Blasphemy Laws to Improve Persecution

joelle fiss  juin 17

Why is the right to blaspheme legal in France if incitement to racial or religious hatred is prohibited? For a large segment of public opinion in the Islamic world (and not only Islamists), the cartoons of Charlie Hebdo painfully stab at the heart of Muslim identity. Many support anti-blasphemy laws, (which aim to criminalize any insult against religion or religious symbols) in the name of anti-racism. French law prohibits certain speech in public spaces. For example, incitement to racial or religious hatred is a criminal offense in France and can trigger sanctions. For this reason, it is necessary to distinguish between anti-blasphemy laws and laws sanctioning incitement to hatred.