3 Men Jailed In Commie Burma For Insulting Buddhism

It's not only in Muslim countries that individuals can wind up in jail for insulting religion, in communist Myanmar fka Burma they can too.

A New Zealand bar manager and two Burmese men have all been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in jail for posting an ad for their bar on Facebook which was deemed insulting to Buddhism.

2 1/2 years with hard labor is outrageous.

Although the V Gastro Bar apologized for offending the overly sensitive, Phil Blackwood, the general manager, Tun Thurein, the owner, and Htut Ko Ko Lwin, the manager, were all arrested, December 2014.

Human Rights Watch responded to the sentencing:

“That these three men acted in a culturally insensitive way by posting the Buddha with headphones image on Facebook is obvious, but that is nothing they should have been hauled into court for, much less sent to prison,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch.

A fine, okay, whatever, but jail time?

I guess if this had been in Pakistan and someone had dared to depict Mohammed with earphones, they'd all be dead by now.

More here.

Iran Bans Buddhas, Confiscates Statues From Tehran Stores

The "Buddha" has become persona non grata in Tehran after "he" became the latest target of stupid Iranian government fatwas. Iran has previously banned Barbie and Ken and Homer Simpson dolls for promoting that evil Western culture, so what's up with Buddha statues? They're not Western at all. It seems in this case it's viewed as a "cultural invasion", at least so says Saeed Jaberu Ansari, an official with the protection of Iran's cultural heritage. Maybe someone should inform him that Buddhism isn't a culture, it's a religion, and even so, most people who buy Buddha statues do so because they are an exotic decorative item for home and garden (and in Iran, their cars), not because they are adherents of the religion. But since the only minority religions allowed in that country are Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism, as per Article 13 of their Constitution, the Buddhists are out of luck.

So, in order to stop the spreading of Buddhism through the purchase of those insidious statues, Tehran police have been "cleansing" Iran by confiscating Buddhas from stores located in the capital city.

According to one store owner who carries the mostly China-made statues:

“As I understand, none of customers cared about Buddhism, they only bought it for decoration,” said Reza Sanaei, a shopkeeper who sells the statues.

And a comment from a customer:

Marjan Arbabi, said she personally did not like the statues. “But my parents have set of five Buddah’s statues at their home simply because they think the statues are beautiful,” she said.

I wonder if they'll start raiding people's houses and cars?