Feminist activist sent to prison for ‘Allah is lesbian’ T-shirt - Morocco

There is no requirement for a country to be at war for something to be treason.

These comments are scary.

Just to clarify Hamas for example would be considered a terrorist organisation under UK law and I dont think most people would have a problem with the police arresting people for holding up signs explicitly supporting Hamas. Likewise there are far right terrorist groups you are not legally allowed to support. But extending that definition to include groups like Palestine Action blurs the boundary far too much. In the long run it undermines the governments ability to deal with actual terrorist/dangerous groups- but boy who cried wolf.
When Palestine Action damaged the plane there wasn't much free speech law to test- it's very clearly criminal damage (arguably as a means of peaceful protest but clearly against the law). When people break the law by holding up signs supporting Palestine Action they very clearly are testing the boundaries of laws around free speech.

In a case where the UK was at war (eg during WW2) it probably would be considered treason. That's why governments declaring "war" on things (terror, drugs, poverty) is a bit dodgy because it tends to open the door to more restrictions on our freedoms than would/should be tolerated in peacetime. That said, if Russia was invading and someone sabotaged a plane it would be treason but not terrorism. Those are different things. Blurring the boundaries doesn't do anything. As it is, let's say it's criminal damage. So supporting Palestine Action should be considered supporting criminal damage. That would be more sensible because you can arrest the people doing the criminal damage (a crime) but not the people holding a sign saying "yay criminal damage (not a crime). And the UK government could have saved itself the entirely predictable headache of arresting hundreds of pensioners.

Terrorism is a very specific charge and classifying an organisation as terrorist carries with it a host of powers that don't otherwise exist. It should be used more sparingly than just "they did a bad thing".

Palistinian Action attacked the UK military. Supporting an organisation that attacks your own country’s military could also be called treason. That is very different from protesting against laws you disagree with.

Of course women and men must be free to wear t-shirts insulting or mocking Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Gender ideology, communism, trade unions, the SNP, conservative…, so long as they are not inciting harm or sexually exploit/indecent. We should not bow to Islam. But the woman in question should not be (and possibly wasn’t) surprised by the response. Just like the women in Iran uncovering their heads. For those who say we shouldn’t offend Muslims remember many are offended by women simply existing in the public sphere.

But people in this country are deliberately creating situations where they can be arrested for supporting Palestine Action. It's a form of peaceful protest where you disrupt the law deliberately in order to test it/showcase the absurdity. She is doing the same thing to laws she disagreed with in Morocco. I can have sympathy for both groups. The slightly vindictive posts on here along the lines of "serves her right" don't sit quite right with me is all. I agree that "doing a JD" and hysterically decreeing the lack of free speech in other countries while ignoring issues closer to home isn't appropriate. But I think it's fine to sympathise with someone like her even if you are in another country.

Why should a diety wanting to have sex be being awful? Loads of faiths have them having sex so why should the State deprive a citizen of her freedom just because it may offend people?

I don't get this
Why would someone want to wear such a t shirt ,it's obviously going to cause hurt and upset .
Why would anyone wear a t-shirt being awful about any religion ..unless your trying to offend people
Bizarre

If Labour introduces their proposed islamophobia definition she could be imprisoned in the UK too.

I’m enjoying it so far! Not finished it yet though.. so please don’t spoil it for me!

She is absolutely a brilliant writer

School not back yet?

Why not 2 days or 2 months if the State wanted to punish her for saying what she did?

What actual crimes get less time, which get the same time, and which get more is the question when looking at the State using its power against a belief.

If the State dont believe that it has a body how is it right to punish her if she wants to believe im something different.

In the end the State is using its power to enforce a belief onto its population. The majority of the population may agree with the faith but a State needs to be able to allow the minority a space too.

That the State (via a Judge) decided that her statement needed a term of more than a few days is an excessive abuse of power.

@AliasGrace47 you misunderstand me- the prison sentence was ridiculous.

CLAW- Conspicuously Law Abiding Women. I can’t remember who coined the phrase.
It’s a contrast with the TRA’s who mask their faces and break laws with their aggressive protests. Feminists tend to be rather more polite and measured, not withstanding their passion.

And my comment about holidays was to do with withholding support from regimes which oppress women as well as self protection. I was uneasy when DH was sent to Qatar on business- it seemed wrong. I suppose I internally sanction places where there are significant civil rights issues.

If I’ve misunderstood anything, I apologise- I have a brain like a soggy old bath sponge these days. Coherent thoughts give up and leave home halfway through a sentence.

Do you generally struggle with reading comprehension or were you just too excited to see a young woman in trouble?

Reading comprehension seems to be falling on MN judging by this thread...

Do you apply this grand reasoning to Afghan women too?

Laws of the country you are in? Obey those, especially somewhere a bit erm "rigid"

Pardon?

Oof fafo

Hard agree. And she has cancer and is being denied treatment. For shame!

@AMansAManForAllThat, The whole point was that she was arrested for something she could control : what she wrote and wore. She made a deliberate protest, bravely, knowing the consequences.

As a citizen of Morocco, she understandably wants to challenge the laws, not just avoid them.

I don't really know why you're making comments about holidays, it's quite irrelevant to this case.

Why is her sentence necessarily ridiculous? As I said upthread, some liberal Muslim women do call God She and Her.
Attributing a sexuality is a bigger jump ofc, esp as unlike Christianity Allah never became incarnate according to scriptures. (People who think Jesus was secretly married to Mary Magdalene as per Dan Brown are ridiculous, but Jesus was at least a flesh and blood person so they have a little more backing).

Otoh, why should the sentence being, in your opinion, ridiculous, have any relevance? Free speech should include to right to be ridiculous.

Anyway, I very much doubt she literally believes that. The sentence is much more likely to have been crafted as a challenge to the blasphemy laws & a symbolic criticism of Islam & Morocco's attitude to women and lgb people.