How do blasphemy laws look like in your country?
I’m Palestinian Jordanian so I grew up in Jordan. We have something commonly called إزدراء أديان (“contempt of religion”) but also known as إهانة الشعور الديني (“offending religious feelings”). I was threatened to be sued under this law but have never seen any other cases. It would have resulted in a number of months in prison (4 months to 24 months imprisonment plus a fine) plus a potential loss of civil rights tied to religion (like marriage and inhertence). The problem is, it is often unclear what it entails given its vague definition.
One case is mentioned here however where an exMuslim embraced Chrstinianity for ten years but the court did not rule in his favor (link in Arabic).
However, coupled with Jordan’s recent proposed changes to the online crime law, anyone saying anything funny online on social media could easily be tried under this content of religion law since no more than a screenshot is required for a conviction.
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While India is supposed to be a secular country, a lot of our laws are inherited from the British and require an amendment or an outright repeal.
Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code lays down the punishment for the deliberate and malicious acts, that are intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs. It is one of the Hate speech laws in India. This law prohibits blasphemy against all religions in India.
This law was passed during the British rule of India. It exists in part because of the Muslim community of that time who demanded such a law.
In a sane society, blasphemy would be be seen as a non-issue as it’s a victimless act.
