NDlurker
7 hours ago
Religious extremism is a mental illness and has no place in government.
>Saudi Arabia is among the world's most prolific executioners. According to Amnesty, at least 175 people had been executed in the kingdom this year as of 5 October, most of them foreign nationals, including at least 94 people from more than 20 countries. It has no written penal code, leaving many offences and punishments to judges' interpretation of Sharia, and broad provisions in its counter-terrorism and cybercrime laws have been used to impose long sentences for social media posts.
This should be widely publicized. No foreigner is safe.
YZF
7 hours ago
Iran has executed at least 2,159 people in 2025. Apparently over 500 people this year ( https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260827-iran-executes... ).
Saudi Arabia executed 356 people last year. Apparently a record.
Iraq, China, Egypt, Somalia... The list goes on. And unfortunately the USA is also on that wall of shame (47 in 2025).
The world is not in a great shape.
EDIT: In many Muslim countries blasphemy and apostasy are punishable by death. Not all of them enforce it though but it's still in the books.
newyankee
7 hours ago
Based on original reading of the story though the man's comments were reported to Saudi Arabia by his fellow countrymen. Also Blasphemy law exists in many other Islamic countries like Pakistan etc.
NDlurker
7 hours ago
Yeah, that's all disgusting human behavior. And it's even more disgusting that agents of the Saudi government will murder him over it.
gib444
6 hours ago
> Also Blasphemy law exists in many other Islamic countries like Pakistan etc.
England and Wales isn't far off, some might claim. The blasphemy law was repealed only in 2008 but at the same time replaced with something not so severe, which got tested recently by a man burning convicted for burning a Quran, which got overturned on a high court appeal.
Not to mention the whole raft of hate/offence/communication crimes that can be used in a similar manner:
https://freespeechunion.org/fundraisers/blasphemy-fundraiser
I know balance must exist, especially when it approaches physical violence, but we must have an absolute right to discuss intolerance and violence and misogyny no matter what book it's in.
spwa4
2 hours ago
> I know balance must exist, especially when it approaches physical violence, but we must have an absolute right to discuss intolerance and violence and misogyny no matter what book it's in.
You mean when the islamic prophet mandates killing people for disagreements? Which is then countered by stating the quran does not directly demand it (and even that is a stretch, or shall we say "technically true", it merely strongly encourages it)
And let's just not discuss what happens when you tell a muslim "ok, brutally kidnapping and executing people for disagreeing with you is wrong, and certainly killing an entire tribe/village of people killing men, women and children all because one of them disagreed with you is VERY wrong, so then tell me the prophet was absolutely wrong for doing that".
If there exist any kind of moral issue that should be judged fully as black or white, this one would be the top of the list.
Just pointing out the problem by making a comment stating more exactly what the problem is. Just look what happens to this comment ...
user
an hour ago
Incipient
6 hours ago
A few things I'd challenge here:
- the US believes religion doesn't belong in government, a lot of the rest of the world does.
-I don't believe in executing people for what they say, however I do also believe in a countries right to self govern, but I also believe other countries should condemn certain behaviour - it's a fine line with, and a fuzzy one.
- I also believe in 'when in rome'. Eg I was a Catholic in Morocco, and you can bet your boots I didn't go anywhere near their (fairly impressive!) mosques (as I didn't have a good understanding of their requirements, and I wasn't around long enough to have the time to learn).
vconnor
5 hours ago
> the US believes religion doesn't belong in government, a lot of the rest of the world does.
Wait, did I step in a different timeline, one where there is not a major cultural battlefield in the US that’s centered around religion?
You might want to see your country from outside of its borders to have a more objective perspective on the matter. The US is on its way to becoming a Christian fundamentalist country in ways we haven’t seen since the middle ages in Europe, for example.
I guess it’s to be expected as all the religious weirdos fled Europe for the Americas, and they hold still a lot of power. I mean, you have “In God we trust” in your banknotes. Not very secular of you.
sophrosyne42
9 minutes ago
Freedom of religion is deeply intwined in the US's legal and political system, to the point where superficial pronouncements made by certain parties are not effective in changing that fact
bestouff
6 hours ago
It's a joke. In the US you have to put your hand on a Bible or equivalent when testifying in court.
France is a country where religion is separated from government.
tekla
4 hours ago
>In the US you have to put your hand on a Bible or equivalent when testifying in court.
No you don't. Why is this lie allowed to perpetuate?
poopiokaka
3 hours ago
[dead]
H4cks0r1337
3 hours ago
The US is a theocracy now too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcysQmPQvbs
throw93739393
6 hours ago
There was a man who spread bacon on mosque door handle. He was sentenced to high security prison full of radical muslims. Latter he was killed in prison.
This was in european nation!
Symbiote
6 hours ago
He killed himself.
(I think it's off topic to discuss this, but I didn't like your misinformation.)
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/kevin-crehan...
throw93739393
6 hours ago
Right! From your own link:
> Crehan was returned to C wing at Horfield on Boxing Day without adequate health screening, without adequate communication from healthcare staff to prison guards
I just wish UK would punish dog attacks with the same vigour! Unleashing your dog on muslim is a brutal racial hate assault!
orwin
5 hours ago
Clearly mentally ill people should get the benefit of the doubt for nonviolent offenses. Also, not a max security prison.
Symbiote
3 hours ago
There is a flagged reply: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50016584
It says the prison is a standard local prison.
I recommend ignoring these new accounts spreading far-right nonsense.
Biganon
6 hours ago
Thank you brave throwaway account for spreading lies, but while Crehan did pass away in December 2016 while serving his sentence, he was not murdered by "radical Muslims", nor was he killed by anyone. A police investigation and an independent coroner's inquest found no suspicious circumstances or foul play. The inquest concluded that he died alone in his cell from a drug overdose involving methadone.
Also, he was not sent to a "high-security prison full of radical Muslims", he was serving his time at HMP Bristol, which is a standard Category B local adult prison that houses mainstream inmates from the surrounding local courts.
user
3 hours ago
aprilthird2021
7 hours ago
They are allies with the world bully whom no one can oppose. Nothing will change there as a result
113
3 hours ago
> mental illness and has no place in government
People with mental illnesses should be in government though, this is a terrible argument.
NDlurker
13 minutes ago
Huh? People with mental illnesses should not be in government.