Here's another link and the article text - the one in the op says the article is only for "registered users" :thumbdown:
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/589e80cc-9525-11e1-ad72-00144feab49a.html#axzz1uLNMORBa
Kuwait’s parliament approved a law that calls for the death penalty for insulting the Prophet Muhammad, his wives and relatives, in a sign of the growing sway of Islamists who triumphed in elections this year.
About 40 members of parliament voted in favour of the amendment to the penal code, while six rejected it, according to state-run news agency KUNA. The proposal will now be referred to the country’s emir for approval.
The vote is a clear win for the Islamist-majority who rode to victory in elections in February, sidelining women and liberal members of parliament. Commentators had hoped that the freshly-elected parliament would push ahead with economic reforms instead of focusing on social issues.
Analysts say that the success of Islamists was due to their ardent opposition to the former government and its prime minister, Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah. That government fell apart amid wide-reaching corruption allegations from the opposition.
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Since the Islamists gained power, there have been a number of headline-grabbing statements by members of parliament, from tying the legal system to sharia law, to the questioning of churches in the oil-rich state.
Analysts have said such statements represent fringe elements of the Islamist MPs, rather than the majority.
The blasphemy vote comes after Kuwaiti authorities arrested Hamad Al Naqi, a Kuwaiti Shi’a, in March, after he allegedly insulted the Prophet and his wife in Twitter posts. He has denied the charge and says that his account was hacked.
Amnesty International has said parliamentary approval of the law would be “a massive step backwards” for Kuwait. The first vote happened last month and the second round now means only the consent of Kuwait’s emir is required for it to become law.
The amendments stipulate that the death penalty applies in two cases: if the offender insists on the crime and refuses to repent, or if the offender describes themselves as a new prophet or messenger from God, according to KUNA. For non-Muslims, the jail sentence would be applied for no more than 10 years.
If the offender declares repentance, they will receive jail terms of no more than five years or pay a fine that does not exceed 10,000 dinars ($36,000).