The European Humanist Federation (EHF) and the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) together with several national partners call to abolish blasphemy laws worldwide.
In
the European Union, Austria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Spain, France (in
Alsace Moselle), Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Poland,
Portugal and Slovakia still have laws relating to blasphemy, or to the
similar offence of ‘religious insult’.
These laws are not just ancient, harmless laws however; they can
produce very real attacks on the right to freedom of speech and
expression in the modern-day, as demonstrated by the many cases reported
on the campaign's website: http://end-blasphemy-laws.org/
Outside Europe, blasphemy laws can lead to imprisonment, torture and
death, as recent cases of Mauritanian Cheikh Ould M’Kheitir and Saudi
Arabian Raif Badawi have shown.
Abolish All Blasphemy Laws worldwide
The
End Blasphemy Laws campaign is thought to be the first campaign
focusing solely on the issue of laws against “blasphemy” including
"ridicule" and "insult" to religion or “hurting religious sentiments”.
The
coalition behind the campaign, led by the International Humanist and
Ethical Union (IHEU) and the European Humanist Federation (EHF) and
various national partners, represents around 200 Humanist and secular
organizations globally.
Sonja Eggerickx, President of the IHEU, said, "In
the wake of the Charlie Hebdo killings there have been renewed calls to
abolish ‘blasphemy’ and related laws in almost every country where they
still exist. Our organizations have worked for many years to protect
this important right: to question, criticise, and yes even ridicule
religion. Given this new impetus to challenge these anachronistic laws,
we believe that we can work together across national boundaries to
support local voices calling for the repeal of all such laws."
"The idea that it is wrong to satirize religion, lends false legitimacy to those who murder in the name of being offended.
The idea that it is taboo to question or to criticise religious
authorities is one reason why sexual abuse in the Catholic Church
persisted so long. The idea that 'insult' to religion is a crime, is why
humanists like Asif Mohiuddin are jailed in Bangladesh, is why
secularists like Raif Badawi are being lashed in Saudi Arabia, is why
atheists and religious minorities are persecuted in places like
Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan, Iran, Sudan, and the list goes on!”
Pierre Galand, EHF President, explained: "Our
campaign does not target laws against incitement to hatred, which are
legitimate. What we are concerned about is laws which restrict freedom
of expression about religion. As a first step, we want to see
the remaining laws against blasphemy and religious insult in Europe
repealed. There is an obvious double standard issue as the EU has taken a
clear stand against blasphemy laws in the world. Now it must encourage its Members States to abolish existing blasphemy laws, as recommended by the Council of Europe.”
The
campaign calls on transnational bodies and world leaders to look on
"blasphemy" laws as they might look on law restricting press freedom: as
a restriction on free expression and indicator of social harm.