Tackling Religious Freedom & Blasphemy
November 05, 2009
Last week, MPAC Government Liaison Alejandro J. Beutel participated in a roundtable discussion at the Buxton Initiative regarding issues of free speech, blasphemy and religious freedom. He was joined by Angela Wu, International Law Director for the Becket Fund, an organization dedicated to the defense of religious freedom for all faiths.
SEE: Roundtable: Blasphemy (Buxton Initiative)
Wu's opening remarks examined why laws protecting religions from blasphemy and defamation are problematic from a legal and philosophical perspective. One of her most important points is that a person cannot be a true believer in a faith if s/he is coerced into believing. She also stated that legislating distasteful views runs contrary to the spirit and letter of international human rights law.
Beutel added to the discussion by presenting religious and policy concerns over why offensive speech and language can not be legislated. He noted that it is fundamentally against the Qur’an and the Prophetic traditions. Furthermore, he argued that current anti-blasphemy laws and movements are rooted in both past and current social and political contexts; not religious attitudes per se.
The rest of the event was open to discussion from the audience. There were many interesting questions and insights, including how the issue personally impacts certain people, policy versus legal remedies and the larger issues of "sanctified violence."
