Exporting blasphemy restrictions: The organization of the Islamic conference and the United Nations

Abstract

Twenty years ago, few in the West were concerned with matters of blasphemy, apostasy, or insults towards Islam.1 But the 21st century has seen eruptions of violence worldwide in reaction to, for example, Theo van Gogh's film "Submission," the Danish and Swedish cartoons, Pope Benedict XVI's Regensburg speech, Geert Wilders' film "Fitna," and the false Newsweek story on Qur'an desecration. Some events, such as the declaration by Terry Jones, a pastor in Florida with a congregation of less than 50, that he would burn a Qur'an during prime time on September 11, 2010, dominated several news cycles. The December 11, 2010 bombing in Stockholm was partly a response to Lars Vilks' Swedish cartoons of Mohammad. Other 2010 events received less attention: in September, Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was sentenced to death for apostasy, and in November, Pakistani Aasia Bibi was sentenced to death for blasphemy.