Islam and blasphemy

In Islamic literature, blasphemy is of many types, and there are many different words for it: {{transl|ar|sabb}} (insult) and {{transl|ar|shatm}} (abuse, vilification), {{transl|ar|takdhib}} or {{transl|ar|tajdif}} (denial), {{transl|ar|iftira}} (concoction), {{transl|ar|la`n}} or {{transl|ar|la'ana}} (curse) and {{transl|ar|ta`n}} (accuse, defame).See:

• Siraj Khan. "Blasphemy against the Prophet", in Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture (ed: Coeli Fitzpatrick Ph.D., Adam Hani Walker). {{ISBN|978-1610691772}}, pp. 59–67.
• Hassner, R. E. (2011). "Blasphemy and Violence". International Studies Quarterly 55(1). pp. 23–24;
• Lewis, Bernard. "Behind the Rushdie affair." The American Scholar 60.2 (1991), pp. 185–96;
• Stanfield-Johnson, R. (2004). "The tabarra'iyan and the early Safavids". Iranian Studies 37(1). pp. 47–71. In Islamic literature, the term "blasphemy" sometimes also overlaps with {{transl|ar|kufr}} ("unbelief"), {{transl|ar|fisq}} (depravity), {{transl|ar|isa'ah}} (insult), and {{transl|ar|ridda}} (apostasy).Talal Asad, in Hent de Vries (ed.). Religion: Beyond a Concept. Fordham University Press (2008). {{ISBN|978-0823227242}}. pp. 589–92

{{Further|Quran and violence}}

A number of verses in the Qur'an have been interpreted as relating to blasphemy. In these verses God admonishes those who commit blasphemy. Some verses are cited as evidence that the Qur'an does not prescribe punishments for blasphemy, while other verses are cited as evidence that it does.

The only verse that directly says blasphemy (sabb) is Q6:108. The verse calls on Muslims to not blaspheme against deities of other religions, lest people of that religion retaliate by blaspheming against Allah.

{{quote|And do not insult (wa la tasubbu) those they invoke other than Allah, lest they insult (fa-yasubbu) Allah in enmity without knowledge. Thus We have made pleasing to every community their deeds. Then to their Lord is their return, and He will inform them about what they used to do.|Qur'an 6:108{{quran-usc|6|108}}}}

Verse 5:33 prescribes prison or mutilation or death for those "who wage war against Allah and His Messenger". Even though the verse doesn't mention blasphemy (sabb), some commentators have used to justify punishments for blasphemy.According to Abbas "waging war against Allah and His messenger" must be interpreted as "those who disbelieve in Allah and His messenger", according to the two Jalals the verse is directed towards who "fights against Muslims", according to Kathir "waging war" "includes disbelief". See {{cite web

| url = https://quranx.com/tafsirs/5.33

| title = Commentaries for 5:33

| website = quranx.com

| access-date = 2020-07-31

| archive-date = 6 April 2023

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230406234334/https://quranx.com/tafsirs/5.33

| url-status = live

}} Other commentators believe this verse only applies to those who commit crimes against human life and property.{{Cite book | last = Saeed | first = Abdullah |author2=Hassan Saeed | title = Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam | publisher = Ashgate Publishing Company | year = 2004 | location = Burlington VT | pages = 57–58 | isbn = 978-0-7546-3083-8}}

{{quote|The only punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is that they should be murdered, or crucified, or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides, or they should be imprisoned. This shall be a disgrace for them in this world, and in the Hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement. Except those who repent before you overpower them; so know that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.|Qur'an|{{quran-usc|5|33|end=34}}}}

33:57–61 have also been used by some commentators to justify blasphemy punishments.Brian Winston (2014). The Rushdie Fatwa and After: A Lesson to the Circumspect, Palgrave Macmillan. {{ISBN|978-1137388599}}. p. 74, Quote: "(In the case of blasphemy and Salman Rushdie) the death sentence it pronounced was grounded in a jurisprudential gloss on the Surah al-Ahzab (33:57)".Richard T. Antoun (2014). Muslim Preacher in the Modern World. Princeton University Press. {{ISBN|978-0691602752}}. p. 194, Quote: "All the negative connotations of factionalism, social dissension, blasphemy, and their logical conclusions conspiracy, military confrontation and damnation – are captured in the title of this sura, al-Ahzab (The Confederates, Book 33)" However, other scholars opined that verses 33:57–61 could only have been acted upon during the life of the Prophet and since the demise of Muhammad they are no longer applicable.

Other passages are not related to any earthly punishment for blasphemy, but prescribe Muslims to not "sit with" those who mock the religionAccording to Akyol, this verse indicates that "Muslims are not supposed to be part of a discourse that mocks Islam, but all they have to do is stay away from it. Even then, the withdrawal should last only until the discourse changes into something inoffensive. Once mockery ends, dialogue can restart". See Akyol, Mustafa, Islam Without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty, 2013 p. 285{{sfn|Saeed|Saeed|2004|pp=37–39}} – although the latter are admonishments directed towards a witness of blasphemy rather than the guilty of blasphemy:

{{quote|When you hear Allah's revelations disbelieved in and mocked at, do not sit with them until they enter into some other discourse; surely then you would be like them.|Qur'an|{{quran-usc|4|140}}||}}

According to Shemeem Burney Abbas, the Qur'an mentions many examples of disbelievers ridiculing and mocking Muhammad, but never commands him to punish those who mocked him. Instead, the Qur'an asks Muhammad to leave the punishment of blasphemy to God, and that there would be justice in the afterlife.{{cite book|title=Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws: From Islamic Empires to the Taliban|first=Shemeem |last=Burney Abbas|publisher=University of Texas Press|pages=39–40|quote="At times the Prophet's adversaries compared him to the poets of the desert as if he were a man possessed or mad and his Qur'anic revelations madness. His anguish emanated from the ridicule cast on him, aggravated by his unlettered status, the denying of his message of social justice and human rights, his wisdom, and his sensitivity...In these verses Muhammad received solace from God...Sometimes the comfort Muhammad received was about retribution in the hereafter...The Qur'anic evidence indicates that Muhammad was counseled to leave justice to the Almighty. He was never commanded to bring blasphemy punishments against his perpetrators; he was to seek only mercy and forgiveness for them."}}

According to several hadiths, Muhammad ordered a number of enemies executed "in the hours after Mecca's fall". One of those who was killed was Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, because he had insulted Muhammad.Rubin, Uri. The Assassination of Kaʿb b. al-Ashraf. Oriens, Vol. 32. (1990), pp. 65–71.

{{quotation|The Prophet said, "Who is ready to kill Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf who has really hurt Allah and His Apostle?" Muhammad bin Maslama said, "O Allah's Apostle! Do you like me to kill him?" He replied in the affirmative. So, Muhammad bin Maslama went to him (i.e. Ka'b) and said, "This person (i.e. the Prophet) has put us to task and asked us for charity." Ka'b replied, "By Allah, you will get tired of him." Muhammad said to him, "We have followed him, so we dislike to leave him till we see the end of his affair." Muhammad bin Maslama went on talking to him in this way till he got the chance to kill him. Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah|{{Hadith-usc|bukhari|usc=yes|4|52|270}}, see also {{Hadith-usc|bukhari|usc=yes|5|59|369}}, {{Hadith-usc|bukhari|usc=no|3|45|687}}, {{Hadith-usc|bukhari|usc=no|4|52|271}} }}

{{quotation|It has been narrated on the authority of Jabir that the Messenger of Allah said: Who will kill Ka'b b. Ashraf? He has maligned Allah, the Exalted, and His Messenger. Muhammad b. Maslama said: Messenger of Allah, do you wish that I should kill him? He said: Yes. He said: Permit me to talk (to him in the way I deem fit). He said: Talk (as you like).|{{hadith-usc|usc=yes|Muslim|19|4436}} }}

A variety of punishments, including death, have been instituted in Islamic jurisprudence that draw their sources from hadith literature. Sources in hadith literature allege that Muhammad ordered the execution of Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf. After the Battle of Badr, Ka'b had incited the Quraysh against Muhammad, and also urged them to seek vengeance against Muslims. Another person executed was Abu Rafi', who had actively propagandized against Muslims immediately before the Battle of Ahzab. Both of these men were guilty of insulting Muhammad, and both were guilty of inciting violence. While some{{Who|date=April 2017}} have explained that these two men were executed for blaspheming against Muhammad, an alternative explanation{{According to whom|date=April 2017}} is that they were executed for treason and causing disorder (fasad) in society.

Muhammad declared that there shall be no punishment for murdering anyone who disparages, abuses or insults him ({{transl|ar|tashtimu}}, {{transl|ar|sabb al rasool}}). One hadith{{hadith-usc|usc=yes|Abudawud|38|4348}} tells of a man who killed his pregnant slave because she persisted in insulting Muhammad. Upon hearing this, Muhammad is reported to have exclaimed: "Do you not bear witness that her blood is futile!" ({{transl|ar|anna damah hadarun}}) This expression can be read as meaning that the killing was unnecessary, implying that Muhammad condemned it. However, most hadith specialists interpreted it as voiding the obligation of paying the blood money which would normally be due to the woman's next of kin. Another hadith reports Muhammad using an expression which clearly indicates the latter meaning:

{{quotation|Narrated Ali ibn AbuTalib: A Jewess used to abuse the Prophet and disparage him. A man strangled her till she died. The Apostle of Allah declared that no recompense was payable for her blood.|{{hadith-usc|usc=yes|Abudawud|38|4349}} see also {{hadith-usc|usc=yes|Abudawud|38|4348}}}}

{{anchor | Punishment | Death | Death penalty }}

The Quran curses those who commit blasphemy and promises blasphemers humiliation in the Afterlife. However, whether any Quranic verses prescribe worldly punishments is debated: some Muslims believe that no worldly punishment is prescribed while others disagree. Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) of Sunni and Shia madhabs have declared different punishments for the religious crime of blasphemy, and they vary between schools. These are as follows:Saeed, Abdullah. "Ambiguities of Apostasy and The Repression of Muslim Dissent." The Review of Faith & International Affairs 9.2 (2011): 31–38.

:Hanafi – views blasphemy as synonymous with apostasy, and therefore, accepts the repentance of apostates. Those who refuse to repent, their punishment is death if the blasphemer is a Muslim man, and if the blasphemer is a woman, she must be imprisoned with coercion (beating) till she repents and returns to Islam. * Abu al-Layth al-Samarqandi (983), Mukhtalaf al-Riwayah, vol. 3, pp. 1298–99

• Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tahawi (933), Mukhtasar Ikhtilaf al-Ulama, vol. 3, p. 504
• Ali ibn Hassan al-Sughdi (798); Kitab al-Kharaj; Quote: "أيما رجل مسلم سب رَسُوْل اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أو كذبه أو عابه أوتنقصه فقد كفر بالله وبانت منه زوجته ، فإن تاب وإلا قتل ، وكذلك المرأة ، إلا أن أبا حنيفة قَالَ: لا تقتل المرأة وتجبر عَلَى الإسلام"; Translation: "A Muslim man who blasphemes the Messenger of Allah, denies him, reproaches him, or diminishes him, he has committed apostasy in Allah, and his wife is separated from him. He must repent, or else is killed. And this is the same for the woman, except Abu Hanifa said: Do not kill the woman, but coerce her back to Islam". Imam Abu Hanifa opined that a non-Muslim can not be killed for committing blasphemy.{{cite news|first=Arafat|last=Mazhar|title=Blasphemy and the death penalty: Misconceptions explained|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1215304|publisher=Dawn|date=2015-11-02|access-date=7 August 2020|archive-date=23 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923054347/https://www.dawn.com/news/1215304|url-status=live}} Other sources{{who|date=August 2020}} say his punishment must be a tazir (discretionary, can be arrest, caning, etc.).Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tahawi (933), Mukhtasar Ikhtilaf al-Ulama, vol. 3, p. 504P. Smith (2003), Speak No Evil: Apostasy, Blasphemy and Heresy in Malaysian Syariah Law, UC Davis Journal Int'l Law & Policy, 10, pp. 357–73;
• N. Swazo (2014), The Case of Hamza Kashgari: Examining Apostasy, Heresy, And Blasphemy Under Sharia, The Review of Faith & International Affairs, 12(4), pp. 16–26{{failed verification|date=August 2020}}

:Maliki – view blasphemy as an offense distinct from, and more severe than apostasy. Death is mandatory in cases of blasphemy for Muslim men, and repentance is not accepted. For women, death is not the punishment suggested, but she is arrested and punished till she repents and returns to Islam or dies in custody.Qadi 'Iyad ibn Musa al-Yahsubi (1145), Kitab Ash-shifa (كتاب الشفاء بتعريف حقوق المصطفى), pp. 373–441 (Translated in English by AA Bewley, {{oclc|851141256}}, (Review Contents in [http://data.nur.nu/Kutub/English/Qadi-Iyad_Shifa_Aisha-Bewley-Table-of-Contents.pdf Part 4] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408134411/https://data.nur.nu/Kutub/English/Qadi-Iyad_Shifa_Aisha-Bewley-Table-of-Contents.pdf |date=8 April 2023 }}, Read [http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/alshifa/pt4ch1sec4.htm Excerpts from Part 4] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109091905/http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/alshifa/pt4ch1sec4.htm |date=9 November 2014 }}, Accessed on: 10 January 2015)D Jordan (2003), Dark Ages of Islam: Ijtihad, Apostasy, and Human Rights in Contemporary Islamic Jurisprudence, The. Wash. & Lee Race & Ethnic Anc. Law Journal, Vol. 9, pp. 55–74 A non-Muslim who commits blasphemy against Islam must be punished; however, the blasphemer can escape punishment by converting and becoming a devout Muslim.Carl Ernst (2005), "Blasphemy: Islamic Concept", Encyclopedia of Religion (Editor: Lindsay Jones), Vol 2, Macmillan Reference, {{ISBN|0-02-865735-7}}

:Hanbali – view blasphemy as an offense distinct from, and more severe than apostasy. Death is mandatory in cases of blasphemy, for both Muslim men and women.Abdullah Saeed and Hassan Saeed (2004), Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam, Ashgate Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0754630838}}* Ibn Taymiyyah (a Salafi, related to Hanbali school), al-Sārim al-Maslūl 'ala Shātim al-Rasūl (Translation: A ready sword against those who insult the Messenger), Published in 1297 AD in Arabic, Reprinted in 1975 and 2003 by Dar-ibn Hazm (Beirut)

:Shafi'i – recognizes blasphemy as a separate offense from apostasy, but accepts the repentance of blasphemers. If the blasphemer does not repent, the punishment is death.P. Smith (2003), Speak No Evil: Apostasy, Blasphemy and Heresy in Malaysian Syariah Law, UC Davis Journal Int'l Law & Policy, 10, pp. 357–73;

• F. Griffel (2001), Toleration and exclusion: al-Shafi 'i and al-Ghazali on the treatment of apostates, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 64(3), pp. 339–54

:Zahiri – views insulting God or Islamic prophets as apostasy.{{Cite web|url=https://dorar.net/en/aqadia/165|title=Summary of Aqida - Verbal Nullifiers in the Chapter on Prophecies|website=dorar.net|access-date=6 March 2024|archive-date=30 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240930061656/https://dorar.net/en/aqadia/165|url-status=live}}

:Ja'fari (Shia) – views blasphemy against Islam, the Prophet, or any of the Imams, to be punishable with death, if the blasphemer is a Muslim.Ayatullah Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei (1992), Minhaj al-Salihin, vol. 2, pp. 43–45;

• Ali ibn Ahmad al-Amili al-Thani (1602), Sharh al-Luma al-Dimashqiya, vol. 9, pp. 194–95;
• Muhammad ibn al-Hassan al-Tusi (1067), Al-Nihaya, pp. 730–31 and Tadhib al-Ahkam, vol. 10, p. 85;
• Ali ibn al-Hussein "Sharif al-Murtada" (1044). Al-Intisar, pp. 480–81;
• Ali ibn Babawaih al-Qummi al-Saduq (991), Al-Hidaya fi al-Usul wa al-Furu, pp. 295–97 In case the blasphemer is a non-Muslim, he is given a chance to convert to Islam, or else killed.Ali ibn al-Hussein al-Murtada (1044), Al-Intisar, pp. 480–81

Some jurists suggest that the sunnah in {{hadith-usc|usc=yes|Bukhari|3|45|687}} and {{hadith-usc|usc=yes|Bukhari|5|59|369}} provide a basis for a death sentence for the crime of blasphemy, even if someone claims not to be an apostate, but has committed the crime of blasphemy.{{cite journal

| last = O'Sullivan

| first = Declan

| author1-link = Declan Walsh (journalist)

| year = 2001

| title = The Interpretation of Qur'anic Text to Promote or Negate the Death Penalty for Apostates and Blasphemers

| journal = Journal of Qur'anic Studies

| volume = 3

| issue = 2

| pages = 63–93

| doi = 10.3366/jqs.2001.3.2.63

| publisher = Edinburgh University Press

| jstor = 25728038

}} Some modern Muslim scholars contest that Islam supports blasphemy law, stating that Muslim jurists made the offense part of Sharia.[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jan/20/islam-ghamidi-pakistan-blasphemy-laws Islamic scholar attacks Pakistan's blasphemy laws] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240930061621/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jan/20/islam-ghamidi-pakistan-blasphemy-laws |date=30 September 2024 }} Guardian 20 January 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2010

The words of Ibn Abbas, a prominent jurist and companion of Muhammad, are frequently cited to justify the death penalty as punishment blasphemy:

{{quotation|Any Muslim who blasphemes against Allah or His Messenger or blasphemes against any one from amongst the Prophets is thereby guilty of rejecting the truth of the Messenger of God, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. This is apostasy (ridda) for which repentance is necessary; if he repents he is released; if not then he is killed. Likewise, if any other person [non-Muslim] who is protected under a covenant becomes hostile and blasphemes against Allah or any one of Allah's Prophet and openly professes this, he breaches his covenant, so kill him. |Ibn Qayyim al Jawziya and Ata 1998, 4:379}}

In Islamic jurisprudence, Kitab al Hudud and Taz'ir cover punishment for blasphemous acts.Peters, R. (2005). Crime and punishment in Islamic Law: Theory and practice from the Sixteenth to the Twenty-First Century (Vol. 2). Cambridge University Press.{{cite web|url=http://islaminstitut.de/uploads/media/Apostasy2.pdf|last=Schirrmacher|first=C.|year=2008|title=Defection from Islam: A Disturbing Human Rights Dilemma|website=islaminstitut.de|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202224450/http://islaminstitut.de/uploads/media/Apostasy2.pdf|archive-date=2 December 2013}}

File:Ali Beheading Nadr ibn al-Harith in the Presence of the Prophet Muhammad. Miniature from volume 4 of a copy of Mustafa al-Darir’s Siyar-i-Nabi. Istanbul; c. 1594 The David Col..jpg, Ali beheading Nadr ibn al-Harith in the presence of Muhammad and his companions]]

{{Main|Apostasy in Islam}}

Because blasphemy in Islam included rejection of fundamental doctrines, blasphemy has historically been seen as an evidence of rejection of Islam, that is, the religious crime of apostasy. Some jurists believe that blasphemy by a Muslim who automatically implies the Muslim has left the fold of Islam.{{sfn|Saeed|Saeed|2004|pp=38–39}} A Muslim may find himself accused of being a blasphemer, and thus an apostate on the basis of the same action or utterance.{{sfn|Saeed|Saeed|2004|p=48}}{{cite encyclopedia |title = Blasphemy: Islamic Concept |encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Religion |volume = 2 |pages = 974–76 |publisher = Thomson Gale |location = Farmington Hills, MI |year = 2005 }} Not all blasphemy is apostasy, of course, as a non-Muslim who blasphemes against Islam has not committed apostasy.

Blasphemy is defined as the act of speaking disrespectfully or irreverently about God and there is every other thing you can do to Cause blasphemy A specific example of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit occurs when someone attributes the good works of God (such as miracles) to Satan.

File:Blasphemy laws worldwide.svg

{{Main|Blasphemy law}}

The punishments for different instances of blasphemy in Islam vary by jurisdiction,{{sfn|Saeed|Saeed|2004|pp=38-9}}See Blasphemy law.{{cite web |title = Govt warned against amending blasphemy law |publisher = The News |date = 12 February 2010 |url = http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=223751 |access-date = 16 February 2010 }} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}} but may be very severe. A convicted blasphemer may, among other penalties, lose all legal rights. The loss of rights may cause a blasphemer's marriage to be dissolved, religious acts to be rendered worthless, and claims to property—including any inheritance—to be rendered void. Repentance, in some Fiqhs, may restore lost rights except for marital rights; lost marital rights are regained only by remarriage. Women have blasphemed and repented to end a marriage. Muslim women may be permitted to repent, and may receive a lesser punishment than would befall a Muslim man who committed the same offense. Most Muslim-majority countries have some form of blasphemy law and some of them have been compared to blasphemy laws in European countries (Britain, Germany, Finland etc.). However, in five countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, blasphemy is punishable by execution.{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=OcriBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA83 |page= 83 |title= Political Secularism, Religion, and the State: A Time Series Analysis of Worldwide Data |first= Jonathan |last=Fox |publisher= Cambridge University Press |year= 2015|isbn= 9781316299685 }} In Pakistan, more than a thousand people have been convicted of blasphemy since the 1980s; though none have been executed.{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=q1I0pcrFFSUC&pg=PA72 |page= 72 |title= The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought |editor1= Gerhard Böwering |editor2= Patricia Crone |editor3= Mahan Mirza |publisher= Princeton University Press |year= 2013 |isbn= 978-0691134840 |access-date= 20 April 2017 |archive-date= 30 September 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240930061621/https://books.google.com/books?id=q1I0pcrFFSUC&pg=PA72#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status= live }}

{{expand section|date=June 2022}}

According to Islamic sources Nadr ibn al-Harith, who was an Arab Pagan doctor from Taif, used to tell stories of Rustam and Isfandiyar to the Arabs and scoffed Muhammad.[https://books.google.com/books?id=js30HODt2aYC&pg=PA179 Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century, Volume 2, Part 2], p. 179, Irfan Shahîd. Also see footnote{{cite book |last=Husayn Haykal |first=Muhammad |author-link=Muhammad Husayn Haykal |title=The Life of Muhammad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fOyO-TSo5nEC&pg=PA250 |year=2008 |publisher=Islamic Book Trust |location=Selangor |isbn=978-983-9154-17-7 |page=250}} After the battle of Badr, al-Harith was captured and, in retaliation, Muhammad ordered his execution in hands of Ali.The Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition, Vol. VII, 1993, p. 872"Sirat Rasul Allah" by Ibn Ishaq, pp. 135–36{{cite book|first=Muhammad Saed |last=Abdul-Rahman|title=The Meaning and Explanation of the Glorious Qur'an|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k8kH-dzOKFIC&pg=PA412|access-date=26 February 2016|edition=2|volume=3|year=2009|publisher=MSA Publication Limited|isbn=978-1-86179-769-8|page=412}}

According to certain hadiths, after Mecca's fall Muhammad ordered a number of enemies executed. Based on this early jurists postulated that sabb al-Nabi (abuse of the Prophet) was a crime "so heinous that repentance was disallowed and summary execution was required".{{cite book |last1=Kadri |first1=Sadakat |author1-link=Sadakat Kadri |title=Heaven on Earth: A Journey Through Shari'a Law from the Deserts of Ancient Arabia ... |date=2012 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=9780099523277 |page=252 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ztCRZOhJ10wC |access-date=22 December 2015 |archive-date=30 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240930061622/https://books.google.com/books?id=ztCRZOhJ10wC |url-status=live }}

Sadakat Kadri writes that the actual prosecutions for blasphemy in the Muslim historical record "are vanishingly infrequent". One of the "few known cases" was that of a Christian accused of insulting the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. It ended in an acquittal in 1293, though it was followed by a protest against a decision led by the famed and strict jurist Ibn Taymiyya.Michel, Muslim Theologian's Response, pp. 69–71)

File:Demonstranten met spandoek, Bestanddeelnr 934-4147.jpg" in Den Haag, Netherlands]]

In recent decades Islamic revivalists have called for its enforcement on the grounds that criminalizing hostility toward Islam will safeguard communal cohesion. In one country where strict laws on blaspheme were introduced in the 1980s, Pakistan, over 1300 people have been accused of blasphemy from 1987 to 2014, (mostly non-Muslim religious minorities), mostly for allegedly desecrating the Quran.{{cite web|title=What are Pakistan's blasphemy laws?|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12621225|website=BBC News|access-date=21 November 2014|date=6 November 2014|archive-date=5 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405093821/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12621225|url-status=dead}} Over 50 people accused of blasphemy have been murdered before their respective trials were over,{{cite news|title=Timeline: Accused under the Blasphemy Law|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/750512/timeline-accused-under-the-blasphemy-law|access-date=10 December 2014|agency=Dawn.com|date=18 August 2013|archive-date=12 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240512041040/https://www.dawn.com/news/750512/timeline-accused-under-the-blasphemy-law|url-status=live}}{{cite journal|last1=Hashim|first1=Asad|title=Living in fear under Pakistan's blasphemy law|journal=Al Jazeera|date=17 May 2014|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/05/living-fear-under-pakistan-blasphemy-law-20145179369144891.html|access-date=21 November 2014|quote=In Pakistan, 17 people are on death row for blasphemy, and dozens more have been extrajudicially murdered.|archive-date=2 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102043016/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/05/living-fear-under-pakistan-blasphemy-law-20145179369144891.html|url-status=live}} and prominent figures who opposed blasphemy laws (Salman Taseer, the former governor of Punjab, and Shahbaz Bhatti, the Federal Minister for Minorities) have been assassinated.

As of 2011, all Islamic majority nations, worldwide, had criminal laws on blasphemy. Over 125 non-Muslim nations worldwide did not have any laws relating to blasphemy.{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/Government/Laws-Penalizing-Blasphemy,-Apostasy-and-Defamation-of-Religion-are-Widespread.aspx |title=Laws Penalizing Blasphemy, Apostasy and Defamation of Religion are Widespread |date=21 November 2012 |work=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508110838/http://www.pewforum.org/Government/Laws-Penalizing-Blasphemy%2C-Apostasy-and-Defamation-of-Religion-are-Widespread.aspx |archive-date=8 May 2013 }}Rehman, Javaid. "The Shari 'ah, International Human Rights Law and The Right To Hold Opinions and Free Expression: After Bilour's Fatwa." Islam and International Law: Engaging Self-Centrism from a Plurality of Perspectives (2013): 244. In Islamic nations, thousands of individuals have been arrested and punished for blasphemy of Islam.Forte, David F. "Apostasy and Blasphemy in Pakistan." Conn. J. Int'l L. 10 (1994): 27.Silence. How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes Are Choking Freedom Worldwide. By Paul Marshall and Nina Shea. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Moreover, several Islamic nations have argued in the United Nations that blasphemy against Muhammad is unacceptable, and that laws should be passed worldwide to proscribe it. In September 2012, the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), who has sought for a universal blasphemy law over a decade, revived these attempts. Separately, the Human Rights Commission of the OIC called for "an international code of conduct for media and social media to disallow the dissemination of incitement material". Non-Muslim nations that do not have blasphemy laws, have pointed to abuses of blasphemy laws in Islamic nations, and have disagreed.{{Cite web|url=http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/radical-islam’s-global-reaction-push-blasphemy-laws|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106011912/http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/radical-islam%E2%80%99s-global-reaction-push-blasphemy-laws|url-status=usurped|archive-date=6 January 2013|title=Michael Totten, Radical Islam's global reaction: the push for blasphemy laws (January/February 2013)}}{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-protests-religions-blasphemy-idUSBRE88I1EG20120919|title=Islamic states to reopen quest for global blasphemy law|newspaper=Reuters|date=19 September 2012|access-date=1 July 2017|archive-date=13 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151013190942/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/19/us-protests-religions-blasphemy-idUSBRE88I1EG20120919|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/Blasphemy_Cases.pdf|title=Blasphemy Laws Exposed – The Consequences of Criminalizing Defamation of Religions|year=2012|website=humanrightsfirst.org|access-date=18 April 2017|archive-date=15 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130915121703/http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/Blasphemy_Cases.pdf|url-status=dead}}

Notwithstanding, controversies raised in the non-Muslim world, especially over depictions of Muhammad, questioning issues relating to the religious offense to minorities in secular countries. A key case was the 1989 fatwa against English author Salman Rushdie for his 1988 book entitled The Satanic Verses, the title of which refers to an account that Muhammad, in the course of revealing the Quran, received a revelation from Satan and incorporated it therein until made by Allah to retract it. Several translators of his book into foreign languages have been murdered.{{cite web|title=Blasphemy Salman Rushdie |publisher=Constitutional Rights Foundation |year=2009 |url=http://www.crf-usa.org/america-responds-to-terrorism/blasphemy-salman-rushdie.html |access-date=10 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090818052403/http://www.crf-usa.org/america-responds-to-terrorism/blasphemy-salman-rushdie.html |archive-date=18 August 2009 }} In the UK, many supporters of Salman Rushdie and his publishers advocated unrestricted freedom of expression and the abolition of the British blasphemy laws. As a response, Richard Webster wrote A Brief History of Blasphemy in which he discussed freedom to publish books that may cause distress to minorities.{{cite book |last=Webster |first=Richard |title=A Brief History of Blasphemy: Liberalism, Censorship and 'The Satanic Verses' |publisher=The Orwell Press |location=Southwold |year=1990 |isbn=0951592203 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofbl0000webs}}

{{main|Farag Foda}}

File:فرج فودة و جعفر النميري.jpg, second from the right]]

Farag Foda (also Faraj Fawda; 1946 – 9 June 1992), was a prominent Egyptian professor, writer, columnist,{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde12/022/1998/en/ |title=Document – Egypt: Human Rights Abuses By Armed Groups |author= |date=September 1998 |work=amnesty.org |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=2 December 2015 |archive-date=14 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014040605/https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde12/022/1998/en/ |url-status=live }} and human rights activist.{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Judith|title=God Has Ninety-Nine Names: Reporting from a Militant Middle East|publisher=Simon and Schuster|page=26|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tH_ThgVEoAcC&pg=PA26|isbn=9781439129418|date=19 July 2011|access-date=24 April 2017|archive-date=30 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240930062219/https://books.google.com/books?id=tH_ThgVEoAcC&pg=PA26#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}} He was assassinated on 9 June 1992 by members of Islamist group al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya after being accused of blasphemy by a committee of clerics (ulama) at Al-Azhar University. In December 1992, his collected works were banned.{{cite book|last1=de Baets|first1=Antoon|title=Censorship of Historical Thought: A World Guide, 1945–2000|publisher=Greenwood Publishing|page=196|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4DlMSrtOGLIC&pg=PA196|quote=In December 1992 Foda's collected works were banned|isbn=9780313311932|year=2002|access-date=24 April 2017|archive-date=30 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240930062230/https://books.google.com/books?id=4DlMSrtOGLIC&pg=PA196|url-status=live}} In a statement claimed responsibility for the killing, Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya accused Foda of being an apostate from Islam, advocating the separation of religion from the state, and favouring the existing legal system in Egypt rather than the application of Sharia (Islamic law). The group explicitly referred to the Al-Azhar fatwā when claiming responsibility.{{cite book |last=de Waal |first=Alex |author-link=Alex de Waal |title=Islamism and Its Enemies in the Horn of Africa |year=2004 |publisher=C. Hurst & Co |page=60}}

{{main|Arifur Rahman}}

In September 2007, Bangladeshi cartoonist Arifur Rahman depicted in the daily Prothom Alo a boy holding a cat conversing with an elderly man. The man asks the boy his name, and he replies "Babu". The older man chides him for not mentioning the name of Muhammad before his name. He then points to the cat and asks the boy what it is called, and the boy replies "Muhammad the cat". Bangladesh does not have a blasphemy law but groups said the cartoon ridiculed Muhammad, torched copies of the paper and demanded that Rahman be executed for blasphemy. As a result, Bangladeshi police detained Rahman and confiscated copies of Prothom Alo in which the cartoon appeared.

{{main|Sudanese teddy bear blasphemy case}}

In November 2007, British schoolteacher Gillian Gibbons, who taught middle-class Muslim and Christian children in Sudan,{{cite news |last=Day |first=Elizabeth |author-link=Elizabeth Day |title=I was terrified that the guards would come in and teach me a lesson |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/dec/09/world.schoolsworldwide |access-date=15 September 2012 |work=The Guardian |date=8 December 2007 |archive-date=1 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901073431/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/dec/09/world.schoolsworldwide |url-status=live }} was convicted of insulting Islam by allowing her class of six-year-olds to name a teddy bear "Muhammad". On 30 November, thousands of protesters took to the streets in Khartoum,{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/nov/30/uk.schoolsworldwide|title=Jailed teddy row teacher appeals for tolerance|work=The Guardian|date=30 November 2007|access-date=9 December 2009|location=London|first=Allegra|last=Stratton|author-link=Allegra Stratton|archive-date=1 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901031045/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/nov/30/uk.schoolsworldwide|url-status=live}} demanding Gibbons's execution after imams denounced her during Friday prayers. Many Muslim organizations in other countries publicly condemned the Sudanese over their reactions{{cite news|url=http://commisceo-global.com/blog/muhammad-the-teddy-bear-a-case-of-intercultural-incompetence|title=Muhammad & the teddy bear: a case of intercultural incompetence|date=29 November 2007|access-date=1 December 2007|archive-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220091442/http://commisceo-global.com/blog/muhammad-the-teddy-bear-a-case-of-intercultural-incompetence|url-status=live}} as Gibbons did not set out to cause offence.{{Citation | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7123517.stm | title = Sudanese Views differ in Teddy Row | publisher = BBC | newspaper = News | place = UK | date = 2 December 2007 | access-date = 18 April 2017 | archive-date = 23 January 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200123082428/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7123517.stm | url-status = live }}. She was released into the care of the British embassy in Khartoum and left Sudan after two British Muslim members of the House of Lords met President Omar al-Bashir.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7124447.stm Teddy row teacher freed from jail] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203163525/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7124447.stm |date=3 December 2007 }}, BBC World Service, 3 December 2007"[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna22076390 Teddy bear" teacher leaves Sudan after pardon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413183219/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna22076390 |date=13 April 2023 }}", MSNBC

{{main|Asia Bibi blasphemy case}}

{{multiple image

| footer = Christian minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti and Muslim politician Salmaan Taseer (photo) were both assassinated for advocating on Asia Bibi's behalf in her blasphemy case and opposing the blasphemy laws in Pakistan.

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| alt1 = Shahbaz Bhatti

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| image2 = Salmaan Taseer October 29, 2009 Lahore.jpg

| alt2 = Salmaan Taseer

}}

The Asia Bibi blasphemy case involved a Pakistani Christian woman, Aasiya Noreen (born {{circa}} 1971;{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/gesellschaft/0,1518,729847,00.html|title=Eine Ziege, ein Streit und ein Todesurteil|last=Kazim|first=Hasnain|author-link=Hasnain Kazim|date=19 November 2010|work=Der Spiegel|language=de|trans-title=A goat, a fight and a death sentence|access-date=19 November 2010|archive-date=21 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121062734/http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/gesellschaft/0,1518,729847,00.html|url-status=live}} better known as Asia Bibi{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11923701|title=Fear for Pakistan's death row Christian woman|date=5 December 2010|work=BBC News|access-date=5 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206045829/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11923701|archive-date=6 December 2010 |url-status=live}} convicted of blasphemy by a Pakistani court, receiving a sentence of death by hanging in 2010. In June 2009, Noreen was involved in an argument with a group of Muslim women with whom she had been harvesting berries after the other women grew angry with her for drinking the same water as them. She was subsequently accused of insulting the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, a charge she denied, and was arrested and imprisoned. In November 2010, a Sheikhupura judge sentenced her to death. If executed, Noreen would have been the first woman in Pakistan to be lawfully killed for blasphemy.{{cite news |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101111/wl_sthasia_afp/pakistanunrestreligionchristian |first=Waqar |last=Hussain |title=Christian Woman Sentenced to Death|publisher=Agence France-Presse|date=11 November 2010|access-date=11 November 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101114071047/http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101111/wl_sthasia_afp/pakistanunrestreligionchristian| archive-date=14 November 2010 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/8120142/Christian-woman-sentenced-to-death-in-Pakistan-for-blasphemy.html |last1=Crilly |first1=Rob |author1-link=Rob Crilly |last2=Sahi |first2=Aoun |title=Christian Woman sentenced to Death in Pakistan for blasphemy |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=9 November 2010 |access-date=11 November 2010 |location=London| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101111174909/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/8120142/Christian-woman-sentenced-to-death-in-Pakistan-for-blasphemy.html| archive-date=11 November 2010 | url-status= dead}}

The verdict, which was reached in a district court and needed to be upheld by a superior court, received worldwide attention. Various petitions, including one that received 400,000 signatures, were organized to protest Noreen's imprisonment, and Pope Benedict XVI publicly called for the charges against her to be dismissed. She received less sympathy from her neighbors and Islamic religious leaders in the country, some of whom adamantly called for her to be executed. Christian minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti and Muslim politician Salmaan Taseer were both assassinated for advocating on her behalf and opposing the blasphemy laws.{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-assassination-idUSTRE7211GH20110302 | work=Reuters | title=Militants say killed Pakistani minister for blasphemy | date=2 March 2011 | access-date=1 July 2017 | archive-date=5 March 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305131019/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/02/us-pakistan-assassination-idUSTRE7211GH20110302 | url-status=live }} Noreen's family went into hiding after receiving death threats, some of which threatened to kill Asia if released from prison.{{cite news | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11930849 | title = Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi 'has price on her head' | last = Guerin | first = Orla |date = 6 December 2010 | work = BBC | access-date = 6 December 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101207044430/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11930849| archive-date= 7 December 2010 | url-status= live}}

Governor Salmaan Taseer and Pakistan's Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti both publicly supported Noreen, with the latter saying, "I will go to every knock for justice on her behalf and I will take all steps for her protection." She also received support from Pakistani political scientist Rasul Baksh Rais and local priest Samson Dilawar.{{cite news|last=McCarthy|first=Julie|title=Christian's Death Verdict Spurs Holy Row in Pakistan|url=https://www.npr.org/2010/12/14/132031645/christian-s-death-verdict-spurs-holy-row-in-pakistan|work=NPR|access-date=27 November 2013|date=14 December 2010|archive-date=1 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901085519/https://www.npr.org/2010/12/14/132031645/christian-s-death-verdict-spurs-holy-row-in-pakistan|url-status=live}} The imprisonment of Noreen left Christians and other minorities in Pakistan feeling vulnerable, and liberal Muslims were also unnerved by her sentencing.{{cite news|title=Salmaan Taseer came here and he sacrificed his life for me|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/salmaan-taseer-came-here-and-he-sacrificed-his-life-for-me-2179170.html|work=The Independent|access-date=27 November 2012|date=8 January 2011|archive-date=12 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612045856/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/salmaan-taseer-came-here-and-he-sacrificed-his-life-for-me-2179170.html|url-status=live}}

Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti said that he was first threatened with death in June 2010 when he was told that he would be beheaded if he attempted to change the blasphemy laws. In response, he told reporters that he was "committed to the principle of justice for the people of Pakistan" and willing to die fighting for Noreen's release. On 2 March 2011, Bhatti was shot dead by gunmen who ambushed his car near his residence in Islamabad, presumably because of his position on the blasphemy laws. He had been the only Christian member of Pakistan's cabinet.{{cite news|last=Anthony|first=Augustine|title=Militants say killed Pakistan minister for blasphemy|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-assassination-idUSTRE7211GH20110302|work=Reuters|access-date=2 March 2011|date=2 March 2011|archive-date=5 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305131019/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/02/us-pakistan-assassination-idUSTRE7211GH20110302|url-status=live}}

In January 2011, talking about the Asia Bibi blasphemy case, Pakistani politician Salmaan Taseer expressed views opposing the country's blasphemy law and supporting Asia Bibi. He was then killed by one of his bodyguards, Malik Mumtaz Qadri. After the murder, hundreds of clerics voiced support for the crime and urged a general boycott of Taseer's funeral.R. Upadhyay, [http://www.eurasiareview.com/28012011-barelvis-and-deobandhis-%E2%80%9Cbirds-of-the-same-feather%E2%80%9D/ Barelvis and Deobandhis: "Birds of the Same Feather"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104105736/http://www.eurasiareview.com/28012011-barelvis-and-deobandhis-%E2%80%9Cbirds-of-the-same-feather%E2%80%9D/ |date=4 November 2018 }}. Eurasia Review, courtesy of the South Asia Analysis Group. 28 January 2011. The Pakistani government declared three days of national mourning and thousands of people attended his funeral.Sana Saleem, [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2011/jan/05/salman-taseer-murder-pakistan "Salmaan Taseer: murder in an extremist climate"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118090057/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2011/jan/05/salman-taseer-murder-pakistan |date=18 January 2017 }}, The Guardian, 5 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.Aleem Maqbool and Orla Guerin, [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12116764 "Salman Taseer: Thousands mourn Pakistan governor"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212163340/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12116764 |date=12 December 2013 }}: "One small religious party, the Jamaat-e-Ahl-e-Sunnat Pakistan, warned that anyone who expressed grief over the assassination could suffer the same fate. 'No Muslim should attend the funeral or even try to pray for Salman Taseer or even express any kind of regret or sympathy over the incident,' the party said in a statement. It said anyone who expressed sympathy over the death of a blasphemer was also committing blasphemy." BBC News South Asia'', 5 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011. Supporters of Mumtaz Qadri blocked police attempting to bring him to the courts and some showered him with rose petals.{{cite news

| url= https://www.voanews.com/a/disruptions-mark-remand-of-alleged-pakistani-assassin-113016474/133207.html

| title= Demonstrators Prevent Court Appearance of Alleged Pakistani Assassin

| publisher= Voice of America

| date= 6 January 2011

| access-date= 18 April 2017

| archive-date= 9 January 2011

| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110109010906/http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/south/Disruptions-Mark-Remand-of-Alleged-Pakistani-Assassin-113016474.html

| url-status= live

}} In October, Qadri was sentenced to death for murdering Taseer. Some expressed concerns that the assassinations of Taseer and Bhatti may dissuade other Pakistani politicians from speaking out against the blasphemy laws.

In 2014, an Egyptian state prosecutor pressed charges against a former candidate for parliament, writer and poet Fatima Naoot, of blaspheming Islam when she posted a Facebook message which criticized the slaughter of animals during Eid al-Adha, a major Islamic festival.[http://mgafrica.com/article/2014-12-28-days-after-mauritania-sentences-man-to-death-for-insulting-islam-egypt-to-try-writer-for-similar-offence Days after Mauritania sentences man to death for 'insulting Islam', Egypt to try female writer for similar offence] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106105637/http://mgafrica.com/article/2014-12-28-days-after-mauritania-sentences-man-to-death-for-insulting-islam-egypt-to-try-writer-for-similar-offence/ |date=6 January 2015 }} Agence France-Presse, MG Africa (28 December 2014) Naoot was sentenced on 26 January 2016 to three years in prison for "contempt of religion." The prison sentence was effective immediately.{{cite web|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/185963/Egypt/Politics-/Egyptian-writer-Fatima-Naoot-sentenced-to--years-i.aspx|title=Egyptian writer Fatima Naoot sentenced to 3 years in jail for 'contempt of religion' – Politics – Egypt – Ahram Online|website=english.ahram.org.eg|access-date=29 January 2016|archive-date=23 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171123111147/http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/185963/Egypt/Politics-/Egyptian-writer-Fatima-Naoot-sentenced-to--years-i.aspx|url-status=live}}

{{main|Murder of Farkhunda Malikzada}}

Farkhunda Malikzada was a 27-year-old Afghan woman who was publicly beaten and slain by a mob of hundreds of people in Kabul on 19 March 2015.{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/04/afghan-farkhunda-family-demands-justice-150402201946987.html|title=Family of Afghan woman lynched by mob demands justice|date=2 April 2015|work=AlJazeera|access-date=21 April 2017|archive-date=7 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407004523/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/04/afghan-farkhunda-family-demands-justice-150402201946987.html|url-status=live}}{{cite video |title=The Killing of Farkhunda |url=https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/asia/100000004108808/the-killing-of-farkhunda.html |work=New York Times |access-date=21 April 2017 |archive-date=3 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203071434/https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/asia/100000004108808/the-killing-of-farkhunda.html |url-status=live }} Farkhunda had previously been arguing with a mullah named Zainuddin, in front of a mosque where she worked as a religious teacher, about his practice of selling charms at the Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque, the Shrine of the King of Two Swords,{{cite news|author1=Joseph Goldstein|title=Woman Killed in Kabul Transformed From Pariah to Martyr|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/30/world/asia/farkhunda-woman-killed-in-kabul-transformed-from-pariah-to-martyr.html|access-date=30 March 2015|work=The New York Times|date=29 March 2015|archive-date=30 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330063516/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/30/world/asia/farkhunda-woman-killed-in-kabul-transformed-from-pariah-to-martyr.html|url-status=live}} a religious shrine in Kabul.{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32014077 | title=Afghan woman Farkhunda lynched in Kabul 'for speaking out' | work=BBC | date=23 March 2015 | access-date=23 March 2015 | archive-date=7 September 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907164959/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32014077 | url-status=live }} During this argument, Zainuddin reportedly falsely accused her of burning the Quran. Police investigations revealed that she had not burned anything.{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/23/attention-from-media-family-would-be-in-danger | title=Farkhunda's family take comfort from tide of outrage in wake of her death | work=The Guardian | date=23 March 2015 | access-date=23 March 2015 | last=Rasmussen | first=Sune Engel | archive-date=21 July 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160721224357/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/23/attention-from-media-family-would-be-in-danger | url-status=live }} A number of prominent public officials turned to Facebook immediately after the death to endorse the murder.{{cite news|last1=Shalizi|first1=Hamid|last2=Donati|first2=Jessica|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-afghanistan-woman-idUKKBN0MG1ZA20150320|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151231085503/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-afghanistan-woman-idUKKBN0MG1ZA20150320|url-status=dead|archive-date=31 December 2015|title=Afghan cleric and others defend lynching of woman in Kabul|access-date=9 August 2015|work=Reuters|publisher=Reuters|date=20 March 2015}} After it was revealed that she did not burn the Quran, the public reaction in Afghanistan turned to shock and anger.{{cite news|last1=Moore|first1=Jack|title=Afghans Protest Brutal Mob Killing of 'Innocent' Woman|url=http://www.newsweek.com/afghans-protest-brutal-mob-killing-innocent-woman-kabul-315898|access-date=29 March 2015|agency=Newsweek|publisher=Newsweek|date=23 March 2015|archive-date=28 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328170941/http://www.newsweek.com/afghans-protest-brutal-mob-killing-innocent-woman-kabul-315898|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.equaltimes.org/what-s-the-future-for-women-s|title=What's the Future for Women's Rights in Afghanistan?|work=Equal Times|date=14 April 2015|access-date=21 April 2017|archive-date=16 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416135512/http://www.equaltimes.org/what-s-the-future-for-women-s|url-status=live}} Her murder led to 49 arrests;{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32564886|agency=BBC News|title=Trial begins in case of Kabul lynching of Farkhunda|date=2 May 2015|access-date=6 May 2015|archive-date=1 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701230029/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32564886|url-status=live}} three adult men received twenty-year prison sentences, eight other adult males received sixteen year sentences, a minor received a ten-year sentence, and eleven police officers received one-year prison terms for failing to protect Farkhunda.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33358710|title=Afghan court quashes Farkhunda mob killing death sentences|date=2 July 2015|work=BBC News|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-date=19 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119093535/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33358710|url-status=live}} Her murder and the subsequent protests served to draw attention to women's rights in Afghanistan.{{cite news |agency=RFE/RL |title=A Memorial To Farkhunda Appears In Kabul |url=http://hambastagi.org/new/en/report/1481-a-memorial-to-farkhunda-appears-in-kabul-22-oct-2015.html |work=Solidarity Party of Afghanistan |access-date=2020-01-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160225195633/http://www.hambastagi.org/new/english-section/reports/1481-a-memorial-to-farkhunda-appears-in-kabul-22-oct-2015.html |archive-date=2016-02-25 |date=23 October 2015 |url-status=live}}

{{main|Ahmad Al Shamri}}

Ahmad Al Shamri from the town of Hafar al-Batin, Saudi Arabia, was arrested on charges of atheism and blasphemy after allegedly use social media to state that he renounced Islam and the Prophet Mohammed, he was sentenced to death in February 2015.{{cite news|last1=McKernan|first1=Bethan|title=Man 'sentenced to death for atheism' in Saudi Arabia|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-man-sentenced-death-atheism-ahmad-al-shamri-hafar-al-batin-appeal-denied-a7703161.html|access-date=30 April 2017|work=The Independent|date=27 April 2017|location=Beirut|archive-date=24 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624075547/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-man-sentenced-death-atheism-ahmad-al-shamri-hafar-al-batin-appeal-denied-a7703161.html|url-status=live}}

{{main|Death of Mashal Khan}}

Mashal Khan was a Pakistani student at the Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan who was killed by an angry mob in the premises of the university in April 2017 over allegations of posting blasphemous content online.{{cite news|title=Pakistan 'blasphemy killing': murdered student 'devoted to Islam'|url=http://www.euronews.com/2017/04/14/pakistan-blasphemy-killing-murdered-student-devoted-to-islam|access-date=15 April 2017|work=euronews|date=14 April 2017|archive-date=26 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226062114/https://www.euronews.com/2017/04/14/pakistan-blasphemy-killing-murdered-student-devoted-to-islam|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Pakistan journalism student latest victim of blasphemy vigilantes|url=http://www.dw.com/en/pakistan-journalism-student-latest-victim-of-blasphemy-vigilantes/a-38433834|access-date=15 April 2017|website=Deutsche Welle|language=en|archive-date=26 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226062108/https://www.dw.com/en/pakistan-journalism-student-latest-victim-of-blasphemy-vigilantes/a-38433834|url-status=live}}

{{main|Basuki Tjahaja Purnama}}

{{multiple image

| footer = Basuki Tjahaja Purnama was convicted of blasphemy against Islam and sentenced to two years imprisonment. His speech in which he referenced a verse from the Quran sparked wide protests asking for his conviction.

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| alt1 = Basuki Tjahaja Purnama

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| image2 = Aksi_2_Desember_(VOA).jpg

| alt2 = Protests against Basuki

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In 2017 in Indonesia, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama during his tenure as the governor of Jakarta, made a controversial speech while introducing a government project at Thousand Islands in which he referenced a verse from the Quran. His opponents criticized this speech as blasphemous, and reported him to the police. He was later convicted of blasphemy against Islam by the North Jakarta District Court and sentenced to two years imprisonment.{{cite web|url=http://en.metrotvnews.com/read/2017/05/09/697761/ahok-jailed-for-two-years|title=Ahok Jailed for Two Years|publisher=metrotvnews.com|date=9 May 2017|access-date=9 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922194644/http://en.metrotvnews.com/read/2017/05/09/697761/ahok-jailed-for-two-years|archive-date=22 September 2017|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://en.tempo.co/read/news/2017/05/09/055873617/Ahok-Sent-to-2-Years-in-Prison-for-Blasphemy|title=Ahok Sent to 2 Years in Prison for Blasphemy|publisher=en.tempo.co|date=9 May 2017|access-date=9 May 2017|archive-date=23 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170523013306/https://en.tempo.co/read/news/2017/05/09/055873617/Ahok-Sent-to-2-Years-in-Prison-for-Blasphemy|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/09/jakarta-governor-ahok-found-guilty-of-blasphemy-jailed-for-two-years|title=Jakarta governor Ahok found guilty of blasphemy, jailed for two years|work=theguardian|date=9 May 2017|access-date=9 May 2017|archive-date=26 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210626110418/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/09/jakarta-governor-ahok-found-guilty-of-blasphemy-jailed-for-two-years|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Jakarta governor Ahok found guilty of blasphemy|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39853280|access-date=9 May 2017|agency=BBC|archive-date=9 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509051528/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39853280|url-status=live}} This decision barred him from serving as the governor of Jakarta, and he was replaced by his deputy, Djarot Saiful Hidayat.

File:Maome.jpg prohibiting Nasi', one of the depictions of Muhammad which raised objections]]

In December 1999, the German news magazine Der Spiegel printed on the same page pictures of "moral apostles" Muhammad, Jesus, Confucius, and Immanuel Kant. Few weeks later, the magazine received protests, petitions and threats against publishing depictions of Muhammad. The Turkish TV-station Show TV broadcast the telephone number of an editor who then received daily calls.[http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-15613871.html Terror am Telefon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202230939/http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-15613871.html |date=2 December 2013 }}, Spiegel, 7 February 2000 A picture of Muhammad had been published by the magazine once before in 1998 in a special edition on Islam, without evoking similar protests.Spiegel Special 1, 1998, p. 76

In 2008, several Muslims protested against the inclusion of Muhammad's depictions in the English Wikipedia's Muhammad article.{{cite web |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/muslims-protest-wikipedia-images-of-muhammad |title=Muslims Protest Wikipedia Images of Muhammad |publisher=Fox News |date=6 February 2008 |access-date=7 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019022444/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,328966,00.html |archive-date=19 October 2012 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/books/05wiki.html |title=Wikipedia Islam Entry Is Criticized |first=Noam |last=Cohen |work=New York Times |date=5 February 2008 |access-date=7 February 2008 |archive-date=26 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126025338/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/books/05wiki.html |url-status=live }} An online petition opposed a reproduction of a 17th-century Ottoman copy of a 14th-century Ilkhanate manuscript image depicting Muhammad as he prohibited Nasīʾ.MS Arabe 1489. The image used by Wikipedia is hosted on Wikimedia Commons ([//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Maome.jpg upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Maome.jpg]). The reproduction originates from the website of the Bibliothèque nationale de France [http://expositions.bnf.fr/livrarab/pedago/grands/0_01.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010005215/http://expositions.bnf.fr/livrarab/pedago/grands/0_01.htm |date=10 October 2012 }} Jeremy Henzell-Thomas of The American Muslim deplored the petition as one of "these mechanical knee-jerk reactions [which] are gifts to those who seek every opportunity to decry Islam and ridicule Muslims and can only exacerbate a situation in which Muslims and the Western media seem to be locked in an ever-descending spiral of ignorance and mutual loathing."[http://www.theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/wikipedia_and_depictions_of_the_Prophet_muhammad_the_latest_inane_distracti/0015659 Wikipedia and Depictions of the Prophet Muhammad: The Latest Inane Distraction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214173703/http://www.theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/wikipedia_and_depictions_of_the_prophet_muhammad_the_latest_inane_distracti/0015659 |date=14 February 2008 }}, 10 February 2008

{{Muhammad cartoons}}

In September 2005, in the tense aftermath of the assassination of Dutch film director Theo van Gogh, killed for his views on Islam, Danish news service Ritzau published an article discussing the difficulty encountered by the writer Kåre Bluitgen to find an illustrator to work on his children's book The Qur'an and the life of the Prophet Muhammad (Danish:Koranen og profeten Muhammeds liv).{{cite book|last1=Hansen|first1=John|title=Provoen og Profeten: Muhammed Krisen bag kulisserne|year=2006|publisher=Jyllands-Postens Forlag|location=Copenhagen|isbn=87-7692-092-5|first2=Kim |last2=Hundevadt|language=da}}{{cite book |last=Bluitgen |first=Kåre |author-link=Kåre Bluitgen |title=Koranen og profeten Muhammeds liv|year=2006 |publisher=Høst & Søn/Tøkk |isbn=978-87-638-0049-5 |page=268 |url=http://www.digibutik.dk/?ID=250&GroupID=250&ProductID=PROD1179&pgid=GROUP249&qq=8D7SR65SK7TUB%2048D9LG6B%20L7T |others=Anonymous illustrator |language=da |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118123641/http://www.digibutik.dk/?ID=250&GroupID=250&ProductID=PROD1179&pgid=GROUP249&qq=8D7SR65SK7TUB%2048D9LG6B%20L7T |archive-date=18 January 2015}} He said that three artists declined his proposal, which was interpreted as evidence of self-censorship out of fear of reprisals, which led to much debate in Denmark.{{cite news|date=17 September 2005|title=Dyb angst for kritik af islam ("Profound anxiety about criticism of Islam")|newspaper=Politiken|url=http://politiken.dk/kultur/boger/ECE123660/dyb-angst-for-kritik-af-islam/|access-date=19 March 2013|language=da|archive-date=29 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029195043/http://politiken.dk/kultur/boger/ECE123660/dyb-angst-for-kritik-af-islam/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|date=19 February 2006|title=Why I Published Those Cartoons|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/17/AR2006021702499.html|first=Flemming|last=Rose|author-link=Flemming Rose|access-date=16 September 2013|archive-date=25 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025130553/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/17/AR2006021702499.html|url-status=live}} Reviewing the experiment, Danish scholar Peter Hervik wrote that it disproved the idea that self-censorship was a serious problem in Denmark, because the overwhelming majority of cartoonists had either responded positively or refused for contractual or philosophical reasons.{{cite journal |last=Hervik |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Hervik |title=The Danish Muhammad Cartoon Conflict |journal=Current Themes in IMER Research |year=2012 |volume=13 |url=http://www.mah.se/upload/Forskningscentrum/MIM/CT/CT%2013.pdf |access-date=20 October 2012 |publisher=Malmö Institute for Studies of Migration, Diversity and Welfare (MIM) |issn=1652-4616 |archive-date=25 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025134848/http://mah.se/upload/Forskningscentrum/MIM/CT/CT%2013.pdf |url-status=live }} Furthermore, the Danish newspaper Politiken stated that they asked Bluitgen to put them in touch with the artists who reportedly declined his proposal, so his claim that none of them dared to work with him could be proved, but that Bluitgen refused, making his initial claim impossible to confirm.Politiken 12. Februar 2006 "Muhammedsag: Ikke ligefrem en genistreg"

Flemming Rose, an editor at the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, invited professional illustrators to depict Muhammad as an experiment to see how much they felt threatened. The newspaper announced that this was an attempt to contribute to the debate about criticism of Islam and self-censorship. On 30 September 2005, the Jyllands-Posten published 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Prophet Muhammad. One cartoon by Kurt Westergaard depicted Muhammad with a bomb in his turban, which resulted in the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy (or Muhammad cartoons crisis) (Danish: Muhammedkrisen){{cite journal|last=Henkel|first=Heiko|title=Fundamentally Danish? The Muhammad Cartoon Crisis as Transitional Drama|journal=Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-knowledge|date=Fall 2010|volume=VIII|series=2|url=http://www.okcir.com/Articles%20VIII%202/Henkel-FM.pdf|access-date=25 November 2012|archive-date=29 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029194639/http://www.okcir.com/Articles%20VIII%202/Henkel-FM.pdf|url-status=live}} i.e. complains by Muslim groups in Denmark, the withdrawal of the ambassadors of Libya, Saudi Arabia and Syria from Denmark, protests around the world including violent demonstrations and riots in some Muslim countries as well as consumer boycotts of Danish products.{{Cite book|title = "The Muhammad Cartoon Crisis. The tip of an Iceberg", Japanese religion|last = Jensen|first = Tim|year = 2006|pages = 5–7}} Carsten Juste, editor-in-chief at the Jyllands-Posten, claimed the international furor over the cartoons amounted to a victory for opponents of free expression. "Those who have won are dictatorships in the Middle East, in Saudi Arabia, where they cut criminals' hands and give women no rights," Juste told The Associated Press. "The dark dictatorships have won."{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cartoon-inflames-muslim-world/|title=Cartoon Inflames Muslim World|first=Lloyd|last=Vries|date=2 February 2006|work=CBS News|access-date=18 November 2017|archive-date=14 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114181444/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cartoon-inflames-muslim-world/|url-status=live}} Commenting the cartoon that initiated the diplomatic crisis, American scholar John Woods expressed worries about Westergaard-like association of the Prophet with terrorism, that was beyond satire and offensive to a vast majority of Muslims.{{cite news|title=Explaining the outrage|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2006/02/08/explaining-the-outrage/|date=8 February 2006|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=11 September 2024|archive-date=30 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240930062311/https://www.chicagotribune.com/2006/02/08/explaining-the-outrage/|url-status=live}} Hervik also deplored that the newspaper's "desire to provoke and insult Danish Muslims exceeded the wish to test the self-censorship of Danish cartoonists."

In Sweden, an online caricature competition was announced in support of Jyllands-Posten, but foreign minister Laila Freivalds pressured the provider to shut the page down (in 2006, her involvement was revealed to the public and she had to resign).{{cite web |url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L21470789.htm |title=Swedish foreign minister resigns over cartoons |work=Reuters AlertNet |access-date=21 March 2006 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20060322184626/http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L21470789.htm |archive-date = 22 March 2006}}

File:Paris 2006-02-11 anti-caricature protest bannieres dsc07473.jpg

In France, satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo republished the Jyllands-Posten cartoons of Muhammad. It was taken to court by Islamic organisations under French hate speech laws; it was ultimately acquitted of charges that it incited hatred.{{cite news|last=Leveque|first=Thierry|title=French court clears weekly in Mohammad cartoon row|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/industry-france-cartoons-trial-dc-idUSL2212067120070322|access-date=10 June 2013|work=Reuters|date=22 March 2007|archive-date=21 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055305/http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/03/22/industry-france-cartoons-trial-dc-idUSL2212067120070322|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Leveque|first=Thierry|title=French court clears weekly in Mohammad cartoon row|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/industry-france-cartoons-trial-dc-idUSL2212067120070322|access-date=10 June 2013|publisher=Reuters|date=22 March 2007|archive-date=21 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055305/http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/03/22/industry-france-cartoons-trial-dc-idUSL2212067120070322|url-status=live}}

In July 2007, art galleries in Sweden declined to show drawings of artist Lars Vilks depicting Muhammad as a roundabout dog. While Swedish newspapers had published them already, the drawings gained international attention after the newspaper Nerikes Allehanda published one of them on 18 August to illustrate an editorial on the "right to ridicule a religion".{{cite news |first=Lars |last=Ströman |title=Rätten att förlöjliga en religion |url=http://www.na.se/artikel.asp?intId=1209627 |publisher=Nerikes Allehanda |language=sv |date=18 August 2007 |access-date=31 August 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070906190721/http://www.na.se/artikel.asp?intId=1209627 |archive-date = 6 September 2007}}
English translation: {{cite news |first=Lars |last=Ströman |title=The right to ridicule a religion |url=http://www.na.se/artikel.asp?intId=1209676 |publisher=Nerikes Allehanda |date=28 August 2007 |access-date=31 August 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070830163657/http://www.na.se/artikel.asp?intId=1209676 |archive-date = 30 August 2007}} This particular publication led to official condemnations from Iran,{{cite news|title=Iran protests over Swedish Muhammad cartoon |url=http://www.thelocal.se/8305/20070827/ |publisher=Agence France-Presse |date=27 August 2007 |access-date=27 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070829141345/http://www.thelocal.se/8305/20070827/ |archive-date=29 August 2007 }} Pakistan,{{cite press release|title=Pakistan Condemns the Publication of Offensive Sketch in Sweden |publisher=Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs |date=30 August 2007 |url=http://www.mofa.gov.pk/Press_Releases/2007/Aug/PR_234_07.htm |access-date=31 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070904154021/http://www.mofa.gov.pk/Press_Releases/2007/Aug/PR_234_07.htm |archive-date=4 September 2007 }} Afghanistan,{{cite news |first=Sayed |last=Salahuddin |title=Indignant Afghanistan slams Prophet Mohammad sketch |url=http://in.reuters.com/article/SouthAsiaNews/idINIndia-29281220070901 |publisher=Reuters |date=1 September 2007 |access-date=9 September 2007 |archive-date=14 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070914102801/http://in.reuters.com/article/SouthAsiaNews/idINIndia-29281220070901 |url-status=dead }} Egypt{{cite news |first=Gwladys |last=Fouché |title=Egypt wades into Swedish cartoons row |url=http://media.guardian.co.uk/presspublishing/story/0,,2161595,00.html |work=The Guardian |date=3 September 2007 |access-date=9 September 2007 |archive-date=6 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070906032149/http://media.guardian.co.uk/presspublishing/story/0,,2161595,00.html |url-status=live }} and Jordan,{{cite news |title=Jordan condemns new Swedish Mohammed cartoon |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070903/wl_mideast_afp/jordanswedenislam_070903124623 |publisher=Agence France-Presse |date=3 September 2007 |access-date=9 September 2007}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}} and by the inter-governmental Organisation of the Islamic Conference.{{cite press release|title=The Secretary General strongly condemned the publishing of blasphemous caricatures of Prophet Muhammad by Swedish artist |publisher=Organisation of the Islamic Conference |date=30 August 2007 |url=http://www.oic-oci.org/press/English/2007/08/caricatur.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012054243/http://oic-oci.org/press/English/2007/08/caricatur.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 October 2007 |access-date=9 September 2007 }}

File:Everybody_Draw_Muhammad_Day_2010_by_awesomesauceuk.jpg, an event in support of artists threatened with violence for drawing representations of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad|1x1px]]

In 2006, the American comedy program South Park, which had previously depicted Muhammad as a superhero ("Super Best Friends)"{{cite episode | title = Super Best Friends | episode-link = Super Best Friends | series = South Park | series-link = South Park | air-date = 4 July 2001 | season = 5 | number = 68}} and has depicted Muhammad in the opening sequence since then,{{cite web |url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/04/15/south-parks-been-showing-muhammad-all-season/ |title=Ryan j Budke. "South Park's been showing Muhammad all season!" TVSquad.com; April 15, 2006 |publisher=Tvsquad.com |access-date=6 June 2013 |archive-date=2 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110502033153/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/04/15/south-parks-been-showing-muhammad-all-season/ |url-status=live }} attempted to satirize the Danish newspaper incident. They intended to show Muhammad handing a salmon helmet to Family Guy character Peter Griffin ("Cartoon Wars Part II"). However, Comedy Central who airs the series rejected the scene and its creators reacted by satirizing double standard for broadcast acceptability.

In April 2010, animators Trey Parker and Matt Stone planned to make episodes satirizing controversies over previous episodes, including Comedy Central's refusal to show images of Muhammad following the 2005 Danish controversy. After they faced Internet death threats, Comedy Central modified their version of the episode, obscuring all images and bleeping all references to Muhammad. In reaction, cartoonist Molly Norris created the Everybody Draw Mohammed Day, claiming that if many people draw pictures of Muhammad, threats to murder them all would become unrealistic. {{Cite news |title=Texas shooting: What have we learned five years after 'Draw Muhammad Day'? |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/05/04/just-what-have-we-learned-five-years-after-everybody-draw-muhammad-day/ |access-date=2023-01-28 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314172019/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/05/04/just-what-have-we-learned-five-years-after-everybody-draw-muhammad-day/ |url-status=live }}

On 2 November 2011, Charlie Hebdo was firebombed right before its 3 November issue was due; the issue was called Charia Hebdo and satirically featured Muhammad as guest-editor.{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/charlie-hebdo-editor-in-chief-on-muhammad-cartoons-a-856891.html|title='Charlie Hebdo' Editor in Chief: 'A Drawing Has Never Killed Anyone'|newspaper=Spiegel Online|first=Stefan|last=Simons|date=20 September 2012|access-date=22 April 2017|archive-date=7 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107231404/http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/charlie-hebdo-editor-in-chief-on-muhammad-cartoons-a-856891.html|url-status=live}}Anaëlle Grondin (7 January 2015) [http://www.20minutes.fr/medias/1511895-20150107-charlie-hebdo-charb-directeur-publication-journal-satirique-assassine «Charlie Hebdo»: Charb, le directeur de la publication du journal satirique, a été assassiné] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224142631/http://www.20minutes.fr/medias/1511895-20150107-charlie-hebdo-charb-directeur-publication-journal-satirique-assassine |date=24 February 2021 }} {{in lang|fr}} 20 Minutes. The editor, Stéphane Charbonnier, known as Charb, and two co-workers at Charlie Hebdo subsequently received police protection.[http://www.liberation.fr/medias/2011/11/03/trois-charlie-sous-protection-policiere_772318 Trois «Charlie» sous protection policière] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119040405/http://www.liberation.fr/medias/2011/11/03/trois-charlie-sous-protection-policiere_772318 |date=19 January 2015 }} {{in lang|fr}} Libération. 3 November 2011. In September 2012, the newspaper published a series of satirical cartoons of Muhammad, some of which feature nude caricatures of him. In January 2013, Charlie Hebdo announced that they would make a comic book on the life of Muhammad.{{cite news|last1=Taylor|first1=Jerome|title=It's Charlie Hebdo's right to draw Muhammad, but they missed the opportunity to do something profound|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/its-charlie-hebdos-right-to-draw-muhammad-but-they-missed-the-opportunity-to-do-something-profound-8435693.html|access-date=12 October 2014|work=The Independent|date=2 January 2013|archive-date=28 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028145849/http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/its-charlie-hebdos-right-to-draw-muhammad-but-they-missed-the-opportunity-to-do-something-profound-8435693.html|url-status=live}}

In March 2013, Al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen, commonly known as Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), released a hit list in an edition of their English-language magazine Inspire. The list included Kurt Westergaard, Lars Vilks, Carsten Juste, Flemming Rose, Charb and Molly Norris, and others whom AQAP accused of insulting Islam.{{cite web | title = Has al-Qaeda Struck Back? Part One | url = https://news.siteintelgroup.com/blog/index.php/entry/338-has-al-qaeda-struck-back-part-one | date = 8 January 2015 | access-date = 13 January 2017 | archive-date = 1 January 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190101143459/https://news.siteintelgroup.com/blog/index.php/entry/338-has-al-qaeda-struck-back-part-one | url-status = live }}{{cite web|url=http://www.thewire.com/global/2013/03/al-qaeda-most-wanted-list/62673/|title=Look Who's on Al Qaeda's Most-Wanted List|first=Dashiell |last=Bennet|date=1 March 2013|work=The Wire|access-date=22 April 2017|archive-date=17 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117025952/http://www.thewire.com/global/2013/03/al-qaeda-most-wanted-list/62673/|url-status=dead}}{{cite magazine|url=https://time.com/3657246/paris-charlie-hebdo-shooting/|title=Paris Police Say 12 Dead After Shooting at Charlie Hebdo|quote=Witnesses said that the gunmen had called out the names of individual from the magazine. French media report that Charb, the Charlie Hebdo cartoonist who was on al Qaeda most wanted list in 2013, was seriously injured.|first=Conal|last=Urquhart|magazine=Time|access-date=22 April 2017|archive-date=22 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122052445/http://time.com/3657246/paris-charlie-hebdo-shooting/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11330505/Murdered-Charlie-Hebdo-cartoonist-was-on-al-Qaeda-wanted-list.html|title=Murdered Charlie Hebdo cartoonist was on al Qaeda wanted list|first=Victoria|last=Ward|work=The Telegraph|date=7 January 2015|access-date=5 April 2018|archive-date=7 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107235743/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11330505/Murdered-Charlie-Hebdo-cartoonist-was-on-al-Qaeda-wanted-list.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-15550350|title=French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo attacked in Paris|date=2 November 2011|work=BBC News|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-date=11 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111042815/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-15550350|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.theage.com.au/world/charlie-hebdo-editor-stephane-charbonnier-crossed-off-chilling-alqaeda-hitlist-20150108-12k97z.html|title=Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane Charbonnier crossed off chilling al-Qaeda hitlist|first=Lucy|last=Cormack|date=8 January 2015|work=The Age|access-date=22 April 2017|archive-date=11 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111014923/http://www.theage.com.au/world/charlie-hebdo-editor-stephane-charbonnier-crossed-off-chilling-alqaeda-hitlist-20150108-12k97z.html|url-status=live}} On 7 January 2015, two masked gunmen opened fire on Charlie Hebdo{{'}}s staff and police officers as vengeance for its continued caricatures of Muhammad,{{cite web|url=http://www.lessentiel.lu/fr/news/france/story/22976860|title=Les deux hommes criaient "Allah akbar" en tirant|work=L'essentiel Online|date=7 January 2015|access-date=22 April 2017|archive-date=7 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107150652/http://www.lessentiel.lu/fr/news/france/story/22976860|url-status=live}} killing 12 people, including Charb, and wounding 11 others.Kim Willsher et al. (7 January 2015) [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/07/paris-terror-attack-huge-manhunt-under-way Paris terror attack: huge manhunt under way after gunmen kill 12] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307120511/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/07/paris-terror-attack-huge-manhunt-under-way |date=7 March 2017 }} The Guardian{{cite web |first = Kim |last = Willsher |title = Satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo attacked by gunmen |url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/07/satirical-french-magazine-charlie-hebdo-attacked-by-gunmen |website = The Guardian |date = 7 January 2015 |access-date = 7 January 2015 |archive-date = 7 January 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150107123000/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/07/satirical-french-magazine-charlie-hebdo-attacked-by-gunmen |url-status = live }} Jyllands-Posten did not re-print the Charlie Hebdo cartoons in the wake of the attack, with the new editor-in-chief citing security concerns.{{cite news|last1=Sillesen|first1=Lene Bech|title=Why a Danish newspaper won't publish the Charlie Hebdo cartoons|url=https://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/jyllands_posten_charlie_hebdo.php|access-date=10 January 2015|magazine=Columbia Journalism Review|date=8 January 2015|archive-date=11 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111042921/https://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/jyllands_posten_charlie_hebdo.php|url-status=live}}

In October 2019, Kamlesh Tiwari, an Indian politician, was killed in a planned attack in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, for his views on Muhammad.{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/hindu-outfit-leader-stabbed-to-death-in-lucknow/articleshow/71646947.cms|title=Kamlesh Tiwari: Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari stabbed to death in Lucknow|last=Chakraborty|first=Pathikrit|date=18 October 2019|website=The Times of India|access-date=2019-10-18|archive-date=6 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406234338/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/hindu-outfit-leader-stabbed-to-death-in-lucknow/articleshow/71646947.cms|url-status=live}}[https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/lucknow-hindu-samaj-party-leader-kamlesh-tiwari-killed-assailants-slit-throat-1610724-2019-10-18 Lucknow: Hindu Samaj Party leader Kamlesh Tiwari killed, assailants slit his throat] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409010852/https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/lucknow-hindu-samaj-party-leader-kamlesh-tiwari-killed-assailants-slit-throat-1610724-2019-10-18 |date=9 April 2023 }}, India Today (October 18, 2019)[https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/kamlesh-tiwari-murder-up-police-says-case-solved-remarks-on-Prophet-muhammad-behind-killing-1610970-2019-10-19 Kamlesh Tiwari murder: UP Police says case solved, remarks on Prophet Muhammad behind killing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416000813/https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/kamlesh-tiwari-murder-up-police-says-case-solved-remarks-on-prophet-muhammad-behind-killing-1610970-2019-10-19 |date=16 April 2023 }}, India Today (October 19, 2019)

On 2 December 2015, Azam Khan, a politician of the Samajwadi Party, stated that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh members are homosexuals and that is why they do not get married.{{Cite web|url=https://zeenews.india.com/news/india/this-is-what-kamlesh-tiwari-said-about-Prophet-muhammad-which-infuriated-muslims_1833716.html|title=This is what Kamlesh Tiwari said about Prophet Muhammad which infuriated Muslims|date=2015-12-12|website=Zee News|language=en|access-date=2019-10-18|archive-date=11 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240611074139/https://zeenews.india.com/news/india/this-is-what-kamlesh-tiwari-said-about-prophet-muhammad-which-infuriated-muslims_1833716.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/azam-khan-no-stranger-to-controversies-has-a-history-of-squabbles/story-TDmExGGu2TxYvFgLu0VoMO.html|title=Azam Khan no stranger to controversies, has a history of squabbles|date=2019-07-27|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|access-date=2019-10-19|archive-date=2 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002021823/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/azam-khan-no-stranger-to-controversies-has-a-history-of-squabbles/story-TDmExGGu2TxYvFgLu0VoMO.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bareilly/RSS-volunteers-are-homosexuals-says-Azam-Khan/articleshow/50002003.cms|title=RSS volunteers are 'homosexuals', says Azam Khan|date=December 1, 2015|first=Mrigank|last=Tiwari|website=The Times of India|language=en|access-date=2019-10-19|archive-date=16 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616015847/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bareilly/RSS-volunteers-are-homosexuals-says-Azam-Khan/articleshow/50002003.cms|url-status=live}} The next day, Kamlesh Tiwari retaliated to Azam Khan's statement and called Muhammad as the first homosexual in the world. Thousands of Muslims protested in Muzaffarnagar and demanded the death penalty for Tiwari,{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/meerut/1-lakh-Muslims-gather-in-Muzaffarnagar-demand-death-for-Kamlesh-Tiwari/articleshow/50139316.cms|title=1 lakh Muslims gather in Muzaffarnagar, demand death for Kamlesh Tiwari|date=December 11, 2015|first=Uday|last=Rana|website=The Times of India|language=en|access-date=2019-10-20|archive-date=28 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128100234/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/meerut/1-lakh-muslims-gather-in-muzaffarnagar-demand-death-for-kamlesh-tiwari/articleshow/50139316.cms|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-here-s-why-1-lakh-muslims-are-demanding-death-penalty-for-kamlesh-tiwari-2154898|title=Here's why 1 lakh Muslims are demanding the death penalty for Kamlesh Tiwari|date=2015-12-12|website=DNA India|language=en|access-date=2019-10-20|archive-date=4 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304234842/https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-here-s-why-1-lakh-muslims-are-demanding-death-penalty-for-kamlesh-tiwari-2154898|url-status=live}} with some demanding that he be "beheaded" for "insulting" Muhammad. Tiwari was arrested in Lucknow on 3 December 2015 by Uttar Pradesh Police.{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/meerut/Kamlesh-Tiwari-not-a-member-says-Hindu-Mahasabha/articleshow/50048536.cms|title=Kamlesh Tiwari not a member, says Hindu Mahasabha|last=Bhatia|first=Ishita|date=4 December 2015|website=The Times of India|access-date=2019-10-18|archive-date=29 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529070634/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/meerut/Kamlesh-Tiwari-not-a-member-says-Hindu-Mahasabha/articleshow/50048536.cms|url-status=live}}[https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/kamlesh-tiwari-hindu-samaj-party-leader-death-lucknow-1610775-2019-10-18 Who was Kamlesh Tiwari, the Hindu Samaj Party leader killed in broad daylight in Lucknow?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406234338/https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/kamlesh-tiwari-hindu-samaj-party-leader-death-lucknow-1610775-2019-10-18 |date=6 April 2023 }}, India Today (October 18, 2019) He was detained under National Security Act by the Samajwadi Party-led state government in Uttar Pradesh.[https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/Kamlesh-Tiwari-may-contest-U.P.-bypolls/article14008095.ece Kamlesh Tiwari may contest U.P. bypolls] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408070935/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/Kamlesh-Tiwari-may-contest-U.P.-bypolls/article14008095.ece |date=8 April 2023 }}, Mohammad Ali, The Hindu (September 20, 2016), Quote: "Mr. Tiwari, who was granted bail last week by a Lucknow court, will remain in jail until the Allahabad High Court decides on his plea against the slapping of the National Security Act (NSA) on him by the State government." Tiwari spent several months in jail for his comment. He was charged under Indian Penal Code sections 153-A (promoting enmity between groups on the grounds of religion and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs).{{Cite web|url=https://www.oneindia.com/feature/all-you-need-to-know-about-malda-violence-west-bengal-trinamool-congress-muslims-1974289.html|title=All You Need To Know About Malda Violence: Explained|last=Preeti|date=2016-01-05|website=OneIndia.com|language=en|access-date=2019-10-18|archive-date=8 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408231448/https://www.oneindia.com/feature/all-you-need-to-know-about-malda-violence-west-bengal-trinamool-congress-muslims-1974289.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/hindu-mahasabha-leader-kamlesh-tiwari-shot-at-in-lucknow-critical-6075961/|title=Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari found murdered inside house in Lucknow|date=2019-10-18|website=The Indian Express|language=en-IN|access-date=2019-10-19|archive-date=9 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409062411/https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/hindu-mahasabha-leader-kamlesh-tiwari-shot-at-in-lucknow-critical-6075961/|url-status=live}} Protest rallies against his statement were held by several Islamic groups in other parts of India, most of them demanding the death penalty.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-here-s-why-1-lakh-muslims-are-demanding-death-penalty-for-kamlesh-tiwari-2154898|title=Here's why 1 lakh Muslims are demanding the death penalty for Kamlesh Tiwari|date=2015-12-12|website=DNA India|language=en|access-date=2019-10-18|archive-date=4 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304234842/https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-here-s-why-1-lakh-muslims-are-demanding-death-penalty-for-kamlesh-tiwari-2154898|url-status=live}}

The protests demanding capital punishment for Tiwari triggered counter-protests by Hindu groups who accused Muslim groups of demanding enforcement of Islamic law of blasphemy in India. His detention under National Security Act was revoked by Allahabad High Court in 2016.{{Cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/politics/kamlesh-tiwari-murder-wife-blames-maulanas-for-hindu-leaders-death-cops-call-it-purely-criminal-2351373.html|title=Kamlesh Tiwari Murder: Wife Blames 'Maulanas' for Hindu Leader's Death, Cops Call It 'Purely Criminal'|website=News18|date=18 October 2019|access-date=2019-10-19|archive-date=8 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408134654/https://www.news18.com/news/politics/kamlesh-tiwari-murder-wife-blames-maulanas-for-hindu-leaders-death-cops-call-it-purely-criminal-2351373.html|url-status=live}}

On 18 October 2019, Tiwari was murdered by two Muslim assailants, Farid-ud-din Shaikh and Ashfak Shaikh, in his office-cum-residence at Lucknow. The assailants came dressed in saffron kurtas to give him a sweets box with an address of a sweet shop in Surat city in Gujarat.[https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/kamlesh-tiwari-murder-lucknow-police-yogi-adityanath-nia-1611125-2019-10-19 Plan to kill Kamlesh Tiwari hatched 2 months ago: Police] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408231450/https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/kamlesh-tiwari-murder-lucknow-police-yogi-adityanath-nia-1611125-2019-10-19 |date=8 April 2023 }}, India Today (October 19, 2019){{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/kamlesh-tiwari-murder-case-six-detained-in-surat/articleshow/71659132.cms|title=Kamlesh Tiwari murder case: Six detained in Surat|last=Shaikh|first=Sarfaraz|date=19 October 2019|website=The Times of India|access-date=2019-10-19|archive-date=6 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406234338/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/kamlesh-tiwari-murder-case-six-detained-in-surat/articleshow/71659132.cms|url-status=live}} According to police officials, the assailants kept a revolver and knife inside the sweets box. During the attack, one assailant slit his throat while another fired at him. Tiwari's aide Saurashtrajeet Singh was sent to bring cigarettes for them and when he returned he found Tiwari lying with his throat slit and his body ruptured with wounds. He was declared dead during treatment at a hospital's trauma centre.[https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/kamlesh-tiwari-leader-of-saffron-fringe-group-hindu-samaj-party-killed-in-lucknow/article29737067.ece Saffron fringe group leader Kamlesh Tiwari killed in Lucknow] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409014201/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/kamlesh-tiwari-leader-of-saffron-fringe-group-hindu-samaj-party-killed-in-lucknow/article29737067.ece |date=9 April 2023 }}, The Hindu (October 18, 2019) The post-mortem report revealed that he was stabbed 15 times on the upper part of body from jaws to chest, two deep cut marks on the neck points to attempt to slit his throat and shot once.[https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/kamlesh-tiwari-was-stabbed-15-times-shot-one-bullet-post-mortem-report-1612067-2019-10-23 Kamlesh Tiwari was stabbed 15 times, shot once | Post-mortem report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913175219/https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/kamlesh-tiwari-was-stabbed-15-times-shot-one-bullet-post-mortem-report-1612067-2019-10-23 |date=13 September 2023 }}, India Today (October 23, 2019)

Innocence of Muslims{{cite web |url= http://www2.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=415941 |title= Anti-Muslim film got LA County permit for shoot |date= 20 September 2012 |agency= Associated Press |publisher= Reading Eagle |quote= Anti-Muslim film had permit allowing 1-day shoot at LA County ranch, use of fire, animals |access-date= 22 April 2017 |archive-date= 31 May 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140531123832/http://www2.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=415941 |url-status= dead }}{{cite web |url= http://www.filmla.com/uploads/NR092012_1348166970.pdf |title= County of Los Angeles Releases Redacted Film Permit for "Desert Warriors" |publisher= FilmLA |date= 20 September 2012 |quote= Note: This document has been redacted due to concerns for safety and security of persons and locations |id= f00043012 |access-date= 22 April 2017 |archive-date= 11 June 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140611040319/http://www.filmla.com/uploads/NR092012_1348166970.pdf |url-status= dead }} is an anti-Islamic short film that was written and produced by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula.{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/anti-islam-film-producer-wrote-script-prison-authorities/story?id=17230609#.UFLmFK4dWVk|title=Anti-Islam Producer Wrote Script in Prison: Authorities, 'Innocence of Muslims' Linked to Violence in Egypt, Libya|work=abcnews.go.com|publisher=ABC News|author1=Esposito, Richard|author2=Ross, Brian|author3=Galli, Cindy|date=13 September 2012|access-date=28 June 2020|archive-date=14 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120914052528/https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/anti-islam-film-producer-wrote-script-prison-authorities/story?id=17230609#.UFLmFK4dWVk|url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Behind Video, a Web of Questions |author1=Dion Nissenbaum |author2=James Oberman |author3=Erica Orden |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390443884104577647691429314660 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=13 September 2012 |access-date=22 September 2012 |archive-date=15 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170615163216/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390443884104577647691429314660 |url-status=live }} Two versions of the 14-minute video were uploaded to YouTube in July 2012, under the titles The Real Life of Muhammad and Muhammad Movie Trailer.{{cite news|title=The Art of Defamation |first=Zachary |last=Zahos |url=http://www.cornellsun.com/section/arts/content/2012/09/19/art-defamation |newspaper=The Cornell Daily Sun |date=19 September 2012 |access-date=22 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919215538/http://cornellsun.com/section/arts/content/2012/09/19/art-defamation |archive-date=19 September 2012 }} Videos dubbed in Arabic were uploaded during early September 2012.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/world/middleeast/man-linked-to-film-in-protests-is-questioned.html?_r=1&ref=internationalrelations|title=Man Linked to Film in Protests Is Questioned|first=Ian|last=Lovett|date=15 September 2012|work=The New York Times|access-date=22 April 2017|archive-date=13 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913112630/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/world/middleeast/man-linked-to-film-in-protests-is-questioned.html?_r=1&ref=internationalrelations|url-status=live}} Anti-Islamic content had been added in post-production by dubbing, without the actors' knowledge.{{cite news|title= There-may-be-no-anti-Islamic-movie-at-all|first= Dan|last= Murphy|url= http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Backchannels/2012/0912/There-may-be-no-anti-Islamic-movie-at-all|newspaper= The Christian Science Monitor|date= 12 September 2012|access-date= 22 September 2012|archive-date= 18 September 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120918154900/http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Backchannels/2012/0912/There-may-be-no-anti-Islamic-movie-at-all|url-status= live}}

What was perceived as denigrating of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad resulted in demonstrations and violent protests against the video to break out on 11 September in Egypt and spread to other Arab and Muslim nations and to some western countries. The protests have led to hundreds of injuries and over 50 deaths.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/21/world/anti-islam-film-protests|title=Death, destruction in Pakistan amid protests tied to anti-Islam film|date=21 September 2012|work=CNN|access-date=24 May 2013|archive-date=23 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131123065956/http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/21/world/anti-islam-film-protests|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/egypt-newspaper-fights-cartoons-with-cartoons/|title=Egypt newspaper fights cartoons with cartoons|date=26 September 2012|work=CBS News|publisher=Associated Press|access-date=24 May 2013|archive-date=30 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930005408/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57520830/egypt-newspaper-fights-cartoons-with-cartoons/|url-status=live}}[https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/latest-protests-depictions-muhammad-17309212 Latest Protests Against Depictions of Muhammad] retrieved 1 October 2012 {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Fatwas calling for the harm of the video's participants have been issued and Pakistani government minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour offered a bounty for the killing of Nakoula, the producer.[http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/political-potpourri/2012/sep/18/fatwa-issued-muslim-cleric-against-participants-an/ Fatwa issued by Muslim cleric against participants in an anti-Islamic film] retrieved 1 October 2012 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004034652/http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/political-potpourri/2012/sep/18/fatwa-issued-muslim-cleric-against-participants-an/ |date=4 October 2012 }}[https://www.islamtwins.com/2023/05/habib-abdul-qodir-bilfaqih-sosok-ulama.html Egypt cleric issues fatwa against 'Innocence of Muslims' cast] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211213738/https://www.islamtwins.com/2023/05/habib-abdul-qodir-bilfaqih-sosok-ulama.html |date=11 December 2023 }} retrieved 1 October 2012{{cite news |date=23 September 2012 |title=Anti-Islam film: US condemns Pakistan minister's bounty |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19692971 |work=BBC News |access-date=1 October 2012 |archive-date=1 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801020119/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19692971 |url-status=live }} The film has sparked debates about freedom of speech and Internet censorship.{{cite news |first=Thomas |last=Fenton |date=12 September 2012 |url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/120912/should-innocence-muslims-be-censored |title=Should Innocence of Muslims be censored? |work=Global Post |access-date=3 October 2012 |archive-date=1 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001042207/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/120912/should-innocence-muslims-be-censored |url-status=live }}

The incident happened amid rising diplomatic tension between the two countries and Turkey's objections to Sweden joining NATO. Turkey had earlier canceled a visit by Sweden's defense minister and is seeking political concessions, including the deportation of critics and Kurds. The act was described by Sweden's Foreign Minister as "appalling" and does not imply government support for the opinion expressed.{{Cite news |date=2023-01-21 |title=Turkey condemns 'vile' Sweden Quran-burning protest |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64360528 |access-date=2023-01-29 |archive-date=29 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129164415/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64360528 |url-status=live }}

File:Salman-Rushdie-1.jpg was accused of blasphemy by Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran's Supreme Leader, in a fatwā in 1989 calling for his assassination.{{cite magazine | url=https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/salman-rushdie-on-surviving-the-fatwa | title=Salman Rushdie on Surviving the Fatwa | magazine=The New Yorker | date=6 February 2023 | access-date=14 March 2024 | archive-date=14 March 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314185024/https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/salman-rushdie-on-surviving-the-fatwa | url-status=live }}]]

A variety of actions, speeches or behavior can constitute blasphemy in Islam. Some examples include insulting or cursing Allah, or Muhammad; mockery or disagreeable behavior towards beliefs and customs common in Islam; criticism of Islam's holy personages. Apostasy, that is, the act of abandoning Islam, or finding faults or expressing doubts about Allah (ta'til) and Qur'an, rejection of Muhammed or any of his teachings, or leaving the Muslim community to become an atheist is a form of blasphemy. Questioning religious opinions (fatwa) and normative Islamic views can also be construed as blasphemous. Improper dress, drawing offensive cartoons, tearing or burning holy literature of Islam, creating or using music or painting or video or novels to mock or criticize Muhammad are some examples of blasphemous acts.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aicp.ca/2007/10/20/lesson-13-the-types-of-blasphemy-and-blasphemers/|title=Lesson 13 : The Types of Blasphemy and Blasphemers|date=20 October 2007|access-date=30 March 2020|archive-date=29 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929144352/https://www.aicp.ca/2007/10/20/lesson-13-the-types-of-blasphemy-and-blasphemers/|url-status=live}}Lawton, D. (1993). Blasphemy. Univ of Pennsylvania PressCW Ernst, in Eliade (Ed), Blasphemy – Islamic Concept, The encyclopedia of religion, New York (1987)Marshall and Shea (2011), Silenced, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0199812288}} In the context of those who are non-Muslims, the concept of blasphemy includes all aspects of infidelity (kufr).

Individuals have been accused of blasphemy or of insulting Islam for a variety of actions and words.

• speaking ill of Allah.{{Cite news |title = Egypt bans 'blasphemous' magazine |publisher = BBC |date = 8 April 2009 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7989016.stm |access-date = 13 July 2009 |archive-date = 11 October 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191011154326/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7989016.stm |url-status = live }}
• finding fault with Muhammad.{{cite web |last = Ibrahim |first = Yusha'u A. |title = Nigeria: Blasphemy – Rioters Burn Police Outpost, Injure 12 |publisher = Daily Trust |date = 20 June 2009 |url = http://allafrica.com/stories/200906221085.html |access-date = 30 July 2009 |archive-date = 27 December 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141227163013/http://allafrica.com/stories/200906221085.html |url-status = live }}{{cite web |last = Ibrahim |first = Yusha'u A. |title = Nigeria: Mob Kills 50-Year-Old Man for 'Blasphemy' |publisher = Daily Trust |date = 11 August 2008 |url = http://allafrica.com/stories/200808110940.html |access-date = 30 July 2009 |archive-date = 10 October 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121010204134/http://allafrica.com/stories/200808110940.html |url-status = live }}{{cite web |title = Nigeria: International Religious Freedom Report 2008 |publisher = U.S. Department of State |year = 2008 |url = https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108385.htm |access-date = 2 August 2009 |archive-date = 15 April 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160415173316/http://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108385.htm |url-status = live }}{{cite web|url=http://members.tripod.com/~INDIA_RESOURCE/ifpakistan.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120630214344/http://members.tripod.com/~INDIA_RESOURCE/ifpakistan.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 June 2012 |title=Blasphemy Laws and Intellectual Freedom in Pakistan |date=August 2002 |publisher=South Asian Voice |access-date=21 June 2009 }}{{Cite news |title = Pakistan city tense after 'blaspheming' Christians shot |publisher = BBC |date = 20 July 2010 |url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10696762 |access-date = 21 July 2010 |archive-date = 26 December 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181226003337/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10696762 |url-status = live }}
• slighting a Prophet who is mentioned in the Qur'an,{{Cite news |date = 4 June 2006 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/south_asia/5045672.stm |title = Pakistan bans Da Vinci Code film |publisher = BBC News / South Asia |access-date = 4 June 2009 |archive-date = 15 January 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090115220614/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/south_asia/5045672.stm |url-status = live }} or slighting a member of Muhammad's family.{{cite web |url = https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa33/023/2005/en/ |title = Document – Pakistan: Fear for safety/ Prisoner of Conscience (POC), Mohammed Younus Shaikh |date = 19 August 2005 |publisher = Amnesty International |access-date = 21 June 2009 |df = dmy-all |archive-date = 3 March 2024 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240303094922/https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa33/023/2005/en/ |url-status = live }}{{cite web |url = http://www.dawn.com/2005/08/12/local4.htm |archive-url = https://archive.today/20110603170927/http://www.dawn.com/2005/08/12/local4.htm |url-status = dead |archive-date = 3 June 2011 |title = Karachi: Writer of sacrilegious book gets life term |date = 12 August 2005 |publisher = Dawn the Internet Edition |access-date = 21 June 2009 }}{{cite web |last=Soage |first=Ana Belén |title=Faraj Fawda, or The Cost of Freedom of Expression |work=Volume 11, No. 2, Article 3/8 |publisher=Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal |date=June 2007 |url=http://www.rubincenter.org/2007/06/soage-2007-06-03/ |access-date=16 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090314002158/http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2007/issue2/jv11no2a3.html |archive-date=14 March 2009 |url-status=unfit}}{{cite web|last=Djavadi |first=Abbas |title=In Today's Iran, Anything Else Is "Blasphemy" |work=Iran & Beyond |date=28 February 2009 |url=http://www.djavadi.net/2009/02/28/in-todays-iran-anything-else-is-blasphemy/ |access-date=7 July 2009 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313000216/http://www.djavadi.net/2009/02/28/in-todays-iran-anything-else-is-blasphemy/ |archive-date=13 March 2009 }}{{Cite news |last = MacFarquhar |first = Neil |title = Iran Cracks Down on Dissent |work = The New York Times |date = 24 June 2007 |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/world/middleeast/24iran.html?_r=1 |access-date = 11 July 2009 |archive-date = 22 January 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150122033825/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/world/middleeast/24iran.html?_r=1 |url-status = live }}{{Cite news |last = Fathi |first = Nazila |title = Iran Drops Death Penalty for Professor Guilty of Blasphemy |work = The New York Times |date = 29 June 2004 |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/29/world/iran-drops-death-penalty-for-professor-guilty-of-blasphemy.html |access-date = 10 July 2009 |archive-date = 23 March 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100323161318/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/29/world/iran-drops-death-penalty-for-professor-guilty-of-blasphemy.html |url-status = live }}{{Cite news |title = Iran Frees Professor Set to Die for Speech |work = The New York Times |date = 1 August 2004 |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/01/world/iran-frees-professor-set-to-die-for-speech.html |access-date = 11 July 2009 |archive-date = 24 December 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131224230759/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/01/world/iran-frees-professor-set-to-die-for-speech.html |url-status = live }}{{cite web |title=Pakistan: Use and abuse of blasphemy laws |work=AI Index: ASA 33/008/1994 |publisher=Amnesty International |date=27 July 1994 |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa33/008/1994/en/ |access-date=19 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223191926/https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/ASA33/008/1994/en/ |archive-date=23 February 2015 |url-status=live }}
• claiming to be a Prophet or a messenger.{{Cite web |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1072545|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110014057/http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20020210.htm |url-status=dead |title=The Man in the Moon |first=Ardeshir |last=Cowasjee |author-link=Ardeshir Cowasjee |date=10 February 2002 |archive-date=10 January 2010 |website=DAWN.COM}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ijbg0WsNAk-AzhKMByUt8lxyOHtA |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5px52XxdQ?url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ijbg0WsNAk-AzhKMByUt8lxyOHtA |url-status=dead |archive-date=2010-05-23 |title=Indonesian 'Prophet' jailed for blasphemy |agency=Agence France-Presse |via=Google News}}
• Visual depictions of Muhammad{{Cite news |title = 16 die in cartoon protests in Nigeria |publisher = CNN.com |date = 19 February 2006 |url = http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/02/18/cartoon.roundup/index.html |access-date = 11 April 2010 |archive-date = 29 May 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230529025031/http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/02/18/cartoon.roundup/index.html |url-status = live }}{{cite web |title = Nigeria Christian Killed in Riot Over Blasphemy; Dozens Injured |publisher = BosNewsLife |date = 13 February 2008 |url = http://www.bosnewslife.com/3435-3435-nigeria-christians-killed-in-riot-over-blasph |access-date = 1 August 2009 |archive-date = 21 July 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110721201525/http://www.bosnewslife.com/3435-3435-nigeria-christians-killed-in-riot-over-blasph |url-status = dead }}{{Cite news |last = Samson |first = Elizabeth |title = Criminalizing Criticism of Islam |publisher = Wall Street Journal Europe |date = 10 September 2008 |url = https://online.wsj.com/articleSB122099204692716155.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries |archive-url = https://archive.today/20130209170517/http://online.wsj.com/articleSB122099204692716155.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries |url-status = dead |archive-date = 9 February 2013 |access-date = 26 June 2009 }}{{Cite news |title = Jordan charges Dutch politician with blasphemy |publisher = Reuters |date = 1 July 2008 |url = https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL015190420080701 |access-date = 18 June 2009 |archive-date = 7 April 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230407012106/https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL015190420080701 |url-status = live }} or any other Prophet,{{cite web |title = Malaysia |work = International Religious Freedom Report 2008 |publisher = U.S. State Department |url = https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108413.htm |access-date = 31 August 2009 |date = 19 September 2008 |archive-date = 8 April 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230408134403/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108413.htm |url-status = live }} or films about Muhammad or other Prophets (Egypt).{{Cite news |last = Khouri |first = Malek |title = Anxieties of fundamentalism and the dynamics of modernist resistance: Youssef Chahine's Al Maseer |publisher = BNET |date = Spring 2006 |url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3148/is_69/ai_n29271426/pg_3/ |access-date = 15 November 2009 }} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}{{Cite news |last = Walsh |first = Declan |title = Pakistan lifts Facebook ban but 'blasphemous' pages stay hidden |work = guardian |date = 31 May 2010 |url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/31/pakistan-lifts-facebook-ban |access-date = 31 May 2010 |location = London |archive-date = 31 May 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190531090225/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/31/pakistan-lifts-facebook-ban |url-status = live }}
• writing Muhammad's name on the walls of a toilet (Pakistan).{{cite web|title=Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom May 2009 |work=Pakistan |publisher=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom |date=May 2009 |url=http://www.uscirf.gov/images/AR2009/pakistan.pdf |access-date=24 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508182340/http://www.uscirf.gov/images/AR2009/pakistan.pdf |archive-date= 8 May 2009 }}
• naming a teddy bear Muhammad (Sudan). See Sudanese teddy bear blasphemy case.{{Cite news |title = Reports: Sudan arrests UK teacher for teddy bear blasphemy |publisher = CNN.com |date = 26 November 2007 |url = http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/11/26/sudan.bear/index.html |access-date = 11 April 2010 |archive-date = 8 April 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230408070939/http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/11/26/sudan.bear/index.html |url-status = live }}{{Cite news |last = Bearak |first = Barry |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/12/world/death-to-blasphemers-islam-s-grip-on-pakistan.html |title = Death to Blasphemers: Islam's Grip on Pakistan |work = The New York Times |date = 12 May 2001 |access-date = 21 June 2009 |archive-date = 14 April 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230414111053/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/12/world/death-to-blasphemers-islam-s-grip-on-pakistan.html |url-status = live }}{{Cite news|last=Hussain |first=Zahid |author-link=Zahid Hussain (journalist) |url=http://www.newsline.com.pk/NewsSept2001/newsbeat.htm |title=Lethal Law |publisher=Newsline |date=September 2001 |access-date=19 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228144139/http://www.newsline.com.pk/NewsSept2001/newsbeat.htm |archive-date=28 December 2008 }}
• invoking God while committing a forbidden act.

• finding fault with Islam.{{cite web |title = Blasphemy Prisoner Acquitted After Six Years in Prison |publisher = International Christian Concern |date = 16 August 2002 |url = http://persecution.org/news/Press_Releases/PR_2002/press2002-08-15.html |archive-url = https://archive.today/20040804090342/http://persecution.org/news/Press_Releases/PR_2002/press2002-08-15.html |url-status = dead |archive-date = 4 August 2004 |access-date = 27 June 2009 }}{{cite web |last = Adams |first = Brad |title = Pakistan: Dubai Should End Shutdown of Pakistani Channels |publisher = Human Rights Watch |date = 19 November 2007 |url = https://www.hrw.org/en/news/2007/11/19/pakistan-dubai-should-end-shutdown-pakistani-channels |access-date = 20 August 2009 |archive-date = 22 January 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150122044535/http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2007/11/19/pakistan-dubai-should-end-shutdown-pakistani-channels |url-status = live }}{{cite web |title = Bangladesh |work = International Religious Freedom Report 2008 |publisher = U.S. State Department |url = https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108498.htm |access-date = 7 August 2009 |date = 19 September 2008 |archive-date = 2 January 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230102130854/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108498.htm |url-status = live }}
• saying Islam is an Arab religion; prayers five times a day are unnecessary; and the Qur'an is full of lies (Indonesia).{{cite web |last = Patung |title = Islam is for Arabs |publisher = Indonesia Matters |date = 11 April 2007 |url = http://www.indonesiamatters.com/1229/islam-is-for-arabs/ |access-date = 23 June 2009 |archive-date = 4 July 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080704212502/http://www.indonesiamatters.com/1229/islam-is-for-arabs/ |url-status = live }}
• believing in transmigration of the soul or reincarnation or disbelieving in the afterlife (Indonesia).{{cite web |last = Patung |title = Abdul Rahman, Blasphemer |publisher = Indonesia Matters |date = 27 February 2006 |url = http://www.indonesiamatters.com/130/abdul-rahman-blasphemer/ |access-date = 23 June 2009 |archive-date = 20 July 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080720154838/http://www.indonesiamatters.com/130/abdul-rahman-blasphemer/ |url-status = live }}
• expressing an atheist or a secular point of view{{cite web|last=Doran |first=Michael Scott

|author-link=Michael Scott Doran|title=The Saudi Paradox |publisher=Foreign Affairs |date=January–February 2004 |url=http://www.udel.edu/global/agenda/2004/student/readings/FASaudi-Doran.html |access-date=27 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051204191437/http://www.udel.edu/global/agenda/2004/student/readings/FASaudi-Doran.html |archive-date=4 December 2005 }}{{Cite book |last = Boyle |first = Kevin |author2 = Juliet Sheen |title = Freedom of Religion and Belief |url = https://archive.org/details/freedomreligionb00boyl |url-access = limited |publisher = Routledge |year = 1997 |page = [https://archive.org/details/freedomreligionb00boyl/page/n62 30] |isbn = 0-415-15978-4 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.thefileroom.org/documents/dyn/DisplayCase.cfm/id/1066|title=FileRoom.org - In Egypt, writer, Salaheddin Mohsen is sentenced to three years in prison for atheism and blasphemy against Islam|website=www.thefileroom.org|access-date=15 February 2010|archive-date=6 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406170153/http://www.thefileroom.org/documents/dyn/DisplayCase.cfm/id/1066|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |last = Murphy |first = Kim |title = A Matter of Censorship |work = Los Angeles Times|date = 7 May 1990 |url = http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/alaa-hamed |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121013224521/http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/alaa-hamed |url-status = dead |archive-date = 13 October 2012 |access-date = 16 July 2009 }}{{cite web |last = Zenati |first = Hassen |title = Al-Azhar confiscates publications |publisher = Middle East Online |date = 5 June 2004 |url = http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=10187 |access-date = 16 July 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071119043921/http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=10187 |archive-date = 19 November 2007 |url-status = dead |df = dmy-all }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.memri.org/reports/censorship-and-persecution-name-islam-tunisian-weekly-counts-ways|title=Censorship and Persecution in the Name of Islam: A Tunisian Weekly Counts the Ways|website=MEMRI|access-date=30 March 2020|archive-date=29 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129221940/https://www.memri.org/reports/censorship-and-persecution-name-islam-tunisian-weekly-counts-ways|url-status=live}} or publishing or distributing such a point of view.{{cite web|last=Abdoun |first=Safaa |title=Late Publishing Mogul Madbouli leaves behind a Literary Legacy |work=Daily News Egypt |date=11 December 2008 |url=http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=18360 |access-date=16 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081226135500/http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=18360 |archive-date=26 December 2008 }}{{cite web |title = Jordanian poet accused of 'atheism and blasphemy' |publisher = The Daily Star Lebanon |date = 25 October 2008 |url = http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=4&article_id=97072 |access-date = 18 June 2009 |archive-date = 21 July 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090721051514/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=4&Article_id=97072 |url-status = dead }}{{cite web |last = Alrawi |first = Karim |title = Egypt's Rushdie |work = v.5, no. 187, p. 27 |publisher = New Statesman & Society |date = 31 January 1992 |url = http://www.thefileroom.org/documents/dyn/DisplayCase.cfm/id/188 |access-date = 18 July 2009 |archive-date = 6 April 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190406054651/http://www.thefileroom.org/documents/dyn/DisplayCase.cfm/id/188 |url-status = live }}{{cite web |title = Egypt: Internet writer Kareem Amer ill treated |publisher = English PEN |date = 12 September 2008 |url = http://www.englishpen.org/writersinprison/bulletins/egyptinternetwriterkareemamerilltreated/ |access-date = 13 July 2009 |archive-date = 6 January 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090106152410/http://www.englishpen.org/writersinprison/bulletins/egyptinternetwriterkareemamerilltreated/ |url-status = dead }}{{cite web|title=Independent weekly hit by two bombs after threats from radical movement |publisher=Reporters Without Borders |date=11 July 2006 |url=http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=18246 |access-date=6 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122125537/http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=18246 |archive-date=22 November 2008 }}{{cite web |title= To: Government of Bangladesh |publisher= Scholars for Peace in the Middle East |date= n.d. |orig-year= 2008? |url= http://www.spme.net/cgi-bin/display_petitions.cgi?ID=6 |access-date= 6 August 2009 |archive-date= 10 May 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130510010209/http://spme.net/cgi-bin/display_petitions.cgi?ID=6 |url-status= dead }}{{cite web |last= Mineeia |first= Zainab |title= Afghanistan: Journalist Serving 20 Years for "Blasphemy" |publisher= IPS (Inter Press Service) |date= 21 October 2008 |url= http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44383 |access-date= 2 July 2009 |archive-date= 19 March 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120319025247/http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44383 |url-status= live }}{{Cite news |last= Wiseman |first= Paul |title= Afghan student's death sentence hits nerve |publisher= USA Today |date= 31 January 2008 |url= https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-01-31-Afghanstudent_N.htm |access-date= 13 July 2009 |archive-date= 7 October 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081007093221/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-01-31-Afghanstudent_N.htm |url-status= live }}{{cite web |title= 2008 Report on International Religious Freedom – Afghanistan |publisher= United States Department of State |date= 19 September 2008 |url= http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/48d5cbf4c.html |access-date= 2 July 2009 |archive-date= 8 October 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121008133833/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/48d5cbf4c.html |url-status= live }}{{cite web |title= Supreme court confirms death sentence for two journalists for "blasphemy" |publisher= Reporters sans frontières |date= 6 August 2003 |url= http://www.rsf.org/Supreme-court-confirms-death.html |access-date= 13 July 2009 }} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}

• using words that Muslims use because the individuals were not Muslims (Malaysia).{{cite web |title= 'Allah' cannot be used by non-Muslims: Malaysia |publisher= expressindia.com |date= 5 March 2009 |url= http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Allah-cannot-be-used-by-nonMuslims-Malaysia/431301/ |access-date= 30 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120929193947/http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Allah-cannot-be-used-by-nonMuslims-Malaysia/431301/ |archive-date= 29 September 2012 }}
• praying that Muslims become something else (Indonesia).{{cite web |title= Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom May 2009 |work= Indonesia |publisher= United States Commission on International Religious Freedom |date=May 2009 |url= http://www.uscirf.gov/images/AR2009/indonesia.pdf |access-date= 24 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508193759/http://www.uscirf.gov/images/AR2009/indonesia.pdf |archive-date= 8 May 2009 }}
• finding amusement in Islamic customs (Bangladesh).{{cite web |title=Cartoonist arrested over harmless play on name Mohammed |publisher=Reporters Without Borders |date=19 September 2007 |url=http://www.rsf.org/Cartoonist-arrested-over-harmless.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119023705/http://en.rsf.org/bangladesh-cartoonist-arrested-over-harmless-19-09-2007,23700 |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 January 2016 |access-date=27 October 2018 }}{{Cite news |title= Journalists fined over Islam joke |work= BBC News |date= 15 January 2007 |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6262919.stm |access-date= 22 November 2009 |archive-date= 14 December 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231214143731/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6262919.stm |url-status= live }}{{cite web |title= BANGLADESH: Cartoon incident, Prothom Alo takes action against persons responsible |work= The Daily Star|date= 19 September 2007 |url= http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=78187 |access-date= 12 February 2010 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080120015927/http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=78187 |archive-date= 20 January 2008 |df= dmy-all }}{{Cite news |title= Cartoonist jailed in Bangladesh |work= BBC News |date= 19 September 2007 |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7003514.stm |access-date= 12 February 2010 |first= Mark |last= Dummett |archive-date= 6 April 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190406060610/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7003514.stm |url-status= live }}
• publishing an unofficial translation of the Qur'an (Afghanistan).{{Cite news |last= Wafa |first= Abdul Waheed |author2= Carlotta Gall |author3= Taimoor Shah |title= Afghan Court Backs Prison Term for Blasphemy |work= The New York Times |date= 11 March 2009 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/world/asia/12afghan.html?_r=1&ref=world |access-date= 12 July 2009 |archive-date= 6 April 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230406234337/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/world/asia/12afghan.html?_r=1&ref=world |url-status= live }}
• practicing yoga (Malaysia).{{cite news |title = Malaysia: Muslims warned to avoid blasphemous yoga |publisher = Welt Online |date = 22 November 2008 |url = https://www.welt.de/english-news/article2766685/Muslims-warned-to-avoid-blasphemous-yoga.html |access-date = 31 August 2009 |newspaper = Die Welt |archive-date = 17 November 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231117044144/https://www.welt.de/english-news/article2766685/Muslims-warned-to-avoid-blasphemous-yoga.html |url-status = live }}{{cite news|url=https://www.welt.de/english-news/article2766685/Muslims-warned-to-avoid-blasphemous-yoga.html|title=Malaysia: Muslims warned to avoid blasphemous yoga|date=22 November 2008|newspaper=Die Welt|access-date=7 March 2017|archive-date=17 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117044144/https://www.welt.de/english-news/article2766685/Muslims-warned-to-avoid-blasphemous-yoga.html|url-status=live}}Holike, C. (2011), in Andrea Fleschenberg, Claudia Derich (Eds), The State of Islam – Negotiating Democracy, Muslim Women's Rights and Morality in Indonesia and Malaysia, Women and Politics in Asia: A Springboard for Democracy?, LIT Verlag (Zurich), 15, pp. 71–80{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/nyregion/in-queens-seeking-to-clear-a-path-between-yoga-and-islam.html|title=In Queens, Seeking to Clear a Path Between Yoga and Islam|first=Sarah Maslin|last=Nir|author-link=Sarah Maslin Nir|date=8 April 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=19 February 2017|archive-date=14 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414045757/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/nyregion/in-queens-seeking-to-clear-a-path-between-yoga-and-islam.html|url-status=live}}
• insulting religious scholarship.
• wearing the clothing of Jews or of Zoroastrians.
• claiming that forbidden acts are not forbidden.
• uttering "words of infidelity" (sayings that are forbidden).
• participating in non-Islamic religious festivals.

; Islam

{{columns-list|

• Apostasy in Islam
• Blasphemy law
• Blasphemy law in Afghanistan
• Blasphemy law in Algeria
• Blasphemy law in Bangladesh
• Blasphemy law in Egypt
• Blasphemy law in Indonesia
• Blasphemy law in Iran
• Blasphemy law in Jordan
• Blasphemy law in Malaysia
• Blasphemy in Pakistan
• Blasphemy law in Saudi Arabia
• Blasphemy law in the United Arab Emirates
• Blasphemy law in Yemen
• Islamic extremism
• Mansur Al-Hallaj
• Utaybah bin Abu Lahab

}}

; Secular topics

{{columns-list|

• Blacklash against anti–blasphemy laws
• Belief bias
• Blind faith
• Criticism of religion
• Defamation of religion and the United Nations
• Freedom From Religion
• Freedom of speech
• International Blasphemy Day
• Parody religion
• Religious supremacism
• :Category:People executed for blasphemy

}}

{{Reflist}}

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• {{cite report |title=Blasphemy Laws Exposed: The Consequences of Criminalizing 'Defamation of Religions' |date=October 2011 |publisher=Human Rights First |url=https://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/session13/ID/HRF_UPR_IDN_S13_2012_HumanRightsFirst_Annex_E.pdf |access-date=2021-04-16 |via=United Nations Human Rights Council |archive-date=16 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416064802/https://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/session13/ID/HRF_UPR_IDN_S13_2012_HumanRightsFirst_Annex_E.pdf |url-status=dead }}
• {{cite book |last1=Saeed |first1=Abdullah |last2=Saeed |first2=Hassan |author1-link=Abdullah Saeed |author2-link=Hassan Saeed |title=Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |year=2004 |location=Burlington VT |url=https://archive.org/details/freedomofreligio0000saee/page/38/mode/2up |pages=38–39 |isbn=978-0-7546-3083-8 }}

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{{Islam topics|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Islam And Blasphemy}}

Category:Islamic jurisprudence

Category:Blasphemy

Category:Islam-related controversies

fr:Blasphème#Islam