Today is International Blasphemy Day! Here is what it’s all about:
The objective of International Blasphemy Day is to open up all religious beliefs to the same level of free inquiry, discussion and criticism to which all other areas of academic interest are subjected.
Why September 30? The last day in September is the anniversary of the original publication of Danish cartoons in 2005 depicting the prophet Muhammad’s face. Any visual depiction of Muhammad is considered a grave offence under Islamic law.
The fury which arose within the Islamic community following this publication led to massive riots, attacks on foreign embassies and deaths.
The newspapers which chose to publish these cartoons were in many cases blamed for the outpouring of violence which followed. This unfortunate yet inevitable sequence of events clearly demonstrated a dangerous misconception that had piggy-backed into the 21st century on the shoulders of ignorance, fear and apathy, that all religious beliefs and ideas deserve respect and are beyond criticism or satire.
International Blasphemy Day is a movement, not just a day, to remind the world that religion should never again be beyond open and honest discussion or reproach. Our future depends on it.
Sounds good to me. I blaspheme every day, so today is just as good as any. In celebration, I present you with this highly offensive and blasphemous picture of Muhammad, or at least that’s what I’m told.
Do you have any good blasphemies planned for today?
Heidi: And before that we had rocks! And we were damned glad to get them! My dad went to school in a... 
1minion: That was going to be my question, Jerdog. Do some good with all that “evil” stuff for a... 
Phil E. Drifter: Schools teach conformity. They teach you to sit down and shut up and be quiet and be... 
Nelly: ditto 
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Leah: These people came to my school and protested…. I can’t help wondering if maybe they are just a... 
gmcfly: Someone needs to read Romans 13. 
32 Comments
In honor of the Muslim radicals who inspired the whole thing in the first place:
“There is no god called Allah, and Muhammad was a pedophile.”
If my blog gets blown up my Muslim radicals, I’m blaming you, Ty.
Because it certainly wouldn’t be the picture that would set them ;)
*set them off
I don’t exactly have a broad reach on the ‘tubes, but here’s my facebook status for today:
“Nick wishes everyone a happy Blasphemy Day! Remember, Jesus had a long weekend for your sins, and Mohammed was a child molester. Also hail Xenu.”
he was also illiterate, which I found surprising.
I simply posted “Happy International Blasphemy Day” on my fb. I’m not brave enough to say anything else, but I anxiously await comments, especially from certain conservative Christian relatives.
I changed my picture to Mohammed and my FB status to ” – wishes everyone a pork-eating, baby-killing, sodomizing, God-slandering Blasphemy Day!” at the stroke of midnight.
It’s curently ” – thinks you all are superstitious fools…bwahahahahahahahaaa!”
My status is happy unholy and unblessed blasphemy day. I was trying to come with something clever but being of jewish descent I thought it will be more sporting to go after judeism since even fundies can go after other people’s religions but then I found out how F***ing boring it is. The best I could come up with was “moses was into sheep shagging”. Make me envy xtians (1 more sin for the list) for having all these extra cool stuff to make fun off.
http://www.ebonmusings.org/atheism/guestessays/religion101.html
A blasphemous test at best. enjoy.
That was a fantastic read. I want to post it on Facebook…
The Flying Spaghetti Monster is nothing but lunch.
Hey! You’re only supposed to ridicule the non-existing gods. I think.
rAmen ;)
Yes, and is delicious!!! =)
Think the poor xians that have to eat the body of Jesus!!
FSM, finally a divinity that you put sauce on!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOpFQYSUTT0
“Ha! You militant shrill atheists never pick on Islam, cause you know we Christians don’t strike back, cuz we is all moral and stuff and… hey, what’s that picture doing there? No fair! You’re not suppose to disturb us while we wallow in fatwa envy! Stop it in the name of Jesus!”
In honor of International Blasphemy Day, I bought Christopher Hitchens book” God is not Great” on audiobook and will be listening to it for the rest of the day!
My FB says: Today is International Blasphemy Day! Remember, you don’t need to believe in a petty, unsubstantiated god to be a good person.
I’m afraid that looks nothing like…
Oh, well then. We’ve been at this for years. But we do try to always have fun, not be mean spirited, and screw them if they can’t take a joke.
Sister Mary Fucking Poppins
Los Angeles Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
http://www.lasisters.org
I always carry smelling salts to aid the blasphemed.
gOd is a doodyhead.
Got a picture of a penis to represent Moooo-HAM-meds?
I will raise a glass or two or three, hell maybe four. I may put on some slayer if I can find some on the computer.
I told co-workers it was and one asked “Isn’t that everyday?”
Though I’m sure most of us have already seen it, no celebration of blasphemy is complete without this classic:
http://www.rexs.us/Simages/blasphemy.jpg
Darn, wish I had discovered this holiday earlier in time.
Well, I missed the Blasphemy Day festivities completely. One of the occasional problems of living on the other side of the world.
But hopefully I have made up for it by bashing ALL Creation Myths.
The really screwy thing is that blasphemy is really only between you and the god you’re upsetting. For other people to get upset is to be shocked that you don’t mind going to hell, and as long as you’ve opened your mouth, they take god’s work upon themselves to punish you. To what? Keep it to yourself? Does it count if you just think it? Ain’t their job – well that’s what religion does, makes people think they have to say something now because they just need the satisfaction, which if I were god, I would determine to be just as poor form. He can’t strike you with lightning as much as people wish that he would, this instant, for saying things too foul for their godly ears.
Well, except in governments where the law mimics the religion, this is an exception. They don’t want you to live there if you’re not a pious person, it’s more parallel. If Nazis can march on Skokie, blasphemy is something you can do every day in the US. But the “freedom of speech” in the US is grossly misunderstood, though. Hate speech can get you fired. Just being a total dick can get you removed from internet forums. Saying “I slept with your boyfriend” is going to make people whose boyfriend you slept with not like you anymore. You can’t go to jail for it, but you can’t just say things and expect people to be ok with it.
You have the rights to say anything, and to accept the social consequences of it. People sometimes don’t get that there are valid consequences when they invoke their right to “free speech.” Where people get defensive over their religion just because you’re against it, it depends on the situation. But say, even if you’re not black, and no black people are present, booting a racist on principle from the group seems like an obvious reaction. However, with blasphemy in particular, I don’t know what people are thinking.
Oh, my ears, you are a foul person. May god strike you dead where you stand and …. I mean, who the hell are you to imply strongly there is a god? That’s offensive to me, and you can say that all day long and I’ve put up with it. You want me to die and go to hell, too? Where are your manners? Do you know that’s also blasphemy?
I can understand where they don’t want to be my friend, but to think you have any power over me, that your god has any power over me, and that you have power over him to wish unkind things upon me. Hypocrites.
You have the rights to say anything, and to accept the social consequences of it. People sometimes don’t get that there are valid consequences when they invoke their right to “free speech.” Where people get defensive over their religion just because you’re against it, it depends on the situation. But say, even if you’re not black, and no black people are present, booting a racist on principle from the group seems like an obvious reaction. However, with blasphemy in particular, I don’t know what people are thinking.
I think the general notion is that they would like to deflate the potency of the social castigation that goes along with being called a blasphemer. As I noted on the other Blasphemy Day thread, it is not likely to work.
I am a firm believer that words and ideas can be robbed of power by open opposition. Sometimes you gotta sit at the front of the bus just to show you damned well can, no matter what anyone else thinks.
I do believe that in some contexts that is true, but in many other contexts, ideas can become empowered by opposition.
Only for a while. If the idea doesn’t have merit on its own, opposition always wears it out. Sometimes you won’t live long enough to see it, but it always happens.