What do religions other than Islam say about blasphemy?

Answer 1

Blasphemy is condemned in all religion but in Islam it is profane and punishable .Islamic countries like Pakistan have legal laws for blasphemy punishable by death.

Not quite. In Christianity and Judaism blasphemy is a major infraction, a crime and punishable by death whereas in Islam it is neither a big crime nor punishable in any severe way. This is as principles go. In practice, capital punishment for blasphemy in Christian countries have long gone. In UK, the last execution for blasphemy was in 1676 when execution for blasphemy was abolished. The last person to serve life sentence in Britain was tried in 1729. The last person to be punished by imprisonment was in 1929. The blasphemy law itself was repealed in England in 2008. For example, Salman Rushdie could not be tried in UK for blasphemy because the Blasphemy Laws protected Christianity and the Church of England against blasphemy, not other religions. In 1998 when Britain signed the European Convention on Human Rights, a court established that blasphemy law was not incompatible with ECHR Uttering profanities was also a punishable offence in England until 1967.

In Islam on the other hand, blasphemy was never a crime for which death penalty was prescribed. This lasted before the advent of the colonial states. The British Indian constitution initially set provisions for blasphemy which were further developed in Pakistan and picked up by many Muslim countries.

For example:

Notwithstanding the fact that many scholars of this Ummahbelieve that blasphemy should be punished by death, I am afraid that this crime was not made punishable by death either through the Holy Qur'an or the Sunnah. No doubt, it is a wicked crime and thus indeed is contemptuous to humanity as well. Yet, it was never made punishable by death through the two fundamental sources of Islam. There has indeed been much hullabaloo over it in the last couple of centuries. However, we must know that Allah has explicitly prohibited killing of any human being except for two reasons: a court of law may deliver capital punishment to an intentional murderer or someone guilty of spreading anarchy in society. Apart from these two situations, any killing would be equivalent to slaughtering all of mankind. The Holy Qur'anreads:

He who killed a human being without the latter being guilty of killing another or of spreading anarchy in the land, should be looked upon as if he killed all of mankind. (5:32)

I therefore maintain that the Holy Qur'an itself stands against this sort of punishment. The proper way to deal with such sacrilegious acts is to ignore them. We must remain patient and let the petty issues die their own death. I am suggesting this because I believe any stirring from our side would only give a new life to the current of craziness. The Lord Himself advises the Prophet (sws) to adopt the same approach regarding the daggers of rebuke and scoff which are hurled towards him. He consoles the Prophet (sws) that he should rest assured that Allah will defend him and his scoffers will meet a grievous penalty for their untoward attitude. The Holy Qur'an records:

And incline not the disbelievers and the hypocrites. Disregard their noxious talk, and put your trust in Allah, Allah is sufficient as trustee. (33:48)

So proclaim that which you are commanded, and withdraw from the idolaters. We do defend you from the scoffers who set some other gods along with Allah. But they will come to know. Well know We that your bosom is at times oppressed by what they say. But hymn the praise of your Lord, and be of those who make prostration [unto Him]. And serve your Lord till the inevitable come to you. (15:94-9)