Democracy cannot exist without the right to free speech.
Free speech should be robustly defended as a fundamental freedom.
The National Secular Society has defended free speech from religious threats since our founding. We played an instrumental role in abolishing "blasphemy" laws in Britain, but serious concerns remain. Blasphemy laws still exist in Northern Ireland. And throughout the UK, religious fundamentalists seek to impose their blasphemy taboos on others through violence and intimidation.
There are also increasing attempts to categorise offending religious sensibilities as 'hate speech', making criticism, mockery or perceived 'insult' of religion a criminal act akin to racial hatred or inciting violence – in other words, a 'blasphemy law by the back door'.
Without free speech no search for truth is possible; without free speech no discovery of truth is useful; without free speech progress is checked… Better a thousand fold abuse of free speech than denial of free speech.
We are further concerned by a developing 'culture of offence' in which any speech or action deemed likely to offend religious sensibilities is considered taboo. Enforced by a toxic mix of terrorism and religious deference, this is chilling free speech through self-censorship.
We also campaign against blasphemy laws around the world, where they continue to be used to target religious and political minorities. These are sometimes described by UK politicians as 'misuse' of blasphemy laws, but we contend there are never any legitimate uses for blasphemy laws.
Being offended from time to time is the price we all pay for living in a free society. Rather than trying to silence those we disagree with, we believe the answer to speech we don't like is more speech – better speech.
We therefore campaign to protect and preserve freedom of expression, including offensive, critical and shocking speech.
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Latest updates
UAE makes ‘offending God’ illegal
Posted: Wed, 5 Aug 2015 12:02
The United Arab Emirates has passed an 'anti-hatred' law which it has claimed will help tackle discrimination, but which outlaws 'insulting' religion.
The Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, reportedly said that the decree "guarantees the freedom of individuals from religious intolerance." He claimed that the new law was 'inclusive'.
However Gulf News reports that the legislation makes illegal "any acts that stoke religious hatred" and "any form of expression" that insults religion.
The law, passed by decree at the end of July, "prohibits any act that would be considered as insulting God, His prophets or apostles or holy books or houses of worship or graveyards."
The legislation purports to allow for an "environment of tolerance" and "broad-mindedness", but includes potential 10 year jail terms and substantial fines for those who break the law.
Provisions in the legislation include a prohibition on expressing doubt about the existence of God.
NSS president Terry Sanderson commented: "The UAE are using anti-discrimination legislation as a cover to criminalise all manner of dissent- including blasphemy. It is dispiriting, and sadly unsurprising to see yet another crackdown on religious freedom and freedom of speech in the Islamic world.
"As with the recent comments from the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Islamic Affairs, the language of human rights, freedom and tolerance are subverted in order to further an Islamist agenda, in this case under the guise of an anti-discrimination statute. In fact, this legislation insults the concept of equality by creating discrimination against non-believers."
While the law does make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of ethnicity or religion, and on some other characteristics, it undermines these provisions by criminalising the expression of atheism and with its severe restrictions on free speech.
There have also been concerns that the anti-discrimination provisions of the legislation make no reference to sexual orientation, and therefore offer no protection to victims of discrimination on the basis of their sexuality.
Mr Sanderson added: "It's important that attention is drawn to laws like these, particularly given that so many Islamist regimes are intent on enacting global laws against the 'defamation of religion'.
"These attempts often cynically hijack the vocabulary of human rights, something which we also see from many groups and activists in the West who lobby for de facto blasphemy legislation."
Saudi ministry: 'Free expression is an abuse of religious rights'
Posted: Mon, 3 Aug 2015 16:28
Saudi Arabia has reiterated its call for a global blasphemy law, claiming that free speech leads to violations of "religious and ideological rights."
Abdulmajeed Al-Omari, the director for external relations at the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, a government body which is tasked with "propagating Islam", was quoted by the Saudi Gazette as saying, "freedom of expression without limits or restrictions would lead to [the] violation and abuse of religious and ideological rights."
He called for insulting religion to be criminalised, and urged for an 'intensification' of efforts aimed at stamping out affronts to religious symbols.
In what amounts to a call for a global law against blasphemy or 'defamation of religion', Al-Omari added that "everyone" must "intensify efforts to criminalise insulting heavenly religions, prophets, holy books, religious symbols and places of worship."
The Saudi Gazette reports that Al-Omari claimed the 'abuse' of free speech created religious extremism and, bizarrely, violations of human rights. The paper added that the Saudi government had "reiterated its call" for the international community to make illegal "any act" which 'vilified' religious beliefs.
The comments, reported in Saudi Arabia last week, come less than two months after the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) warned the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) against a renewed push for a global prohibition on insulting religion.
The FIDH wrote shortly before an OIC conference held in June 2015 that any such law would be "incompatible" with human rights.
In February 2015, Keith Porteous Wood, the executive director of the National Secular Society, noted at a meeting of the European Parliament Platform for Secularism in Politics (EPPSP) in Brussels, that the OIC had been involved in a "15 year project" to have defamation of religion criminalised globally.
He commented on the most recent developments from the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs; "Whether imposed through bullets or diplomatic bullying, blasphemy laws must never be tolerated. These schemes are increasingly repackaged as 'defamation of religion' laws, but they are one and the same: the idea that religion should be protected by law from criticism or satire.
"We again see the cynical and brazenly hypocritical use of human rights language and terminology to push a theocratic and Islamist agenda, with ambitions that it is enforced not just in Saudi Arabia, but across the world."
The Saudi king recently left a holiday in France ahead of schedule, after reports that female French police officers were removed from the area around the villa where he had been staying in order to protect his 'privacy'.
