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The public domain 1913 Webster's Unabridged Dictionary defines blasphemy as:
The Catholic Encyclopedia has a more extensive article on Blasphemy.
There has been a recent tendency in Western countries towards the repeal or reform of blasphemy laws, and these laws are only infrequently enforced where they exist. Such laws still exist in several countries, such as in Austria (Articles 188, 189 of the criminal code), Finland (Section 10 of chapter 17 of the penal code), Germany (Article 166 of the criminal code), Italy, The Netherlands (Article 147 of the criminal code), Spain (Article 525 of the criminal code) and United Kingdom. In the United States, the First Amendment guarantees a relatively unlimited right of free speech, although some US states still have blasphemy laws on the books. Chapter 272 of the MassachusettsMassachusetts is a state of the United States of America, part of the New England region. postal abbreviation is MA and its traditional abbreviation is Mass . It is properly called the Commonwealth of Massachusetts although there is no legal distinction b General Laws states, for example:
British author Salman RushdieSalman Rushdie (born June 19, 1947, in Bombay, India) is an essayist and author of fiction, most of which is set on the Indian subcontinent. He grew up in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and then graduated with honours from King's College, Cambridge in England.'s novel The Satanic VersesThe Satanic Verses is a 1989 novel by Salman Rushdie, inspired in part by the life of Muhammad, the founder of Islam. The Satanic Verses were an attempted interpolation in the Qur'an, as described by Ibn Ishaq in his biography of Muhammad (the earliest su was seen by many Muslims to be blasphemes against Islam, and Iranian clerical leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwah in 19891989 is a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). Events January January 7 Akihito becomes Emperor of Japan following the death of Hirohito. The Heisei period begins January 8 the Kegworth Air Disaster A British Midland Boeing 737 cra calling for Rushdie's death (although strictly this was in response to Rushdie's claimed apostasy, not the novel's supposed blasphemy). The fatwa was not accepted universally by the Muslim Ulema as the way to deal with the problem of Rushdie's salacious book. Some British muslims called for Rushdie to be tried under English law for blasphemy, but no charges were laid, as the English legal system recognises blasphemy only against the Christian faith. The Rushdie case stimulated debate on this topic, with some arguing the same protection should be extended to all religions, while others claimed the UK's ancient blasphemy laws were an anachronism and should be abolished. Despite much discussion surrounding the controversy, the law was not amended.
Many take the view that accusations of blasphemy and anti-blasphemy legislation are examples of the special pleading logical fallacy where the chosen religion is extended protection from rational enquiry and ridicule that is not extended to other topics.