(1) They may be considered blasphemous by some, but banning speech based on criticism or so-called defamation of religion is incompatible with international human rights standards.
(2) In its infancy, the movement against censorship agitated on behalf of artists, iconoclasts, talented blasphemers; against repressive forces whose unpleasantness only confirmed which side was in the right.
(3) The Vatican, which considers The Da Vinci Code blasphemous, has launched a PR campaign against the film.
(4) A man purporting to be its leader, Abubakar Shekau, says in the recording that the attack has inspired the sect to continue to take revenge in Nigeria and beyond on those who are blasphemous.
(5) There has been little media interest in the campaign, with some of the most recent reports about the US president concerning the burning of effigies of him to protest against a blasphemous anti-Islam film posted on YouTube.
(6) "I've had a lot more fun watching and arguing about the Twilight movies than I ever had with the Star Wars saga, that lumbering, narratively hobbled space opera," he blasphemed recently .
(7) Some Islamic traditions consider it blasphemous to make or show an image of the prophet, and Vilks's drawings were regarded as especially derogatory as dogs are a symbol of filth for many Muslims.
(8) In Pakistan , the prime minister, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, ordered the suspension of YouTube over the "blasphemous" Muhammad film.
(9) In one scene, the narrator said: "The God the Sunni worship may not be described in human language, nor represented in any art form, for that would be blasphemous.
(10) On Friday night, the Russian Orthodox church repeated its criticism of the band's "blasphemous" protest, which it said displayed "crude hostility towards millions of people" but called on state authorities "to show mercy to the people convicted within the framework of the law, in the hope that they will refrain from repeating blasphemous actions".
(11) But the religious extremists explained it as destructive ideas against God.” The case went to trial in February 2014 when the complainant and two members of the religious police told the court that Fayadh had publicly blasphemed, promoted atheism to young people and conducted illicit relationships with women and stored some of their photographs on his mobile phone.
(12) Two high court judges ruled that the programme - screened on BBC2 in 2005 - could not be considered as blasphemous "in context".
(13) Removing "blasphemous tweets" in Pakistan might be seen as repressing free speech in America, whereas in Pakistan it might be interpreted as asking for respect for social norms.
(14) But now that these three young women have been thrown into prison for singing a protest song against Putin in a Moscow cathedral, where's their feminist, and blasphemous role model when they need her most?
(15) "The attempt of this party to bind itself to the history of this city is blasphemous and condemned to failure," it said.The leader of the Federation of Greek Communities in Germany, Sigrid Skarpelis-Sperk, told the Guardian: "The German authorities should be alarmed at this development and should be very thorough in monitoring them, to keep them in check.
(16) Instead of making that easy distinction which, on the whole, only the blasphemous make - non-religious people make this distinction very easily, between so-called good and so-called evil, when of course they are interrelated, and one is defined in terms of the other.
(17) But today, freedom lovers everywhere, whatever their religion, should proclaim the slogan of solidarity with the murdered staff of Charlie Hebdo: ‘Je suis Charlie!’” Ross Douthat, blogging at the New York Times website , went further by arguing that while “under many circumstances the choice to give offense (religious and otherwise) can be reasonably criticized as pointlessly antagonising, needlessly cruel, or simply stupid … The legitimacy and wisdom of such criticism is generally inversely proportional to the level of mortal danger that the blasphemer brings upon himself.
(18) Terror attacks in Paris: Mourners hold vigils worldwide for victims – live updates Read more The prime minister said following his talks with both the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, and the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, it was clear that Isis was was committing a double crime of “mass murder” and “blaspheming Islam”.
(19) That was more than a decade ago, and it was a shocking – almost blasphemous – thing to say.
(20) Its teachings are good and peaceful, and those who commit evil in the name of Allah blaspheme the name of Allah.
Blasphemy
Definition:
(n.) An indignity offered to God in words, writing, or signs; impiously irreverent words or signs addressed to, or used in reference to, God; speaking evil of God; also, the act of claiming the attributes or prerogatives of deity.
(n.) Figuratively, of things held in high honor: Calumny; abuse; vilification.
Example Sentences:
(1) Fears over violence in Jakarta as hardline Islamists protest governor’s ‘blasphemy’ Read more The governorship of the capital is a powerful position and was a stepping stone for Joko Widodo to the presidency two years ago.
(2) His controversial 1988 book The Satanic Verses, which provoked a religious opinion or fatwa, from the Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini calling for the author's killing as punishment for blasphemy, is still banned in India.
(3) But this was, after all, the late 20th century and the rather antiquated British blasphemy laws were something of an irrelevance.
(4) To people who have faith that the world can heal itself through the unfettered interaction of economically rational individuals, and that, if capitalism were allowed to operate freely, there would be no more slumps and bubbles because the invisible hand of the market would guide everything to its rightful price, the seasonal rush must seem like an orgy of blasphemy.
(5) Chanting “God is greatest”, many in Friday’s protest waved placards calling for Purnama, popularly known as Ahok, to be jailed for blasphemy.
(6) During the original trial, much emphasis was placed on the blasphemy of the women doing their dance right in front of the altar.
(7) The government also blocked about a dozen websites and blogs to stem the furore over blasphemy, as well as stepping up security for the bloggers.
(8) They have pandered to fundamentalism over the blasphemy law rather than facing it down.
(9) I have lost two brothers in this war, I swear by the great honour of the southern revolution.” “That’s blasphemy – you should only swear by God,” said the jihadi.
(10) At the same time, Christian lobbyists, spotting broadcasters' ring-fencing of the prophet, have increased their own blasphemy-policing.
(11) Paris was the place to be, the political atmosphere suited a cartoonist’s work – cartoons fitted with the slogans and graffiti of the time, its poetry.” Willem joined Hara Kiri , Charlie Hebdo ’s precursor, setting himself immediately to work on blasphemy, vicious political satire and “things some people might regard as pornographic”.
(12) And in 2013, a lecturer called Junaid Hafeez was jailed after students accused him of committing blasphemy on his Facebook page in an affair which also led to his lawyer being shot dead.
(13) As a former Christian and theology graduate, I felt reasonably well qualified to argue my point about blasphemy, but sex is a whole other area – what is acceptable here is a rather more nebulous concept, of course, and there is little objective legislation to help us in matters of taste.
(14) Acquittals in blasphemy cases in the Indonesian courts are rare, but Ahok has vowed to continue his campaign and to contest the election.
(15) Not even the Spanish Inquisition entailed such delicate, hair-trigger recriminations for blasphemy as the one that set off this MSNBC host yesterday on his little patriotism enforcement crusade.
(16) Hundreds camped out until around four in the morning beside the parliament building, demanding Purnama be charged with blasphemy.
(17) There is some frankly rather inappropriate cheering at this shout-out to our most potent secular blasphemy, but not, I note, from the two serious young black men sitting next to me.
(18) Blasphemy might be an extremely serious offence in the receiving state; other states do not even criminalise it.
(19) Today's statement by foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu denounced Liu as a criminal and said his award was a "blasphemy to the peace prize".
(20) That was until July 1977, when Mary Whitehouse, self-appointed guardian of national morals, won a blasphemy libel case against Gay News for publishing a poem about a Roman centurion's homoerotic leanings towards the crucified Christ.