Pakistani Ambassador To The U.S. To Be Investigated For Blasphemy

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. "it is to argue that the real object of the blasphemy law is not actually to fight blasphemy"

That's what you got wrong. It WAS what you were arguing. The object of the law is to make blasphemy punishable, and that is how it is frequently used. It is possible that in a few cases, it has been used "to dangle a sword threateningly over the heads of political opponents", but that is not its object. It is primarily a religious law. It is used against private individuals, and by private individuals, as your own quote in #14 shows. The human rights organisations do not disagree with me.

skepticscott was saying there could not be a blasphemy law without religion; and yet you claimed to say that was a 'silly pratfall'. Simply, he was right, and it is in no way a 'pratfall'; but your intervention in this thread seems to be an attempt to divert blame away from the religious zealots trying to enforce this law (the man trying to get Rehman prosecuted is a private inidividual), and to claim instead that it's about repression from the Reagan era. That is what you are convincing no-one about.

Pakistan has millions of Islamic zealots who want to kill people for blasphemy (we know its millions, because the killings happen, and no-one dares reform the law, because it still has too much support). You need to face up to this fact.