Washington D.C., Nov 10, 2011 / 01:26 am
A new book on blasphemy and apostasy laws shows the dangers that intolerant policies pose to freedom of speech in both Muslim countries and the Western world.
“The freedom to discuss religion, the freedom to discuss faith, even to disagree, to argue, to criticize—this is at the heart of a free democratic politics,” Paul Marshall, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, told CNA.
Marshall said that free speech is particularly important in countries such as Iran where politics and religion are intertwined.
His new book “Silenced: How Apostasy Laws and Blasphemy Codes are Choking Freedom Worldwide” (Oxford University Press, $35.00), examines laws punishing blasphemy and apostasy in the Muslim world and how those laws are affecting the Western world, including America.