Celebrate Blasphemy Day: Challenge Authority

The founders' description of International Blasphemy Day is a tad vanilla for my taste, so after the obligatory bland description, I'll appeal to your imaginations, you perverted dirty fucking hippies, you.

International Blasphemy Day is not just a day. It is a movement to dismantle the wall which exists between religion and criticism.

SNIP

The objective of International Blasphemy Day is to open up all religious beliefs to the same level of free inquiry, discussion and criticism to which all other areas of academic interest are subjected.

Why September 30? The last day in September is the anniversary of the original publication of Danish cartoons in 2005 depicting the prophet Muhammad's face. Any visual depiction of Muhammad is considered a grave offence under Islamic law.

The fury which arose within the Islamic community following this publication led to massive riots, attacks on foreign embassies and deaths.

The newspapers which chose to publish these cartoons were in many cases blamed for the outpouring of violence which followed. This unfortunate yet inevitable sequence of events clearly demonstrated a dangerous misconception that had piggy-backed into the 21st century on the shoulders of ignorance, fear and apathy, that all religious beliefs and ideas deserve respect and are beyond criticism or satire.

International Blasphemy Day is a movement, not just a day, to remind the world that religion should never again be beyond open and honest discussion or reproach. Our future depends on it.

Now it's up to you to make it fun. It shouldn't take much. As PZ Myers notes, all it takes is a single mention of the holiday to send the freakazoids into orbit around Neptune.

So how about this? Starting tomorrow, greet everyone you see with a hearty, "Happy Blasphemy Day!" To the ones you know well, and who appreciate your twisted sense of humor, you should revise that to "Happy Fucking Blasphemy Day!" You'll know you've discovered a new friend when someone responds to your "Happy Blasphemy Day!" with a cheerful "Fuck you very much, and the same to you!"

And keep the spirit of Blasphemy Day throughout the year by greeting every mention of or reference to invisible sky wizards with a laughing "Bullshit!"