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Atkinson in last-gasp bid to bury religious hate bill

Jamie Doward, home affairs editor


Comedian Rowan Atkinson today makes a last-ditch call for MPs to reject a controversial bill that would make it illegal to insult religions.

Atkinson, an outspoken critic of the , which goes before the Commons on Tuesday, says the move would stifle freedom of speech. The Mr Bean star is part of a vociferous alliance of thespians, atheists and Christians who are lobbying against the bill, which is also being opposed by the Conservatives and the Lib Dems.

Others opponents include Nicholas Hytner, director of the National Theatre; Ian McEwan, a Booker prize-winning author; best-selling children's writer Philip Pullman; and the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey.

The Lords voted by a majority of 149 to narrow the government's proposed new offence of inciting religious hatred to that involving the use of threatening words or behaviour. But Labour now plans to make it an offence to incite religious hatred through the use of insulting or abusive words.

'I am deeply concerned for all performers and entertainers, because the climate in which we work will be very different if the government gets its way,' Atkinson said. 'If the wording of the revised bill is read carefully, it can be seen that the new freedoms the government provides with one hand it deftly removes with the other.'

Last night Christian groups expressed dismay that the government had opted to reject the Lords' amendments. 'Our previous relative relief that the Lords had delivered a workable and less extreme bill ... has now turned to alarm,' said Dr Don Horrocks, head of public affairs at the Evangelical Alliance.

'The practical effect will be to inhibit free speech and writing in such a way that people will worry about saying anything critical of religion.'

Keith Porteous-Wood, executive director of the National Secular Society, which was instrumental in co-ordinating opposition to the bill, said the legislation would be welcomed only by lawyers. 'There are an awful lot of litigious people around. Extremists are going to cow people into silence.'

It is estimated between 20 and 30 backbench Labour MPs may rebel against the government, suggesting the vote will be very close.

'Tuesday's vote will be the last and best chance for parliament to protect freedom of speech,' said Lib Dem spokesman Evan Harris. 'Unless these safeguards are kept in place, the chilling effect of this new offence would be to stifle free expression and set community against community - each seeking to prosecute others for perceived insults.'
Observer

I hate religion. I hate the church. I hate this bill. I hate the nazi thought police telling me what I must and must not tolerate.

Ironic that those who preach 'tolerating' others beliefs are so intent on banning so many things. Bizarre society.

ohh....and I hate Blair too...and Bush.

Calrissian: Loves Mr Eko, Jack Bauer and President Roslin

Atkinson: Fierce opponent 'It's No Laughing Matter'


Thousands of protesters are expected to demonstrate outside Parliament later as MPs debate controversial religious hatred legislation.

The Government's Racial and Religious Hatred Bill faces its final Commons hurdle later.

And those opposed to the legislation say it attacks the principal of freedom of expression.

A broad coalition of politicians, religious groups and secularists have joined forces to oppose the plans to ban incitement to religious hatred.

The campaigners, who include comedian Rowan Atkinson, argue an alternative version of the legislation, as amended by peers, would protect minorities while also safeguarding free speech.

Tories and Liberal Democrats are set to be joined in their opposition by some Labour backbenchers as they debate the measure which has also faced criticism from secularists, evangelical Christians and members of the Muslim community.

Ministers have tabled amendments deleting changes put in place by the Lords.

These would have restricted the new offence of inciting religious hatred to threatening words and behaviour rather than a wider definition also covering insults and abuse.

They would also have required the offence to be intentional and specify that proselytising, discussion, criticism, insult, abuse and ridicule of religion, belief or religious practice would not be an offence.

Atkinson, speaking at a Westminster press conference, said religions must be open to the "widest critique" and that an attempt by the Government to distinguish between the believer and belief was doomed to failure.
Sky

Presumably if this bill gets through then repeats of Dave Allen or Father Ted could potentially be banned...not good.

Well said Cal.

This isn't a Bill about discrimination. It is part of a creeping attack on basic human liberties that is being introduced both sides of the Atlantic.

Atkinson hails 'Hatred Bill' defeat

Comedian Rowan Atkinson has welcomed the Government's defeat over the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, saying "everybody wins".

Atkinson - one of the most prominent celebrity critics of the Bill - said the new law was the perfect compromise.

"Those who seek to threaten religious communities will know that such behaviour has now been outlawed and those who have sought to retain the right to criticise and ridicule religious beliefs and practices now have those rights enshrined in legislation in a manner never previously achieved," he said.

The Blackadder star said he could not be more pleased with the final version of the Bill.

"With it, it seems to me, everybody wins," he said.

Atkinson said no matter how well intended, hate legislation was never more than a mechanism to "paper over the cracks in society".

"Of course, I would sympathise with anyone who says 'I would rather look at the wallpaper than the cracks' and if such legislation can provide short-term comfort to vulnerable communities, that is all to the good.

"But it will never provide any solutions to the ills of society. In the absence of other action, behind the paper, the wall will continue to crumble," he said.
newsbox

even if you do hate religion and the church Cal, in this case a lot of religious people were standing up with the atheists to protest against the bill, that's got to be a good thing.

Hear, hear, TD! Well said.

Yes, It was a extremely bizarre sight outside Parliament. All the weird groups all in agreement for probably the first and last time ever. Very funny to see the hardcore 'there is no god' people chatting away with the 'join our church or you'll burn' group.

Calrissian: loves cartoons with Gods in them

Fury as BNP pair walk free

Sun

European elite scrambles to defuse furore over caricatures of Muhammad

EU commissioners try to calm Muslim anger: German newspaper urges more editors to publish.

Kim Willsher in Paris, Luke Harding in Berlin and Nicholas Watt in Brussels
Friday February 3, 2006
The Guardian

Europe's political elite were scrambling last night to contain the furore across the Arab world at the publication of caricatures of Muhammad, with leaders stressing that freedom of the press did not mean freedom to cause offence.

With newspaper editors in half a dozen countries unrepentant at the decision to republish cartoons depicting the prophet, EU commissioners stepped in to berate the press and try to calm Muslim anger.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the prime minister of Denmark, where the cartoons were first published last autumn, said in an interview with al-Arabiya television that there had been no intention to offend. "We deeply respect all religions, including Islam, and it is important for me to tell you that the Danish people have no intention to offend Muslims," he said.

The EU also entered the fray. Peter Mandelson, the trade commissioner, said that newspapers had been deliberately provocative in republishing the drawings. Franco Frattini, the EU justice commissioner, said that the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten had been "imprudent" to publish the 12 cartoons on September 30. Publication was wrong, he said, "even if the satire used was aimed at a distorted interpretation of religion, such as that used by terrorists to recruit young people, sometimes to the point of sending them into action as suicide bombers".

Even Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, was drawn into the debate, saying that freedom of the press should not be an excuse for insulting religions.

But not everyone was acquiescent. France's interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, said he preferred "an excess of caricature to an excess of censure".

In Britain, the BBC and Channel 4 broadcast some of the images in footage of the newspapers carrying the cartoons. No British newspaper has yet published a cartoon, but British Muslim leaders still expressed their alarm at the drawings yesterday. Ahmed Sheikh, president of the Muslim Association of Britain, called for a message to condemn Jyllands-Posten.

"We need a simple message to the Muslim community which condemns that newspaper," he said. In France, Dalil Boubakeur said the French Council of the Muslim Faith, which he heads, was considering legal action. "The prophet of Islam did not found a terrorist religion, on the contrary."

Newspapers in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Norway and Switzerland have run some or all of the cartoons first commissioned by Jyllands-Posten's culture editor, Flemming Rose. He explained last night that the idea had been to invite artists to portray the prophet as they saw him. He has insisted that the debate goes to the heart of how compatible Islam is with the modern secular societies of Europe, in which satire and freedom of expression are deeply cherished values.

In Germany, Die Welt newspaper, which published one of the caricatures on its front page on Wednesday, ran it again yesterday on page three. Several other German papers, including the left-leaning Der Tagesspiegel, have printed another cartoon. It shows a line of ragged suicide bombers arriving in heaven, only to hear the prophet Muhammad tell them: "Stop stop, we're out of virgins."

Opinion in Germany has hardened in favour of editors daring to publish. "It is apparent that the demonstrations are the biggest, and the diplomatic reactions the most vehement, in countries where authoritarian regimes are under domestic pressure from Islamist opposition forces," Boris Kalnoky wrote in Die Welt.

The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung went further, calling for the caricatures to be published in as many newspapers as possible. Urging "Europe-wide solidarity", it said: "Religious fundamentalists who do not respect the difference between satire and blasphemy have a problem not only with Denmark, but with the entire western world."

The French tabloid France Soir, which originally said it would not apologise for printing the images, did so but only after its managing director, Jacques Lefranc, was sacked by its owner, Raymond Lakah.

The cartoons can be seen at Brusselsjournal.com

guardian

Aidan's Book closed


Aidan Quinn's controversial television drama series has been pulled from the Stateside schedules by NBC.

In The Book of Daniel, Quinn plays a priest who talks to God. The series deals with drugs, alcoholism and homosexuality.

The short-lived series has been dogged by right-wing religious criticism and protests outside stations showing it.

breakingnews

CAIRO, February 4, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – Danish Muslim leaders warned on Saturday, February 4, of grave consequences if copies of the Noble Qur’an were burnt in a rally planned by Danish extremists to protest Muslim anger over cartoons mocking Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

"All hell will break loose, if those extremists burn the Qur’an," Raed Halil, the head of the European Committee for Defending Prophet Muhammad, told IslamOnline.net over the phone from the Danish capital Copenhagen.

"A female member of a racist party circulated a message calling for burning copies of the Noble Qur’an in Saturday’s march," he said.

Halil said the message incited young Danes to burn the Muslim holy book in retaliation for the burning of Danish flags by angry Muslims across the world and the boycotting of Danish products.

The extreme-right grouping Danish Front was to start its own march at 2:00 pm (1300 GMT) in Hilleroed, northeast of Copenhagen.

The 12 cartoons, first published last September by the mass-circulation Jyllands-Posten and then reprinted by several European dailies, have caused an uproar in the Muslim world and drawn a new cultural battle over freedom of speech and respect of religions.


Incensed Muslims have demonstrated against Denmark, burnt its flags and boycotted its products, while several Muslim ambassadors have been recalled in protest.

Islamonline

No offence here but I'm genuinely curious. How do those women in the above picture recognise each other when they meet up at the rally?

Aysha: I'll meet you by the entrance
Fatima: Ok, see you there.

Then if there's a crowd of women there how do they know which one is their friend? To add to the confusion the diversity of names among strict Muslims is far less than that of the average Western society as they all tend to be related to the people of the Koran in some way (or so I believe).

For example, my ex was called Huseyin (the prophets brother I think) his sister was called Ayse (the prophets wife) and his brother was called Hassan (the prophets son I think) and I noticed that most of his friends and familys had the same and similar names. Hassan, Kemal, Yilmaz, Huseyin, Ayse, Mehmet, etc.

So even shouting Aysha! might get several hands going up into the air. I'm not trying to be flippant about a serious issue, just curious.

Last time I was in an Islamic country we were in the market with twenty or more burka clad women going from stall to stall and their husbands would look around and then point and shout to the wife 'come here will you?' and I never once saw them point to the wrong woman! It's a mystery to me!

Maybe the use a form of GPS Molly