 A
majority in the Dutch parliament, led by the ruling Labour Party, wants
to scrap a law which fines or even imprisons people who commit
blasphemy. But although the law isn't used anymore, even debating
whether or not to scrap it is sensitive. The Christian parties in Dutch
politics have always argued to keep it on the books.
Now, tension is high in anticipation of far right Dutch MP Geert
Wilders' film, which is expected to be considered blasphemous by most
Muslims.
And although there's a majority for scrapping the law, government is not
asked to get rid of it immediately.
Why has the ruling Labour Party chosen to go against the wishes of it's
coalition partners in the government, and scrap a law which could be
seen as protecting Muslims?
Labour Party MP Ton Heerts says there's never a good moment to scrap the
law. He doesn't want to cause the Christian coalition parties any
trouble, but, he says, It's a law that's been on the books for years,
and is never used. At some point, we should just get rid of it. The last
conviction under the law took place more than forty years ago, when a
student newspaper got the maximum fine of 100 guilders (40 euros) for
making fun of the New Testament. And in the infamous "donkey" case in
1968, confrontational Dutch author Gerard van het Reve fantasized about
sexual relations with God who had taken the form of a donkey. The author
was prosecuted for blasphemy, but the court acquitted him.
The current coalition government agreed as recently as October to leave
the law as it is. Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Balin wants to tread
carefully regarding the law against blasphemy. He says he doesnt want to
dispose of a law that's meant to reinforce mutual respect without giving
it further thought.
Now, in the run-up to Geert Wilder's film about the Qur'an, some feel
Muslims abroad will see the scrapping of the blasphemy law as
confirmation of supposed Dutch islamophobia. But the law has never been
used to prosecute blasphemy against other religions. In fact, some legal
experts wonder if it even applies to religions other than Christianity.
It remains to be seen if parliament will get its wish and gets the law
taken off the books. In the Geert Wilders era, no one wants to be seen
as encouraging blasphemy.
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