Legal Commentary

?A Muslim Mob Burned Churches ... as [Mob Members] Demanded the Death Penalty for a Christian Man Convicted of Blaspheming Against Islam?

By Eugene Volokh

Agence France Press reports:

A Muslim mob burned churches and clashed with police in Indonesia on Tuesday as they demanded the death penalty for a Christian man convicted of blaspheming against Islam, police said.

Two days after a Muslim lynch mob killed three members of a minority Islamic sect [the Ahmadiyahs], crowds of furious Muslims set two churches alight as they rampaged in anger over the [five-year] prison sentence imposed on defendant Antonius Bawengan, 58....

[The sentence] enraged the crowd, who said the sentence was too lenient, police said....

About 1,500 protesters took to the streets and threw stones at the police ....

They chanted ?kill, kill? outside the court and ?burn, burn? as they set upon the churches....

Thanks to Prof. Howard Friedman (Religion Clause) for the pointer.

Full post as published by The Volokh Conspiracy on February 08, 2011 (boomark / email).