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Wikipedia

Blasphemy

January 26, 2023

Not to be confused with Heresy.
"Blasphemous" redirects here. For the video game, see Blasphemous (video game). For other uses, see Blasphemy (disambiguation).

Look up blasphemy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Blasphemy is a speech crime[1] and religious crime[2] usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable.[3][4][5] Some religions regard blasphemy as a religious crime, especially the Abrahamic religions, including the speaking the "sacred name" in Judaism[6] and the "eternal sin" in Christianity.[7]

In the early history of the Church heresy received more attention than blasphemy because it was considered a more serious threat to Orthodoxy. Blasphemy was often regarded as an isolated offense wherein the faithful lapsed momentarily from the expected standard of conduct. When iconoclasm and the fundamental understanding of the sacred became more contentious matters during the Reformation, blasphemy was treated similar to heresy, and accusations of blasphemy were made not only against people who made off-the-cuff profane remarks while drunk, but against those types of persons who espoused unorthodox ideas that religious officials considered dangerous.[8]

Blasphemy laws were abolished in England and Wales in 2008, and in Ireland in 2020. Scotland repealed its blasphemy laws in 2021. Many other countries have abolished blasphemy laws including Denmark, the Netherlands, Iceland, Norway and New Zealand.[9] As of 2019, 40 percent of the world's countries still had blasphemy laws on the books, including 18 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, or 90% of countries in that region.[10][11][12] Dharmic religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, have no concept of blasphemy and hence prescribe no punishment.[13][dubious – discuss]

Etymology

The word "blasphemy" came via Middle English blasfemen and Old French blasfemer and Late Latin blasphemare from Greek βλασφημέω, from βλασ, "injure" and φήμη, "utterance, talk, speech". From blasphemare also came Old French blasmer, from which the English word "blame" came. Blasphemy: 'from Gk. blasphemia "a speaking ill, impious speech, slander," from blasphemein "to speak evil of."[14] "In the sense of speaking evil of God this word is found in Ps. 74:18; Isa. 52:5; Rom. 2:24; Rev. 13:1, 6; 16:9, 11, 21. It denotes also any kind of calumny, or evil-speaking, or abuse (1 Kings 21:10 LXX; Acts 13:45; 18:6, etc.)."[15]

History

Heresy received more attention than blasphemy throughout the Middle Ages because it was considered a more serious threat to Orthodoxy, while blasphemy was mostly seen as irreverent remarks made by persons who may have been drunk or diverged from good standards of conduct in what was treated as isolated incidents of misbehavior. When iconoclasm and the fundamental understanding of the sacred became more contentious matters during the Reformation, blasphemy started to be regarded as similar to heresy.[16]

In The Whole Duty of Man (sometimes attributed to Richard Allestree or John Fell) blasphemy is described as "speaking any evil Thing of God":[17]

...the highest Degree whereof is cursing him; or if we do not speak it with our Mouths, yet if we do it in our Hearts, by thinking any unworthy Thing of him, it is look'd on by God, who sees the Heart, as the vilest Dishonour.

The intellectual culture of the early English Englightenment had embraced ironic or scoffing tones in contradistinction to the idea of sacredness in revealed religion. The characterization of "scoffing" as blasphemy was defined as profaning the Scripture by irreverent "Buffoonery and Banter". From at least the 18th century on, the clergy of the Church of England justified blasphemy prosecutions by distinguishing "sober reasoning" from mockery and scoffing. Religious doctrine could be discussed "in a calm, decent and serious way" (in the words of Bishop Gibson) but mockery and scoffing, they said, were appeals to sentiment, not to reason.[18]

In Whitehouse v. Lemon (1976), the last blasphemy prosecution heard by English courts, the court repeated what had by then become a textbook standard for blasphemy cases:[18]

It is not blasphemous to speak or publish opinions hostile to the Christian religion, or to deny the existence of God, if the publication is couched in decent and temperate language. The test to be applied is as to the manner in which the doctrines are advocated and not as to the substance of the doctrines themselves.

By religion

Christianity

Christian theology condemns blasphemy. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain", one of the Ten Commandments, forbids blasphemy, which Christians regard as "an affront to God's holiness".[19][20] Leviticus 24:16 states that "anyone who blasphemes the name of Yahweh will be put to death".[21] In Mark 3:29, blaspheming the Holy Spirit is spoken of as unforgivable—an eternal sin.[22]

In 2 Kings 18, the Rabshakeh gave the word from the king of Assyria,[clarification needed] dissuading trust in the Lord, asserting that God is no more able to deliver than other deities of the land.

In Matthew 9:2–3, Jesus told a paralytic "your sins are forgiven" and was accused of blasphemy.

Blasphemy has been condemned as a serious sin by the major creeds and Church theologians, along with apostasy and infidelity [unbelief], cf. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologiae.[23]

  • Thomas Aquinas says that "[if] we compare murder and blasphemy as regards the objects of those sins, it is clear that blasphemy, which is a sin committed directly against God, is more grave than murder, which is a sin against one's neighbor. On the other hand, if we compare them in respect of the harm wrought by them, murder is the graver sin, for murder does more harm to one's neighbor, than blasphemy does to God".[24]
  • The Book of Concord calls blasphemy "the greatest sin that can be outwardly committed".[25]
  • The Baptist Confession of Faith says: "Therefore, to swear vainly or rashly by the glorious and awesome name of God…is sinful, and to be regarded with disgust and detestation. …For by rash, false, and vain oaths, the Lord is provoked and because of them this land mourns".[26]
  • The Heidelberg Catechism answers question 100 about blasphemy by stating that "no sin is greater or provokes God's wrath more than the blaspheming of His Name".[27]
  • The Westminster Larger Catechism explains that "The sins forbidden in the third commandment are, the abuse of it in an ignorant, vain, irreverent, profane...mentioning...by blasphemy...to profane jests, ...vain janglings, ...to charms or sinful lusts and practices".[28]
  • Calvin found it intolerable "when a person is accused of blasphemy, to lay the blame on the ebullition of passion, as if God were to endure the penalty whenever we are provoked".[29]

Catholic prayers and reparations for blasphemy

In the Catholic Church, there are specific prayers and devotions as Acts of Reparation for blasphemy.[30] For instance, The Golden Arrow Holy Face Devotion (Prayer) first introduced by Sister Marie of St Peter in 1844 is recited "in a spirit of reparation for blasphemy". This devotion (started by Sister Marie and then promoted by the Venerable Leo Dupont) was approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1885.[31] The Raccoltabook includes a number of such prayers.[32] The Five First Saturdays devotions are done with the intention in the heart of making reparation to the Blessed Mother for blasphemies against her, her name and her holy initiatives.

The Holy See has specific "Pontifical organizations" for the purpose of the reparation of blasphemy through Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ, e.g. the Pontifical Congregation of the Benedictine Sisters of the Reparation of the Holy Face.[33]

Punishment

In 1636, the Puritan controlled Massachusetts Bay Colony made blasphemy – defined as "a cursing of God by atheism, or the like" – punishable by death.[34] The last person hanged for blasphemy in Great Britain was Thomas Aikenhead aged 20, in Scotland in 1697. He was prosecuted for denying the veracity of the Old Testament and the legitimacy of Christ's miracles.[35]

In England, under common law, blasphemy came to be punishable by fine, imprisonment or corporal punishment. Blackstone, in his commentaries, described the offence as,

Denying the being of God, contumelious reproaches of our Saviour Christ, profane scoffing at the Holy scripture, or exposing it to contempt or ridicule.[36]

Blasphemy (and blasphemous libel) remained a criminal offence in England & Wales until 2008. In the 18th and 19th centuries, this meant that promoting atheism could be a crime and was vigorously prosecuted.[37] It was last successfully prosecuted in the case of Whitehouse v Lemon (1977), where the defendant was fined £500 and given a nine-month suspended prison sentence (the publisher was also fined £1,000). It ended with the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 which abolished the common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel.

Disputation of Paris

During the Middle Ages a series of debates on Judaism were staged by the Catholic Church, including the Disputation of Paris (1240), the Disputation of Barcelona (1263), and Disputation of Tortosa (1413–14), and during those disputations, Jewish converts to Christianity, such as Nicholas Donin (in Paris) and Pablo Christiani (in Barcelona) claimed the Talmud contained insulting references to Jesus.[38][39][40]

The Disputation of Paris, also known as the Trial of the Talmud, took place in 1240 at the court of the reigning king of France, Louis IX (St. Louis). It followed the work of Nicholas Donin, a Jewish convert to Christianity, who translated the Talmud and pressed 35 charges against it to Pope Gregory IX by quoting a series of alleged blasphemous passages about Jesus, Mary or Christianity.[41] Four rabbis defended the Talmud against Donin's accusations. A commission of Christian theologians condemned the Talmud to be burned and on 17 June 1244, twenty-four carriage loads of Jewish religious manuscripts were set on fire in the streets of Paris.[42][43] The translation of the Talmud from Hebrew to non-Jewish languages stripped Jewish discourse from its covering, something that was resented by Jews as a profound violation.[44]

Between 1239 and 1775, the Roman Catholic Church at various times either forced the censoring of parts of the Talmud that it considered theologically problematic or the destruction of copies of the Talmud.[45]

Islam

 
Sufi teacher Mansur Al-Hallaj was executed in Baghdad amid political intrigue and charges of blasphemy in 922.[46]
Main article: Islam and blasphemy

Punishment and definition

Blasphemy in Islam is impious utterance or action concerning God, Muhammad or anything considered sacred in Islam.[47][48] The Quran admonishes blasphemy, but does not specify any worldly punishment for blasphemy.[49] The hadiths, which are another source of Sharia, suggest various punishments for blasphemy, which may include death.[49][50] However, it has been argued that the death penalty applies only to cases where there is treason involved that may seriously harm the Muslim community, especially during times of war.[51] Different traditional schools of jurisprudence prescribe different punishment for blasphemy, depending on whether the blasphemer is Muslim or non-Muslim, a man or a woman.[49] In the modern Muslim world, the laws pertaining to blasphemy vary by country, and some countries prescribe punishments consisting of fines, imprisonment, flogging, hanging, or beheading.[52] Blasphemy laws were rarely enforced in pre-modern Islamic societies, but in the modern era some states and radical groups have used charges of blasphemy in an effort to burnish their religious credentials and gain popular support at the expense of liberal Muslim intellectuals and religious minorities.[53] In recent years, accusations of blasphemy against Islam have sparked international controversies and played part in incidents of mob violence and assassinations of prominent figures.

Failed OIC anti-blasphemy campaign at UN

Main article: Blasphemy and the United Nations

The campaign for worldwide criminal penalties for the "defamation of religions" had been spearheaded by Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on behalf of the United Nations' large Muslim bloc. The campaign ended in 2011 when the proposal was withdrawn in Geneva, in the Human Rights Council because of lack of support, marking an end to the effort to establish worldwide blasphemy strictures along the lines of those in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. This resolution had passed every year since 1999, in the United Nations, with declining number of "yes" votes with each successive year.[54] In the early 21st century, blasphemy became an issue in the United Nations (UN). The United Nations passed several resolutions which called upon the world to take action against the "defamation of religions".[55] However, in July 2011, the UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) released a 52-paragraph statement which affirmed the freedom of speech and rejected the laws banning "display of lack of respect for a religion or other belief system'.[56]

Judaism

See also: List of capital crimes in the Torah
 
Nathan confronts David over his sex scandal with Bathsheba the wife of Uriah the Hittite, saying "by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme" (2 Samuel 12:14)

In Leviticus 24:16 the punishment for blasphemy is death. In Jewish law the only form of blasphemy which is punishable by death is blaspheming the name of the Lord.[57]

The Seven Laws of Noah, which Judaism sees as applicable to all people, prohibit blasphemy.[58]

In one of the texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls, called the Damascus Document, violence against non-Jews (also called Gentiles) is prohibited, except in cases where it is sanctioned by a Jewish governing authority "so that they will not blaspheme".[59]

Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism

Indian-origin religions (also called Dharma religions), Hinduism and its contemporary Buddhism and Jainism, have no concept of blasphemy.[citation needed] It is an alien concept in Indian-origin theology and culture. In contrast, in West Asia, the birthplace of Abrahamic religions (namely Islam, Judaism and Christianity), there was no room for such tolerance and respect for dissent where heretics and blasphemers had to pay with their lives.[13] Nāstika, meaning atheist or atheism, is a valid and accepted stream of Indian origin religions where Buddhism, Jainism, as well as Cārvāka, Ajñana and Ājīvika are considered atheist schools of philosophy.[60][61][62][63]

Sikhism

Blasphemy is considered as the submission to the vanity of the Five inner thieves and especially excessive egoistical pride.[64] According to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib 1st (832/5/2708), "He is a swine, a dog, a donkey, a cat, a beast, a filthy one, a mean man and a pariah (outcaste), who turns his face away from the Guru."[65] Guru Granth Sahib, Page 1381-70-71 contains, "Fareed: O faithless dog, this is not a good way of life. You never come to the mosque for your five daily prayers. Rise up, Fareed, and cleanse yourself; chant your morning prayer. The head which does not bow to the Lord – chop off and remove that head." [66] In the Guru Granth Sahib, page 89–2 contains, "Chop off that head which does not bow to the Lord. O Nanak, that human body, in which there is no pain of separation from the Lord-let that be to the flames."[67] Further in the Guru Granth Sahib page 719 contains, "Even if someone slanders the Lord's humble servant, he does not give up his own goodness."[68]

Backlash against anti–blasphemy laws

Affirmation of Freedom of Speech (FOS)

Multilateral global institutes, such as the Council of Europe and UN, have rejected the imposition of "anti-blasphemy laws" (ABL) and have affirmed the freedom of speech.[69][56]

The Council of Europe's rejection of ABL and affirmation of FOS

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, after deliberating on the issue of blasphemy law passed the resolution that blasphemy should not be a criminal offence,[69] which was adopted on 29 June 2007 in the "Recommendation 1805 (2007) on blasphemy, religious insults and hate speech against persons on grounds of their religion". This Recommendation set a number of guidelines for member states of the Council of Europe in view of Articles 10 (freedom of expression) and 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

UN's rejection of ABL and affirmation of FOS

Main article: Defamation of religion and the United Nations

After OIC's (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) campaign at UN (United Nations) seeking impose of punishment for "defamation of religions" was withdrawn due to consistently dwindling support for their campaign,[54] the UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC), in July 2011, released a 52-paragraph statement which affirmed the freedom of speech and rejected the laws banning "display of lack of respect for a religion or other belief system'. UNHRC's "General Comment 34 - Paragraph 48" on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 1976, concerning freedoms of opinion and expression states:[56]

Prohibitions of displays of lack of respect for a religion or other belief system, including blasphemy laws, are incompatible with the Covenant, except in the specific circumstances envisaged in article 20, paragraph 2, of the Covenant. Such prohibitions must also comply with the strict requirements of article 19, paragraph 3, as well as such articles as 2, 5, 17, 18 and 26. Thus, for instance, it would be impermissible for any such laws to discriminate in favor of or against one or certain religions or belief systems, or their adherents over another, or religious believers over non-believers. Nor would it be permissible for such prohibitions to be used to prevent or punish criticism of religious leaders or commentary on religious doctrine and tenets of faith.[70]

International Blasphemy Day

International Blasphemy Day, observed annually on September 30, encourages individuals and groups to openly express criticism of religion and blasphemy laws. It was founded in 2009 by the Center for Inquiry.[71] A student contacted the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, New York to present the idea, which CFI then supported. Ronald Lindsay, president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry, said, regarding Blasphemy Day, "[W]e think religious beliefs should be subject to examination and criticism just as political beliefs are, but we have a taboo on religion", in an interview with CNN.[72]

Events worldwide on the first annual Blasphemy Day in 2009 included an art exhibit in Washington, D.C. and a free speech festival in Los Angeles.[73]

Removal of blasphemy laws by several nations

Other countries have removed bans on blasphemy. France did so in 1881 (this did not extend to Alsace-Moselle region, then part of Germany, after it joined France) to allow freedom of religion and freedom of the press. Blasphemy was abolished or repealed in Sweden in 1970, England and Wales in 2008, Norway with Acts in 2009 and 2015, the Netherlands in 2014, Iceland in 2015, France for its Alsace-Moselle region in 2016, Malta in 2016, Denmark in 2017,[74] Canada in 2018, New Zealand in 2019, and Ireland in 2020.[75]

Nations with blasphemy laws

Main article: Blasphemy law
 
  Historic restrictions
  Local restrictions
  Fines and restrictions
  Prison sentences
  Death sentences

In some countries with a state religion, blasphemy is outlawed under the criminal code.

Purpose of blasphemy laws

In some states, blasphemy laws are used to impose the religious beliefs of a majority, while in other countries, they are justified as putatively offering protection of the religious beliefs of minorities.[76][77][78] Where blasphemy is banned, it can be either some laws which directly punish religious blasphemy,[79] or some laws that allow those who are offended by blasphemy to punish blasphemers. Those laws may condone penalties or retaliation for blasphemy under the labels of blasphemous libel,[80] expression of opposition, or "vilification," of religion or of some religious practices,[81][82] religious insult,[83] or hate speech.[84]

Nations with blasphemy laws

As of 2012, 33 countries had some form of anti-blasphemy laws in their legal code.[11] Of these, 21 were Muslim-majority nations – Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, the Maldives, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Turkey[citation needed], the UAE and Western Sahara. Blasphemy is treated as a capital crime (death penalty) in some Muslim nations.[12] In these nations, such laws have led to the persecution, lynchings, murder or arrest of minorities and dissident members, after flimsy accusations.[85][86]

The other twelve nations with anti-blasphemy laws in 2012 included India and Singapore, as well as Christian majority states, including Denmark (abolished in 2017),[74] Finland, Germany, Greece (abolished in 2019), Ireland (abolished in 2020), Italy, Malta (abolished in 2016), the Netherlands (abolished in 2014), Nigeria, Norway (abolished in 2015) and Poland.[11] Spain's "offending religious feelings" law is also, effectively, a prohibition on blasphemy.[87] In Denmark, the former blasphemy law which had support of 66% of its citizens in 2012, made it an offence to "mock legal religions and faiths in Denmark".[78] Many Danes saw the "blasphemy law as helping integration because it promotes the acceptance of a multicultural and multi-faith society."[76]

In the judgment E.S. v. Austria (2018), the European Court of Human Rights declined to strike down the blasphemy law in Austria on Article 10 (freedom of speech) grounds, saying that criminalisation of blasphemy could be supported within a state's margin of appreciation. This decision was widely criticised by human rights organisations and commentators both in Europe and North America.[88][89][90]

Hyperbolic use of the term blasphemy

In contemporary language, the notion of blasphemy is often used hyperbolically (in a deliberately exaggerated manner). This usage has garnered some interest among linguists recently, and the word blasphemy is a common case used for illustrative purposes.[91]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Blasphemy and the Original Meaning of the First Amendment". Harvard Law Review. 10 December 2021. Until well into the twentieth century, American law recognized blasphemy as proscribable speech. The blackletter rule was clear. Constitutional liberty entailed a right to articulate views on religion, but not a right to commit blasphemy — the offense of "maliciously reviling God," which encompassed "profane ridicule of Christ." The English common law had punished blasphemy as a crime, while excluding "disputes between learned men upon particular controverted points" from the scope of criminal blasphemy. Looking to this precedent, nineteenth-century American appellate courts consistently upheld proscriptions on blasphemy, drawing a line between punishable blasphemy and protected religious speech.
  2. ^ Van der Vyver, Johan David; Witte, John, eds. (1996). Religious Human Rights in Global Perspective. The Netherlands: Kluwer Law International. p. 223. In R v. Taylor Hale, C.J. directed the jury that calling religion a cheat as the defendant had done was an attack on Christianity, the state religion; that "to reproach the Christian religion is to speak in subversion of the law". Previously, such attacks on Christianity would have been dealt with in the ecclesiastical courts. However, the common law courts came to assert jurisdiction over the subject, since blasphemy as a crime was concerned with the protection of the state rather than religion per se.
  3. ^ "Blasphemy". Random House Dictionary. Retrieved 12 January 2015. Quote: impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things.; the crime of assuming to oneself the rights or qualities of God.
  4. ^ Blasphemy Merriam Webster (July 2013); 1. great disrespect shown to God or to something holy
    2. irreverence toward something considered sacred or inviolable
  5. ^ Blasphemies, in Webster's New World College Dictionary, 4th Ed,
    1. profane or contemptuous speech, writing, or action concerning God or anything held as divine.
    2. any remark or action held to be irreverent or disrespectful
  6. ^ Karesh, Sara; Hurvitz, Mitchell (2006). Encyclopedia of Judaism. United States: Facts on File. p. 180. It is considered blasphemy to utter God's personal names...Interestingly, this prohibition has crept into the practice of writing God's name in English. Many Jews will choose to write "G-d" instead of "God" to avoid blasphemy.
  7. ^ Concannon, Cavan W. (2017). Assembling Early Christianity: Trade, Networks, and the Letters of Dionysios of Corinth. Cambridge University Press. p. 114. The Didache cites Mark 3:28-29 and implicitly defines blaspheming the holy spirit as testing or examining a prophet who is speaking in the spirit (11:7). This is the sin that cannot be forgiven, though other sins can be resolved through repentance. Epiphanius, in his discussion of the heretics he calls the Alogi, says they have committed the unforgivable sin. Because they reject the Gospel of John, which was inspired by the holy spirit, their teaching is therefore contrary to what the spirit has said and liable to the penalty imposed by Jesus' saying.
  8. ^ Nash, David (2007). Blasphemy in the Christian World. Oxford University Press. p. 4.
  9. ^ "Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill Information Note: Blasphemy" (PDF). gov.scot.
  10. ^ countries and territories worldwide had blasphemy laws in 2019, Pew Research (25 January 2022)
  11. ^ a b c Laws Penalizing Blasphemy, Apostasy and Defamation of Religion are Widespread Pew Research (21 November 2012)
  12. ^ a b Blasphemy Divide: Insults to Religion Remain a Capital Crime in Muslim Lands The Wall Street Journal (8 January 2015)
  13. ^ a b Why Hinduism never developed a concept of blasphemy, Rediff.com, 4 February 2015.
  14. ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary – Blasphemy". Etymonline.com. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  15. ^ (from Easton's Bible Dictionary) Romans.2:24 – Revelation.13:1, 6; Rev.16:9, 11, 21 – 1Kings.21:10; Acts.13:45; Acts.18:6
  16. ^ Nash, David (2007). Blasphemy in the Christian World. Oxford University Press. p. 4.
  17. ^ Allestree, Richard (1658). The whole duty of man, laid down in a plain and familiar way.
  18. ^ a b Knight, Frances (2016). Religion, Identity and Conflict in Britain. Routledge.
  19. ^ "Thou Shalt Not Thou Shalt Not Take the Lord's Name in Vain: Blasphemy Is Still a Sin". ChurchPOP. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  20. ^ Bill Bright (2005). The Joy of Faithful Obedience. Cook Communications. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-7814-4252-7.
  21. ^ Netton, Ian Richard (1996). Text and Trauma: An East-West Primer. Routledge. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-7007-0325-8.
  22. ^ Saunders, Craig D. (1 March 2021). A Mediator in Matthew: An Analysis of the Son of Man's Function in the First Gospel. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 77. ISBN 978-1-5326-9704-3.
  23. ^ ST II-II q10a3, q11a3, q12. Q11A3: "With regard to heretics two points must be observed: one, on their own side; the other, on the side of the Church. On their own side there is the sin, whereby they deserve not only to be separated from the Church by excommunication, but also to be severed from the world by death. For it is a much graver matter to corrupt the faith which quickens the soul, than to forge money, which supports temporal life. Wherefore if forgers of money and other evil-doers are forthwith condemned to death by the secular authority, much more reason is there for heretics, as soon as they are convicted of heresy, to be not only excommunicated but even put to death."
  24. ^ Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologica 2:2, q. 13.
  25. ^ The Book of Concord The Large Catechism, §55.
  26. ^ The Baptist Confession of Faith 7 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine Ch. 23, §2–3.
  27. ^ The Heidelberg Catechism 13 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine Q. 100.
  28. ^ Westminster Larger Catechism Q. 113.
  29. ^ Jean Calvin: Harmony of the Law vol. 4. Lev. 24:10.
  30. ^ Act of Reparation for Blasphemies Uttered Against the Holy Name, Righting Wrongs Through Prayer By Scott P. Richert, About.com
  31. ^ Dorothy Scallan. The Holy Man of Tours. (1990) ISBN 0-89555-390-2
  32. ^ Joseph P. Christopher et al., 2003 The Raccolta, St Athanasius Press ISBN 978-0-9706526-6-9
  33. ^ Letter for 50th anniversary of the Benedictine Sisters of Reparation of the Holy Face, 2000 2 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine Vatican archives
  34. ^ Williams Levy, Leonard (1995). Blasphemy: Verbal Offense Against the Sacred, from Moses to Salman Rushdie. University of North Carolina Press Books. p. 242.
  35. ^ . 5.uua.org. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  36. ^ The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge, Vol III, (1847), London, Charles Knight, p. 412.
  37. ^ Owen Chadwick, The Victorian Church: Vol 1 1829–1859 (1966) pp 487–489.
  38. ^ Carroll, James, Constantine's sword: the church and the Jews : a history, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002
  39. ^ Seidman, Naomi, Faithful renderings: Jewish-Christian difference and the politics of translation, University of Chicago Press, 2006 p. 137
  40. ^ Cohn-Sherbok, Dan, Judaism and other faiths, Palgrave Macmillan, 1994, p. 48
  41. ^ Seidman, Naomi (2010). Faithful Renderings: Jewish-Christian Difference and the Politics of Translation. University of Chicago Press. pp. 136–138. ISBN 978-0-226-74507-7 – via Google Books.
  42. ^ Rodkinson, Michael Levi (1918). The history of the Talmud, from the time of its formation, about 200 B.C. Talmud Society. pp. 66–75.
  43. ^ Maccoby, Hyam (1982). Judaism on Trial: Jewish-Christian Disputations in the Middle Ages. Associated University Presses. ISBN 978-0-8386-3053-2.
  44. ^ Naomi Seidman, Faithful Renderings: Jewish-Christian Difference and the Politics of Translation, pp. 136–138
  45. ^ Jonathon Green, Nicholas J. Karolides (2009). Encyclopedia of Censorship. Infobase Publishing. p. 110. ISBN 978-1-4381-1001-1. Retrieved 13 February 2014.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  46. ^ Avery, Kenneth (2004). Psychology of Early Sufi Sama: Listening and Altered States. Routledge. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-415-31106-9.
  47. ^ "Blasphemy" at dictionary.com
  48. ^ Wiederhold, Lutz. "Blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad and his companions (sabb al-rasul, sabb al-sahabah): The introduction of the topic into shafi'i legal literature and its relevance for legal practice under Mamluk rule". Journal of semitic studies 42.1 (1997): 39–70.
  49. ^ a b c Saeed, Abdullah; Saeed, Hassan (2004). Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam. Burlington VT: Ashgate Publishing Company. pp. 38–39. ISBN 978-0-7546-3083-8.
  50. ^ Siraj Khan. Blasphemy against the Prophet, in Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture (ed: Coeli Fitzpatrick PhD, Adam Hani Walker). ISBN 978-1-61069-177-2, pp. 59–67.
  51. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  52. ^ P Smith (2003). "Speak No Evil: Apostasy, Blasphemy and Heresy in Malaysian Syariah Law". UC Davis Journal Int'l Law & Policy. 10, pp. 357–373.
    • N Swazo (2014). "The Case of Hamza Kashgari: Examining Apostasy, Heresy, and Blasphemy Under Sharia". The Review of Faith & International Affairs 12(4). pp. 16–26.
  53. ^ Juan Eduardo Campo, ed. (2009). "Blasphemy". Encyclopedia of Islam. Infobase Publishing.
  54. ^ a b An Anti-Blasphemy Measure Laid to Rest Nina Shea, National Review (31 March 2011)
  55. ^ U.N. Resolutions:
    • A/RES/60/150
    • Vote on 16 December 2005 (A/60/PV.64)
  56. ^ a b c General Comment 34
  57. ^ "Blasphemy". JewishEncyclopedia.com.
  58. ^ "The Seven Noachide Laws". JewishVirtualLibrary.org. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  59. ^ "Gentiles –. Oxford Reference". Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Oxford University Press. 2000. ISBN 978-0-19-508450-4. Retrieved 29 May 2017. – via OUP (subscription required)
  60. ^ For instance, the Atheist Society of India produces a monthly publications Nastika Yuga, which it translates as 'The Age of Atheism'. 18 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  61. ^ Nicholson, Andrew J. 2013. Unifying Hinduism: Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-14987-7. ch. 9.
  62. ^ Francis Clooney (2008). "Restoring 'Hindu Theology' as a category in Indian intellectual discourse". In Gavin Flood (ed.). The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism. Blackwell Academic. pp. 451–455. ISBN 978-0-470-99868-7. "By Sāṃkhya reasoning, the material principle itself simply evolves into complex forms, and there is no need to hold that some spiritual power governs the material principle or its ultimate source."
  63. ^ Francis Clooney (2003). Flood, Gavin (ed.). Blackwell companion to Hinduism. Blackwell Publishing. pp. 82, 224–249. ISBN 0-631-21535-2.
  64. ^ http://globalsikhstudies.net/r_link/articles.htm/ 5 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine Concepts in Sikhism – Edited by Dr. Surinder Singh Sodhi
  65. ^ Rahi, Hakim Singh (1999). Sri Guru Granth Sahib Discovered: A Reference Book of Quotations from the Adi Granth. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-1613-8.
  66. ^ "PAGE 1381 – Gurmukhi to English Translation and Phonetic Transliteration of Siri Guru Granth Sahib". www.srigurugranth.org. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  67. ^ "PAGE 89 – Gurmukhi to English Translation and Phonetic Transliteration of Siri Guru Granth Sahib". www.srigurugranth.org. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  68. ^ "PAGE 719 – Gurmukhi to English Translation and Phonetic Transliteration of Siri Guru Granth Sahib". www.srigurugranth.org. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  69. ^ a b "PACE - Recommendation 1805 (2007) - Blasphemy, religious insults and hate speech against persons on grounds of their religion". assembly.coe.int.
  70. ^ General Comment 34, p. 12.
  71. ^ "Penn Jillette Celebrates Blasphemy Day in "Penn Says"". Center for Inquiry. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  72. ^ Basu, Moni (30 September 2009). "Taking aim at God on 'Blasphemy Day'". CNN.com.
  73. ^ Larmondin, Leanne (2 October 2009). "Did you celebrate Blasphemy Day?". USAToday.com.
  74. ^ a b Denmark scraps 334-year-old blasphemy law 2 June 2017 the Guardian
  75. ^ Blasphemy law#Ireland
  76. ^ a b "Denmark still largely in support of 'blasphemy' law". IceNews. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2016. A recent survey has shown that Danish citizens still largely back the country's 'blasphemy' law. The law, which makes it illegal to "mock legal religions and faiths in Denmark", is supported by around 66 per cent of Danish voters, according to a recent survey conducted by the liberal group CEPOS. Speaking about the report, religious expert Tim Jensen from the University of Southern Denmark said, "Danes may see the blasphemy law as helping integration because it promotes the acceptance of a multicultural and multi-faith society. But it can also be problematic if it reflects a belief that the feelings of religious people have a special status and require special protection," the Berlingske news agency reports.
  77. ^ Scolnicov, Anat (18 October 2010). The Right to Religious Freedom in International Law: Between Group Rights and Individual Rights. Routledge. p. 261. ISBN 978-1-136-90705-0. A different argument for the retention of the offence of blasphemy (and for its extension to the protection of all religions in the UK [the offence protected only the majority religion]) has been offered by Parekh: a majority religion does not need the protection offered by an offence of blasphemy, but minority religions do because of their vulnerability in the face of the majority.
  78. ^ a b "Danes overwhelmingly support their own blasphemy law". The Copenhagen Post. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2016. Denmark's own blasphemy law makes it an offence to "mock legal religions and faiths in Denmark", and according to a study carried out on behalf of the liberal think-tank CEPOS, 66 per cent of the 1,000 Danes questioned answered that the law should not be repealed.
  79. ^ See Blasphemy law
  80. ^ Kerr, ine (9 July 2009). "Libel and blasphemy bill passed by the Dail". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  81. ^ "Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 – Sect 124A: Vilification on grounds of race, religion, sexuality or gender identity unlawful". Austlii.edu.au. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
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  84. ^ See Blasphemy law and Hate speech.
  85. ^ Bad-mouthing: Pakistan’s blasphemy laws legitimise intolerance The Economist (29 November 2014)
  86. ^ Sources of claims:
    • World of Intolerance 19 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine Religious Watch. Retrieved 5 October 2011
    • United Nations will violate Human Rights International Humanist and Ethical Union. Retrieved 5 October 2011
    • . Herald Malaysia Online. 11 August 2009. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
    • Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom May 2009 (Pakistan, etc.). Retrieved 5 October 2011
    • A call upon states to work toward abolishing the juvenile death penalty U.N. January 1999. Retrieved 5 October 2011
    • Indonesia – Amnesty International Report 2009 21 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine Amnesty International. Retrieved 5 October 2011
  87. ^ "Spain country profile". End Blasphemy Laws. International Humanist and Ethical Union. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  88. ^ "IHEU 'frustrated', as European Court fails to overturn 'blasphemy' conviction in Austria". International Humanist and Ethical Union. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  89. ^ "European Court of Human Rights rules that Austria can keep its blasphemy law". Humanists UK. 29 October 2018.
  90. ^ Cottee, Simon (31 October 2018). "A Flawed European Ruling on Free Speech". The Atlantic. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  91. ^ Recanati, F. (1995) "The alleged priority of literal interpretation". Cognitive Science 19: 207–232.
    Carston, R. (1997) "Enrichment and loosening: complementary processes in deriving the proposition expressed?" Linguistische Berichte 8: 103–127.
    Carston, R. (2000). "Explicature and semantics." UCL Working Papers in Linguistics 12: 1–44. Revised version to appear in Davis & Gillon (forthcoming[when?]).
    Sperber, D. & D. Wilson (1998) "The mapping between the mental and the public lexicon". In Carruthers & Boucher (1998: 184–200).[ISBN missing]
    Glucksberg, S. (2001) Understanding Figurative Language: From Metaphors to Idioms. Oxford: Oxford University Press.[ISBN missing]
    Wilson, D. & D. Sperber (2002) "Truthfulness and relevance". Mind 111: 583–632.

Further reading

  • Maledicta: The International Journal of Verbal Aggression ISSN 0363-3659
  • Levy, L. Blasphemy. Chapel Hill, 1993.
  • Dartevelle, P., Denis, Ph., Robyn, J. (eds.). Blasphèmes et libertés. Paris: CERF, 1993
  • Plate, S. Brent Blasphemy: Art that Offends (London: Black Dog Publishing, 2006) ISBN 1-904772-53-6

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blasphemy.
 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Blasphemy.
  • The Rational Response Squad:
  • A More4 news film report on how insulting the prophet Mohammed in Pakistan is a capital offence, and defiling the Koran carries life imprisonment.
  • John Webster Melody (1913). "Blasphemy" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  • Jewish Encyclopedia – Blasphemy
  • "Blasphemy" . Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.

January 26, 2023
blasphemy, confused, with, heresy, blasphemous, redirects, here, video, game, blasphemous, video, game, other, uses, disambiguation, look, blasphemy, wiktionary, free, dictionary, speech, crime, religious, crime, usually, defined, utterance, that, shows, conte. Not to be confused with Heresy Blasphemous redirects here For the video game see Blasphemous video game For other uses see Blasphemy disambiguation Look up blasphemy in Wiktionary the free dictionary Blasphemy is a speech crime 1 and religious crime 2 usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt disrespects or insults a deity an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable 3 4 5 Some religions regard blasphemy as a religious crime especially the Abrahamic religions including the speaking the sacred name in Judaism 6 and the eternal sin in Christianity 7 In the early history of the Church heresy received more attention than blasphemy because it was considered a more serious threat to Orthodoxy Blasphemy was often regarded as an isolated offense wherein the faithful lapsed momentarily from the expected standard of conduct When iconoclasm and the fundamental understanding of the sacred became more contentious matters during the Reformation blasphemy was treated similar to heresy and accusations of blasphemy were made not only against people who made off the cuff profane remarks while drunk but against those types of persons who espoused unorthodox ideas that religious officials considered dangerous 8 Blasphemy laws were abolished in England and Wales in 2008 and in Ireland in 2020 Scotland repealed its blasphemy laws in 2021 Many other countries have abolished blasphemy laws including Denmark the Netherlands Iceland Norway and New Zealand 9 As of 2019 update 40 percent of the world s countries still had blasphemy laws on the books including 18 countries in the Middle East and North Africa or 90 of countries in that region 10 11 12 Dharmic religions such as Hinduism Buddhism and Jainism have no concept of blasphemy and hence prescribe no punishment 13 dubious discuss Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 3 By religion 3 1 Christianity 3 1 1 Catholic prayers and reparations for blasphemy 3 1 2 Punishment 3 1 3 Disputation of Paris 3 2 Islam 3 2 1 Punishment and definition 3 2 2 Failed OIC anti blasphemy campaign at UN 3 3 Judaism 3 4 Hinduism Buddhism and Jainism 3 5 Sikhism 4 Backlash against anti blasphemy laws 4 1 Affirmation of Freedom of Speech FOS 4 1 1 The Council of Europe s rejection of ABL and affirmation of FOS 4 1 2 UN s rejection of ABL and affirmation of FOS 4 2 International Blasphemy Day 4 3 Removal of blasphemy laws by several nations 5 Nations with blasphemy laws 5 1 Purpose of blasphemy laws 5 2 Nations with blasphemy laws 6 Hyperbolic use of the term blasphemy 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksEtymology EditThe word blasphemy came via Middle English blasfemen and Old French blasfemer and Late Latin blasphemare from Greek blasfhmew from blas injure and fhmh utterance talk speech From blasphemare also came Old French blasmer from which the English word blame came Blasphemy from Gk blasphemia a speaking ill impious speech slander from blasphemein to speak evil of 14 In the sense of speaking evil of God this word is found in Ps 74 18 Isa 52 5 Rom 2 24 Rev 13 1 6 16 9 11 21 It denotes also any kind of calumny or evil speaking or abuse 1 Kings 21 10 LXX Acts 13 45 18 6 etc 15 History EditHeresy received more attention than blasphemy throughout the Middle Ages because it was considered a more serious threat to Orthodoxy while blasphemy was mostly seen as irreverent remarks made by persons who may have been drunk or diverged from good standards of conduct in what was treated as isolated incidents of misbehavior When iconoclasm and the fundamental understanding of the sacred became more contentious matters during the Reformation blasphemy started to be regarded as similar to heresy 16 In The Whole Duty of Man sometimes attributed to Richard Allestree or John Fell blasphemy is described as speaking any evil Thing of God 17 the highest Degree whereof is cursing him or if we do not speak it with our Mouths yet if we do it in our Hearts by thinking any unworthy Thing of him it is look d on by God who sees the Heart as the vilest Dishonour The intellectual culture of the early English Englightenment had embraced ironic or scoffing tones in contradistinction to the idea of sacredness in revealed religion The characterization of scoffing as blasphemy was defined as profaning the Scripture by irreverent Buffoonery and Banter From at least the 18th century on the clergy of the Church of England justified blasphemy prosecutions by distinguishing sober reasoning from mockery and scoffing Religious doctrine could be discussed in a calm decent and serious way in the words of Bishop Gibson but mockery and scoffing they said were appeals to sentiment not to reason 18 In Whitehouse v Lemon 1976 the last blasphemy prosecution heard by English courts the court repeated what had by then become a textbook standard for blasphemy cases 18 It is not blasphemous to speak or publish opinions hostile to the Christian religion or to deny the existence of God if the publication is couched in decent and temperate language The test to be applied is as to the manner in which the doctrines are advocated and not as to the substance of the doctrines themselves By religion EditChristianity Edit Christian theology condemns blasphemy Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain one of the Ten Commandments forbids blasphemy which Christians regard as an affront to God s holiness 19 20 Leviticus 24 16 states that anyone who blasphemes the name of Yahweh will be put to death 21 In Mark 3 29 blaspheming the Holy Spirit is spoken of as unforgivable an eternal sin 22 In 2 Kings 18 the Rabshakeh gave the word from the king of Assyria clarification needed dissuading trust in the Lord asserting that God is no more able to deliver than other deities of the land In Matthew 9 2 3 Jesus told a paralytic your sins are forgiven and was accused of blasphemy Blasphemy has been condemned as a serious sin by the major creeds and Church theologians along with apostasy and infidelity unbelief cf Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologiae 23 Thomas Aquinas says that if we compare murder and blasphemy as regards the objects of those sins it is clear that blasphemy which is a sin committed directly against God is more grave than murder which is a sin against one s neighbor On the other hand if we compare them in respect of the harm wrought by them murder is the graver sin for murder does more harm to one s neighbor than blasphemy does to God 24 The Book of Concord calls blasphemy the greatest sin that can be outwardly committed 25 The Baptist Confession of Faith says Therefore to swear vainly or rashly by the glorious and awesome name of God is sinful and to be regarded with disgust and detestation For by rash false and vain oaths the Lord is provoked and because of them this land mourns 26 The Heidelberg Catechism answers question 100 about blasphemy by stating that no sin is greater or provokes God s wrath more than the blaspheming of His Name 27 The Westminster Larger Catechism explains that The sins forbidden in the third commandment are the abuse of it in an ignorant vain irreverent profane mentioning by blasphemy to profane jests vain janglings to charms or sinful lusts and practices 28 Calvin found it intolerable when a person is accused of blasphemy to lay the blame on the ebullition of passion as if God were to endure the penalty whenever we are provoked 29 Catholic prayers and reparations for blasphemy Edit In the Catholic Church there are specific prayers and devotions as Acts of Reparation for blasphemy 30 For instance The Golden Arrow Holy Face Devotion Prayer first introduced by Sister Marie of St Peter in 1844 is recited in a spirit of reparation for blasphemy This devotion started by Sister Marie and then promoted by the Venerable Leo Dupont was approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1885 31 The Raccoltabook includes a number of such prayers 32 The Five First Saturdays devotions are done with the intention in the heart of making reparation to the Blessed Mother for blasphemies against her her name and her holy initiatives The Holy See has specific Pontifical organizations for the purpose of the reparation of blasphemy through Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ e g the Pontifical Congregation of the Benedictine Sisters of the Reparation of the Holy Face 33 Punishment Edit In 1636 the Puritan controlled Massachusetts Bay Colony made blasphemy defined as a cursing of God by atheism or the like punishable by death 34 The last person hanged for blasphemy in Great Britain was Thomas Aikenhead aged 20 in Scotland in 1697 He was prosecuted for denying the veracity of the Old Testament and the legitimacy of Christ s miracles 35 In England under common law blasphemy came to be punishable by fine imprisonment or corporal punishment Blackstone in his commentaries described the offence as Denying the being of God contumelious reproaches of our Saviour Christ profane scoffing at the Holy scripture or exposing it to contempt or ridicule 36 Blasphemy and blasphemous libel remained a criminal offence in England amp Wales until 2008 In the 18th and 19th centuries this meant that promoting atheism could be a crime and was vigorously prosecuted 37 It was last successfully prosecuted in the case of Whitehouse v Lemon 1977 where the defendant was fined 500 and given a nine month suspended prison sentence the publisher was also fined 1 000 It ended with the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 which abolished the common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel Disputation of Paris Edit During the Middle Ages a series of debates on Judaism were staged by the Catholic Church including the Disputation of Paris 1240 the Disputation of Barcelona 1263 and Disputation of Tortosa 1413 14 and during those disputations Jewish converts to Christianity such as Nicholas Donin in Paris and Pablo Christiani in Barcelona claimed the Talmud contained insulting references to Jesus 38 39 40 The Disputation of Paris also known as the Trial of the Talmud took place in 1240 at the court of the reigning king of France Louis IX St Louis It followed the work of Nicholas Donin a Jewish convert to Christianity who translated the Talmud and pressed 35 charges against it to Pope Gregory IX by quoting a series of alleged blasphemous passages about Jesus Mary or Christianity 41 Four rabbis defended the Talmud against Donin s accusations A commission of Christian theologians condemned the Talmud to be burned and on 17 June 1244 twenty four carriage loads of Jewish religious manuscripts were set on fire in the streets of Paris 42 43 The translation of the Talmud from Hebrew to non Jewish languages stripped Jewish discourse from its covering something that was resented by Jews as a profound violation 44 Between 1239 and 1775 the Roman Catholic Church at various times either forced the censoring of parts of the Talmud that it considered theologically problematic or the destruction of copies of the Talmud 45 Islam Edit Sufi teacher Mansur Al Hallaj was executed in Baghdad amid political intrigue and charges of blasphemy in 922 46 Main article Islam and blasphemy Punishment and definition Edit Blasphemy in Islam is impious utterance or action concerning God Muhammad or anything considered sacred in Islam 47 48 The Quran admonishes blasphemy but does not specify any worldly punishment for blasphemy 49 The hadiths which are another source of Sharia suggest various punishments for blasphemy which may include death 49 50 However it has been argued that the death penalty applies only to cases where there is treason involved that may seriously harm the Muslim community especially during times of war 51 Different traditional schools of jurisprudence prescribe different punishment for blasphemy depending on whether the blasphemer is Muslim or non Muslim a man or a woman 49 In the modern Muslim world the laws pertaining to blasphemy vary by country and some countries prescribe punishments consisting of fines imprisonment flogging hanging or beheading 52 Blasphemy laws were rarely enforced in pre modern Islamic societies but in the modern era some states and radical groups have used charges of blasphemy in an effort to burnish their religious credentials and gain popular support at the expense of liberal Muslim intellectuals and religious minorities 53 In recent years accusations of blasphemy against Islam have sparked international controversies and played part in incidents of mob violence and assassinations of prominent figures Failed OIC anti blasphemy campaign at UN Edit Main article Blasphemy and the United Nations The campaign for worldwide criminal penalties for the defamation of religions had been spearheaded by Organisation of Islamic Cooperation OIC on behalf of the United Nations large Muslim bloc The campaign ended in 2011 when the proposal was withdrawn in Geneva in the Human Rights Council because of lack of support marking an end to the effort to establish worldwide blasphemy strictures along the lines of those in Pakistan Saudi Arabia and Iran This resolution had passed every year since 1999 in the United Nations with declining number of yes votes with each successive year 54 In the early 21st century blasphemy became an issue in the United Nations UN The United Nations passed several resolutions which called upon the world to take action against the defamation of religions 55 However in July 2011 the UN Human Rights Committee UNHRC released a 52 paragraph statement which affirmed the freedom of speech and rejected the laws banning display of lack of respect for a religion or other belief system 56 Judaism Edit See also List of capital crimes in the Torah Nathan confronts David over his sex scandal with Bathsheba the wife of Uriah the Hittite saying by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme 2 Samuel 12 14 In Leviticus 24 16 the punishment for blasphemy is death In Jewish law the only form of blasphemy which is punishable by death is blaspheming the name of the Lord 57 The Seven Laws of Noah which Judaism sees as applicable to all people prohibit blasphemy 58 In one of the texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls called the Damascus Document violence against non Jews also called Gentiles is prohibited except in cases where it is sanctioned by a Jewish governing authority so that they will not blaspheme 59 Hinduism Buddhism and Jainism Edit Indian origin religions also called Dharma religions Hinduism and its contemporary Buddhism and Jainism have no concept of blasphemy citation needed It is an alien concept in Indian origin theology and culture In contrast in West Asia the birthplace of Abrahamic religions namely Islam Judaism and Christianity there was no room for such tolerance and respect for dissent where heretics and blasphemers had to pay with their lives 13 Nastika meaning atheist or atheism is a valid and accepted stream of Indian origin religions where Buddhism Jainism as well as Carvaka Ajnana and Ajivika are considered atheist schools of philosophy 60 61 62 63 Sikhism Edit Blasphemy is considered as the submission to the vanity of the Five inner thieves and especially excessive egoistical pride 64 According to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib 1st 832 5 2708 He is a swine a dog a donkey a cat a beast a filthy one a mean man and a pariah outcaste who turns his face away from the Guru 65 Guru Granth Sahib Page 1381 70 71 contains Fareed O faithless dog this is not a good way of life You never come to the mosque for your five daily prayers Rise up Fareed and cleanse yourself chant your morning prayer The head which does not bow to the Lord chop off and remove that head 66 In the Guru Granth Sahib page 89 2 contains Chop off that head which does not bow to the Lord O Nanak that human body in which there is no pain of separation from the Lord let that be to the flames 67 Further in the Guru Granth Sahib page 719 contains Even if someone slanders the Lord s humble servant he does not give up his own goodness 68 Backlash against anti blasphemy laws EditAffirmation of Freedom of Speech FOS Edit Multilateral global institutes such as the Council of Europe and UN have rejected the imposition of anti blasphemy laws ABL and have affirmed the freedom of speech 69 56 The Council of Europe s rejection of ABL and affirmation of FOS Edit The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe after deliberating on the issue of blasphemy law passed the resolution that blasphemy should not be a criminal offence 69 which was adopted on 29 June 2007 in the Recommendation 1805 2007 on blasphemy religious insults and hate speech against persons on grounds of their religion This Recommendation set a number of guidelines for member states of the Council of Europe in view of Articles 10 freedom of expression and 9 freedom of thought conscience and religion of the European Convention on Human Rights UN s rejection of ABL and affirmation of FOS Edit Main article Defamation of religion and the United Nations After OIC s Organisation of Islamic Cooperation campaign at UN United Nations seeking impose of punishment for defamation of religions was withdrawn due to consistently dwindling support for their campaign 54 the UN Human Rights Committee UNHRC in July 2011 released a 52 paragraph statement which affirmed the freedom of speech and rejected the laws banning display of lack of respect for a religion or other belief system UNHRC s General Comment 34 Paragraph 48 on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICCPR 1976 concerning freedoms of opinion and expression states 56 Prohibitions of displays of lack of respect for a religion or other belief system including blasphemy laws are incompatible with the Covenant except in the specific circumstances envisaged in article 20 paragraph 2 of the Covenant Such prohibitions must also comply with the strict requirements of article 19 paragraph 3 as well as such articles as 2 5 17 18 and 26 Thus for instance it would be impermissible for any such laws to discriminate in favor of or against one or certain religions or belief systems or their adherents over another or religious believers over non believers Nor would it be permissible for such prohibitions to be used to prevent or punish criticism of religious leaders or commentary on religious doctrine and tenets of faith 70 International Blasphemy Day Edit International Blasphemy Day observed annually on September 30 encourages individuals and groups to openly express criticism of religion and blasphemy laws It was founded in 2009 by the Center for Inquiry 71 A student contacted the Center for Inquiry in Amherst New York to present the idea which CFI then supported Ronald Lindsay president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry said regarding Blasphemy Day W e think religious beliefs should be subject to examination and criticism just as political beliefs are but we have a taboo on religion in an interview with CNN 72 Events worldwide on the first annual Blasphemy Day in 2009 included an art exhibit in Washington D C and a free speech festival in Los Angeles 73 Removal of blasphemy laws by several nations Edit Other countries have removed bans on blasphemy France did so in 1881 this did not extend to Alsace Moselle region then part of Germany after it joined France to allow freedom of religion and freedom of the press Blasphemy was abolished or repealed in Sweden in 1970 England and Wales in 2008 Norway with Acts in 2009 and 2015 the Netherlands in 2014 Iceland in 2015 France for its Alsace Moselle region in 2016 Malta in 2016 Denmark in 2017 74 Canada in 2018 New Zealand in 2019 and Ireland in 2020 75 Nations with blasphemy laws EditMain article Blasphemy law Historic restrictions Local restrictions Fines and restrictions Prison sentences Death sentences In some countries with a state religion blasphemy is outlawed under the criminal code Purpose of blasphemy laws Edit In some states blasphemy laws are used to impose the religious beliefs of a majority while in other countries they are justified as putatively offering protection of the religious beliefs of minorities 76 77 78 Where blasphemy is banned it can be either some laws which directly punish religious blasphemy 79 or some laws that allow those who are offended by blasphemy to punish blasphemers Those laws may condone penalties or retaliation for blasphemy under the labels of blasphemous libel 80 expression of opposition or vilification of religion or of some religious practices 81 82 religious insult 83 or hate speech 84 Nations with blasphemy laws Edit As of 2012 33 countries had some form of anti blasphemy laws in their legal code 11 Of these 21 were Muslim majority nations Afghanistan Algeria Bahrain Egypt Indonesia Iran Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Malaysia the Maldives Morocco Oman Pakistan Qatar Saudi Arabia Somalia Sudan Turkey citation needed the UAE and Western Sahara Blasphemy is treated as a capital crime death penalty in some Muslim nations 12 In these nations such laws have led to the persecution lynchings murder or arrest of minorities and dissident members after flimsy accusations 85 86 The other twelve nations with anti blasphemy laws in 2012 included India and Singapore as well as Christian majority states including Denmark abolished in 2017 74 Finland Germany Greece abolished in 2019 Ireland abolished in 2020 Italy Malta abolished in 2016 the Netherlands abolished in 2014 Nigeria Norway abolished in 2015 and Poland 11 Spain s offending religious feelings law is also effectively a prohibition on blasphemy 87 In Denmark the former blasphemy law which had support of 66 of its citizens in 2012 made it an offence to mock legal religions and faiths in Denmark 78 Many Danes saw the blasphemy law as helping integration because it promotes the acceptance of a multicultural and multi faith society 76 In the judgment E S v Austria 2018 the European Court of Human Rights declined to strike down the blasphemy law in Austria on Article 10 freedom of speech grounds saying that criminalisation of blasphemy could be supported within a state s margin of appreciation This decision was widely criticised by human rights organisations and commentators both in Europe and North America 88 89 90 Hyperbolic use of the term blasphemy EditIn contemporary language the notion of blasphemy is often used hyperbolically in a deliberately exaggerated manner This usage has garnered some interest among linguists recently and the word blasphemy is a common case used for illustrative purposes 91 See also EditFreedom of speech Defamation of religion and the United Nations International Blasphemy Day Religious offense Je suis Charlie Blasphemy laws Sacrilege Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vainReferences Edit Blasphemy and the Original Meaning of the First Amendment Harvard Law Review 10 December 2021 Until well into the twentieth century American law recognized blasphemy as proscribable speech The blackletter rule was clear Constitutional liberty entailed a right to articulate views on religion but not a right to commit blasphemy the offense of maliciously reviling God which encompassed profane ridicule of Christ The English common law had punished blasphemy as a crime while excluding disputes between learned men upon particular controverted points from the scope of criminal blasphemy Looking to this precedent nineteenth century American appellate courts consistently upheld proscriptions on blasphemy drawing a line between punishable blasphemy and protected religious speech Van der Vyver Johan David Witte John eds 1996 Religious Human Rights in Global Perspective The Netherlands Kluwer Law International p 223 In R v Taylor Hale C J directed the jury that calling religion a cheat as the defendant had done was an attack on Christianity the state religion that to reproach the Christian religion is to speak in subversion of the law Previously such attacks on Christianity would have been dealt with in the ecclesiastical courts However the common law courts came to assert jurisdiction over the subject since blasphemy as a crime was concerned with the protection of the state rather than religion per se Blasphemy Random House Dictionary Retrieved 12 January 2015 Quote impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things the crime of assuming to oneself the rights or qualities of God Blasphemy Merriam Webster July 2013 1 great disrespect shown to God or to something holy2 irreverence toward something considered sacred or inviolable Blasphemies in Webster s New World College Dictionary 4th Ed 1 profane or contemptuous speech writing or action concerning God or anything held as divine 2 any remark or action held to be irreverent or disrespectful Karesh Sara Hurvitz Mitchell 2006 Encyclopedia of Judaism United States Facts on File p 180 It is considered blasphemy to utter God s personal names Interestingly this prohibition has crept into the practice of writing God s name in English Many Jews will choose to write G d instead of God to avoid blasphemy Concannon Cavan W 2017 Assembling Early Christianity Trade Networks and the Letters of Dionysios of Corinth Cambridge University Press p 114 The Didache cites Mark 3 28 29 and implicitly defines blaspheming the holy spirit as testing or examining a prophet who is speaking in the spirit 11 7 This is the sin that cannot be forgiven though other sins can be resolved through repentance Epiphanius in his discussion of the heretics he calls the Alogi says they have committed the unforgivable sin Because they reject the Gospel of John which was inspired by the holy spirit their teaching is therefore contrary to what the spirit has said and liable to the penalty imposed by Jesus saying Nash David 2007 Blasphemy in the Christian World Oxford University Press p 4 Hate Crime and Public Order Scotland Bill Information Note Blasphemy PDF gov scot countries and territories worldwide had blasphemy laws in 2019 Pew Research 25 January 2022 a b c Laws Penalizing Blasphemy Apostasy and Defamation of Religion are Widespread Pew Research 21 November 2012 a b Blasphemy Divide Insults to Religion Remain a Capital Crime in Muslim Lands The Wall Street Journal 8 January 2015 a b Why Hinduism never developed a concept of blasphemy Rediff com 4 February 2015 Online Etymology Dictionary Blasphemy Etymonline com Retrieved 10 November 2011 from Easton s Bible Dictionary Romans 2 24 Revelation 13 1 6 Rev 16 9 11 21 1Kings 21 10 Acts 13 45 Acts 18 6 Nash David 2007 Blasphemy in the Christian World Oxford University Press p 4 Allestree Richard 1658 The whole duty of man laid down in a plain and familiar way a b Knight Frances 2016 Religion Identity and Conflict in Britain Routledge Thou Shalt Not Thou Shalt Not Take the Lord s Name in Vain Blasphemy Is Still a Sin ChurchPOP 9 August 2016 Retrieved 16 February 2022 Bill Bright 2005 The Joy of Faithful Obedience Cook Communications p 52 ISBN 978 0 7814 4252 7 Netton Ian Richard 1996 Text and Trauma An East West Primer Routledge p 2 ISBN 978 0 7007 0325 8 Saunders Craig D 1 March 2021 A Mediator in Matthew An Analysis of the Son of Man s Function in the First Gospel Wipf and Stock Publishers p 77 ISBN 978 1 5326 9704 3 ST II II q10a3 q11a3 q12 Q11A3 With regard to heretics two points must be observed one on their own side the other on the side of the Church On their own side there is the sin whereby they deserve not only to be separated from the Church by excommunication but also to be severed from the world by death For it is a much graver matter to corrupt the faith which quickens the soul than to forge money which supports temporal life Wherefore if forgers of money and other evil doers are forthwith condemned to death by the secular authority much more reason is there for heretics as soon as they are convicted of heresy to be not only excommunicated but even put to death Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologica 2 2 q 13 The Book of Concord The Large Catechism 55 The Baptist Confession of Faith Archived 7 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine Ch 23 2 3 The Heidelberg Catechism Archived 13 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine Q 100 Westminster Larger Catechism Q 113 Jean Calvin Harmony of the Law vol 4 Lev 24 10 Act of Reparation for Blasphemies Uttered Against the Holy Name Righting Wrongs Through Prayer By Scott P Richert About com Dorothy Scallan The Holy Man of Tours 1990 ISBN 0 89555 390 2 Joseph P Christopher et al 2003 The Raccolta St Athanasius Press ISBN 978 0 9706526 6 9 Letter for 50th anniversary of the Benedictine Sisters of Reparation of the Holy Face 2000 Archived 2 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine Vatican archives Williams Levy Leonard 1995 Blasphemy Verbal Offense Against the Sacred from Moses to Salman Rushdie University of North Carolina Press Books p 242 Thomas Aikenhead 5 uua org Archived from the original on 1 October 2011 Retrieved 10 November 2011 The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge Vol III 1847 London Charles Knight p 412 Owen Chadwick The Victorian Church Vol 1 1829 1859 1966 pp 487 489 Carroll James Constantine s sword the church and the Jews a history Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2002 Seidman Naomi Faithful renderings Jewish Christian difference and the politics of translation University of Chicago Press 2006 p 137 Cohn Sherbok Dan Judaism and other faiths Palgrave Macmillan 1994 p 48 Seidman Naomi 2010 Faithful Renderings Jewish Christian Difference and the Politics of Translation University of Chicago Press pp 136 138 ISBN 978 0 226 74507 7 via Google Books Rodkinson Michael Levi 1918 The history of the Talmud from the time of its formation about 200 B C Talmud Society pp 66 75 Maccoby Hyam 1982 Judaism on Trial Jewish Christian Disputations in the Middle Ages Associated University Presses ISBN 978 0 8386 3053 2 Naomi Seidman Faithful Renderings Jewish Christian Difference and the Politics of Translation pp 136 138 Jonathon Green Nicholas J Karolides 2009 Encyclopedia of Censorship Infobase Publishing p 110 ISBN 978 1 4381 1001 1 Retrieved 13 February 2014 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint uses authors parameter link Avery Kenneth 2004 Psychology of Early Sufi Sama Listening and Altered States Routledge p 3 ISBN 978 0 415 31106 9 Blasphemy at dictionary com Wiederhold Lutz Blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad and his companions sabb al rasul sabb al sahabah The introduction of the topic into shafi i legal literature and its relevance for legal practice under Mamluk rule Journal of semitic studies 42 1 1997 39 70 a b c Saeed Abdullah Saeed Hassan 2004 Freedom of Religion Apostasy and Islam Burlington VT Ashgate Publishing Company pp 38 39 ISBN 978 0 7546 3083 8 Siraj Khan Blasphemy against the Prophet in Muhammad in History Thought and Culture ed Coeli Fitzpatrick PhD Adam Hani Walker ISBN 978 1 61069 177 2 pp 59 67 Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on 19 February 2015 Retrieved 18 September 2015 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link P Smith 2003 Speak No Evil Apostasy Blasphemy and Heresy in Malaysian Syariah Law UC Davis Journal Int l Law amp Policy 10 pp 357 373 N Swazo 2014 The Case of Hamza Kashgari Examining Apostasy Heresy and Blasphemy Under Sharia The Review of Faith amp International Affairs 12 4 pp 16 26 Juan Eduardo Campo ed 2009 Blasphemy Encyclopedia of Islam Infobase Publishing a b An Anti Blasphemy Measure Laid to Rest Nina Shea National Review 31 March 2011 U N Resolutions A RES 60 150 Vote on 16 December 2005 A 60 PV 64 a b c General Comment 34 Blasphemy JewishEncyclopedia com The Seven Noachide Laws JewishVirtualLibrary org Retrieved 8 November 2014 Gentiles Oxford Reference Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls Oxford University Press 2000 ISBN 978 0 19 508450 4 Retrieved 29 May 2017 via OUP subscription required For instance the Atheist Society of India produces a monthly publications Nastika Yuga which it translates as The Age of Atheism Archived 18 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine Nicholson Andrew J 2013 Unifying Hinduism Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History Columbia University Press ISBN 978 0 231 14987 7 ch 9 Francis Clooney 2008 Restoring Hindu Theology as a category in Indian intellectual discourse In Gavin Flood ed The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism Blackwell Academic pp 451 455 ISBN 978 0 470 99868 7 By Saṃkhya reasoning the material principle itself simply evolves into complex forms and there is no need to hold that some spiritual power governs the material principle or its ultimate source Francis Clooney 2003 Flood Gavin ed Blackwell companion to Hinduism Blackwell Publishing pp 82 224 249 ISBN 0 631 21535 2 http globalsikhstudies net r link articles htm Archived 5 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine Concepts in Sikhism Edited by Dr Surinder Singh Sodhi Rahi Hakim Singh 1999 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Discovered A Reference Book of Quotations from the Adi Granth Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 978 81 208 1613 8 PAGE 1381 Gurmukhi to English Translation and Phonetic Transliteration of Siri Guru Granth Sahib www srigurugranth org Retrieved 23 June 2018 PAGE 89 Gurmukhi to English Translation and Phonetic Transliteration of Siri Guru Granth Sahib www srigurugranth org Retrieved 23 June 2018 PAGE 719 Gurmukhi to English Translation and Phonetic Transliteration of Siri Guru Granth Sahib www srigurugranth org Retrieved 23 June 2018 a b PACE Recommendation 1805 2007 Blasphemy religious insults and hate speech against persons on grounds of their religion assembly coe int General Comment 34 p 12 Penn Jillette Celebrates Blasphemy Day in Penn Says Center for Inquiry 29 September 2009 Retrieved 30 September 2013 Basu Moni 30 September 2009 Taking aim at God on Blasphemy Day CNN com Larmondin Leanne 2 October 2009 Did you celebrate Blasphemy Day USAToday com a b Denmark scraps 334 year old blasphemy law 2 June 2017 the Guardian Blasphemy law Ireland a b Denmark still largely in support of blasphemy law IceNews 2 October 2012 Retrieved 17 May 2016 A recent survey has shown that Danish citizens still largely back the country s blasphemy law The law which makes it illegal to mock legal religions and faiths in Denmark is supported by around 66 per cent of Danish voters according to a recent survey conducted by the liberal group CEPOS Speaking about the report religious expert Tim Jensen from the University of Southern Denmark said Danes may see the blasphemy law as helping integration because it promotes the acceptance of a multicultural and multi faith society But it can also be problematic if it reflects a belief that the feelings of religious people have a special status and require special protection the Berlingske news agency reports Scolnicov Anat 18 October 2010 The Right to Religious Freedom in International Law Between Group Rights and Individual Rights Routledge p 261 ISBN 978 1 136 90705 0 A different argument for the retention of the offence of blasphemy and for its extension to the protection of all religions in the UK the offence protected only the majority religion has been offered by Parekh a majority religion does not need the protection offered by an offence of blasphemy but minority religions do because of their vulnerability in the face of the majority a b Danes overwhelmingly support their own blasphemy law The Copenhagen Post 21 September 2012 Retrieved 17 May 2016 Denmark s own blasphemy law makes it an offence to mock legal religions and faiths in Denmark and according to a study carried out on behalf of the liberal think tank CEPOS 66 per cent of the 1 000 Danes questioned answered that the law should not be repealed See Blasphemy law Kerr ine 9 July 2009 Libel and blasphemy bill passed by the Dail The Irish Independent Retrieved 17 November 2009 Anti Discrimination Act 1991 Sect 124A Vilification on grounds of race religion sexuality or gender identity unlawful Austlii edu au Retrieved 10 November 2011 Victoria Police Racial and religious vilification Police vic gov au Archived from the original on 27 September 2011 Retrieved 10 November 2011 European Commission for Democracy through Law Venice Commission Report on the relationship between freedom of expression and freedom of religion the issue of regulation and prosecution of blasphemy religious insult and incitement to religious hatred 17 18 October 2008 Doc No CDL AD 2008 026 Merlin obs coe int Archived from the original on 2 October 2011 Retrieved 10 November 2011 See Blasphemy law and Hate speech Bad mouthing Pakistan s blasphemy laws legitimise intolerance The Economist 29 November 2014 Sources of claims World of Intolerance Archived 19 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine Religious Watch Retrieved 5 October 2011 United Nations will violate Human Rights International Humanist and Ethical Union Retrieved 5 October 2011 Muslim scholar says Scrap blasphemy laws Herald Malaysia Online 11 August 2009 Archived from the original on 5 March 2012 Retrieved 5 October 2011 Annual Report of the U S Commission on International Religious Freedom May 2009 Pakistan etc Retrieved 5 October 2011 A call upon states to work toward abolishing the juvenile death penalty U N January 1999 Retrieved 5 October 2011 Indonesia Amnesty International Report 2009 Archived 21 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine Amnesty International Retrieved 5 October 2011 Spain country profile End Blasphemy Laws International Humanist and Ethical Union Retrieved 20 November 2018 IHEU frustrated as European Court fails to overturn blasphemy conviction in Austria International Humanist and Ethical Union 26 October 2018 Retrieved 15 November 2018 European Court of Human Rights rules that Austria can keep its blasphemy law Humanists UK 29 October 2018 Cottee Simon 31 October 2018 A Flawed European Ruling on Free Speech The Atlantic Retrieved 15 November 2018 Recanati F 1995 The alleged priority of literal interpretation Cognitive Science 19 207 232 Carston R 1997 Enrichment and loosening complementary processes in deriving the proposition expressed Linguistische Berichte 8 103 127 Carston R 2000 Explicature and semantics UCL Working Papers in Linguistics 12 1 44 Revised version to appear in Davis amp Gillon forthcoming when Sperber D amp D Wilson 1998 The mapping between the mental and the public lexicon In Carruthers amp Boucher 1998 184 200 ISBN missing Glucksberg S 2001 Understanding Figurative Language From Metaphors to Idioms Oxford Oxford University Press ISBN missing Wilson D amp D Sperber 2002 Truthfulness and relevance Mind 111 583 632 Further reading EditMaledicta The International Journal of Verbal Aggression ISSN 0363 3659 Levy L Blasphemy Chapel Hill 1993 Dartevelle P Denis Ph Robyn J eds Blasphemes et libertes Paris CERF 1993 Plate S Brent Blasphemy Art that Offends London Black Dog Publishing 2006 ISBN 1 904772 53 6External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blasphemy Wikiquote has quotations related to Blasphemy The Rational Response Squad The Blasphemy Challenge A More4 news film report on how insulting the prophet Mohammed in Pakistan is a capital offence and defiling the Koran carries life imprisonment review of laws relating to blasphemy and sacrilege in various jurisdictions John Webster Melody 1913 Blasphemy In Herbermann Charles ed Catholic Encyclopedia New York Robert Appleton Company Jewish Encyclopedia Blasphemy Blasphemy Encyclopedia Americana 1920 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Blasphemy amp oldid 1135181993, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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