Police pursue blasphemy case against Jakarta's Christian governor as tension simmers

blasphemy, still a "crime" in 2016. Depending on the region, Islam can be Fascism, Communism, Nazist, Supremacist Fanaticism all at the same time, with a pint of apartheid.

Blasphemy? Oh, grow up.

cant wait till this wonderful religeon is established in europe. Fun times ahead!

"cant wait till this wonderful religeon is established in europe. Fun times ahead!"

Sharia courts are already established in my country of birth ( the UK ).

A disgrace in a 21st century democracy.

I agree that is disgraceful. how did that happen?

Islam is still trying to keep itself in the Middle Ages. What a sad thing religion is. Thankfully a growing number of the world's population is no longer willing to die for books of fairy tales....

Wow what a joke! I'll be willing to wager half of his accusers were in the crowds during the Jakarta riots killing Chinese people like barbarians.

So much for secularism.

"I agree that is disgraceful. how did that happen?"

I think it's the ridiculous privilege granted to religion and some people who think Bronze Age religious law is as valid as secular law in a civilised country.

I must add that many decent Muslims opposed the creation of these courts.

This is such a shame. I wish Indonesia good luck, cool heads and common sense in sorting this out.

I agree that is disgraceful. how did that happen?

These are not courts of law. They are 'councils' that individuals can use to resolve various disputes - typically family matters such as divorce, but also some commercial matters as well. There have been Jewish versions (Beth Din) in the UK for a long time. Legally, they are not so different from other non-religious organizations, for example sports associations that are able to fine players. On the commercial side, they have a legal status similar to arbitration councils which exist in non-religious contexts for a number of purposes.

One criticism of them is that individuals (and particularly women) can be persuaded to accept the rulings of these councils. The other side of that argument is that it would be just the same if they didn't exist - social pressure, etc.

While I find the whole idea of religious judgements weird, I don't think banning them would be a great move forward. Better if they just faded away.

By the way, I understand that the offense of blasphemy was fully removed from the UK as long ago as 2008. It's great to live in a modern country.

We have been living in a Christian Sharia for centuries. Our religionists did not chop off heads cleanly, they burned folk alive, for hours of enjoyment in the Inquisitions.

I just hope we survive religion.

blasphemy, still a "crime" in 2016.

The Netherlands repealed their blasphemy laws in 2014, Iceland in 2015, Malta in 2016, and France's the Alsace-Moselle region in 2016.

Get with the programme, Indonesia!

Blasphemy laws were on the books in the UK until very recently but a quick check tells me the last UK citizen to be convicted of blasphemy happened almost 100 years ago. I don't remember the Monty Python team in the dock for breaking a backward, uncivilised law still on the books. Isn't there or wasn't there a law on the books in the UK about teaching kids to use a longbow? Let's not be silly here. There are people being flogged and executed in the 21st century under this religious barbarism.

Also, let's not forget people marching quite recently in a civilised country calling for the execution of cartoonists and novelists for breaking the blasphemy laws of a religion the cartoonists and novelists didn't believe in.

Always with Islamic governed countries... And people still want to say there is no problem with Islam.

but a quick check tells me the last UK citizen to be convicted of blasphemy happened almost 100 years ago

That might be the last person to be jailed for blasphemy. I think the last conviction was in 1977.

We have been living in a Christian Sharia for centuries. Our religionists did not chop off heads cleanly, they burned folk alive, for hours of enjoyment in the Inquisitions.

So the Dark Ages are okay for Muslims today because Christians had their own a thousand years ago? Too many are quick to excuse the barbarity of modern Islam by conflating it with the actions of Christians hundreds if not thousands of years ago. But I guess that is the modern Left we must contend with these days.

"The Netherlands repealed their blasphemy laws in 2014...."

How many mayors or other high public officials in Holland or other Western countries have been formally investigated on blasphemy complaints in recent years?

False equivalency: the best friend of the leftist revisionists.

Too many are quick to excuse the barbarity of modern Islam by conflating it with the actions of Christians hundreds if not thousands of years ago. But I guess that is the modern Left we must contend with these days.

Not so many, I think. Most on the left that I know are strongly critical of Islam. On the other hand, don't we excuse the barbarity of modern Christianity because the bombing is done hundreds if not thousands of miles away?

These people would rather be governed by a deceitful muslim leader who appears "wise" but enrich himself like a pig than an honest Christian who gave them decent housing, healthcare, clean city, and a proven record of being "kind". All because he said something in a debate that came out somewhat "wrong", seriously, all the good deeds you do can be wiped by a single phrase you didn't quite meant to say.

A perusal of the existing laws of many modern countries will find occaisional bizarre and archaic laws that were put on the books centuries ago and havent been applied for many decades if not centuries. Thats the difference, for you apologists out there.

@albaleo never heard anyone say that the US was a Christian government, with Christian dictate that says we can't have non-Christian government elects. Confusing stuff much? Those bombs aren't being dropped in the name of Christianity last we all checked.

albelio, do you really think this is a christian vs muslim problem?

albelio, do you really think this is a christian vs muslim problem?

Think it is a religion problem. As long as 1 man can claim to be an expert on what an imaginary entity wants from another man, this will happen.

albelio, do you really think this is a christian vs muslim problem?

My comment was in reaction to Wolfpack's use of the term "the modern Left". I don't see it as a left wing trait to excuse the backwards morality of blasphemy laws. But I do see an element of hypocrisy in those who condemn blasphemy laws but think it morally acceptable to drop bombs in lands far away. (I'm thinking less of current campaigns against ISIS, and more of not-so-long-ago events in Vietnam and other places. ) It has seemed to me a trait of the 'right' or at least the morally conservative to support home-grown blasphemy laws and bombing far away peoples. Perhaps I'm too old for this discussion.