Rep. Jamie Raskin has introduced a new old resolution which calls for the “global repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws.” U.S. House has already introduced similar resolution two years ago but it was not enacted.
The resolution, inter alia, “calls on the President and the Secretary of State to make the repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws a priority in the bilateral relationships of the United States with all countries that have such laws, through direct interventions in bilateral and multilateral fora.” It “encourages the President and the Secretary of State to oppose — any efforts, by the United Nations or by other international or multilateral fora, to create an international anti-blasphemy norm, such as the ‘‘defamation of religions’’ resolutions introduced in the United Nations between 1999 and 2010…”
The most important part of the proposed resolution “urges the governments of countries that have prosecuted, imprisoned, and persecuted people on charges of blasphemy, heresy, or apostasy to release such people unconditionally and, once released, to ensure their safety and that of their families.”
The American Humanist Association (AHA) welcomes the introduction of H.Res. 349, designed to protect religious and secular minorities by encouraging the repeal of blasphemy laws around the world. According to the American Humanist Association, in many countries, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, nontheists, and other religious minorities are imprisoned, tortured, sentenced to death, and executed for blasphemy offenses.
“The freedom to believe or not believe is a fundamental human right that is being infringed upon around the world, and this resolution goes a long way to ensure that these individuals have their rights restored,” said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association.
Examples show that the blasphemy law is applied in many countries. On instance, as of February 2015, USCIRF is aware of 18 individuals on death row for blasphemy in Pakistan and 20 serving life sentences. Asia Bibi was sentenced to death for blasphemy in 2010, and the Lahore High Court upheld the conviction in late 2014, and her case is on appeal to the Supreme Court of Pakistan. In 2017, the Christian governor of Jakarta, Indonesia, was convicted for blasphemy of Islam and sentenced to two years in jail.
Let us hope that the resolution will be passed this year because all people have the right to believe what they believe and speak freely about it.
Photo Credits: StaticFlickr
