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View all search resultsLetter: Blasphemy or heresy
This is a comment on a report “Court upholds Blasphemy Law” (the Post, April 20, p
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This is a comment on a report “Court upholds Blasphemy Law” (the Post, April 20, p. 1)
I think there is an error of terminology. The law in question concerns itself with heresy rather than blasphemy.
The crime of heresy is to hold a belief or opinion contrary to an orthodox religious doctrine. This is what the law appears to be aimed at, rather than blasphemy, which is an act of disrespect toward God or sacred things.
Laws against heresy is typically enacted by powers that regard religion more as an instrument of social control than a path to personal spiritual growth. By upholding the 1965 law, the judiciary has admitted that they believe that this is the case in 21st century Indonesia.
The classic historical example the imposition of heresy laws is the Inquisition in Medieval Europe, where populations were brutally intimidated into conforming to socio-religious norms.
The Indonesian Judiciary has misjudged the situation and that our world has, in fact, grown up since those dark days.
Andrew
Tangerang, Banten
