We have for years been following the rising number of blasphemy prosecutions not only in the Muslim world but, even more worrisome, in the West. Now, an Egyptian court has added a new outrage in sentencing a 17-year-old Christian boy to three years in jail for publishing cartoons on Facebook deemed mocking of Islam and the Prophet Mohammad. It is the latest example of the abuses of Sharia law and the danger of intermingling religion and government.
Gamal Abdou Massoud showed the drawings to school friends in a village in the southern city of Assiut, which has a large Christian population and is the hometown of the late Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda. Christians have faced increasing pressure and violence in Egypt since the overthrow of the Mubarak regime and the rise of Islamic fundamentalists.
Local muslims reacted to the kid’s cartoons with outrage and burned down Christian homes and assaulted Christians in retaliation.
As I have mentioned before, the efforts of the Obama Administration to work with countries like Egypt on an international blasphemy standard is a threat to free speech around the world. After first supporting an international blasphemy standard, the Administration sought to get Egypt and other countries to adopt the Brandenburg standard as the basis for such prosecutions. These cases show the mentality of countries pushing for a “balance” between free speech and religion. It also shows why the use of the Brandenburg standard is so dangerous in the hands of such officials who view free speech as the cause of imminent violence. Because any joke or image of the Prophet can trigger violence, the standard is immediately satisfied in countries like Egypt, which can then claim some legal legitimacy under the standard created with the United States. Free speech is under attack around the world and I view this effort as facilitating, rather than curtailing, such crackdowns on dissidents and intellectuals. While I truly believe that the Obama Administration officials are well-intentioned and believe that they can moderate this trend against free speech, I am fearful that their effort will only legitimate these abusive cases.
Source: Times
Islam and the Prophet Mohammad might as well worship Satan. Sharia law is 100% evil giving evil for evil with no mercy in it. Government supports jails, military, condemning legal system, and police force that likewise does not give mercy giving evil for evil. Hence in spirit the Government, and the Sharia law are the same. Separation is an illuton. Blasphemy is against the holy spirit. Since Jesus is the holy spirit he is the one to dole out punishment. Jesus does not put whoever in bondage. Hench the humans jailing in Gods name are the blasphemers doing what Jesus would never do condemning themselves arresting anyone.
Arresting is an anti Christ thing to do. Those that arrest don’t value their soul. let that kid go. Whoever is arresting is arresting Jesus in that kid. Repent.
Arresting is an anti Christ thing to do. Those that rest don’t value their own soul. let that kid go. Whoever is arresting Jesus in that kid. Repent.
Thanks, AY.
they view it in my opinion as keeping the peace which out weighs the dastardly conduct……
The paramedic said that he was trained to switch gears and he was just doing a job…..
Gyges,
I kind of figured it was the new parenting duties keeping you away, but it is good to hear that other than cranky, nothing else is amiss. And even the cranky is probably nothing amiss. All part of Baby D’s master plan to have daddy wrapped around her finger. 😀
Gene,
It’s nice to be back. Having two kids around changes the time and energy budgets a little, but things have settled down a little.
He says after being up all night with a cranky 11 month old, who is currently demanding to be held constantly.
Related to my earlier OT posting about “Blackwater” (sorry for the hijacking…):
“Academi”: Hiding behind another name, working its magic worldwide
Academi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academi
Academi—previously known as Xe Services LLC, Blackwater USA and Blackwater Worldwide—is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark. Academi is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department’s three private security contractors. Academi provided diplomatic security services in Iraq to the United States federal government on a contractual basis. Academi also has a research and development wing that was responsible for developing the Grizzly APC along with other military technology. The company’s headquarters is in Arlington County, Virginia
The Obama administration awarded Academi a $250 million contract to work for the U.S. State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan.
Ahhh . . . memories.
Speaking of which, it’s good to see you posting again, Gyges.
Remember when the U.S. used to support (in theory) the rights of oppressed minorities (as long as they didn’t live here)? Or at the very least didn’t encourage victim blaming?
“Believe this or not, they rejoice in this type of benign behavior….” -AY
AY,
You’re saying that they view it as “benign”, right? Just to clarify that one point…
Thanks for the info. I’m curious… what did the paramedic say when you asked him about a “conflict”?
AN,
I have a friend….OK a person I know that is/was a seal that does special opt missions for an unnamed benefactor…. Believe this or not, they rejoice in this type of benign behavior…. They get paid bonuses depending how many they take down in a day and it gets blamed on someone else….
Another guy I am aware of does the same thing 6 months at a time…. But when he returns to his civilian job, he is a paramedic…. I asked if if he saw that as a conflict…..
A federal court in America would sentence him to 14 years if he had cartoons of child porn on a computer. Maybe double the sentence if it was a depiction of a Christian religious figure doing child porn act in a cartoon. So how is Egypt exceptional?
Governor Brewer and Prohet Vogt out in AZ would give him more time if he was ridiculing Jesus instead of some Muslim. New bumper sticker out this week in Tucson: Dont Post On The Internet In AZ
Leave Your Constitution Back in Tennessee
Dredd,
Regarding the Blackwater tape:
“Harpers reports that “the tape ended with the inscription ‘In support of security, peace, freedom and democracy everywhere.”
I’ll take a look at your link. I know all about “those types.” There are times when I wish that I didn’t… (On Democracy Now! yesterday: http://www.democracynow.org/2012/4/4/j_edgar_hoover_vs_martin_luther)
anon nurse 1, April 5, 2012 at 9:13 am
OT:
Blackwater Videos Show Guards In Iraq Firing Weapons ‘Enthusiastically,’ Vehicles Hitting Civilians
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And in an American court a jury found that those types conspired with government officials to assassinate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
OT:
Blackwater Videos Show Guards In Iraq Firing Weapons ‘Enthusiastically,’ Vehicles Hitting Civilians
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/04/04/458153/blackwater-videos-iraq-harpers/
By Ben Armbruster on Apr 4, 2012 at 12:45 pm
Journalist, author and publisher Charles Glass has a feature in this month’s edition of Harper’s magazine called “The Warrior Class,” a feature covering the rise of private security contractors after 9/11. The article describes a number videos shown to Glass by a source who had worked for Blackwater. Harpers published clips from the videos yesterday, which show Blackwater guards and other private security contractors operating as if living in the Wild West. One video shows a contractor randomly and “enthusiastically” firing an AK-47 from the turret of an armored vehicle and another shows a private guard yelling obscenities at passers-by and other armored cars smashing into civilian vehicles:
Another video shows what appears to be an American-made SUV running over a civilian without stopping. The car videoing the incident also does not stop:
Harpers reports that “the tape ended with the inscription ‘In support of security, peace, freedom and democracy everywhere.”
A three year sentence …
Wanna bet that there will be extremists who will say that court is soft on blasphemy?
for publishing cartoons? really ? 17 years old ? 3 years in prison? really ?
How insane can it get ?
When in Rome….. But…. Wait…. Haven’t we kind of done the same things…..