Religious Hatred UK Style:

 Here is the headline – British Teen Arrested for Burning Koran, ‘Inciting Religious Hatred’

• This recent article (Nov. 26, 2010) noted: A teenage girl has been arrested for allegedly “inciting religious hatred” after burning a copy of the Quran and posting the video on Facebook.   According to the Daily Mail, the 15-year-old girl was filmed two weeks ago burning the Islamic religious book at school and has been released on bail. According to local police, the video was reported to the school and has since been removed from Facebook.   
• Just two and a half months ago, six men filmed themselves setting fire to the Muslim holy book behind a local pub. The self-described British nationalists said the Quran burning was retribution for all those who perished in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
• From the Daily Mail itself: Chief executive officer of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee, Catherine Heseltine, slammed the burning of the Koran – one of the most offensive acts to Muslims she could imagine.  She said: ‘The Koran is the most sacred thing to over a billion Muslims worldwide.  ‘You can see that in the way Muslims treat the Koran – washing before touching it and in many Muslim homes you will find it on the top shelf above all other books.  ‘We will never destroy the Koranic texts. We believe it is the word of God. God’s guidance for us in this life.’  (It is the word of Muhammad, to me, representing Allah, his God, not necessarily my God)
• A group who also caused destruction of Koran’s, calling themselves ‘English nationalists,’ but refusing to be identified, claimed they acted out of ‘frustration’ that there was ‘one law for Muslims’ and another law for white English people.
• A cartoonist atheist (Harry Taylor) was also arrested under the Racial and Religious Hatred Act for posting a variety of cartoons focused on more than one religion – His prosecutor, Neville Biddle, said that he had gone beyond freedom of expression by leaving the insulting, threatening and abusive images in a room used for worship (an International airport prayer room). Taylor denied the charges and said it was preposterous to suggest that people could be incited to violence by the cartoons. He said: I am not hostile to religious people but I am hostile to religion. He told the court that he adapted cartoons cut out of newspaper and magazines like Private Eye and added captions of his own.

The Law:  Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006[1]

• 29A Meaning of “religious hatred” – In this Part “religious hatred” means hatred against a group of persons defined by reference to religious belief or lack of religious belief.  Acts intended to stir up religious hatred
• 29B Use of words or behaviour or display of written material  –  A person who uses threatening words or behaviour, or displays any written material which is threatening, is guilty of an offence if he intends thereby to stir up religious hatred.
• 29C Publishing or distributing written material  –  A person who publishes or distributes written material which is threatening is guilty of an offence if he intends thereby to stir up religious hatred.
• 29J Protection of freedom of expression  –  Nothing in this Part shall be read or given effect in a way which prohibits or restricts discussion, criticism or expressions of antipathy, dislike, ridicule, insult or abuse of particular religions or the beliefs or practices of their adherents, or of any other belief system or the beliefs or practices of its adherents, or proselytising or urging adherents of a different religion or belief system to cease practising their religion or belief system.

 

• Taylor was found guilty.  He was hit with a five-year ASBO (Anti-Social Behaviour Order). But Harry Taylor, 59, claimed he felt faint and had to be given first aid after he was told by Judge Charles James his crimes deserved imprisonment and ruled he should pay £250 costs.
  • ABSO – Tough new powers to combat anti-social behaviour such as graffiti and noisy neighbours have come into force. On-the-spot £50 fines can now be issued by local councils to graffiti artists and people caught fly-posting, under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003. Shopkeepers face fines of up to £2,500 if they break a new ban on selling aerosol paints to under-16s.  And neighbours who are noisy at night can be fined £100 on-the-spot or have their audio equipment confiscated. Councils also have more powers to tackle fly-tipping, ranging from £50 penalties to the ability to confiscate vehicles they believe are being used to dump rubbish illegally.
•  National Secular Society statement: The National Secular Society have supported Taylor. They claim that new laws dealing with religiously aggravated offences amount to a blasphemy law in another guise. Terry Sanderson, president of the society, said: This is a disgraceful verdict, but an inevitable one under this pernicious law. It seems incredible in the 21st Century that you might be sent to prison because someone is ‘offended’ by your views on their religion . . . Mr Taylor struck me as slightly eccentric and he acted in a provocative way, challenging the necessity for the prayer room. He didn’t cause any damage and he didn’t harm anything, nor was he threatening or abusive. Yet he might still end up behind bars because some Christian has decided they are offended. In a multicultural society, none of us should have the legal right not to be offended. This law needs to be re-examined urgently.

 I concur with the Secular Society, even as a Christian. 

•  The punishment – It is not necessary for there to be a racial or religious aspect to the offence, but if it is racially or religiously aggravated, it becomes triable in Crown Court and the maximum sentence is increased from 6 months or a fine to up to 7 years.

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Commentary:  This type of legislation may be coming to a State or Government near you.  Beware!  This is not hatred towards an individual, neither anti-race, nor anti-gay; it is anti-any-religion.  The logic behind this is difficult to understand. Take any group that has as their idols anything but God (or Allah, as the case may be) from car lovers, to environmentalists, even golfers, they have their own religion, as it were.  However you define it, if there is a community of believers with a singular focus or interest, you have the potential to define the group as religious.  The secularists have their own religion – there are atheist churches, even a Humanistic Manifesto.  Just about anything can be a religion – Christian, Catholic, Mormon, Humanist, Islam, Atheism, Satanism, Wiccan, and so on. 

 Let us go one step further.  Establish your own religion. Go for it. 

 Magog – Have as your own religion a god, call that god, Magog.  Establish food restrictions – vegetables and only those picked and cleaned by other Magog followers.  Chickens and turkeys are permitted for consumption, but only those whose necks are broken and their blood drained by Magogs.  Only sea salt, pepper and Tabasco sauce can be used for seasoning.  You can go on with this exercise.  Now – inheritance.  Establish for your religion a system of inheritance.  If no written ‘will’ then the first beneficiary is your legal wife, then your second born.  If no second born then, reluctantly, the first-born, but only if it is a girl.  If neither, then your neighbor, first the one on the right, then, if no one home, the neighbor on the left.  In no case should any of your inheritance go to any government.  If no neighbor then to the charity closest to your last home address.

 W – Then there is the W religion.  Their god is a female god with combination blond, black, hazel hair and a tolerant personality, except towards men.  Men are to serve the woman, do yard work, repairs and satisfy them when and wherever they prefer.  If lacking in the ability to satisfy, then they may be relegated to other duties.  The men must provide, however, work, and never accept welfare from any government. Men must be fit, and if not, be subject to supervised work-out routines until they meet acceptable standards.  If they cannot be achieved they are to be punished, assigned to the abyss until they can be considered worthy anew.  The woman chooses the man/men for their household.  Jessica is the god’s name.  All foods are permitted.  Only non-allergenic cosmetics may be worn.   All family wealth is distributed upon death to other woman, and only if they are first members of the order of Jessica.  —-  You can continue with this one.

 Enviro – The last religion are the Enviro’s.  Their god is Mom-N.  They worship the soil and anything green.  Their greatest sin is anything against nature, from the killing of a fly to the cutting off of a branch.  They seek a jungle in which to practice their belief, knowing that to be embraced by a tree or bush is to be embraced by Mom-N.  Their idolatry goes beyond health and safety; perpetuating the Earth with excessive protection.  Even creating a pathway suggests acts of hatred towards their god.  Animals are preferred to humans, thus sodomy is permitted. Construction materials are to be limited to dead plants or the dry earth.   They can work only outside and insist all materials used are green.  They worship using trash of only recyclable materials as their altar.  They eat only fruits, nuts and vegetables. 

One of those mentioned as religions was the Wiccan.  From Wikipedia – “The Wiccan Laws, also called the Craft Laws, the Old Laws, the Ardanes (or Ordains) or simply The Laws are the traditional laws of Wicca from the Book of Shadows. The text of the Book of Shadows was theoretically passed down from generation to generation within the New Forest Coven, which was the coven that introduced Gerald Gardner to Wicca. It is not known whether the New Forest Coven actually existed, as most covens are reclusive by nature. Many Wiccans treat these laws as guidelines instead of governing rules.”  This is a religion.

 If any of the above by this writing are abused I may have already committed an act of hatred against these religions by humorizing about them. Should I be given the ASBO treatment? 

Much of all this I suggest has been caused by the Muslim community.  Their thin skin and insensitivity to anything other than their selfish nature is in itself sinful.  They have established worldwide fatwa’s against authors, cartoonists, and infidels.  They have support groups attempting to enact similar laws or restrictions in other Countries, not just the UK, and by the United Nations.  We have C.A.I.R. in the USA offended and attacking, and asking for government legislative laws, to including accepting Sharia,  for anything anti-Islamic. 

 Religions have been under persecution since time began; it is the ungodly nature of man.  Those that are godly must seek their kingdom elsewhere, not of this world.  They may live to preach the Word and defend the Word, knowing that to be persecuted is a component of the humbling nature of being a person of faith.  We are to be suffering servants of the Lord.  God protect us, not the United Kingdom.   

 As rational humans we cannot allow this form of abuse towards freedom to continue unabated.  Regulations against excessive noise may be one thing, but people should be free to dislike another’s religion.  I seem to dislike Islam, but am making every effort to Understand Islam as completely as possible.   Christ prepared Christians accordingly – ‘You will be hated by all nations because of My name.” (Matt 24:9)  Those who reject Christ will not receive earthly punishment, but God will act according to His declared program as outlined in Revelations.  Man cannot do God’s punishment; they can only preach the gospel; their gospel.  But the Truth will be known when the days of darkness befall us all. 

God has allowed Satan to rule the world.  We must resist Satan whenever possible; it is a personal choice and should be the only choice.  However we live not in His world, but the world of humans.  God is who He has revealed Himself to be in the Bible, Scripture, and not what people imagine Him to be. 

 Have the courage of your faith; let governments enact civil laws, not laws of your religion. 

 We pray that knowledge and understanding prevail over false threats and acts of aggression aimed at causing fear.  Be not afraid, but be armed with knowing God.  Fear is an instrument that has been used throughout history most often by the vilest of governments, beauracrats, totalitarian leaders and religious oppressors.  We see the use of fear constantly from national leaders to even political candidates.  We see it used by environmentalist and promoters.  It is used in advertising and by insurance companies. 

Extremist Muslims have been most effective of late using the fear of another 911 to restrict the free movement be people throughout the world.  A bomb can go off anywhere – be on guard!  Our economies and trade have been hampered by the regulations and impositions established to prevent acts from religious zealots.  They know little about their religion, they are not free to even consider other faiths, they have been trained using rote prayers and routines, and convinced, brainwashed, of the benefits their Ulema suggest if martyred for Allah. 

 Grace and Peace,