Guilty of offending sensibilities
The recent guilty verdict for the so-called ‘militant atheist’ Harry Taylor is deeply troubling. Mr Taylor was convicted of the offence of ‘Religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress’, which carries up to a seven year jail term. His crime was to leave cartoons mocking religions and religious people in the airport’s multifaith room. The cartoons included:
One of a priest with a young girl kneeling in front of him and the words: “No, no my child, blow is just a figure of speech”. Another picture depicted the Pope with a condom on his finger, while a further page showed A Dangerous Book For Boys with reference to the Qur’an.
The cartoons included one taken from Danish images of a suicide bomber and another showed a pig excreting sausages labelled “Qur’an”.
All pretty unpleasant. But the most that should have happened was a fine for littering and a ‘don’t come back here again’. To make it an offence is not only wrong, but, unsurprisingly, sets a precedent for future cases. Religion is a personal thing. I don’t go out of my way to mock people’s religious beliefs, but believe that people should be free to do so. People mock my beliefs about, say, the EU, which is fine. It is a point of view, not a child: it doesn’t need protecting. Religion and faith is no different.
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Filed in: Civil liberties,Religion
“All pretty unpleasant.” Seriously? It’s a ‘multifaith’ room. Is it any more offensive that pushing the divinity of Christ at Jews? Or Jews insisting on the non-divinity of Christ? And what is a ‘multifaith’ room anyway? Is god everywhere or not?
Personally I abhor his actions. Mainly because they bespeak a fundamentalism and an intolerance that is in its way as extreme as any other; be it religious, political or from any other motivation.
However I agree that elevating it from a misdemeanour to a criminal offence is troubling indeed. Having said that, methinks that it doesn’t even qualify as a misdemeanour as in a way it gives it a credibility it doesn’t warrant.
His actions were extremely provocative and offensive, given their context. But surely that kind of thing is covered by public order offences? Can magistrates still bind people over? Otherwise, I hope he gets a suspended. This demands more than a smack on the wrist.
Leaving a few leaflets or drawings around is scarcely as extreme as most of the acts we generally tag as fundamentalist.
No threats, no praise for violence, no condemnation of individuals – nothing nearly as nasty as some of the stuff found in some sacred texts.
The guy is clearly eccentric, at the least, but if this incident is where free speech hits the wall we are in trouble.
On the same basis can I mention the alarm and distress that some Christians cause me by sending me leaflets that suggest I am heading to hell for not believing their nonsense? Shouldn’t they be prosecuted too?
This decision ought to be appealled. It is not reasonable to allow people to claim offence as an actionable matter.
Good point Douglas Clark
Will this become a cause celebre – an ‘Oz’ Schoolkids Issue or a ‘Gay News’ Blasphemy Trial or a Dreyfus Case of our day – or will it drop down an oubliette of infinite depth?
I recall the ‘Gay News’ blasphemy trial; it hinged on a poem by James Kirkup about the lustful thoughts of a centurian [?] on beholding Christ’s body on the cross.
Victory to Harry Taylor if and when he appeals!
Here is the poem which roused Mary Whitehouse and her gang to fury:
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-6519.html/
Actually, it occurs to me that if Harry Taylor is a devotee of iconoclastic iconography, he might consider a fundraising poster with the 9-year-old Aisha, the Prophet Mohammed, Mary Mother of God and Ganesh in a hot foursome.
There! Something to offend [almost] everyone!
I’m just stunned that this happened in the UK. His literature was no more offensive then most fundamentalist religious tracts. Why is he being prosecuted for this, while those who imported and taught using Saudi school textbooks which refer to Jews as pigs were never even cautioned for example?
Paul – your question answers itself.
Odd one this. My instinct is to agree with everyone else that this is a fine and a, ‘please stay off our property,’ job – not a criminal thing. Having said that…
Our friend the lyrical terrorist was a case where I thought that there was a case for a criminal prosecution, though I could not quite reconcile why in my head. I know that these two cases are not at all the same, but the Taylor case does leave a very bad taste in the mouth.
What this man did was pretty gratuitous by any standard and looking at the link he does not really seem to understand that point. I’d just feel a bit more comfortable about going into bat for this bloke if he gave some feeling that he understands that this is not a nice thing to be doing.
‘God is a concept,
By which we can measure,
Our pain,
I’ll say it again,
God is a concept,
By which we can measure,
Our pain,
I don’t believe in magic,
I don’t believe in I-ching,
I don’t believe in bible,
I don’t believe in tarot,
I don’t believe in Hitler,
I don’t believe in Jesus,
I don’t believe in Kennedy,
I don’t believe in Buddha,
I don’t believe in mantra,
I don’t believe in Gita,
I don’t believe in yoga,
I don’t believe in kings,
I don’t believe in Elvis,
I don’t believe in Zimmerman,
I don’t believe in Beatles,
I just believe in me,
Yoko and me,
And that’s reality.
The dream is over,
What can I say?
The dream is over,
Yesterday,
I was dreamweaver,
But now I’m reborn,
I was the walrus,
But now I’m John,
And so dear friends,
You just have to carry on,
The dream is over.’
‘On the same basis can I mention the alarm and distress that some Christians cause me by sending me leaflets that suggest I am heading to hell for not believing their nonsense? Shouldn’t they be prosecuted too?’
As a nervous flier, I’m distressed by the sight of a room set aside for people to say their prayers before boarding.
Again, this is Liverpool *John Lennon* Airport we are talking about here:
‘Imagine there’s no Heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
‘Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace’
>>>>the alarm and distress that some Christians cause me by sending me leaflets that suggest I am heading to hell for not believing their nonsense?<<<<
Since you don't believe it, how can it alarm you? It doesn't, of course, and we all know that. By contrast, people enter multifaith areas to contemplate life and pray expect to do so without having their faith lampooned. That seems like a reasonable request, and I think that those who refuse to offer this small degree of respect need to be told firmly enough and no more.
Yakoub,
Of course it offends me. I have an inalienable right to be offended. Apparently.
Or are you trying to say that the sensitivities of the religious are more important than my atheism. What a wonderfully messed up world we live in.
‘Since you don’t believe it, how can it alarm you?’
It’s not distressing because we think we’ll go to hell, it’s distressing because it shows there are people out there who WANT us to suffer.
If I shoved a leaflet through your door saying I hope you get cancer you don’t need to believe you’ll get cancer as a consequence of my hopes to find that distressing.
It is hate literature by any definition.
For what it’s worth, this was my take on it all from a Christian perspective:-
Philosophy tutor and atheist Harry Taylor in court for leaving anti-religious cartoons in John Lennon airport
Sorry about that Shatterface. Abusive racist now deleted.
The thing is, it’s only people who are willing to cause outrage who will get things done. I defend the right of these cartoonists to lampoon Islam, for example.
I do not behave in that way, especially in real life, but I value the contributions of people like him & of people like Richard Dawkins who are more forthright than me in their words. In fact, I often think that in practice thy get more than me achieved.
http://gretachristina.typepad.com/greta_christinas_weblog/2010/02/what-can-the-atheist-movement-learn-from-the-gay-movement.html
Apparently Nicky Lees was offended, insulted, affronted and alarmed.
Ain’t she precious?
BTW, I’m told that the motto of John Lennon Airport baggage handlers is ‘Imagine no possessions.’
Asquith – Right. But that does show up a further problem to my mind.
In the media and elsewhere it seems that the only way to get any attention is to be shrill, strident or to pull stunts. Whatever the rights and wrongs of it, Taylor is entirely of a piece with how ‘politics’ is practiced today.
It is another form of dumbing down.
@MaidMarian
It is another form of dumbing down.
Yes it bloomin’ is….
Well, a multifaith room is for faiths, by definition, not for lacks of faith. Mr Taylor has been ill-mannered- though no more ill-mannered than people who go round telling everyone else that god loves them and they’ll be tortured for ever if they don’t believe it. The least unreasonable way of dealing with it would be a small fine for littering and a reminder that courtesy is a virtue.
oh, and opening an unfaith room might help.
“>>>>the alarm and distress that some Christians cause me by sending me leaflets that suggest I am heading to hell for not believing their nonsense?<<<<
Since you don't believe it, how can it alarm you? "
Believers have a long history of trying to help those they believe are bound for hell get there earlier than they otherwise would.
It would be a pity if Mr Taylor became the martyr for the atheist cause. It is one thing to criticise religion and organised religion, another is to maliciously put fliers in a place of worship.
I say malicious because the fliers attribute the worst of human behaviour – terrorism, paedophilia to religion. As well as mock people’s faith (like the pig and the koran).
So I agree with Rumbold that the guy should receive a fine and/or a warning. There is no need for blasphemy laws as it creates a dangerous precedent.