Legal news

Ireland goes backwards.

The Dáil has just voted to make "blasphemous libel" a crime which carries a fine of up to €25,000, as part of the new Defamation Act.

Causing “outrage” will be a criminal offence.

This Saturday, the day before International Women’s Day, the One Law for All Campaign against Sharia Law is organising a demonstration and public meeting in Central London. Maryam Namazie emailed:

We are looking forward to seeing many of you at the anti-racist London rally against Sharia and religious-based laws in Britain and elsewhere and in defence of citizenship and universal rights in Trafalgar Square from 3:30-4:30pm. You can find posters that have been prepared for the rally by Dan Simon and Reza Moradi on our website. Please feel free to download them and bring them along to the rally to ensure that there are enough placards for everyone. At 4:30pm we will begin our march to Red Lion Square and then join a public meeting at Conway Hall from 6:00-8:00pm. We will be registering people for the public meeting at Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square WC1R 4RL from 5:00pm. From 5:30pm onwards, there will be live music by Raised Voices, pastries and refreshments. The entry fee to the public meeting is £5, including refreshments, but we won’t turn anyone away. If you plan on coming, try and send in your booking form before the event (by March 6) so that we can reserve a place for you.

The Advertising Standards Authority decided today that the atheist bus ads didn’t break its code. Stephen Green of Christian Voice must be seething, tee hee! All aboard please, ding ding!

I tuned in to tonight’s BBC Panorama programme [27 October] late, just in time to hear reporter Simon Boazman explain how the government plans to collect information on children. He asked his own daughter some of the questions that are included in a questionaire to test something or other. Did she go to church? What religion was she? Did she believe in God? I’ll watch the programme again to check (you can see it online for the next week using the BBC’s i-player), but my mind was boggling.

The British Humanist Association has issued legal proceedings against the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) over their decision not to allow the study of Humanism in a Religious Studies GCSE in the same way as religions are studied. The exam board OCR had included Humanism alongside religions in its proposed GCSE in Religious Studies, announced in April 2008, but a decision by the QCA has meant that it could not be included.

I’ve been tipped off that a nasty atheist has been making trouble locally. My source informs me,

A self-confessed atheist took issue with a Christian neighbour who had placed a metal fish on the rear of her car. He went on to subject her to months of harassment and intimidating behaviour.

The anti-social atheist was in court today.

In anticipation of any “There, you see! Atheists are all nasty people!” stories in the local media, with indignant Christians queueing up to say they told us so, here are a few points you might raise, if necessary:

A Muslim has been found guilty of child cruelty after forcing two boys to beat themselves during a religious ceremony. The practice has caused controversy in Britain, but this is the first case of its kind to be brought before a UK court.

BBC NEWS | UK | How a Shia ritual ended in court.