Blasphemy in Turkey — And the Fazil Say Affair
Mustafa Akyol argues that Fazil Say should not be convicted either of blasphemy or hate speech, although Say is guilty of insulting and denigrating pious Muslims.
Global news agencies reported last week [April 15] that Turkish courts punished an artist for the crime of blasphemy. World-renowned Turkist pianist Fazil Say, 44, was given an 18-month prison sentence, which was automatically suspended, for statements made on Twitter. A headline in The Guardian gave a typical interpretation: “Turkish composer and pianist convicted of blasphemy on Twitter.”
But was Fazil Say really convicted of blasphemy?
Dictionary.com defines this term as "impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things.” Wikipedia agrees, by noting, “Blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for a religious deity.”
In other words, a “blasphemy law," by definition, is a law that presupposes God, and aims at protecting him from irreverence.
