Charlie Hebdo, a satirical French magazine, recently became much more famous than it ever was. Early this month it came out with a provocative issue whose cover presented a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad and the headline “100 lashes if you don’t die laughing.” Shortly afterwards the offices of the magazine were firebombed and its website got hacked, reportedly by a group of Turkish Muslims.

Luckily, no one died. But this incident underlined a recurrent conflict between European notions of free speech and the Islamic notions of the sacred. The pro-Charlie Hebdo demonstrators that gathered outside Paris City Hall on Nov. 6 were pointing exactly to that dilemma by declaring their “right to blaspheme.” Even mainstream Muslim organizations, however, have long been arguing for laws against blasphemy.

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Blasphemy in Islam is any irreverent behavior toward holy personages, religious artifacts, customs, and beliefs that Muslims revere. The Quran and the hadith do not speak about blasphemy.

Jurists created the offence, and they made it part of Sharia.

Where Sharia pertains, the penalties for blasphemy can include fines, imprisonment, flogging, amputation, hanging, or beheading. Muslim clerics may call for the punishment of an alleged blasphemer by issuing a fatwā

Islamic legal authorities agree that a blasphemer can be Muslim or non-Muslim. To be convicted of blasphemy, an individual must be an adult, of sound mind, and not under duress. Some jurisdictions do not punish individuals who commit blasphemy accidentally. The Maliki school of jurisprudence permits the exoneration of accused individuals who are converts to Islam.

Punishment

The punishments for different instances of blasphemy in Islam vary by jurisdiction.

A convicted blasphemer may, among other penalties, lose all legal rights. The loss of rights may cause a blasphemer's marriage to be dissolved, religious acts to be rendered worthless, and claims to property—including any inheritance—to be rendered void. Repentance may restore lost rights except for marital rights; lost marital rights are regained only by remarriage. Women have blasphemed and repented to end a marriage. Women may be permitted to repent, and may receive a lesser punishment than would befall a man who committed the same offense.[