Free Republic

A severe blow for the freedom of speech, and victory for the advance of Sharia blasphemy laws here. "Michigan Federal Judge Allows Muslim Violence to Suppress Christian Speech; Immediate Appeal Filed," from the American Freedom Law Center, May 14: A Michigan federal judge today dismissed a civil rights lawsuit brought by several Christian evangelists who were violently assaulted by a hostile Muslim mob while preaching at an Arab festival last year in Dearborn, Michigan, which has the largest Muslim population in the United States. Video of the Muslim assault went viral on YouTube. The American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) filed...

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Police in Bangladesh's capital fired rubber bullets to disperse stone-throwing Islamic activists Sunday during a protest to demand that the government enact an anti-blasphemy law. The activists were among thousands demonstrating around Dhaka, blocking roads and cutting off the city from the rest of the country. ... Thousands of activists from Hefatjat-e-Islam, a newly formed group, gathered in Dhaka's Motijheel commercial district to press for their demands. The group says some Internet users have recently used their blogs to spread atheism and lies about Islam. The government in this Muslim-majority nation has rejected the groups' demands, saying...

ISTANBUL – Earlier this month, a Turkish court sentenced world-famous pianist Fazil Say to a ten-month suspended jail sentence for “insulting religious values.”Say, 43, had tweeted the following verse from 11th century poet Omar Khayyam: “You say that the rivers flow with wine, is Heaven a tavern? You say that you will give every believer two very beautiful women, is Heaven a brothel?”He also retweeted a missive posted by someone else:  “I am not sure if you have noticed, but where there is a louse, a non-entity, a lowlife, thief or idiot, they are all pro-Allah. Is this a paradox?”In...

The Muslim Brotherhood denounced the U.S. State Department for expressing concern over legal action taken against an Egyptian satirist accused of insulting Islam and President Mohamed Morsi, stating that denigration of the Muslim religion is a “serious breach of law.” “The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) has strongly criticized remarks made by U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland on legal complaints accusing Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef of contempt of religions,” said the Muslim Brotherhood in a statement on its official English website “Ikhwan Web.” … Known as Egypt’s Jon Stewart, Bassem Youssef was accused of insulting Islam and Morsi on...

There is an intensifying global campaign to impose Islamic blasphemy law on non-Muslims, including those living outside Islamdom, in non-Muslim societies. What follows are ten key points on the doctrinal origins and practical implications of this global campaign: 1) According to the Sunna (the traditions of Muhammad and the early Muslim community), by using foul language against the Muslim prophet Muhammad, Allah, or Islam, the non-Muslim transgressors put themselves on a war footing against Muslims, and their lives became licit (such as the poet Kaab b. al-Ashraf, who composed poems denigrating Muhammad, and was assassinated). [see 1.1, 1.2, 1.3] 2)...

ISLAMABAD One of Pakistan's top-ranking diplomats, Ambassador to the U.S. Sherry Rehman, is the latest person to be accused of blasphemy in her home country under harsh laws that include a possible death sentence for anyone convicted of defaming the Islamic prophet. A senior government official in Lahore, provincial capital of Punjab province, confirmed to CBS News that a case of blasphemy had been registered with the police in the city of Multan against Rehman, a former journalist who was assigned to the Washington post in 2011. The case promises to unleash another clash between conservative Muslims who vehemently back...

Although it is now digital, Newsweek celebrated President Obama's upcoming inauguration with a "cover" that calls the event "the second coming," an apparent reference to the return of Jesus Christ, The Blaze reported Friday. A post at Twitchy called the cover "creepy," while The Blaze described it as "controversial" and “questionable.” The cover highlights an article by former editor Evan Thomas, who once compared Obama to God. “Well, we were the good guys in 1984, it felt that way. It hasn't felt that way in recent years. So Obama’s had, really, a different task We're seen too often as the...

By now you must have heard, some idiots have gone and re-written the bible to be more gay friendly and they call it, the Queen James Bible. I am not making this up. Sooooo... CMR got a sneak peak and we can report that in the "Gay" version of the Bible certain passages, to got extra emphasis, were re-interpreted, some redacted, and some even re-written. "Your rod and your staff, they comfort me." [That is not what that means!] "These were the spoils which remained of the plunder taken by the fighting men: 675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and...

In Cairo on Wednesday, a Coptic Christian blogger named Alber Saber was convicted of blasphemy and “contempt of religion.” There’s a tragic irony: As any of the country’s Christians can tell you, contempt of religion is not merely permitted but encouraged in the new, post-Mubarak Egypt. What is criminal, what has become increasingly perilous, is any criticism of Islam.Nor is truth a defense. Another Egyptian court recently upheld the blasphemy conviction of Makarem Diab, also a Coptic Christian. Diab had gotten into a discussion with a Muslim acquaintance, Abd al-Hameed, who, in the course of mocking Diab’s faith, insisted that Jesus...

Turkey fines 'blasphemous' Simpsons for poking fun at God • God offers coffee to the devil in one of the cartoon's episodes (ANSAmed) - ANKARA - Just about everything that could be said and written about the super-popular cartoon 'The Simpsons' had been, except that it was blasphemous. Now even that ''milestone'' has been reached, thanks to the watchdogs of Turkey's television stations under the Islamic-leaning government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to the newspaper Hurriyet, Ankara's Council of Radio and Television (RTUK) has handed down a TRY 52,951 fine (about 23,000 euros) to the private broadcaster CNBC-E...

An Egyptian court has sentenced to death in absentia seven Egyptians, a Florida-based American pastor, and the Editor in Chief of this site. The Egyptians were found guilty of being associated with an anti-Islam film that sparked riots throughout the Muslim world, the Florida pastor was convicted for burning a Koran, and Big Hairy News chief Scooter Van Neuter was sentenced to death for posting a series of portraits of the Prophet Muhammad. "I deeply regret that the Egyptian court took offense to our artwork," said Van Neuter as he made final preparations to move to an undisclosed location. "It...

Painting Depicts Obama as Crucified Christ Posted in Top Stories | 0 comments Painting Depicts Obama as Crucified Christ Nov 26, 2012 By Todd Starnes A painting that features President Obama posed as Jesus Christ crucified on a cross is on display at a community college art gallery in Boston. The painting by Michael D’Antuono is part of a larger exhibit called “Artists on the Stump – the Road to the White House 2012.” It’s on display at the Bunker Hill Community College Art Gallery until Dec. 15th. The painting is called “Truth” – and shows the president on the...

2012-11-25 - YouTube - Jamie Foxx (Actor) - Soul Train Awards - "let's give honor to God - our LORD and Savior Barak Obama, Barak Obama, Barak Obama..."

State Dept. Official to Attend OIC Meeting Today on Banning ‘Defamation of Islam’ UPDATE: OIC Scrubs Website, Screenshot Added, Cover-Up Begins byPatrick PooleBio November 18, 2012 - 11:18 pm UPDATE: Well, that didn’t last long. Earlier this morning before I posted this item the OIC press release noted that U.S. Consul General in Jeddah Anne Casper would be attending the OIC’s meeting: The Session will be attended by Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the OIC Secretary General. It will be chaired by Ambassador Ahmad Taib , Director General of the Branch of the Saudi Foreign Ministry, Makkah Al-Mukarrammah region. It will...

The U.N. General Assembly on Monday adopted a resolution condemning the stereotyping, negative profiling and stigmatization of people based on their religion, and urging countries to take effective steps “to address and combat such incidents"

.... Craftsman Marco Ferrigno told Reuters on Nov. 7 that Obama’s reelection sparked the production. "Every time a major event occurs we create a new figurine, and today after Obama's victory, we have made a new figurine of Obama and will put him in our ideal Nativity scene,” Ferrigno said. Reuters reported that the shop keepers said bargain hunters could get a “big discount” on figurines of GOP candidate Mitt Romney. Italian fans of Obama said his likeness in the nativity scenes is a portrayal of how important his role is in today's world, according to Reuters.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The California man behind an anti-Muslim film that led to violence in many parts of the Middle East was sentenced Wednesday to a year in federal prison for probation violations in an unrelated matter, then issued a provocative statement through his attorney. The sentence was the result of a plea bargain between lawyers for Mark Bassely Youssef and federal prosecutors. Youssef admitted in open court that he had used several false names in violation of his probation order and obtained a driver's license under a false name. He was on probation for a bank fraud case....

No word yet on what the violation was, but I assume it must be far more serious than using an alias or a computer. Given the insanity of the past two weeks, replete with the White House nudging Google to pull the video off of YouTube and the State Department running ads on Pakistani TV to apologize for a movie they had nothing to do with, I can’t quite believe the DOJ would risk the perception that they’re punishing this guy for a thoughtcrime unless something serious was involved. There has to be a real crime underlying this. Right? The...

Here's a little angle to the Hurricane Sandy story that might not be noticed when they are analyzing the effect the storm could have on the November 6th elections. A lot of folks in the Northeast are going to be without power this week and possibly next, especially in some important swing states like Pennsylvania and Virginia and perhaps even impacting Ohio. Without electricity, many people will choose to stay in their homes or dank emergency shelters. Without working televisions, they'll drag out the extra blankets and fire up the furnace or the fireplace while they listed to the RADIO...

The American Left used to champion free expression. We were lectured -- correctly -- that the price of being repulsed by occasional crude talk and art was worth paying. Only that way could Americans ensure our daily right to criticize those with greater power and influence whom we found wrong and objectionable. When 1950s comedian Lenny Bruce titillated his audiences with the F-word and crude sex talk, liberals came to his defense. They reminded us that vulgar speech is not a crime: The First Amendment was not just designed to protect uplifting expression, but also rarer blasphemous and indecent speech....