Atheists campaign against blasphemy law

bronte

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0102/breaking22.html

Atheists have begun a campaign against the Government’s new blasphemy law, which came into force on January 1st as part of the Defamation Act.

The group Atheist Ireland has published 25 quotes it says are blasphemous, attributed to people from Jesus Christ to Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern.

Under the new blasphemy law, which Atheist Ireland is campaigning to have repealed blasphemy is now punishable by a €25,000 fine.

It defines blasphemy as publishing or uttering matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion, with some defences permitted.

Chair of Atheist Ireland Michael Nugent said in a posting on the blasphemy.ie website that the new law was “both silly and dangerous”.

“It is silly because medieval religious laws have no place in a modern secular republic, where the criminal law should protect people and not ideas. And it is dangerous because it incentives religious outrage, and because Islamic states led by Pakistan are already using the wording of this Irish law to promote new blasphemy laws at UN level.”

He said blasphemy laws were “unjust”.

“They silence people in order to protect ideas. In a civilised society, people have a right to express and to hear ideas about religion even if other people find those ideas to be outrageous.”

The 25 allegedly blasphemous quotes include utterances attributed to Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Mark Twain, Tom Lehrer, Randy Newman, James Kirkup, Monty Python, Rev Ian Paisley, Conor Cruise O’Brien, Frank Zappa, Salman Rushdie, Bjork, Amanda Donohoe, George Carlin, Paul Woodfull, Jerry Springer the Opera, Tim Minchin, Richard Dawkins, Pope Benedict XVI, Christopher Hitchens, PZ Myers, Ian O’Doherty, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor and Dermot Ahern.

They include a quote from Dawkins’ book The God Delusion , referring to the God of the Old Testament as “arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully”.

The organisation also quotes an exchange between Mr Ahern and Labour Party TD Pat Rabbitte when the Minister discussed the blasphemy law at an Oireachtas Justice Committee meeting in 2009.

“Deputy Rabbitte says that I am close to the baby Jesus, I am so pure.”

Atheist Ireland said this was a case of "an Irish justice minister joking about himself being blasphemed, at a parliamentary justice committee discussing his own blasphemy law, [which] could make his own jokes illegal".

I knew it would backfire on them.

25 K my arse

WhiteRussian

Atheist Ireland? I thought we were the Allied Atheist Allegiance (AAA) ?!?!

R0ot

Hey that's what we need in this time of economic crisis, more PC bull**** followed by pointless fines.... :rolleyes:

Biggins

LOL - I think one thread here in the last day or two broke a few laws then.

bleg

This happened on January 2nd.

News cycle has moved on.

Yeesh!

TheZohanS

bronte wrote: »

25 K my arse

Stick it on adverts, you might get more for it.

bronte

TheZohan wrote: »

Stick it on adverts, you might get more for it.

You can stay! :pac:

minidazzler

The chances of me ever paying a fine for Blaspheming are quite small! In fact, I think that if I was convicted and ordered to pay I would run around the court room screaming fcuk god, fcuk JC, Fcuk Muhammed...etc.

A law that has no place in Irish culture, never mind saying only recently coming into effect!!!

Biggins

minidazzler wrote: »

The chances of me ever paying a fine for Blaspheming are quite small! In fact, I think that if I was convicted and ordered to pay I would run around the court room screaming fcuk god, fcuk JC, Fcuk Muhammed...etc.

A law that has no place in Irish culture, never mind saying only recently coming into effect!!!

Seeing as you can't be sued for what you say in the dock, I'd be screaming a lot more than that!
Hell!!! If da man wants to take me down, I ago screaming!!! :pac:

bnt

Whoa! Did I just imagine the last three months? The law came in to effect in January, and in recent weeks Dermot Ahern has said he's agreed to make the issue part of a future referendum (article), though he seems to be flip-flopping on details.

The whole business is silly, and it makes Ireland's law-making processes appear as if they're made up on the whims of Pols like Aherne for their own benefit. (This is someone with ambitions to be the next Taoiseach, I remember reading back then).

opinion guy

We've had this thread before

PK2008

I like it

bronte

opinion guy wrote: »

We've had this thread before

But, but...the story told me it was brand new?

Blackhorse Slim

The Ineffable Church of Holy Free Speech finds this law blasphemous, since it was written by the prophet Dude that

"Thou shalt not put legal punishment on utterences of the mouth or printed publication" Dude 5: ch 666

the gov't now owes us €25k.

Duggy747

This story is old hat, like 3 month old hat forgotten & left behind the radiator after a soggy day...........now it just smells funny and there's some odd discolourisation on the side of it.

Has this law been put to use anywhere since Jan?

Biggins

bronte wrote: »

But, but...the story told me it was brand new?

That will teach you not to buy thread stories off a durty old man at night, standing under a street corner lamp.

Bold boy, go forth (or fifth!) and don't sin again!

KevinVonSpiel

In before the apocalypse.

piby

minidazzler wrote: »

The chances of me ever paying a fine for Blaspheming are quite small! In fact, I think that if I was convicted and ordered to pay I would run around the court room screaming fcuk god, fcuk JC, Fcuk Muhammed...etc.

A law that has no place in Irish culture, never mind saying only recently coming into effect!!!

I agree with you but unfortunately we're not as secular as we'd like to think in this country! Look how much of our constitution is based on Catholic teaching and there are other things i.e. to be a judge you have to swear on the bible. I remember during my brief spell with the RDF when I applied I put down my religion as 'non-religious/atheist' and I was told that if I wanted to join I had to put down christian so I could swear my oath on the bible :mad:

Ahern is saying we'll have the referendum along with another so as to save costs so perhaps when we have the one on children's rights in the autumn.

That said I think the chances of an individual getting prosecuted for blasphemy are quite small. Even if he/she were the United Atheist Alliance would soon rally to their cause

starbelgrade

I don't believe in Dermot Ahern.

Biggins

starbelgrade wrote: »

I don't believe in Dermot Ahern.

Outside of Dundalk, not many do either!

me-skywalker

I dont believe in Beatles.....

opinion guy

bronte wrote: »

But, but...the story told me it was brand new?

Well the dat on top saying Jan 2nd was the first clue....

bronte

Fair nuff, will be more vigilant when posting AH threads in future.

What else can I do for you today Sir?

The_Minister

That campaign is a load of empty hot air IMO.

If you read their 'blasphemous' quotes, and then read the legislation, all the quotes come within the defences - they won't be fined, and they know it.

red herring

This law is as backward as pubs being closed on good friday...

MadPatrick

Jesus was gay, and his mom was a slut. Come and get me Cowen

recylingbin

I hope they've got a facebook group. They always work...that one time.

CrazyRabbit

"They include a quote from Dawkins’ book The God Delusion , referring to the God of the Old Testament as “arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully”."

I like that....I like that alot.

Going in to my sig so they can arrest/charge me with blasphemy.

PeterIanStaker

Dermot Ahern is a fictional being, made up to scare people.

Biggins

PeterIanStaker wrote: »

Dermot Ahern is a fictional being, made up to scare people.

Bit like the bible then.

Duggy747

I am a false prophet and Fianna Fail is a superstition.

JuliusCaesar

If all you blasphemers just handed over your 23K to the Revenue, there'd be no need for Nama.....

bronte

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

If all you blasphemers just handed over your 23K to the Revenue, there'd be no need for Nama.....

That's a handy 2 grand you just made yourself there!

Jumpy

WhiteRussian wrote: »

Atheist Ireland? I thought we were the Allied Atheist Allegiance (AAA) ?!?!

Splitters!

The_Minister

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

If all you blasphemers just handed over your 23K to the Revenue, there'd be no need for Nama.....

[SlightNitpick]
Income tax makes up around (from memory) only 32% of government income, so in reality it won't end up with the full 23k per household coming from each household - most will come from VAT and corporation tax.
[SlightNitpick]

I.Am.A.Panda

Knowing Aherne, he'll put down a referendum for:

"The legalisation of murder, rape, manslaughter and the abolishment of the blasphemy laws"

Though putting in "Reducing Irish status in the constitution" would be a very interesting hot potato.