Capital Punishment for Blasphemy in These Times!

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 9 May 2023 Read in the newspapers that Iran hanged two men, Yusuf Mehrad and Sadarollah Fazeli Zare, for blasphemy! That Iran is on a hanging spree, 203 executions in '23, is obvious, but carrying out executions for blasphemy remains rare. Just think over it. Executions are being carried out for apostasy in a 'civilised' country- I still have fond memories of Iran where I spent my childhood- is unthinkable in a modern age. Those two executed men were accused of being involved in a channel on the Telegram message app called, “Critique of Superstition and Religion." My London and Europe-based Iranian ex-Muslim friends used to interact with the two men. Thanks to my Iranian friends, I also got to read their 'sacrilegious' posts written in Persian and Dari. They just questioned the authenticity of Quran and the character of Muhammad. They questioned the relevance of circumcision and not eating pork. They also condemned all bogus faiths, including the gods and goddesses of Hinduism. Alas, they were executed for questioning Islam, Muhammad and innumerable superstitions Islam is riddled with. I'm still unable to reconcile and accept that this has happened in our times. One can understand people getting killed for blasphemy in a lawless country like Pakistan, but when the State executes individuals for blasphemy, it must be condemned in no uncertain terms. First of all, Islam must be criticised for still perpetuating the idea of blasphemy. It must be noted that Muhammad himself put to sword many blasphemers and didn't stop his companions and cohorts from killing blasphemers. So, executing for blasphemy is an Islamic legacy percolated down from the days of Muhammad to these times. In fact, killing for blasphemy is Sunnah (Muhammad’s way of living)! An ex-evangelist turned atheist and the author of ' Godless', Dan Barker wrote in his exceptionally good book, ' God: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction ' that “Killing for blasphemy was rampant among Judaism and Christianity till the end of the 17th century. By 1810, both the faiths 'officially and judicially' stopped executing people for blasphemy. But Islam, arguably the most uncouth, intolerant and savage of all religions, continued to punish and kill the religious and scriptural transgressors." Islam has never been tolerant of criticism, in spite of claiming Ijtihad (enquiry). 'You question at your peril' has been Islam's religio-political decree ever since it came into existence in the deserts of Arabia. The apologists of Islam will try to convince you that it's a religion of peace and killing is forbidden in their faith. I'm afraid, it's just the opposite. What a pity! We're killing innocents and sceptics for questioning the existence of god, religion and its concomitant superstitions in this age. All these stone-age faiths must immediately be banned from the face of the earth along with their platoons of gods and bagful of 'holy' books. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/capital-punishment-blasphemy/d/129735 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism