The roots of oppressive censorship are one and the same. Europe’s ‘hate speech’ laws are a secular equivalent to blasphemy laws—both hinder people from living and speaking freely.
The European Parliament passed a much-needed resolution highlighting the perilous effects of some of the most dangerous free-speech restrictions on the planet—blasphemy laws. In an urgent resolution, the parliament called for the release of Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a Nigerian musician, who was sentenced to death for sharing a message containing allegedly ‘blasphemous’ song lyrics on WhatsApp in 2020. It is high time that the international community rally around the cause to free Yahaya and end blasphemy laws.
