blasphemy.ie

June 14, 2012

Alexander Aan jailed today in Indonesia – Intensify campaign for his release and for repeal of blasphemy laws

Filed under: Alexander Aan, Defamation of Religion, International, Islam — Michael Nugent @ 6:15 pm

Atheist Ireland condemns the jail sentence imposed today on Indonesian civil servant Alexander Aan for sharing material on Facebook about the Prophet Mohammad. The law should protect people from harm, and not protect ideas from criticism.

We ask all Irish people to contact the Indonesian embassy demanding his immediate release, and to ask the Irish Government to urgently raise the issue with the Indonesian authorities.

Atheist Alliance International, of which Atheist Ireland is a member, has also condemned the conviction, and has published this list of contact details of Indonesian authorities.

In Ireland, Senator Ivana Bacik and Senator Jillian Von Turnhout have raised Aan’s case in the Seanad in February, and called on the Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore to raise the issue with the Indonesian authorities.

Cases like this also show the urgency of Ireland repealing our own new blasphemy law. Islamic states led by Pakistan have praised the new Irish law at the United Nations. And when the Indonesian blasphemy law was constitutionally challenged in 2010, the existence of the new Irish blasphemy law was cited in its support.

Alexander Aan is a 32-year-old Indonesian civil servant who started an atheist group on Facebook on which he published articles about Mohammad and questioned the existence of God. He was beaten up by his work colleagues then arrested for blasphemy. He was today jailed for two and a half years and fined Rp 100m (about $10,000).

Aan was originally charged with blasphemy and persuading others to embrace atheism, but was instead convicted under the Electronic Information and Transactions Law of deliberately spreading information inciting religious hatred and animosity.

This shows the dangers of mixing the ideas of blasphemy and incitement to religious hatred, as prosectors can easily interchange one with the other. The law should protect people, not ideas. And it should protect people from actual harm, but not from being offended.

Atheist Ireland has consistently highlighted this case as part of our overall campaign to repeal blasphemy laws, including in this talk by Michael Nugent at the European Atheist Convention in Cologne in Germany last month, on the topic ‘Why we must combat blasphemy laws’.

June 1, 2012

Why we must combat blasphemy laws – Michael Nugent at the European Atheist Conference in Cologne

Filed under: Campaign, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Michael Nugent — Michael Nugent @ 2:04 am

On May 26, Michael Nugent gave this talk about blasphemy laws to the European Atheist Conference in Cologne in Germany.

February 3, 2012

Repeal blasphemy laws: David Nash and Austin Dacey talk to Atheist Ireland

Filed under: Austin Dacey, David Nash, Michael Nugent — Michael Nugent @ 9:58 pm

This is the second in a series of occasional lectures hosted by Atheist Ireland and livestreamed on the Internet. Professor David Nash and Austin Dacey talk about blasphemy laws, at a discussion chaired by Michael Nugent.

Two Irish Senators support Alexander Aan in Indonesian blasphemy case

Filed under: Alexander Aan, Campaign, Irish Politics, Islam, Ivana Bacik, Jillian van Turnhout — Michael Nugent @ 9:00 pm

Following a briefing of politicians by Atheist Ireland on Tuesday, two Irish Senators have asked the Irish Government to support Alexander Aan, the indonesian civil servant who is facing blasphemy charges for writing on Facebook that God does not exist.

Speaking in the Seanad this Thursday, Senators Jillian van Turnhout and Ivana Bacik both asked Eamon Gilmore, who is Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, to take a strong line in support of Alexander.

Atheist Ireland thanks both Senators for their quick response to this case. We also thank Senator Ivana Bacik for her request in the Seanad on Wednesday for a full debate on the Irish blasphemy law and its national and international impact.

Senator Jillian van Turnhout:

I welcome the Tánaiste’s commitment to Internet freedom through his work as chair of the OSCE. It is on this note that I draw his attention to the recent arrest of a 31 year old Indonesian civil servant, whose name I will supply to the Tánaiste separately, for having questioned the existence of God on his Facebook profile page. He has been charged under Indonesian law prohibiting blasphemy and faces five years imprisonment if found guilty.

The reason I raise this case with the Tánaiste is that Indonesia is one of a number of Islamic states that has cited Irish blasphemy legislation in support and defence of its own. Irish blasphemy law was cited as an authority in support of Indonesia’s constitutional court decision to uphold its law prohibiting blasphemy in 2010.

While I fully support the repeal of this law, I do not believe the intention of the blasphemy legislation introduced by Mr. Dermot Ahern in 2009 was to infringe upon the rights to freedom of expression, religion, belief and conscience in Ireland. Nor do I think it is a desirable consequence that our law is being used to support such infringements, including against Christian religions in Islamic countries anywhere else in the world.

I consider this as much a foreign affairs concern as a domestic concern. I welcome that this law is up for review in the programme for Government.

Senator Ivana Bacik:

I would like to echo Senator van Turnhout in urging the Tánaiste to take a strong line in support of the Indonesian civil servant she mentioned. We need to examine our blasphemy law because it is clearly having a repressive effect in Indonesia, Pakistan and other countries. I know the matter will be reviewed as part of the constitutional convention, but I believe the law should be repealed. Perhaps progress can be made more quickly in this regard.

Here is the Seanad transcript of the above contributions and here is Senator Bacik’s request the previous day for a full debate on the Irish blasphemy law. Atheist Ireland asks everybody who reads this to contact your local politicians, your local Indonesian embassy, and the Indonesian Government to call for the immediate release of Alexander Aan.

February 2, 2012

Senator Ivana Bacik calls for debate on Irish blasphemy law

Filed under: David Nash, Irish Politics, Ivana Bacik — Michael Nugent @ 10:52 pm

Senator Ivana Bacik yesterday requested a Senate debate on the Irish blasphemy law and its international implications, following a briefing by Atheist Ireland of politicians in Leinster House the previous day. Senator Maurice Cummins responded that the Government can certainly look at this.

Here is Senator Bacik’s contribution on the Seanad Order of Business:

I call for a debate on blasphemy law. There was an excellent briefing yesterday from Professor David Nash of Oxford Brookes University, a leading expert on blasphemy, who spoke about the international impact of the passage of the 2009 Defamation Act in Ireland, particularly section 36, which created a new statutory offence of blasphemy. There was an excellent debate on it in this House, and many colleagues participated in it.

There is an issue as there was an adverse international impact, with certain countries adopting Irish arguments on blasphemy and using this to bolster prejudice against different religions, even Christian religions in Islamic countries. We have also seen that Ireland has gone against the EU norm in adopting a new statutory definition of blasphemy based on a definition of offence.

It is outdated and I am glad it is up for review in the programme for Government. We must move forward by having a debate in the House on how we can ensure incitement to religious hatred laws are strengthened in the Statute Book. We no longer need an offence of blasphemy.

October 2, 2011

Update on the campaign against the Irish blasphemy law

Filed under: Atheist Ireland, Campaign — Michael Nugent @ 9:08 pm

This is an update on the ongoing work that we have been doing in the campaign against the Irish blasphemy law, which is still on the Irish statute books.

Our campaign against this law took a different and less confrontational focus when the previous Justice Minister accepted that the law should be repealed, and again when the new Government was elected and has outlined the process by which it intends to address the issue, i.e. through a Constitutional Convention which should be established next year to address this and other Constitutional issues.

Because of these developments, and also because Atheist Ireland was at the time a new organisation and we did not want to be defined solely by our opposition to the blasphemy law, we have been focusing publicly on other issues including the need for a secular education system. However, in the background, we have been actively continuing the campaign against the blasphemy law.

  • We have raised it with every political party and candidate in the last General Election, and with the Programme for Government negotiating teams.
  • We have raised it in a submission to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review on Irelands human rights record with regard to secular issues.
  • We have had it incorporated into a joint submission made to the UNUPR by several Irish human rights advocacy groups.
  • We have highlighted it at the World Atheist Convention that we held in Dublin in June.
  • We have incorporated it into the Dublin Declaration on Secularism adopted by the World Atheist convention.
  • We are including it in a submission to the Council of Europe under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.
  • We have raised the blasphemy law and other secular issues in a meeting with the Department of the Taoiseach about our overall political agenda.
  • We are preparing a submission specifically on the blasphemy law for the new Government’s Constitutional Convention.
  • Professor David Nash of Oxford Brookes University, who assisted in having the UK blasphemy law repealed, has been approved for research funding to help us prepare this submission and to give evidence to the Convention.
  • We have raised the issue at the human rights conference in Warsaw of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
  • We will be raising it and other secular issues in a series of public meetings around Ireland in the coming months.

    • If you would like to help with any of this you are most welcome to do so. You are also welcome to help with other parts of our campaign for an ethical secular Ireland. In the past year, as well as campaigning against the blasphemy law:

  • We have written to all candidates and parties in the General Election asking their views on six secular policy issues, and published the results to enable secular voters to take this into account when voting.
  • We have published secular analyses of the manifestos of each political party.
  • We have made a submission to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review on Ireland’s human rights record with regard to secular issues.
  • We have contributed to a joint submission made by several Irish human rights advocacy groups.
  • We ran a campaign to be honest about religion in the census.
  • We met in Brussels with the Presidents of the European Parliament, Commission and Council.
  • We made submissions written and oral to the Department of Education’s Forum on patronage in the Primary Sector.
  • We met with the Taoiseach’s office to arrange ongoing dialogue with Government Departments on secular issues.
  • We participated in the OSCE human rights conference in Warsaw, raising Constitutional and legal issues about secularism in Ireland and internationally.
  • We helped to restructure and launch Atheist Alliance International and hosted a World Atheist Convention in Dublin with high profile speakers from around the globe.
  • We have also held social events and taken part in media interviews and public debates on atheism, reason and secularism.

    • Please get involved. You can find more information here on how to Join Atheist Ireland and help us to build an ethical and secular Ireland free of blasphemy laws and with separation of church and state.

    May 6, 2010

    25-day walk for Irish blasphemy referendum

    Filed under: Campaign, Freedom of Speech, Irish Constitution, Irish Politics — Michael Nugent @ 12:01 am

    Starting today, Thursday May 6th, Atheist Ireland member Paul Gill will walk the length of Ireland, from Mizen Head in Cork to Malin Head in Donegal, to highlight the need to vote Yes in the coming Irish blasphemy referendum.

    On January 1st, the day Ireland’s new blasphemy law became operational, Atheist Ireland published 25 blasphemous statements on our website. We continued lobbying at home and at European Parliament level. We also supported two blasphemy-themed art exhibitions in Dublin.

    In March Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said he will propose a referendum later this year, along with other referendums, to remove the reference to blasphemy from the Constitution. Paul’s walk will encourage people to campaign for, and vote yes in, this referendum.

    Appropriately, Paul’s walk started on May 6th, which is International Day of Reason. And to mark the start of Paul’s walk, we now publish 25 quotes on the Irish blasphemy referendum and the right to freedom of expression.

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    April 5, 2010

    New blasphemous art exhibition opens in Dublin

    Filed under: Freedom of Speech, Irish Politics, Is this Blasphemy?, Michael Nugent, Videos — Michael Nugent @ 3:57 pm

    A new art exhibition titled Blasphemous opened (appropriately) on Good Friday in the Irish Museum of Contemporary Art (IMOCA) in Lad Lane, off Baggott Street, Dublin 2. It’s the second art exhibition to highlight and challenge the new Irish blasphemy law, which became active on 1st January 2010.

    Since then, the Irish Justice Minister has responded to the campaign against the law by saying that he will propose a referendum, later this year, to remove the reference to blasphemy from the Irish Constitution, thus enabling the blasphemy law to be repealed.

    This makes the new exhibition in IMOCA not just a challenge to the blasphemy law, but also a celebration of artistic freedom, and freedom of expression generally. The exhibition runs until 25 April and is open from 12 noon to 5 pm every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, or by appointment through contacting IMOCA.

    March 14, 2010

    Ahern proposes Autumn referendum on blasphemy

    Filed under: Atheist Ireland, Campaign, Dermot Ahern — Michael Nugent @ 3:38 pm

    Atheist Ireland welcomes the statement from Dermot Ahern, the Irish Justice Minister, that he is proposing a referendum this Autumn to remove the offence of blasphemy from the Irish Constitution, along with two other referendums that the government is already committed to.

    The Minister has told the Sunday Times that “I was only doing my duty” in bringing in the new blasphemy law, and that “there was an incredibly sophisticated campaign [against me], mainly on the internet.”

    Atheist Ireland thanks everyone who has helped to make the campaign against this new law as effective as it has been to date. It is now important we maintain the pressure on this issue to ensure that the referendum happens as proposed and, more importantly, that it is won.

    We reiterate our position that this law is both silly and dangerous: silly because it is introducing medieval canon law offence into a modern plularist republic; and dangerous because it incentives religious outrage and because its wording has already been adopted by Islamic States as part of their campaign to make blasphemy a crime internationally.

    The following is the text of the article in today’s Sunday Times:

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    February 9, 2010

    Blasphemy art exhibition in Dublin this month

    Filed under: Is this Blasphemy?, Michael Nugent, PZ Myers, Videos — Michael Nugent @ 7:09 am

    A blasphemy art exhibition in Dublin during February is a direct response to the new Irish blasphemy law. It’s a fascinating show, and well worth a visit.

    It is on in the Oonagh Young Gallery in James Joyce Street (formerly Corporation Street) off Talbot Street until Saturday 27 February, and is open from 12 to 6pm every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

    This Wednesday at 7pm there is a special screening of Rocky Road to Dublin and The Making of Rocky Road to Dublin, which should be watched by anyone interested in secularism and censorship in Ireland.

    January 31, 2010

    PZ Myers to speak at Atheist Ireland meeting this Monday

    Filed under: Atheist Ireland, Campaign, PZ Myers — Michael Nugent @ 1:16 pm

    PZ Myers, author of the science blog Pharyngula and biology professor at the University of Minnesota, USA, will speak at an Atheist Ireland meeting at Buswells Hotel, Dublin, at 7.30 pm tomorrow, Monday 1st February.

    Admission is free, and members of the public are welcome.

    The theme will be the Atheist Ireland campaigns against the Irish blasphemy law, and for a secular constitution and a secular education system.

    The following quote from PZ Myers about the desecration of communion hosts is among the 25 blasphemous quotes that Atheist published a month ago when the Irish blasphemy law became operational:

    “You would not believe how many people are writing to me, insisting that these horrible little crackers (they look like flattened bits of styrofoam) are literally pieces of their god, and that this omnipotent being who created the universe can actually be seriously harmed by some third-rate liberal intellectual at a third-rate university… However, inspired by an old woodcut of Jews stabbing the host, I thought of a simple, quick thing to do: I pierced it with a rusty nail (I hope Jesus’s tetanus shots are up to date). And then I simply threw it in the trash, followed by the classic, decorative items of trash cans everywhere, old coffeegrounds and a banana peel.”

    While in Ireland, PZ will also be speaking about science and creationism at UCD on Tuesday Feb 2nd, and at NUI Galway on Thursday February 4th, at meetings organised by the UCD Secular Humanist Society and the NUI Galway Skeptic Society and ZooSoc. You can get details on tickets for these events, subject to availability, by emailing ucdhumanistsociety@gmail.com or k.mcinerney3@nuigalway.ie

    January 12, 2010

    In the News – Jan 8 to Jan 14

    Filed under: In the News — Michael Nugent @ 12:32 am

    January 11, 2010

    Irish Senator Defends New Blasphemy Law

    Filed under: Irish Law, Irish Politics — Michael Nugent @ 11:30 pm

    Fianna Fail Senator Jim Walsh has become the first Irish Government politician to publicly defend the new blasphemy law since it became operational on 1 January (a spokesperson for the Minister for Justice did tell the Sunday Times that I was “some crackpot sitting in an attic somewhere”, but that did not really constitute a reasoned defence of the law). So, without further ado, here are the words of wisdom that Senator Jim Walsh conveyed to the Sunday Sequence Show on BBC Radio Ulster on 10 January:

    “It’s probably somewhat different in Ireland, in that we have a Constitutional requirement, which means that, you know, blasphemy, is an offence under our laws, and as a consequence, it has to have penalties which will be commensurate with that, and respect our Constitutional position, but, having said that, I think, over the period that it’s been there, as far as I can understand, there has been very few, perhaps one, case ever taken, which I think may have been unsuccessful, so it’s not a major issue, I think, for the vast majority of, sane, sensible people… In Ireland the laws that we have, based on the Constitutional position, would, in fact, you know, cover all religions, and indeed, we’ve seen where, you know, remarks passed have caused serious offence to people in other religions, and that has its own reactions, and its own ramifications, and I think in any society, I know there’s, you know, freedom of expression is very important, I mean it’s fundamental to democracy, and to be able to express your viewpoint is a fundamental, and in fact, can I just say, and this would be different than in Britain, in fact, it is a Constitutional requirement here to have freedom of speech, but I think most people, again, recognise that freedom of speech is not an absolute, it has to be done in a measured, responsible way, and, indeed, there, it can be, you can infringe, if you like, that entitlement by Incitement to Hatred Acts, which we have here, which has been contravened, and indeed there are other countries, you know, in Europe, like Germany, Austria and that, where, for example, you know, denial of the Holocaust is an offence punishable by imprisonment.”

    All of these arguments have been addressed by Atheist Ireland, both in articles on this website and in submissions made to the Justice Minister, the Justice Committee and the Council of State while this Act was making its way through Parliament.

    It was not Constitutionally necessary to pass this particular law. Indeed, it may have been unconstitutional to pass this particular law. It may not have been Constitutionally necessary to pass any blasphemy law. And the Constitution could have been amended in conjunction with the Lisbon II Referendum that was being held around the same time as the law was being passed.

    The new Irish law does not protect the fundamental beliefs of all religions. It arbitrarily excludes what it describes as “cults” whose primary aim is to make profit or who employ oppressive psychological techniques. And it does not protect the fundamental beliefs of atheist citizens, merely those of citizens whose fundamental beliefs are religious.

    Nobody is suggesting that the right to freedom of expression is absolute, merely that blasphemy is not a justifiable reason to qualify it. Incitement to Hatred laws criminalise harm to individuals, while blasphemy laws criminalise harm to ideas. The existence of Holocaust Denial laws in specific countries do not justify a blasphemy law in another country.

    Senator Walsh’s arguments merely strengthen the case for the immediate repeal of this anachronistic law, and for the development of a modern secular Irish Constitution.

    January 1, 2010

    In the News – Jan 1 to Jan 7

    Filed under: In the News — Michael Nugent @ 11:43 pm

    International

    Atheist Ireland Publishes 25 Blasphemous Quotes

    Filed under: Atheist Ireland, Campaign, Freedom of Speech, Is this Blasphemy?, Quotes — Michael Nugent @ 12:33 am

    From today, 1 January 2010, the new Irish blasphemy law becomes operational, and we begin our campaign to have it repealed. Blasphemy is now a crime punishable by a €25,000 fine. The new law defines blasphemy as publishing or uttering matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion, with some defences permitted.

    This new law is both silly and dangerous. It is silly because medieval religious laws have no place in a modern secular republic, where the criminal law should protect people and not ideas. And it is dangerous because it incentivises religious outrage, and because Islamic States led by Pakistan are already using the wording of this Irish law to promote new blasphemy laws at UN level.

    We believe in the golden rule: that we have a right to be treated justly, and that we have a responsibility to treat other people justly. Blasphemy laws are unjust: they silence people in order to protect ideas. In a civilised society, people have a right to to express and to hear ideas about religion even if other people find those ideas to be outrageous.

    Publication of 25 blasphemous quotes

    In this context we now publish a list of 25 blasphemous quotes, which have previously been published by or uttered by or attributed to Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Mark Twain, Tom Lehrer, Randy Newman, James Kirkup, Monty Python, Rev Ian Paisley, Conor Cruise O’Brien, Frank Zappa, Salman Rushdie, Bjork, Amanda Donohoe, George Carlin, Paul Woodfull, Jerry Springer the Opera, Tim Minchin, Richard Dawkins, Pope Benedict XVI, Christopher Hitchens, PZ Myers, Ian O’Doherty, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor and Dermot Ahern.

    Despite these quotes being abusive and insulting in relation to matters held sacred by various religions, we unreservedly support the right of these people to have published or uttered them, and we unreservedly support the right of any Irish citizen to make comparable statements about matters held sacred by any religion without fear of being criminalised, and without having to prove to a court that a reasonable person would find any particular value in the statement.

    Campaign begins to repeal the Irish blasphemy law

    We ask Fianna Fail and the Green Party to repeal their anachronistic blasphemy law, as part of the revision of the Defamation Act that is included within the Act. We ask them to hold a referendum to remove the reference to blasphemy from the Irish Constitution.

    We also ask all TDs and Senators to support a referendum to remove references to God from the Irish Constitution, including the clauses that prevent atheists from being appointed as President of Ireland or as a Judge without swearing a religious oath asking God to direct them in their work.

    If you run a website, blog or other media publication, please feel free to republish this statement and the list of quotes yourself, in order to show your support for the campaign to repeal the Irish blasphemy law and to promote a rational, ethical, secular Ireland.

    List of 25 Blasphemous Quotes Published by Atheist Ireland

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    September 30, 2009

    Campaign for a Secular Irish Constitution

    Filed under: Atheist Ireland, Campaign, Irish Constitution, Irish Law, Irish Politics — Michael Nugent @ 12:16 am

    Today is International Blasphemy Day, administered by the Center For Inquiry as part of its Campaign for Free Expression. Atheist Ireland is an advocacy group for an ethical and secular Ireland: see details in these Irish Times articles on the Irish blasphemy law and our first AGM.

    Atheist Ireland is seeking your help today to launch and shape a new long-term campaign with two important aims: to repeal the new Irish blasphemy law and to attain a secular Irish Constitution. Specifically, we are asking you to do three things: send us a message of support, get actively involved in shaping this project, and lobby to persuade Irish politicians to pursue these policies.

    We will soon be holding public meetings around Ireland to launch this campaign. We want it to include religious and nonreligious people working together, within Ireland and with international support. The campaign has one common aim that transcends any other differences we may have: that all Irish citizens, of all beliefs and none, can live together in equality, with the State being neutral on matters of religion.

    In recent decades, several independent and all-party committees (most whose members were Christians) have repeatedly called for an end to discrimination against nonreligious citizens in our Constitution. Not only has this not been done, but a new religious crime has now been created. The blasphemy law is the final straw. We need a secular Irish Constitution, and we need it now. Please help to make this happen.

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    July 29, 2009

    Blasphemy law delayed until October

    Filed under: Atheist Ireland, Irish Law, Irish Politics — Michael Nugent @ 9:53 pm

    The Defamation Act will probably not become operable until mid to late October, because the rules of court need to be amended to accommodate it. The Law Reform Division of the Department of Justice has confirmed that:

    “The Act is subject to a commencement order. It is intended to commence all provisions of the Act simultaneously. However, it is not possible to make a commencement order at present as the Circuit and Superior Court Rules need to be amended to accommodate a number of procedural changes in the new legislation. It is not possble to give an exact date yet for commencement of the Act but it is expected to be mid to late October.”

    The Minister has the option of commencing different parts of the Act at different times. Atheist Ireland will continue to ask him to delay commencing the blasphemy sections, until such time as a referendum can be held to remove the reference to blasphemy from the Constitution.

    In the News – July 27 to Aug 2

    Filed under: In the News — Michael Nugent @ 9:29 pm

    July 23, 2009

    Campaign to Repeal the Blasphemy Law

    Filed under: Atheist Ireland, Campaign, Irish Constitution, Irish Law, Irish Politics — Michael Nugent @ 4:33 pm

    Today the Irish President signed into law the Defamation Act that includes the newly-defined crime of blasphemy. This law will become operable when the Minister for Justice signs an order making it so.

    Atheist Ireland will now campaign for the repeal of this anachronistic and dangerous blasphemy law, and for a referendum to remove the blasphemy reference from the Irish Constitution, as part of our wider campaign for an ethical and secular Ireland.

    We call on the Minister for Justice to delay signing the order that would make the blasphemy sections of the Defamation Act operable, until such time as a referendum can be held to remove the reference to blasphemy from the Constitution.

    (more…)

    July 22, 2009

    In the News – July 20 to July 26

    Filed under: In the News — Michael Nugent @ 12:41 am

    July 21, 2009

    Is the Blasphemy Law Unconstitutional?

    Filed under: Atheist Ireland, Campaign, Irish Constitution, Irish Law, Irish Politics — Michael Nugent @ 2:39 pm

    Atheist Ireland has sent a letter to the President of Ireland, outlining our concerns about the constitutionality of the new blasphemy law, for her to consider before she discusses the issue with the Council of State tomorrow. In our letter we argue the following:

    • The law is contrary to the guarantees of equality under the law enshrined in Article 40.1 of the Irish Constitution, and of freedom of conscience and religion enshrined in Article 44.2.
    • The law is contrary to Article 44.2.3 of the Irish Constitution, which says that the State shall not impose any disabilities or make any discrimination on the ground of religious profession, belief or status.
    • The law shifts the burden of proof to the defendant in contravention of Article 38 of the Constitution, and of Schedule 1, Article 6, 2. and 3(a) of the European Convention on Human Rights Act, 2003.
    • The law does not meet the standard of prevention of imminent public disorder that made the old English blasphemy law compatible with the European Convention of Human Rights.
    • The definitions in the law are too vague to allow citizens to regulate their conduct, and it could make it unlawful for a religious citizen to inform his co-religionists about a statement he believes to be blasphemous.

    Here is the full content of our letter:

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    July 17, 2009

    In the News – July 6 to July 19

    Filed under: Atheist Ireland, Campaign, In the News — Michael Nugent @ 9:55 pm

    July 14, 2009

    Speeches from Atheist Ireland AGM

    Filed under: Atheist Ireland, Campaign, Dermotology, Father Ted, Ivana Bacik, Videos — Michael Nugent @ 12:40 pm

    Here are the opening speeches from the Atheist Ireland AGM on Saturday, which focus on the blasphemy law now passed by the Oireachtas.

    Introduction and opening speech by Senator Ivana Bacik

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    July 10, 2009

    Blasphemy Law is Dangerous, Silly, Unjust

    Filed under: Atheist Ireland, Campaign, Michael Nugent — Michael Nugent @ 9:59 pm

    In this article, first published in the Irish Times on July 10, Michael Nugent describes why the blasphemy law is dangerous, silly and unjust.

    Why has Dermot Ahern, in 2009, made blasphemy a crime punishable by a fine of €25,000? When this anachronistic part of the now Defamation Act is signed into law (it passed through the Oireachtas last night but only on the casting vote of the chair of the Seanad), Atheist Ireland will quickly test it by publishing a blasphemous statement. People need protection from harm, but ideas and beliefs should always be open to challenge.

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    July 8, 2009

    Dail Passes Blasphemy Law

    Filed under: Atheist Ireland, Campaign, Irish Law, Irish Politics — Michael Nugent @ 3:24 pm

    The blasphemy law has now been passed in the Dail, as part of Defamation Act, with no debate on the blasphemy amendments. The debate was restricted to an hour (for the full Defamation Bill). Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said that extending time for the blasphemy amendments would just be regurgitating what has been discussed ad nauseum. There was an average of six TDs in the Dail during debate.

    The law now only has to pass through Seanad before being signed into law by President. It is scheduled for 10.30 am tomorrow morning in the Seanad. The Atheist Ireland AGM will plan a response to this blasphemy law, between 2-5pm this Saturday in Wynns Hotel Dublin. Members of the public are welcome to attend. Please attend, and also invite anyone you think might be interested in campaigning for an ethical and secular Ireland.

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