The Gulf Times reports …
The Kuwaiti parliament yesterday passed a draft bill toughening the penalty against blasphemy to death, the state news agency reported. The parliament approved the draft by a majority of 40 lawmakers, with six opposing, according to the agency. Blasphemy was previously an offence punishable by jail in the Gulf country. Under the amended bill, any Muslim found guilty of insulting God, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) or his wives, will be punished by death
This is why there needs to be a complete separation of church and state, for this is an example of what happens when religious lunatics gain a sufficient degree of power, they not only impose their beliefs by force, but demand death for people who simply disagree with their irrational beliefs.
The above is not yet law, it needs to be ratified by the country’s emir, Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. Will he actually do that? I have no idea, but my guess is yes, he might not agree with it, but if he wishes to retain power, then he needs to be seen to be truly “Islamic”.
One other thought, is this real? The press reports regarding Egypt passing a law that permits Muslims to have sex with their dead wives was in fact fake (no I did not blog about it, I did not deem it to be real), so it is always wise to ask yourself if some news you hear is credible and verifiable. In this instance, I’m afraid it is.
You can also find the same news here on Reuters.
Will anybody actually die because of this law? Probably not, they have a clause which will mean the death penalty will only be applied if the person stands by their actions when questioned by a judge. Most rational sane folks would, when faced with a choice of death or simply saying they believe a sky fairy is real would be sensible enough to opt for “Sky Fairy” and would officially believe even if they don’t.
They currently do have a Blasphemy law, and if found guilty you go to jail. What this is doing is to simply tighten it up and greatly increase the pressure to force Muslims to fall into line and remain Muslim. In the end, it tells you nothing at all about the actual truth of any of their batty claims, but a heck of a lot about how insecure they feel. Perhaps (and I’m speculating now) their increasing fear about Muslims quitting is driven by the thought that when tossed into the Internet marketplace of ideas, the utterly batty Islamic claims lose every time, so they need to crank up the degree of fear to ensure the trickle of folks quitting Islam does not become a torrent.
Is Death for Blasphemy actually on the law books anywhere? Sadly yes, Amnesty International reports that Other countries which have used the death penalty in blasphemy cases include Kuwait’s neighbor Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
The choice here is rather simple, either you embrace basic human rights such as freedom of thought, or you don’t. Quite clearly when Islamic fanatics gain power, basic human rights get tossed to one side.