Atheist sentenced to six months jail for leafleting airport prayer room
Written by Christopher Thielen in News at April 28, 2010
The chaplain of the prayer room in the John Lennon Airport in Liverpool alerted the authorities earlier this month when she found leaflets left in the room which mocked Jesus, the Pope, and other religious symbols using cartoons.
The leaflets were left by Harry Taylor, a man who describes himself as a militant atheist (whether this is in the humorous sense Douglas Adams used the word ‘militant’ or in a more serious, grim sense is unclear). Mr. Taylor communicated that he wanted to challenge the existence of a prayer room in the airport, citing specifically that he believed John Lennon was an atheist and would not approve of such a room in an airport bearing his name.
The National Secular Society of the UK was alarmed by this and called the sentencing a punishment based on the erroneous concept of blasphemy.
A sample of the leaflet can be found at their site.
Sources: http://www.secularism.org.uk/atheist-sentencing-creates-a-new1.html
