is not addressed by the laws of "Sharia - Islamic laws" (because of her different religion), but what she did is "immorality" that could not be replied to it by only insulting.he continues to say:.. and this is because Allah didn't command us (as Muslims) to insult the believers of other religions, so that they don't insult our religion (Islam). But she (means Dena) has committed a "crime" that can't be accepted by any person with a grain of faith. Abu Hassan continued and said that Egypt should address the German state to take all legal action against this "ignorant" girl, because she insulted Islam.the Terrorist sheik is From Al-Azhar mosque the Most Important mosques In Egypt, And Al-Azhar mosque is responsible of Sectarian strife between Muslims and Christians Copts and last Muslim Attacked was before few hours, it Caused Killed one and Three wounded. And From Other Side Dena Milany Said In her Site to the Sheikh Terrorist If You would Like to Kill Me than Come to Germanythe German Girl Greated the Group because She Took about 130 Killing thrats From Muslim Like She Said. and She said in her Group that She hate Islam Not Muslimsshe dont hate anyone, and why Muslims are Blaming us, Saudi Arabia government Damage & Burn Bibles and the Torah Everyday.And there is Some Fatwas Said that you Can use Bible and Torah as Toilet Paper.Soooooo Dont Blame me,Blame Yourselves Muslims...) فتوى أزهرية بإهدار دم الألمانية دينا ميلانى بعد ان عبرت عن رأيها عن القرأن كتب عمرو جادأفتى الشيخ على أبو الحسن رئيس لجنة الفتوى الأسبق والمستشار السابق لشيخ الأزهر، بإهدار دم الفتاة الألمانية دينا ميلانى والتى تبنت دعوة على الفيس بوك لاستخدام القرآن كورق" تواليت"، مؤكدا أنه فى حال صحة ما نسب إليها فيجب قتلها إذا أمكن الوصول إليها.وقال أبو الحسن لليوم السابع، رغم أن هذه الفتاة لا تخاطب بأحكام الشريعة نظرا لاختلاف ديانتها إلا أن ما فعلته وما تدعو إليه هو "سفالة" لا يمكن الرد عليها بالسباب فقط، لأن الله يأمرنا بألا نسب أصحاب الديانات الأخرى فيسبوا ديننا، ولكنها ارتكبت جريمة لا يقبلها أى إنسان لديه ذرة من الإيمان".وأضاف أبو الحسن أنه يجب على الدولة المصرية أن تخاطب نظيرتها الألمانية لاتخاذ كافة الإجراءات القانونية ضد هذه الفتاة "الجاهلة" لازدرائها الدين الإسلامى ." .و يجدر الاشارة ان جامع الازهر هو المسؤول عن احداث الفتنة الطائفية في مصر بين المسلمين و الاقباط و التي تسببت اخرها بمقتل قبطي و جرح ثلاثة.و من جهة اخرى اعلنت دينا ميلاني انها لا تكره المسلمين و لكن تكره الاسلامو هي لا تحقد على اي شخص.و قالت "اشعر بالشفقة على المسلمين المساكين الذين هم ضحيه لارهاب شيوخ جامع الازهر الارهابيين. Source: http://stopislamisation.blogspot.com/2009/09/muslim-fatwa-call-to-kill-german-girl.html
 By Fareed Khan Sialkot (AsiaNews) – The young Christian man who was arrested on 12 September in a village in Punjab accused of blasphemy was killed last night in prison.Police had Fanish, 20, remanded into their custody in order to continue their investigation. This morning prison guards in Sialkot district prison found the lifeless body of the young man with visible signs of injuries. For Nadeem Anthony, member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), his death was judicial murder. Condemning in the strongest terms the latest anti-Christian outrage, the activist told AsiaNews that for police the young committed suicide by hanging himself in jail, something that for him does not make sense.Instead, “it is a torture killing” because “we can see signs of torture on his body in the picture.” AsiaNews also received photos of the lifeless body. In it the type of injuries that can be seen appear unrelated to strangulation by hanging. The body is at the disposal of the legal authority, which has ordered an autopsy at Sialkot’s Civil Hospital. Fanish was arrested last Saturday after accusations of blasphemy were made against him. A day earlier a Muslim mob had gathered in front of the church in the village of Jaithikey, not far from the town of Samberial, in the district of Sialkot (Punjab), to teach the local Christian community a “lesson”. Extremists damaged the building before setting it on fire. They also pillaged two homes near the church. A relationship between the 20-year-old Christian man and a young Muslim woman appears to be the cause of the turn of events. Read more here ...Source: Asia TimesH/T: JihadWatch
Time and again religious minorities have demanded repeal of the Anti-blasphemy
law often used to target minorities, but the government remains indifferent.Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy law, enacted by President General Zia-ul-Haq in1986 and later amended by the parliament in 2004, is one of the most stringent laws. The penalty includes a mandatory death sentence for defaming Prophet Mohammad and life imprisonment for desecrating the Holy Quran. According to official reports, to date, over 500 people have been charged for breaching the Blasphemy Law. Dawn.com traces the history of some of these cases that have been highlighted in the media since 1990. Read more ...Source: DawnH/T: Jihad Watch
 By James Cohen Believe it or not, Finland still has blasphemy laws on the books, but there have been repeated attempts to rescind Section 10 of chapter 17 of the Finnish penal code. All attempts however, at removing the anti-modern statute from the law books have proved unsuccessful, with the latest attempt failing in 1998. Helsinki city councilman, Jussi Halla-aho was charged with blasphemy and incitement of an ethnic-group in the Helsinki district court today, and ordered to stand trial for publishing on his blog that Islam’s prophet was a pedophile. According to the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Jorme Kalske: “Halla-aho had uploaded to the Internet and submitted writings to the general public, in which Islam and its sacred institutions were combined with pedophilia, and in which was also presented the robbery of pedestrians and the ooting of tax revenue was a certain national group or a specific genetic characteristic.
The charges were presented in the Helsinki District Court. Halla-aho denies the charges” Read more ... Source: IFPS
By Christopher Hitchens The Muslim religion makes unusually large claims for itself. All religions do this, of course, in that they claim to know and to be able to interpret the wishes of a supreme being. But Islam affirms itself as the last and final revelation of God's word, the consummation of all the mere glimpses of the truth vouchsafed to all the foregoing faiths, available by way of the unimprovable, immaculate text of "the recitation," or Quran. If there sometimes seems to be something implicitly absolutist or even totalitarian in such a claim, it may result not from a fundamentalist reading of the holy book but from the religion itself. And it is the so-called mainstream Muslims, grouped in the Organization of the Islamic Conference, who are now demanding through the agency of the United Nations that Islam not only be allowed to make absolutist claims but that it also be officially shielded from any criticism of itself. Read more ...Source: SlateThe U.N.
Latest recipient of The Dhimmi Award
 By Nat Hentoff Geert Wilders - a film producer and also a member of parliament in the Netherlands - is facing a prison term there for "insulting" Muslims. His short film "Fitna" in 2008 juxtaposed verses from the Koran with scenes of violence committed by jihadist terrorists. The Dutch appellate court refused a free-speech defense because the insults were so egregious. If convicted, Wilders faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison. Said the defendant: "I lost my freedom already four and a half years ago in October 2004, when my 24-hour police protection started because of threats by Muslims in Holland and abroad to kill me." I have heard from Muslims in this country that jihadists around the world have more than insulted traditional Muslim law by their fierce punishments of both non-Muslims and Muslims who have acted in speech or writing against jihadists' reinterpretations of the Quran. Some of these protesters, exercising freedom of conscience, have been killed for their "blasphemy." Read more ...Source: The Washington Times
 The latest twist in the clash between Western values and the Muslim world took place yesterday in the Netherlands, where a court ordered the prosecution of lawmaker and provocateur Geert Wilders for inciting violence. The Dutch MP and leader of the Freedom Party, which opposes Muslim immigration into Holland, will stand trial soon for his harsh criticism of Islam.
Mr. Wilders, who made world news last year with the release of a short anti-Islam film called "Fitna," certainly intends to provoke. In his 15-minute video, he juxtaposes verses from the Koran that call for jihad with clips of Islamic hate preachers and terror attacks. He has compared the Koran to Hitler's "Mein Kampf" and urged Muslims to tear out "hate-filled" verses from their scripture.
This is a frontal assault on Islam -- but, as Mr. Wilders points out, he's targeting the religion, not its followers. "Fitna," in fact, sparked a refreshing debate between moderate Muslims and non-Muslims in the Netherlands, and beyond.
There are of course limits to free speech, such as calls for violence. But one doesn't need to agree with Mr. Wilders to acknowledge that he hasn't crossed that line. Some Muslims say they are outraged by his statements. But if freedom of speech means anything, it means the freedom of controversial speech. Consensus views need no protection.
This is exactly what Dutch prosecutors said in June when they rejected the complaints against Mr. Wilders. "That comments are hurtful and offensive for a large number of Muslims does not mean that they are punishable," the prosecutors said in a statement. "Freedom of expression fulfills an essential role in public debate in a democratic society. That means that offensive comments can be made in a political debate."
The court yesterday overruled this decision, arguing that the lawmaker should be prosecuted for "inciting hatred and discrimination" and also "for insulting Muslim worshippers because of comparisons between Islam and Nazism."
The concept of punishing people for "insulting" religious feelings sounds dangerously close to what Islamic countries have long been pushing for: that Western nations adopt blasphemy laws and stop the "defamation" of Islam.
The Amsterdam court yesterday obliged. This is no small victory for Islamic regimes that seek to export their censorship laws to wherever Muslims happen to reside. But the successful integration of Muslims in the Netherlands and the rest of Europe will require that immigrants adapt to Western norms, not vice versa. Limiting the Dutch debate of Islam to standards acceptable in, say, Saudi Arabia, will only shore up support for Mr. Wilders's argument that Muslim immigration is eroding traditional Dutch liberties.
Islamists have long tried to silence Mr. Wilders, who has been living for years under 24-hour police protection. Dutch judges may finally succeed where jihadist death threats so far have failed. Source: The Wall Street Journal - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123257047606303395.html H/T: Weasel Zippers
A controversial anti-blasphemy law is being scrapped by the Dutch government. The move is remarkable as two of the current three members of the ruling coalition are Christian parties and they had originally wanted to maintain the ban. 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. Read more ...Source: Radio Netherlands
From correspondents in Kabul | October 21, 2008
AFGHANISTAN'S appeal court sentenced an Afghan journalist to 20 years in jail, commuting an earlier death sentence, for distributing an Internet article that said the Prophet Mohammad had ignored the rights of women.
Perwiz Kambakhsh, 23, a reporter with the Jahan-e Now daily, was sentenced to death in January by a court in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
The arrest and sentencing of Kambakhsh, also a university student, drew criticism from a number of Western nations, the Afghan media and rights groups. Kambakhsh downloaded an Iranian article from the Internet and distributed it to friends.
"The court has sentenced Perwiz Kambakhsh to 20 years jail for the crime he has committed.
But this is not the final hearing, he has the right to appeal," judge Abdul Salaam Qazizada told the court. Source: The Australian Afghanistan's Appeal Court
Latest recipient of the Distinguished Islamofascist Award
KABUL: The lawyer of an Afghan reporter sentenced to death on blasphemy charges accused authorities yesterday of holding his client beyond a legal deadline. The appeal of Perwiz Kambakhsh — arrested last October and sentenced to death by a primary court in January — has been repeatedly delayed because witnesses who testified against him earlier did not turn up to court. “Based on the law, an appeal court can hold a suspect only for two months. Within this two months, it either should rule or otherwise the suspect must be freed,” lawyer Mohamed Afzal Shormach Nuristani told reporters in Kabul. “The detention of my client, Mr Kambakhsh, is against the law,” he said. The reporter, who is in his early 20s, has alleged torture during custody and said the first trial lasted only minutes and he was not given legal representation. Read more ...Source: Gulf TimesH/T: Shariah Finance Watch
 By Elizabeth Samson
There are strange happenings in the world of international jurisprudence that do not bode well for the future of free speech. In an unprecedented case, a Jordanian court is prosecuting 12 Europeans in an extraterritorial attempt to silence the debate on radical Islam.
The prosecutor general in Amman charged the 12 with blasphemy, demeaning Islam and Muslim feelings, and slandering and insulting the prophet Muhammad in violation of the Jordanian Penal Code. The charges are especially unusual because the alleged violations were not committed on Jordanian soil.
Among the defendants is the Danish cartoonist whose alleged crime was to draw in 2005 one of the Muhammad illustrations that instigators then used to spark Muslim riots around the world. His co-defendants include 10 editors of Danish newspapers that published the images. The 12th accused man is Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders, who supposedly broke Jordanian law by releasing on the Web his recent film, "Fitna," which tries to examine how the Quran inspires Islamic terrorism.
Jordan's attempt at criminalizing free speech beyond its own borders wouldn't be so serious if it were an isolated case. Unfortunately, it is part of a larger campaign to use the law and international forums to intimidate critics of militant Islam. For instance, in December the United Nations General Assembly passed the Resolution on Combating Defamation of Religions; the only religion mentioned by name was Islam. While such resolutions aren't legally binding, national governments sometimes cite them as justification for legislation or other actions.
More worrying, the U.N. Human Rights Council in June said it would refrain from condemning human-rights abuses related to "a particular religion." The ban applies to all religions, but it was prompted by Muslim countries that complained about linking Islamic law, Shariah, to such outrages as female genital mutilation and death by stoning for adulterers. This kind of self-censorship could prove dangerous for people suffering abuse, and it follows the council's March decision to have its expert on free speech investigate individuals and the media for negative comments about Islam.
Given this trend, it's worth taking a closer look at the Jordanian case.
The prosecutor is relying on a 2006 amendment to the Jordanian Justice Act that casts a worryingly wide net for such prosecution. Passed in response to the Danish cartoons incident, the law allows the prosecution of individuals whose actions affect the Jordanian people by "electronic means," such as the Internet. The 2006 amendment, in theory, means anyone who publishes on the Internet could be subject to prosecution in Jordan. If the case against the 12 defendants is allowed to go forward, they will be the first but probably not the last Westerners to be hit by Jordan's law.
Amman has already requested that Interpol apprehend Mr. Wilders and the Danes and bring them to stand before its court for an act that is not a crime in their home countries. To the contrary. Dutch prosecutors said in July that although some of Mr. Wilders's statements may be offensive, they are protected under Dutch free-speech legislation. Likewise, Danish law protects the rights of the Danish cartoonists and newspapers to express their views.
Neither Denmark nor the Netherlands will turn over its citizens to Interpol, as the premise of Jordan's extradition request is an affront to the very principles that define democracies. It is thus unlikely that any Western country would do so, either. But there is no guarantee for the defendants' protection if they travel to countries that are more sympathetic to the Jordanian court.
Unless democratic countries stand up to this challenge to free speech, other nations may be emboldened to follow the Jordanian example. Kangaroo courts across the globe will be ready to charge free people with obscure violations of other societies' norms and customs, and send Interpol to bring them to stand trial in frivolous litigation.
A new form of forum shopping would soon take root. Activists would be able to choose countries whose laws and policies are informed by their religious values to prosecute critical voices in other countries. The case before the Jordanian court is not just about Mr. Wilders and the Danes. It is about the subjugation of Western standards of free speech to fear and coercion by foreign courts.
Ms. Samson, an attorney specializing in international and constitutional law, will join the Hudson Institute this fall. Source: The Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122099204692716155.html) H/T: Europe News
By Yusha'u A. Ibrahim A 50-year-old Muslim man, who allegedly made a blasphemous statement against Prophet Muhammad, was beaten to death in Kano on Saturday. The man was killed at Sheka Aci Lafiya quarters when some angry Muslim youths besieged his house and beat him to a state of coma. He died shortly after a team of police and Hisbah officials rescued him from the mob, the police said. The man died as he was being rushed to the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital. Witnesses told Daily Trust that the man, though a Muslim, made a statement residents considered as blasphemous against the Holy Prophet after his relatives denied him his share of the estate left by their deceased father. Read more ...Source: Daily Trust
 By Leslie Sacks Earlier this year, the 57 Muslim nations of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) made an attempt to impose an "Islamic Blasphemy Law" as the Universal Standard, a law which would promote the death penalty for those who blaspheme against the Prophet Muhammad. Professor Dr. Ekmeleddin Insanoglu, the Turkish Secretary-General of the OIC (including supposed moderate Turkey), issued the above frightening statement on February 15, 2008, partly in response to the re-publication of those now infamous Danish cartoons. Previously, on January 18, 2006 the enormously influential Sheik Yusaf al-Qaradawi had demanded that the United Nations act in accord with purely Islamic, Sharia-based laws and conceptions of blasphemy and punishment. Qaradawi is furthermore spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and the European Fatwa Council. Noticeably, his anti-Jewish pro-terrorism fatwas include the re-conquering of Spain and the imposition of Sharia, by all necessary means, on all humanity. Read more ...Source: Family Security Matters
A Christian doctor is being held in a Pakistan jail while religious extremists demand that he be publicly hanged for blasphemy. Dr. Robin Sardar, 55, is facing a possible death sentence after an envious friend claimed he made offensive remarks about the Quran and Muhammad’s beard, according to a report by the International Christian Concern, a Washington, D.C.-based human rights group. Sardar’s former friend, Muhammad Yousaf, became jealous of the Christian’s professional success and financial status, so he filed a First Information Report May 5 with police, claiming the doctor had made derogatory statements about the prophet. According to Sardar’s nephew, a mob of more than 200 Muslims wielding guns, sticks and kerosene oil attacked the doctor’s home and medical offices following the report to police. The men, wearing green turbans to represent their Islamic faith, broke into Sadar’s home, shattered windows and ruined the family’s furniture in their residence and clinic. Read more ...Source: John's Blog
HATAY - A Saudi Arabian court on Thursday ratified the conviction of Turkish barber Sabri Bogday, who was sentenced to beheading in Saudi Arabia on charges of "cursing the name of God." Read more ...Source: Turkish Press
Sabri Bogday is a Turkish barber, who has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for blasphemy against Islam. He had gone from Hatay province in southeast Turkey to the Saudi kingdom in 1997 and opened a barbershop. Officials at Jeddah General Court confirmed on April 16 this year that they were supervizing a trial of Mr Bogday for "swearing at Allah". Read more ...Source: Western Resistance
Indonesian prosecutors have recommended a four-year jail sentence for the leader of a Muslim sect charged with blasphemy. Ahmad Mushaddeq was charged with blasphemy and insulting an official religion after he said he was a Muslim prophet, a claim he has since retracted. A key tenet of mainstream Islam is that Mohammad was the final prophet, and will not be followed by any other messengers from God. The defendant's Al Qiyadah Al Islamiyah sect was proscribed as "deviant" last year by the Indonesian Council of Ulemas, the peak group of religious scholars with semi-legal authority. Source: ABC Australia
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This is much welcome and long overdue. For years we have chronicled here how Muslims use the blasphemy laws to victimize non-Muslims in Pakistan. But given the way things are going there these days, this initiative is unlikely to succeed.
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