In recent months, Pakistan has witnessed a series of incidents of violence against non-Muslims, especially the Christian community. All the incidents were perpetrated under alleged charges of desecrating the Holy Koran or blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad.
On August 1, 2009, in the town of Gojra in Punjab province, seven Christians were burned alive by a Muslim mob on alleged blasphemy charges. [1] The mob was said to be incited by activists from a militant Sunni organization, Sipah-e-Sahaba.
In another recent incident, Fanish Masih, a Christian man arrested under Pakistan’s blasphemy law for allegedly desecrating the Holy Koran, died in a jail in Punjab province. [2] Following this, Punjab Governor Salman Taseer called for repealing the blasphemy law, enshrined in Article 295-C of Pakistani constitution. [3]
Asma Jahangir, chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), a non-governmental organization, has also called for repealing the blasphemy law, stating that "the blasphemy laws have become a tool for extremists and individuals who manipulate public sentiments to settle their scores or exploit situations." [4]
In a recent editorial, the Lahore-based Daily Times blamed Pakistan's ruling and opposition parties of not being sincere in their calls to repeal the blasphemy law. Following are some excerpts from the editorial, titled "For and Against Blasphemy Law."’ [5]
"Fanish Masih Was Found Dead in His Cell… [He Had Been] in Solitary Confinement - Even After the Police Knew… That The Charge Against Him Was Concocted"
"In the aftermath of the death-in-custody of the blasphemy-accused Fanish Masih in Sialkot [town in Punjab province], the Governor of Punjab, Mr. Salman Taseer, has courageously called for the repeal of the infamous law targeting the minorities in general and the Christian community in particular. He was echoing the demand by protesters in Lahore in reaction to the cruel thrashing Christian protesters were given by the police in Sialkot.
"Fanish Masih was found dead in his cell. The police say he committed suicide, but the question for all of us to consider is that Masih was kept in solitary confinement even after the police knew prima facie that the charge against him was concocted. Also, there was confusion all around springing from a conflation of blasphemy with desecration of the Holy Koran. Masih himself must have been sure that he was in a trap where his death was certain."
"The Sheer Negative Jurisprudence of the Blasphemy Law Shocks the Rational Person and Instils Despair in the Accused"
"The sheer negative jurisprudence of the Blasphemy Law shocks the rational person and instils despair in the accused. Yet, the Pakistani mind is divided over details that are accepted by all as shameful to the pride of the nation, equating Pakistanis with backward Nigeria, where blasphemy laws have killed hundreds so far, tragically, in imitation of Pakistan.
"The irrationality of the public attitude came to the fore when Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Allama Hamid Kazmi was asked to react to Governor Taseer’s call for the repeal of the law.
"Mr. Kazmi was grieved by the Sialkot violence against unprotected Christians but was determined to defend the Blasphemy Law. His case was of a piece with the one made by the conservative Urdu press and the clergy. He assumed that blasphemy occurred in Pakistan and that no Muslim could collude with it by removing the deterrence of law.
"But the facts were ignored by him. The truth is that there is no blasphemy [case] proved in Pakistan so far, except in the lower courts where mobs carrying weapons force the judges to hand down death."
"500 Clerics Stormed a Court… When a Judge Gave Munir Masih and his Wife Bail for Keeping a Holy Koran in their Home"
"Any society free of extremism would grasp this fact. Why should a law be enforced in a society where no one can actually blaspheme? And what does it mean that after the promulgation of the law, blasphemy actually raises its ugly head?
"Hundreds of cases have gone up from the grassroots courts to the higher judiciary, where the accused has been let off - except for cases such as the one regarding a woman of unsettled mind who is being recommended for mental asylum after a lifetime in jail.
"In May this year, 500 clerics stormed a court in Lahore’s Mustafabad [area] when a judge gav e Munir Masih and his wife bail for keeping a Holy Koran in their home. The victims insisted they had kept it for spiritual protection and out of devotion; but the accusation was that they were unclean as a community and therefore the Holy Koran was defiled. Later the charge was changed from desecration to blasphemy, after which the court was assaulted."
"The Supreme Court Rejected an Appeal Against a Federal Shariat Court Ruling that Death is the Only Punishment… for Blasphemy"
"In April this year, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal against a Federal Shariat Court [which oversees Pakistani laws for compliance with Islam] ruling that death is the only punishment under Islamic law for blasphemy. This is what the victim knows when he is framed and put in solitary confinement in jail: He is going to die, either sentenced by a scared sessions judge, or killed by the police during remand.
"The Council for Islamic Ideology [a constitutional body] recommended in 2006 that blasphemy cases be registered with the High Court and that high officials free of local blackmail be appointed as investigators, but nothing has happened. Both the mainstream parties want the law repealed. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in his memoir complains that Nawaz Sharif as prime minister wanted to change the Blasphemy Law, but Ms. Benazir Bhutto did not help him in parliament. Later, Ms. Bhutto returned to power in 1993 and wanted to change the law, but this time Nawaz Sharif did not help."
Lawmakers "Could Have Joined Hands to Repeal the Blasphemy Law And Then Faced Up to the Extremist Backlash - Just As the Country Is Finally Confronting the Terrorism of the Taliban"
"The PPP [ruling Pakistan People’s Party] and the PMLN [Pakistan Muslim League (N) of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif] are busy fighting their other less worthy battles in parliament. But if they had the wellbeing of the country at heart, they could have joined hands to repeal the Blasphemy Law and then faced up to the extremist backlash just as the country is finally confronting the terrorism of the Taliban.
"There is no other way to tell the killers of our Christian community that they must stop this horrible pastime."
Endnotes:
[1] Daily Times, Pakistan, August 3, 2009.
[2] Daily Times, Pakistan, September 16, 2009.
[3] Roznama Express, Pakistan, September 17, 2009.
[4] Daily Times, Pakistan, August 10, 2009.
[5] Daily Times, Pakistan, September 18, 2009. The text has been lightly edited for clarity.
.jpg)