Professor Yvonne Sherwood from the Department of Religious Studies took part in a debate on blasphemy on Newshour Extra on the BBC World Service on Friday 16 January.
Newshour Extra is a programme dedicated to in-depth looks at current news topics. This edition asks what is the meaning of blasphemy in Islam and how does it compare to other religions? Yvonne defines blasphemy as a form of ‘violence’ or ‘hate’ speech and argues that it doesn’t only apply to religion as it overlaps with other forms of offence. Her interview occurs 36 seconds into the programme; the full programme lasts 53 minutes.
The programme can be heard on the BBC radio player at: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02gztqv