What did the terrorist attacks against the Charlie Hebdo
newspaper and the kosher supermarket in Paris share with the flogging
of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi in Jeddah last month? Each was an assault
on freedom of conscience, religion, or belief. Moreover, in the Charlie Hebdo
and Badawi cases, those responsible denied their victims the right to
speak freely about religion because, in their view, such critics are
blasphemers who insult religion and must be punished.
People
naturally should try to do their utmost to honor and uphold each other’s
inherent dignity as fellow human beings and respect their most
cherished beliefs. But when this laudable idea is rejected by a demand
that perceived transgressors be silenced by force — including even
murder and torture — rather than engaged through debate and discussion,
the line has been crossed from freedom to coercion.
As the Badawi
case illustrates, it is not just private individuals and groups which
cross that line. Governments also label and punish certain speech by
enforcing blasphemy laws, some of which carry the death penalty. In so
doing, they embolden citizens to commit bloodshed against alleged
blasphemers.
In the face of this assault on human rights and
dignity, the world community must confront these abusive laws and the
horrific acts they unleash, pressing offending nations to repeal these
statutes and release people imprisoned because of them.
As Badawi
can attest, one such nation is Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom enthrones its
own interpretation of Sunni Islam and bans the public expression of any
other religious belief. Dissenters may be charged with offenses
ranging from apostasy to blasphemy.
Badawi founded and edited the
Free Saudi Liberals website, a forum for the free expression of diverse
political and religious views. The government arrested him in June
2012, charging him with apostasy and “insulting Islam.” While in
January 2013, a Saudi court dropped the apostasy charge, it sentenced
him in July 2013 to 600 lashes and seven years in prison on other
charges and ordered that his web site be shut down. Last May, an
appeals court increased the sentence to 10 years and the number of
lashes to 1,000, or 50 lashes weekly for 20 consecutive weeks. Badawi’s
latest flogging has been postponed and the Saudi high court is reviewing
his case.
While Saudi Arabia punishes dissenters from its
interpretation of Sunni Islam, Iran does likewise to those it deems to
threaten its own brand of Shi’a Islam. Muslims, including Shi’a
dissenters, and non-Muslims including Baha’is and Christians, who have
been jailed, tortured, and executed for “insulting Islam” or “waging war
against God.”
But when it comes to the application of blasphemy
provisions, no nation is more zealous than Pakistan. While these laws
largely target Muslims and carry the death penalty or life in prison,
they disproportionately impact religious minority communities. The U.S.
Commission on International Religious Freedom, on which we serve, knows
of at least 17 Pakistanis on death row and 19 more serving life
sentences for blasphemy, with many more awaiting trial.
Pakistan’s
blasphemy statutes also fan the flames of skyrocketing sectarian
violence and provide extremist groups and vigilantes fuel to unleash
terror, especially against minorities, with impunity.
No
Pakistanis are safe from these laws, not even government officials. In
2011, Shabbaz Bhatti — Pakistan’s minority religious affairs minister
and a Christian, and Salmaan Taseer — the governor of Punjab province
and a Muslim, were assassinated for opposing these laws. Reacting to
mere allegations of blasphemy, mobs recently lynched a Christian man and
his pregnant wife, while a policeman used an axe to kill a Shi’a in
custody.
Clearly, the world community must respond to these abuses.
In
March 2011, the United States and like-minded countries blocked efforts
at the United Nations to internationalize blasphemy prohibitions,
defeating an initiative that promoted an international legal norm
against the so-called “defamation of religions.” Instead, a framework
that promotes tolerance, understanding, and community engagement
replaced that flawed concept.
It is time to show similar resolve
today by pressing nations to repeal their blasphemy laws and challenging
leaders to promote cultures of tolerance and mutual respect.
It
is particularly important for free nations to repeal their own codes.
Several European countries, from Austria to Greece, Ireland to Poland,
still have blasphemy laws on the books. Repealing them would send the
right message.
Finally, the world should press for the release of
Raif Badawi and other blasphemy-law victims. While many Western
governments condemned Badawi’s flogging and urged that his case be
reviewed, which reports suggest is now happening, none have called for
his unconditional release.
Let the message be clear: Don’t quash
speech that belittles or offends. Fight such speech with more speech —
speech that ennobles. Honor freedom of expression and religion by
repealing all blasphemy laws.
*Katrina Lantos Swett is chair
of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). M.
Zuhdi Jasser is a USCIRF Commissioner.
