Say what you will about Christians, at least they wouldn’t kill you for your contrarian beliefs; not in the past few centuries anyway.
A certain Mauritanian journalist is having a really crappy holidays, as a court in his homeland has sentenced him to death, under Islamic Sharia law which is in effect in Mauritania.
Sharia contains the strictest set of laws guarding the Islamic religion, and it clamps down mercilessly on blasphemy, real or perceived. It also violates fundamental human rights in more ways than one.
Mohammed Cheikh Ould Mohamed was convicted on apostasy, for criticising Prophet Mohammed in an article he published over a year ago. In it, he criticised some of the decisions taken by the holy prophet during the holy wars.
He was arrested on January 2nd this year, his trial just commencing within the past week, culminating in his sentence on Christmas Day! Sure Muslims don’t celebrate Christmas but there must be some hidden irony in there.
He is reported to have fainted when the sentence was read, having pled not guilty to the charge; insisting all along that it was not his intention to harm the prophet.