3 replies to this topic

[Ungodly]

A 17 year old student has been arrested in Pakistan for the crime of blasphemy. The boy apparently said something in a school exam paper that offended really stupid people that believe in an angry sky monster that is so mean, cruel, and terribly sensitive that he makes Al Qaeda look like a pack of cub scouts.

When you combine religion and government in the hands of the same people you end up with brutality that far exceeds the best the terr'ists can do. Entire nations live in constant fear, not because they watch Fox News, because they really are in danger if they say the wrong thing.

Stupid + Vicious = Theocracy

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) -- Police have arrested a 17-year old Pakistani boy for writing an allegedly blasphemous remark in an examination paper, an officer said Tuesday.

Pakistan's blasphemy laws have come under intense scrutiny since the murder last month of a prominent politician who had campaigned to change them. They allow for the death penalty for anyone found guilty of insulting Islam. Critics say they are often used to settle scores and unfairly target the country's non-Muslim minorities.

School authorities lodged a police complaint against the boy, identified as Sami Ullah, in January after reading an examination paper he took in the city of Karachi, said police officer Qudrat Shah Lodhi.

Lodhi said he could not repeat what the boy, who is a Muslim, had written because he would be committing blasphemy if he did. He said the boy told police he wrote the blasphemous material out of frustration when he was not able to answer the exam question.

"He submitted an apology to the examination authorities and feels ashamed and depressed," Lodhi said

He said Ullah was arrested Jan. 29 and placed in police custody while officers investigated the case.

No one has been put to death for blasphemy, and most times guilty verdicts are overturned on appeal. But there have been several documented cases of mobs killing people accused of blasphemy.

Critics have said the laws either need to be repealed or amended to stop them from being abused or applied frivolously. But Pakistan's powerful clerical class have campaigned against any changes, and portrayed critics as being anti-Islam - a potent charge in this Muslim-majority nation.

(source)

Church and State
Greed and Hate
Two Baboons
In One Supreme Gorilla-Person
--Aldous Huxley
"Ape and Essence"

[Joe Bloe]

I just don't know what to say about Pakistan and its blasphemy laws. When I was younger I thought it was just a fundy phase they were going through, but now I realise that the country is run by a bunch of control freaks who will never willingly let go of their power. Things will get a lot worse (I think) before they get better.

The Christians managed to keep their Inquistions running for 600 years before wiser heads prevailed, and I fear the Taliban might last just as long.

[Ungodly]

I just don't know what to say about Pakistan and its blasphemy laws. When I was younger I thought it was just a fundy phase they were going through, but now I realise that the country is run by a bunch of control freaks who will never willingly let go of their power. Things will get a lot worse (I think) before they get better.

The Christians managed to keep their Inquistions running for 600 years before wiser heads prevailed, and I fear the Taliban might last just as long.

One difference though, that does not scale well for comparisons, is that Pakistan has nukular weapons of mass destruction, not the GW Bush kind, these are WMDs that actually exist.

Soon Iran will also have nukular weapons, and they are even crazier than Pakistan.

If only Pakistan and Iran were to start hating each other to pieces, literally. But of course that was tongue in cheek. It's entirely likely that the first nuke used in the Middle east or a nearby Arab land will bring about a new, far more deadly world war.

If I had the money I might start a short wave radio station that would broadcast non-stop blasphemy world wide with a commitment to insult the ten most popular religions at least once per hour.

Unfortunately for Islam a nukular mushroom cloud will happily irradiate any living thing, even if it is afflicted with the locally dominant brand of religious stupidity.

[Storybook]

It's entirely likely that the first nuke used in the Middle east or a nearby Arab land will bring about a new, far more deadly world war.

I fear that too.

If I had the money I might start a short wave radio station that would broadcast non-stop blasphemy world wide with a commitment to insult the ten most popular religions at least once per hour.

I love that idea!!!!