Blasphemy Laws

[User37482]

Tahir Ali (Labour) got up in parliament and asked Starmer

'to prohibit the desecration of all religious texts and the prophets of the Abrahamic religions'.

Just the Abrahamic religions of course no mention of the Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Taoism etc etc

AIBU to think most people absolutely do not want want blasphemy laws in the UK and would like to retain the right to say what they would like about any religion.

I don’t even know what a desecration of a prophet is? i’m going to assume it’s taking the piss out of one.

Great, more people they can lock up for telling the truth causing offence.

Interesting that it was framed entirely from an Islamic perspective. “Abrahamic prophets” The New Testament is about God and the Son of God not an “abrahamic prophet” - they are to be found in the Old Testament. Most Jewish people wouldn’t recognise Jesus as a Prophet. It is only Muslims who would see the New Testament being about a prophet.

This is Britain if I want to draw a picture of Mohammed I can, if I want to tear up the Bible and feed my fire with it I can. If someone wants to point out Mohamed was a war monger and devised a religion to land grab, why can’t I tell this historically accurate account.

If I want to point out the Jewish scriptures are basically nicked - why shouldn’t I? Does mr Ali want to protect the writings of the original Mesopotamian account of Noah? Or is that not worthy of protection in his eyes?

why just Abrahamic religions? I have plenty of books from lots of religions and spiritual philosophies are they fair game? Why does this chap think no other religions should be protected. Is my copy of the Satanic bible covered. Can I place a copy of that in a mosque or church or Jewish temple and demand it’s treated with reverence?

Starmer is a dangerous cunt whoever the fuck voted for him needs to reflect on this. He’s useless - he should just have come out and said - we will never introduce blasphemy laws. Unless of course he plans to.

The only laws we need to have are you can’t discriminate against someone because of their religion or philosophy-we have those already. We have already had death threats against people who damage a book or draw a picture (and indeed people in other European countries have been killed) it is this kind of thinking, that someone’s personal choice of religion should matter to anyone else that needs wiping out, rather than vilifying someone because they draw something or throw a book across a playground.

if you want that kind of crap move to the many countries who already have those types of laws - they have no place in Britain.

I still can’t get my head around why, when we know exactly how our universe came about, we still believe in nonsense created from when we would stare into the sky looking for answers to why we are here.

I’ll sit patiently waiting for a knock on the door from the thought police. It’s ridiculous. We are regressing backwards

This. This is what needs to be legislated for. Islam is just another religion, man made designed to control.

i was heartened by the Tories coking out do forcefully today and saying there needs to be much more integration and it’s not about protecting the cultures of those. Coming into the UK it is about those coming into the UK integrating into a strong British culture.

We might need to put up with these clowns for another 4.5 years hopefully they won’t go too much damage but whoever is in next will reverse whatever crackpot shit Labour do.

He didn’t ask for it for all Abrahamic faiths though, He said all Abrahamic prophets. This would either exclude the New Testament or bow down to the Islamic concept of reducing Jesus to a prophet rather than being the son of God. Either way he was Blaspheming by denying Jesus as the son of God and one with God. - how would he be charged under his desired laws
for this religious crime? Or would the definitions be Islamic ones?

Islam recognises Jesus as a prophet.

No other religious representatives are making this kind of sinister demand.

This MP should have been shouted down for even thinking that kind of medieval fascism has any place at all in the UK in 2024.

I have lived in the sort of society he seeks to recreate in this country. It’s terrifying. Blasphemy means whatever a fanatic with power thinks it does.

I am feeling sick with fear tonight that this ideology is allowed to flourish under the skirts of tolerance.

We all need to be very careful and very watchful. Labour are in thrall to this cohort for votes. I dread to think what else Rayner promised when she was begging in that room with those men and her hair covered.

Oh and it was two. Imran Hussain (Bradford East?) asked the same question earlier asking that the PM

Condemn those in public office and positions of power who actively promote Islamophobia?
Commit to adopting a definition of Islamophobia today?
Outline the concrete steps the Government is taking to rip out Islamophobia at its roots, including in this place?

It was Labour that got rid of the blasphemy laws in England and Wales in 2006 but don’t let facts get in the way of your prejudice. The SNP finally got rid of them in Scotland this year but NI still has them.

Labour's typical ill-considered, good-idea-at-the-time law making again.

The intention of such laws is as a shield to protect people. Unfortunately, they get used as a weapon to curtail free speech. That's a foreseeable consequence.

The government's efforts would be better spent ensuring the right to free speech, even if that offends some people.

I agree. I despair of how lazy and complacent our politicians and police have become. Our secular democracy, with its respect for human rights, is well worth defending.

Absolutely zero faith in Starmer on this one. The man is a danger to the nation.

It’s never a good idea at the time.

Money should be spent on protecting people from, you know, actual violence.

very little of that protection around these days.

I'm not surprised this is on the table, it's not that differernt in many ways from the way people are now thinking about hate crimes - many political progressives seem to think that saying things they really don't like about certain groups is a hate crimes - a kind of secular blasphemy.

I am not a huge fan of blasphemy, personally, I think it's often just rudeness. But - it must not be against the law.

The only religion I ever hear blasphemed is Christianity.

JFC on a regular basis, Imagine saying that about Mo.

We have become a nation of separate communities who only do things for themselves but take from us. What's mine is mine, but what's yours is mine also.

Not especially Muslims but numerous others.

There's rape justified in the Bible. And slavery.

Yes it was a further point about protecting free speech. There was a definition of Islamaphobia that Labour had said it wanted to adopt pre-election which would have probably curbed free speech,

Yeah this is how I feel, it does make me uncomfortable because as you said it is rude and hostile. But as you rightly point out it shouldn’t be legislated against, it prevents reasonable discussion as well as insults designed to injure.

Yes precisely, asking me to behave as if I subscribe to a set of beliefs is very different to asking me not to insult or harass someone for being a member of a particular group.

I think we need to go back to universal values. Everyone gets treated the same, no special consideration for any reason. You harass a teacher you get a conviction, you harass a child you get a conviction. I think the efforts to maintain community cohesion have backfired spectacularly, it’s given some people the impression that their feelings of being offended justify all sorts of disgusting behaviour and our institutions are backing them!

I do actually think if this had been Christian groups the response from the police would have been more robust and they would have been told clearly no crime had been committed and to back off.

The fact is we are now a multi-cultural society and it is right that different religious views are protected from abuse and desecration. Too many people use ‘free speech’ as an excuse to be Islamophobic.

I don’t see the issue with requiring people to be respectful and understanding of others. I think it’s perfectly reasonable that those who defile the Quran or its contents (or any other religious text) are held to account in order to prevent community tensions.

What do you mean by this. It sounds like you are saying a religious view is free from criticism? Where do you draw the line?