All posts by Marc Kreidler

News

Turkish Pianist Fazıl Say Acquitted of Blasphemy Charges

The Hurriyet Daily News reports on some welcome news out of Turkey:

World-renowned Turkish pianist Fazıl Say was acquitted of blasphemy charges on Sept. 7, four years after being sentenced to a suspended jail term after sharing a post on his Twitter account.

An Istanbul court ordered Say’s acquittal on charges of “insulting religious beliefs held by a section of society” for retweeting several lines attributed to the 11th century Persian poet Omar Khayyam in 2012.

In a post on his Instagram account after the four-year judicial struggle, Say thanked and congratulated his lawyer Meltem Akyol.

He had received a suspended 10-month prison sentence in April 2013 for retweeting Khayyam’s lines after three people filed a criminal complaint to the Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office, accusing him of blasphemy. …

Among the lines attributed to Khayyam that Say retweeted was: “You say its rivers will flow in wine. Is the Garden of Eden a drinking house?”

You can read the full article here.

News

10 Years Jail, 2,000 Lashes for Saudi Man Who Said He Is an Atheist

Al-Masdar News reports:

A Saudi court has sentenced a 28-year old man to ten years prison, 2,000 lashes and a fine around $5000 for tweeting that he was an atheist.

The man had refused to repent and expressed his beliefs that he had a right to express them.

A law that defines atheism as “terrorism” is what he was charged under.

Article one of the law defined terrorism as “calling for atheist thought in any form, or calling into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which this country is based”.

You can read the article here.

Case

Narendra Dabholkar

Narendra Achyut Dabholkar was an Indian-born rationalist.  Dabholkar was a qualified medical doctor, and founder-president of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), an organization set up in 1989 to combat superstition in the Maharashtra state of India. Over the course of his life, Dabholkar wrote many books on superstitions, and addressed more than 3,000 public meetings.

In 2010, Dabholkar led several attempts to enact an anti-superstition law in Maharashtra, known as the Anti-Jaadu Tona Bill, or Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Ordinance.

On August 20, 2013, Dabholkar was shot and killed while out for a morning walk in the western Indian city of Pune. Just four days later, the Maharashtra legislature would approve the Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Ordinance.

In addition to his work to combat superstition,  Dabholkar was involved in social justice work. He was the founding member of Parivartan, a social action center seeking to “empower marginalised members of the community to lead lives of security, dignity, and prosperity”; and, between 1990–2010, Dabholkar was active in a movements for equality and against India’s caste system and caste-related violence.

News

This section will be updated as news develops on this case.

    Case

    Waleed Abu Al-Khair

    Waleed Abu Al-Khair is a  lawyer and a prominent human rights activist currently imprisoned in Saudi Arabia. He is the head of the Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia.

    In 2007, Waleed launched a statement entitled “Features of a Constitutional Monarchy,” which advocated for human rights and democracy. In 2008, he created the Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, but both the website and the Facebook page was blocked in December 2008 and May 2009, respectively.

    In his work, Al-Khair defended many individuals seeking to express their views, and advanced a more democratic state.

    In April 2014, al-Khair was arrested and jailed for his human rights work. He was not allowed to contact either his clients or his family. Several months later, Abulkhair was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, followed by 15 years of ban on travel. He remains imprisoned. 

    News

    This section will be updated as news develops on this case.

    Case

    Taslima Nasrin

    Taslima Nasrin is a prominent Bangladeshi human rights activist, author, and blogger. Her works involve feminist motifs and criticisms of religion, which have gained her international fame.

    She had written against Islamic philosophy, angering many Muslims of Bangladesh, who called for a ban on her novel, Lajja. Taslima left Bangladesh in 1994 because of death threats, and spent the next ten years in exile. 

    In 2015, Nasrin was threatened with death by extremists linked to murders in Bangladesh. She currently lives in India.

    Listen to Taslima Nasrin’s interview from Point of Inquiry:

    You can also listen to this interview at the Point of Inquiry website.

    News

    This section will be updated as news develops on this case.

      Case

      Mariam Ibrahim

      Mariam Ibrahim is a Christian woman who was sentenced to death in Sudan for apostasy. Her brother learned she was a practicing Christian who had married another Christian, and reported her to the police because her biological father was a Muslim, despite the fact that her father did not raise her. Leaving Islam is against the law in Sudan. She was arrested during her second pregnancy and gave birth to a girl in prison in May 2014.

      Sudan has a very caustic attitude and long abusive history toward Sudanese Christians. Mariam witnessed this abusive attitude because of the heavy corruption and heavy religious influence exercised in the government of Sudan. She was arrested for being a Christian despite her father being a Muslim.

      After intense pressure, the Sudanese government released Ibrahim and allowed her to escape to the United States. She currently lives in New Hampshire with her brother-in-law, where she says she will continue to advocate for victims of religious persecution.

      News

      This section will be updated as news develops on this case.

        Case

        Raif Badawi

        Raif Badawi, 30, is founder of the website Liberal Saudi Network, which was dedicated to fostering open discussion of religion and politics in Saudi Arabia. He is also an advocate for freedom of religion, belief, and expression, and women’s rights. He is currently imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for insulting Islam.

        In 2008, Badawi was detained and questioned on charges of apostasy, but was eventually released. However, on June 17, 2012, Badawi was arrested and formally charged with insulting Islam and apostasy – the latter of which could result in punishment as severe as the death penalty. Badawi was arrested for hosting a website which features content critical of religion, and declaring May 7 as a “day for Saudi liberals.”

        While the apostasy charge would later be dropped, on July 29, 2013, a criminal court sentenced Badawi to seven years in jail and 600 lashes for his other offenses. The Court of Appeals struck down that ruling, and sent his case for review to Jeddah’s Criminal Court. He remained in prison during this process.

        On May 7, 2014, the Center for Inquiry learned that a Saudi court issued a new sentence for Raif: 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes, and a one million riyal fine. CFI would later release a translated copy of this court ruling.

        On January 9, 2015, Saudi authorities gave Badawi the first 50 of his 1,000 lashes, prompting the Center for Inquiry to once again demand that the Saudi Arabian government end this persecution, forego this brutal punishment, and free Raif immediately.

        Badawi’s sentence and punishment has been condemned by many prominent political figures, including several foreign governmental and UN leaders and eight U.S. Senators.

        News

        This section will be updated as news develops on this case.

        Case

        Ananta Bijoy Das

        Ananta Bijoy Das was a writer and blogger based in Bangladesh. He wrote on the Bengali freethinking blog Mukto-Mona, and authored three books on science, evolutionary science, and revolution.

        In addition, Das headed a Sylhet-based group centered on science and rationalism, and edited the quarterly magazine Jukti (Bengali for  “logic.”).

        In May 2015, Das was on his way to work when he was attacked and killed by a group of four extremists armed with machetes.

        News

        This section will be updated as news develops on this case.

        Information

        International Blasphemy Rights Day

        International Blasphemy Rights Day, held each year on September 30, is a day to show solidarity with those who challenge oppressive laws and social prohibitions against free expression, to support the right to challenge prevailing religious beliefs without fear of violence, arrest, or persecution.

        International Blasphemy Rights Day is observed every September 30 to commemorate the publishing of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons, which angered religious believers around the world, many of whom expressed their disapproval with violent protests, riots, and in some cases, murder.

        While many perceive “blasphemy” as offensive, this event is not intended to ridicule and insult others. Rather, it was created as a reaction against those who would seek to take away the right to satirize and criticize a particular set of beliefs given a privileged status over other beliefs. Observing International Blasphemy Rights Day is a way of showing opposition to any resolutions or laws, binding or otherwise, which discourage or inhibit freedom of speech of any kind.

        Freedom of expression, including the right to criticize any belief, religious, political, or otherwise, is the only way in which any nation with any modicum of freedom can exist. Without this essential liberty, dissent can be suppressed and silenced by labeling it as “defamation” or “blasphemy.” Even rhetoric that uses the guise of sensitivity, such as “hurting religious feelings” can be twisted to stifle opposition by turning popular sentiment against it.

        If you support free speech, and the rights of those who disagree with religious views to voice their opinions peacefully, join the cause and support International Blasphemy Rights Day!

        Learn more about what you can do on the “Get Involved” page.

        The event is administered by the Center for Inquiry as part of its Campaign for Free Expression.

        Ideas don't need rights, people do

        Case

        Sherry Rehman

        Sherry Rehman is Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States. Due to a citizen complaint, she is currently under investigation for blasphemy, which could result in punishment as severe as the death penalty.

        In 2010, Rehman took part in an interview that was aired on Pakistani television. Muhammad Faheem Ahkter Gill, a 31-year-old businessman who owns a marble business in the city of Multan, was reportedly watching the appearance with friends and felt Rehman made comments critical of the Islamic prophet. Gill spent years trying to register a case against Rehman, and in January 2013 – for reasons unknown – Pakistan’s Supreme Court finally accepted the case and directed police to perform an investigation.

        Rehman has previously faced death threats after urging for reform to the country’s blasphemy laws. Several prominent Pakistani politicians have been assassinated for criticizing blasphemy laws, including Salmaan Taseer, the former Governor of Punjab, and Shahbaz Bhatti, the former Minister for Minority Affairs.

        News

        This section will be updated as news develops on this case.