Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful, contemptuous, or destructive treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual.
36-409: Many consider acts of desecration to be sacrilegious acts. This can include desecration of sacred books, sacred places or sacred objects. Desecration generally may be considered from the perspective of a particular religion or spiritual activity. Desecration may be applied to natural systems or components, particularly if those systems are part of naturalistic spiritual religion. To respectfully remove
72-529: A sacred site without permission. Most ancient religions have a concept analogous to sacrilege, often considered as a type of taboo . The basic idea is that realm of sacrum or haram stands above the world of the profane and its instantiations, see the Sacred–profane dichotomy . The term "sacrilege" originates from the Latin sacer , meaning sacred, and legere , meaning to steal. In Roman times, it referred to
108-433: A statute against sacrilege, ruling that the term could not be narrowly defined in a way that would safeguard against the establishment of one church over another and that such statutes infringed upon the free exercise of religion and freedom of expression. Despite their decriminalisation, sacrilegious acts are still sometimes regarded with strong disapproval by the public, even by nominal or former members and non-adherents of
144-583: Is Kiddush Hashem meaning " Sanctification [of] the Name of God ". Desecration is taken harshly by Sikhs. It is called beadbi by them. In October 2021, a Nihang Singh killed a man for beadbi of the Sarbloh Granth . In December, a man was beaten to death at the Golden Temple for committing desecration. Such punishments are justified with orthodox Sikhs, saying "instant justice" is deserving for beadbi which
180-478: Is an antonym of the other. Religious is derived from the Latin word religio , meaning " reverence , religion ", (from religare , "to bind [to the god{s}]"; Tully derived it from re- [again] and legere [to read]), whereas sacrilegious is derived ultimately from the Latin combining form sacr- , meaning sacred , and the verb legere , meaning "to steal", "to collect", or "to read". The Latin noun sacrilegus thus means "one who steals sacred things". With
216-730: Is an independent religious organization of Muslims in Kosovo and the Preševo Valley . The community's headquarters are located in Pristina and their current leader, the Grand Mufti ( Albanian : Kryemyftiu ), is Naim Tërnava. Organized Islamic activities have taken place in Kosovo since the Ottoman Empire ruled over the region. All Muslims of the empire were part of the Islamic community, which
252-593: Is no such thing as robbery for those who truly possess Christ. At the turn of the century St Augustine gave a sermon to his congregation in Carthage on removing all tangible symbols of paganism: Am I saying "Stop wanting what you want"? On the contrary, we must be thankful that you want what God wants. That every superstition of the pagans and the Gentiles should be abolished is what God wants, God has ordered, God has foretold, God has begun to bring about, and in many parts of
288-620: Is the "ultimate act of crime". Numerous Albanian cultural sites in Kosovo were destroyed during the Kosovo conflict (1998-1999) which constituted a war crime violating the Hague and Geneva Conventions . In all 225 out of 600 mosques in Kosovo were damaged, vandalised, or destroyed alongside other Islamic architecture during the conflict. Archives belonging to the Islamic Community of Kosovo with records spanning 500 years were also destroyed. During
324-461: Is the most important and most sacred item in Catholicism (far more than any relic or historical artifact whatsoever). In Post- Reformation England , sacrilege was a criminal offence for centuries, though its statutory definition varied considerably. Most English dictionaries of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries appealed to the primary sense of stealing objects from a church. Criminal law
360-408: Is the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object, site or person. This can take the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things. When the sacrilegious offence is verbal, it is called blasphemy , and when physical, it is often called desecration . In a more general sense, any transgression against what is seen as the virtue of religion would be a sacrilege, and so is coming near
396-421: The 1917 Code of Canon Law . Since 1983, only someone who physically attacks the pope is excommunicated. Local sacrilege is the violation and desecration of sacred places and space. Robbing or vandalizing a church, chapel, oratory , convent, or monastery would be of this category. It could also be committing immoral and sinful acts inside a sacred building, such as murder or sexual acts. The 1917 Code considered
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#1732872681782432-745: The Criminal Law Act 1967 . Section 24 was replaced by sections 9 and 10 of the Theft Act 1968 (which create the offences of burglary and aggravated burglary . Violence against God was the sign of arrogance which brought attributes of a divine nature down to the material world, while their existence belonged to gods and thus was inviolable. 7. The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. (n.d.). Theodosian Code. Retrieved March 31, 2017, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Theodosian-Code Islamic Community of Kosovo The Islamic Community of Kosovo ( ICK ; Albanian : Bashkësia Islame e Kosovës ),
468-731: The Reis-ul-ulama was to organize Muslim religious life in Bosnia , Herzegovina , Croatia , and Slovenia . In contrast, in Serbia , Montenegro , Vardar Macedonia , and Kosovo, Muslim religious life was organized by the Supreme Mufti , subordinate to the Reis-ul-ulama whose office was in Belgrade. After the creation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the responsibilities of the Supreme Mufti were transferred to
504-844: The Spanish Civil War involved massive desecration of churches, synagogues and other sacred objects and places by leftists. On the night of 19 July 1936 alone, 50 churches were burned. In Barcelona, out of the 58 churches, only the Cathedral was spared, and similar events occurred almost everywhere in Republican Spain. All the Catholic churches in the Republican zone were closed, but the attacks were not limited to Catholic churches, as synagogues were also pillaged and closed, but some small Protestant churches were spared. Sacrilege Sacrilege
540-718: The Ulama Majlis in Skopje and the responsibilities of the Reis-ul-ulama were transferred to the Ulama Majlis in Sarajevo. The newly established Ulama Majlises formed the Rijaset of Islamic community, with its head office in Sarajevo. After the Second World War, the Islamic community of Kosovo became part of the Islamic community of Serbia, based in Pristina. The Islamic community of Serbia
576-703: The Sheykhul-Islam. During the period 1941 to 1956, the faith community in Kosova joined the Albanian Muslim community ( Albanian : Komuniteti Mysliman i Shqipërisë , which was headed by the Grand Mufti based in Tirana. After the First World War, Kosovo was placed under the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. The Islamic community of the kingdom was headed by Reis-ul-ulama , based in Sarajevo. The responsibility of
612-587: The advent of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, the Emperor Theodosius criminalized sacrilege in an even more expansive sense, including heresy , schism , and offenses against the emperor, such as tax evasion . By the Middle Ages , the concept of sacrilege was again restricted to physical acts against sacred objects, and this forms the basis of all subsequent Catholic teachings on
648-476: The burial of a publicly excommunicated person in a Catholic cemetery or hallowed ground to be sacrilege. The current 1983 Code makes no mention of it. Real sacrilege is the contemptuous irreverence shown for sacred things, especially the Seven Sacraments or anything used for divine worship (altars, vestments, chalices, tabernacles , et al.). This can happen first of all by the administration or reception of
684-465: The clergy is considered personal sacrilege, as often the animosity is directed not at the person themselves but at the Church or at God whom they represent. Whenever those in religious or clerical life violate the sixth Commandment and break their vow of chastity , it is considered a personal sacrilege on their part. Laying violent hands on a cleric used to incur an automatic excommunication according to
720-561: The coming of NATO peacekeeping troops to Pristina. The Hadum Suleiman Aga library (founded 1595) in Gjakova, was burned down (March 24) by Yugoslav Serb troops resulting in the loss of the regional archives of the Islamic Community spanning to the 17th century. On 26 November 2019, an earthquake struck Albania . The Islamic Community of Kosovo organised a fundraising effort on 29 November after Friday prayers across all its mosques within
756-627: The destruction of Muslim places of worship. Examples of the destruction of pagan temples in the late fourth century, as recorded in surviving texts, describe Martin of Tours ' attacks on holy sites in Gaul , the destruction of temples in Syria by Marcellus , the destruction of temples and images in, and surrounding, Carthage , the Patriarch Theophilus who seized and destroyed pagan temples in Alexandria ,
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#1732872681782792-558: The levelling of all the temples in Gaza and the wider destruction of holy sites that spread rapidly throughout Egypt . This is supplemented in abundance by archaeological evidence in the northern provinces exposing broken and burnt out buildings and hastily buried objects of piety. The leader of the Egyptian monks who participated in the sack of temples replied to the victims who demanded back their sacred icons: I peacefully removed your gods...there
828-414: The offended religion, especially when these acts are perceived as manifestations of hatred toward a particular sect or creed. According to Catholic theology sacrilege is classified as personal, local, or real. Personal sacrilege is irreverence shown to a person consecrated by religious vows (monks, nuns, etc.) or by holy orders (deacons, priests, bishops). Ridiculing, mocking, or abusing members of
864-431: The plundering of temples and graves. By the time of Cicero , sacrilege had adopted a more expansive meaning, including verbal offences against religion and the undignified treatment of sacred objects. Owing to the phonetic similarities between the words sacrilegious and religious , and their spiritually-based uses in modern English, many people mistakenly assume that the two words are etymologically linked, or that one
900-459: The sacraments in the state of mortal sin , as such as receiving Communion , as also by advertently doing any of those things invalidly. Using sacred vessels for secular use, such as a chalice to drink cocktails, or using common items like paper plates and Styrofoam cups for liturgical worship, are also examples of real sacrilege. The worst kind is desecration of the Blessed Sacrament , as it
936-584: The sacred character of a place or an object is deconsecration , and is distinct from desecration. Some religions, such as the Roman Catholic Church have specific rules as to what constitutes desecration and what should be done in these circumstances. The ethnic cleansing campaign that took place throughout areas controlled by the Army of the Republika Srpska (VRS) targeted Bosnian Muslims, and included
972-612: The same, every such offender, being convicted thereof, shall suffer death as a felon. Both of those sections were replaced by section 50 of the Larceny Act 1861 , which was described by its marginal note as "breaking and entering a church or chapel and committing any felony" and which read: Whosoever shall break and enter any church, chapel, meeting house, or other place of divine worship, and commit any felony therein, or being in any church, chapel, meeting house, or other place of divine worship, shall commit any felony therein and break out of
1008-466: The same, shall be guilty of felony, and being convicted thereof shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to kept in penal servitude for life, or for any term not less than three years, or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour, and with or without solitary confinement. This offence was not triable at quarter sessions Section 50 of the Larceny Act 1861
1044-543: The subject. A major offence was to tamper with a consecrated host , otherwise known as the Body of Christ . Additionally, Bible desecration has resulted in prosecution. Most modern nations have abandoned laws against sacrilege out of respect for freedom of expression , except in cases where there is an injury to persons or property. In the United States , the U.S. Supreme Court case Burstyn v. Wilson (1952) struck down
1080-623: The war, Islamic architectural heritage posed for Yugoslav Serb paramilitary and military forces as Albanian patrimony with destruction of non-Serbian architectural heritage being a methodical and planned component of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. Revenge attacks against Serbian religious sites commenced following the conflict and the return of hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanian refugees to their homes. During violent unrest in 2004 , more than 35 Serbian Orthodox church buildings were desecrated , damaged or destroyed. The Red Terror in Spain during
1116-498: The world has already in great measure achieved. In the year 407 a decree was issued to the west from Rome: If any images stand even now in the temples and shrines...., they shall be torn from their foundations...The temples situated in cities or towns shall be taken for public use. Altars shall be destroyed in all places. Sacred sites were now appropriated by Christianity: "Let altars be built and relics be placed there" wrote Pope Gregory I , "so that [the pagans] have to change from
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1152-695: The worship of the daemones to that of the true God." In Judaism , the "Desecration of God's Name " meaning the desecration of any aspect of Judaism and its beliefs and practices as commanded in the Torah and Jewish Law and hence of God, is known as Chillul Hashem from the Hebrew meaning "[the] Desecration [of] the Name [of] God". In some instances to avoid Chillul Hashem Judaism would require that its adherents die as martyrs . The opposite or converse of Chillul Hashem in Judaism
1188-466: Was consolidated by Peel's Acts from 1828. Of these, 7 & 8 Geo 4 c 27 repealed the provisions of 1 Ed 6 c 12 in relation to sacrilege, while two created new laws around larceny: 7 & 8 Geo 4 c 29 for England and Wales, and 9 Geo 4 c 55 for Ireland. Section 10 of each was identical: That if any person shall break and enter any church or chapel, and steal therein any chattel, or having stolen any chattel in any church or chapel, shall break out of
1224-564: Was headed by the Sultan . During the reign of Sultan Murad II, responsibilities of the caliph were transferred to the Grand Mufti. Since then, the Grand Mufti was given the honorific scholarly title Sheykhul-Islam and considered the highest religious authority within the Ottoman Empire. Additionally, every region inhabited by Muslims has had its own mufti. Each regional mufti was subordinate to
1260-462: Was part of the Islamic community of Yugoslav Federation ( Rijaset ), based in Sarajevo. The Islamic community of Kosovo then declared independence from the Rijaset on 11 December 1993. The central historical archive belonging to the Islamic Community of Kosovo containing community records spanning 500 years was burned down on June 13, 1999 by Yugoslav Serb police after an armistice and some hours prior to
1296-445: Was repealed by section 48(1) of, and the schedule to, the Larceny Act 1916 . It was replaced by section 24 of the Larceny Act 1916 which provided: Every person who - shall be guilty of felony called sacrilege and on conviction thereof liable to penal servitude for life. The words " arrestable offence " were substituted for the word "felony", in subsections (1) and (2), by section 10(1) of, and paragraph 12(1) of Schedule 2 to,
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