Officials of the Swedish and Danish governments have begun to consider possible legal solutions to address the issue of publicly defacing the Quran and other religious books and symbols.
Denmark Seeks to Legally Prevent Burnings of Quran, Other Religious Scriptures https://t.co/cSGSXyMoZs
A Filipina drag performer stirred controversy after a viral performance at a local bar where she dressed up as Jesus Christ and danced to a remixed version of a Filipino-language Catholic Mass worship song, sparking a heated debate on where to draw the line between “expression” and “mockery”, especially in a country like the Philippines, where around 79% of the population identify as Catholic.
A young Christian man in Pakistan was fined and sentenced to death by a court on June 30th for allegedly committing blasphemy. This decision came after the Pakistani government agreed last month to try blasphemy suspects under the country’s anti-terrorism laws and existing anti-blasphemy laws.
Several human rights groups in Indonesia have called on the government to place a moratorium on blasphemy, urging them to amend the country’s laws on blasphemy and calling on the police to temporarily halt the enforcement of blasphemy-related articles to stop the abuse of religious minorities in the Muslim-majority country.
Around 2,500 people were arrested in Bangladesh on June 4th after an allegedly blasphemous Facebook post defaming the Prophet Muhammad sparked street violence in the Muslim-majority, South Asian nation.
Most of those arrested for participating in the violence in the country’s capital Dhaka were unidentified. Bangladeshi authorities also arrested a man named Mohammad Sohel for making the reportedly blasphemous social media post.
In northwestern Nigeria, an angry mob killed a man after accusing him of blasphemy on June 25th, triggering outrage from human rights groups who raised concerns about the growing threat against religious freedom in the region.
The Pakistani government entered into an agreement with a radical Islamist party to try blasphemy suspects under the country’s anti-terrorism laws along with existing anti-blasphemy laws in the Muslim-majority nation.
A young Hindu man from Bangladesh was arrested and convicted for allegedly insulting Islam and the Prophet Muhammad through a social media post around six years ago.
On May 23rd, a court in the city of Rangpur in northwestern Bangladesh convicted a man named Titu Roy for making derogatory, anti-Islam remarks on Facebook, sentencing him to ten years in prison.
More than a year after a landmark case in Nigeria that saw atheist Mubarak Bala imprisoned for expressing his views on religion, a US congressman took up his case and joined in the calls to free Bala.
A local Muslim religious leader was beaten to death by an angry mob in Pakistan after allegedly making “blasphemous” remarks during an opposition party rally, which came at a time when lynchings due to blasphemy allegations continue to rise in the country.
A Muslim religious leader has been beaten to death in Pakistan for allegedly making ‘blasphemous remarks’ during a speech at a rally for Imran Khan’s opposition PTI party pic.twitter.com/KPi7opmvXt
