Pakistan president urges UN to criminalize blasphemy after cartoons furor News
Pakistan president urges UN to criminalize blasphemy after cartoons furor

[JURIST] Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf [official website, BBC profile] said Saturday he will lobby the United Nations [official website] and the Organization of the Islamic Conference [official website] to make blasphemy an internationally-recognized criminal offense in the wake of controversy surrounding the worldwide republication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad [JURIST news archive] that first appeared in the Danish Jyllands-Posten newspaper in September.

A spokesman told reporters that Musharraf made the decision after meeting with religious scholars and quoted him as saying that "No Muslim can tolerate blasphemy against the Holy Prophet." Musharraf also said his government would not tolerate the burning of public property in protests related to the controversy. Sometimes-violent demonstrations [JURIST news archive] over the cartoons have erupted in Pakistan in recent weeks, leading to several deaths. The Peninsula has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Laws of Burgos put into effect

The Spanish Crown put the Laws of Burgos into effect on December 27, 1512. These laws governed the relationship of Spanish settlers with the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. The laws established the encomienda system of labor, promoted conversion to Catholicism, and safeguarded the indigenous peoples from physical abuse.  However, historians argue that the laws were ineffective at protecting the rights of the indigenous population. Learn more from the Library of Congress.

Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public bar smashing

On December 27, 1900, militant Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. Nation argued that destroying bars was an acceptable means of battling the liquor trade since the Kansas Constitution prohibited alcohol. Learn more about Carrie Nation.

World Bank created

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