• IN THIS SECTION

June 12, 2008

Exclusive: An Islamic Blasphemy Law? Let’s Call Their Bluff

Leslie Sacks

Earlier this year, the 57 Muslim nations of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) made an attempt to impose an "Islamic Blasphemy Law" as the Universal Standard, a law which would promote the death penalty for those who blaspheme against the Prophet Muhammad.

Professor Dr. Ekmeleddin Insanoglu, the Turkish Secretary-General of the OIC (including supposed moderate Turkey), issued the above frightening statement on February 15, 2008, partly in response to the re-publication of those now infamous Danish cartoons.

Previously, on January 18, 2006 the enormously influential Sheik Yusaf al-Qaradawi had demanded that the United Nations act in accord with purely Islamic, Sharia-based laws and conceptions of blasphemy and punishment. Qaradawi is furthermore spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and the European Fatwa Council. Noticeably, his anti-Jewish pro-terrorism fatwas include the re-conquering of Spain and the imposition of Sharia, by all necessary means, on all humanity,

I support and hereby call, together with the OIC, for the United Nation's adoption of a law against blasphemy and strongly urge all to do likewise. Let us, however, use this golden opportunity to democratically broaden the scope of this law to give it more effect, more bite, more universality.

Let us require this broad all-inclusiveness to be adopted by the United Nations as well as the OIC and all related Muslim groups, councils and governing bodies that support this Blasphemy Law, this Universal Standard. Let us include specifically and irrevocably laws that disallow blasphemy against not only Muslim but also the Christian and Jewish G-ds as well as their prophets, their messengers, holy books and holy places. Let us include the Buddhists, Baha'i and all peoples and sects (some Muslim) who are the subject of terrorism and oppression, hate speech and aberrant education. Let us even include in the wide swath of these laws, Muslim women, those perennial second-class citizens, inhabitants of the invisible World of Burkas.

This is a great deal, a wonderful trade off. No Leftwing, multicultural, pro-Palestinian anti-American believer could not but support this all-inclusive fair and balanced legislation.

I would absolutely support giving up our right to Danish cartoons and discussions of Muhammad (not usually central to most Westerners' lifestyle in any event) in return for the dismantling or reformation of the majority of the madrassas, educational forums and media outlets in the Muslim world and beyond.

Imams and teachers, policies and agendas, books and media would naturally have to be replaced as they are often permeated by anti-Jewish, anti-Christian, anti-non-Wahhabist people and ideas. The dynamited Buddhist cliff carvings in Afghanistan, those lost wonders of the ancient world, could certainly be rehabilitated as an initial pilot project by these Imams.

Hundreds of thousand of these professional blasphemers would be without jobs, without an honorable means of support. It is only fair that we offer, as a corollary to this new and ground-breaking United Nations law, job retraining facilities for all these newly unemployed Jihadists.

We can ensure Hamas gets to grow pure and spiritual tulips in the empty hothouses of Gaza for Amsterdam's flower markets; we can send Ahmadinejad and his cohorts to Kyoto to practice the ancient art of the Japanese tea ceremony with its inspiring atmosphere of peace, tranquility and love for all mankind.

The more I think about it, the better I feel. Imagine the hundreds of billions of dollars we could save in reduced Homeland Security and U.S. military expenditure. With the help of the passionate OIC and their Wahhabist brethren we could legislate against hate speech everywhere, all the time, for everyone. And I won't even miss my Danish cartoons.

Leslie Sacks is an art dealer and gallerist in Los Angeles. Feedback: editorialdirector@familysecuritymatters.org.

Print This E-mail This

Share It: