Blasphemy Law & Use of Violence - History

Pakistan’s Penal Code Section 295, better known as the Blasphemy Law, was first introduced to a pre-partition India in 1860. Back then, the law was applicable to every religion and any person with a maximum punishment up to two years with bail. And any disturbance of any religious gathering was also in violation of the law. There have been an estimated 1,274 people charged under the blasphemy laws between 1986 till 2010 according to reports. 1927: • There was an amendment made after the loss of a controversial case defended by India’s leading lawyer M.A. Jinnah. The Indian legislature cautioned against using the words “intentional outrage” or “attempted outrage” for their vagueness and instead chose to use words such as “deliberate” or “malicious intent.” REFERENCE: High-profile blasphemy cases in the last 63 years DAWN.COM | 8th December, 2010 http://dawn.com/2010/12/08/high-profile-blasphemy-cases-in-the-last-63-years/

Blasphemy Law & Violence - 4

Blasphemy Law & Violence - 4 (Reporter - Dawn News Jan 2011)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjsSs712CSo

LAHORE, May 28: An under-trial blasphemy accused, who was attacked and wounded by a policeman on May 25, died in the Lahore General Hospital on Friday.

Labourer Samuel Masih (29) of Basti Saidan Shah had been accused of blasphemy in August 2003. The accused was caught by prayer leader Chaudhry Yaqoob of the Jinnah Bagh.

The prayer leader had alleged that the labourer had littered the walls of a religious institute in the garden, inscribed with some Quranic verses. Together with the prayer leader, dozens of people had allegedly tortured the accused before handing him over to the police.

A blasphemy case under Section 295 of PPC was registered against the accused with Civil Lines police and he was sent to the Kot Lakhpat jail. The accused fell ill there and doctors diagnosed him with TB in prison hospital.

He was shifted to the Gulab Devi Hospital. Two policemen were deployed on his guard duty. One of the policemen, Faryad Ali, on May 25 allegedly attacked him in his head with a hammer.

The staff caught the policeman and immediately shifted the blasphemy accused to the General Hospital where he died on Friday. The body was removed to the city mortuary for autopsy.

A case already registered against the accused policeman was turned into a murder case. He had already been sent to jail. The accused policeman is reported to have no regret for his act and believes that it will earn him paradise.

Condemning the killing, All Pakistan Minorities Alliance chairman Shahbaz Bhatti called upon the government to repeal the blasphemy law. "This is not the first example of the misuse of the law." He said his organization was going to file a petition against a senior police official and prison hierarchy for their negligence, which had resulted in the murder.

Already a writ petition filed by advocate Pervaiz Chaudhry in the LHC had pleaded for an action against the police hierarchy. The judge had directed the city police chief and the police concerned to produce relevant record before him on Monday, the lawyer said.

He alleged the police were attempting to give favour to their colleague by distorting evidence against him. "The accused policeman has been sent to jail without completion of investigation." REFERENCE: LAHORE: Blasphemy accused dies By Our Reporter 29 May 2004 Saturday 09 Rabi-us-Saani 1425 http://archives.dawn.com/2004/05/29/local25.htm

Blasphemy laws go against Islam

http://blasphemylaws.blogspot.com/2012/04/blasphemy-laws-go-against-islam.html

Blasphemy laws have no basis in the Quran, God is about justice and mercy, and not cruelty and tyranny. Those who claim to defend the dignity of God, Prophet, Quran, and Islam really do not have faith in the four. They are afraid God, the Prophet, the Quran, and Islam will disappear from the face of the earth without their protection. They are wrong! We are bloody mortal beings here today and gone tomorrow, whereas God, Prophet, Quran, and Islam have been around and will always be there.

There should be no punishment for Blasphemy, it is not in the Quran and it was not practiced by the prophet. God (Quran) says the dearest human to him is one who forgives, and Prophet practiced it by praying for those who cursed him. He could have smashed those miscreants in Taif, but he chose to pray. As followers, we are supposed to pray and not punish. 


Blasphemy Laws are not God's laws, they are the tools of oppression by the tyrants to force obedience from others, it goes against the principle of the Quran - there is no compulsion. 

Insecure men do not have the confidence in themselves to dialogue and resolve the conflicts, nor do they have faith in God and his word.

When people disagree with them, they will beat them up or eliminate them with power, screams, deaths, and threats. 

Secure men believe in God and the Day of Judgment, and he is the only one who knows what is in our hearts. He says in the Quran, I am closer to you than your jugular vein. Meaning, he knows our thoughts, intentions, and actions on time, as we do.

Secure men discuss things, square the difference through dialogue. Indeed, that is the reason God gave us a tongue to dialogue instead of what the animals are programmed to do.

Who are we to punish then? 

It is un-Islamic and cooked up by the tyrants. Unless a few of us start speaking against Blasphemy, the evil vigilantist anti-Islamic practice of insecure men will continue. There is no punishment for Blasphemy.

Except for the first four caliphs, who were chosen to govern,  we have a bad history of oppression.  It is not just us, until 100 years ago with the exception of the United States; the whole world was run by dictators and kings particularly in Muslim majority nations. Most nations are moving towards civil societies run by the consensus of the people and sadly Muslim societies have not been able to free themselves from the shackles put in by the dictator Caliphs and Kings.  At least one thing is right about secondary Muslim literature - they called the first four Caliphs Rashidun - the rightly guided ones. Since then we have good, bad, and ugly Muslim rulers. 

Look at our history, we have been prevented from independent inquiry, we are run over by the damned dictators and kings. 

Unfortunately, Muslims do not have the breathing room to be themselves, they are continuously bonded by one tyrant or the other… We certainly can pray to ask God to help Muslims to be free to govern themselves and not throw them in the mouths of Mullahs from the dictators. One bad Mubarak goes and the brotherhood is out there to force their laws on the unwilling people, and now we have another tyrant Sisi, where will it end? 

We the Muslims have been reduced to Pavlovian Muslims - we are too damned conditioned with the laws created by men like dictator Zia ul Haq, intolerant Ibn-e-Wahhab, sneaky Maududi and Banna. We need to be free and follow the guidance from God.

Prophet Muhammad said I am leaving this book to you - he did not say, well, I have assigned the interpretation of the book to the Imams, Kings and the dictators... you don't need to read the Quran any more, just follow the rules made by the dominant partners of God, you will get a free pass on the Day of Judgement. They will take care of you.

Time to start from Zero and follow the Prophet. Pull down the "Great Work" of big-time Imams and not equate their work with the Quran, they have made us cowards and insecure with Blasphemy and Apostasy laws that go against God's will.  

Here are verses from the Quran;

 [5:57] O you who believe, do not befriend those among the recipients of previous scripture who mock and ridicule your religion, nor shall you befriend the disbelievers. You shall reverence GOD if you are really believers.

[6:68] If you see those who mock our revelations, you shall avoid them until they delve into another subject. If the devil causes you to forget, then, as soon as you remember, do not sit with such evil people.

[18:106] Their just requital is Hell, in return for their disbelief, and for mocking revelations and My messengers. 

My note: Hell and punishment is God's business and not ours. Ours is to forgive and pray for the goodwill. 

[39:48] The sinful works they had earned will be shown to them and the very things they used to mock will come back to haunt them.

[45:33] The evils of their works will become evident to them, and the very things they mocked will come back and haunt them.

Why the Muslim masses ignore the Messenger Muhammad?  Who they want to please?

The punishment is delivered by God, not by you or me.

The killing is justified only if people wage war against you. 

[5:33] (Asad) It is but a just recompense for those who make war on God and His apostle, ^[43] and endeavor to spread corruption on earth, that they are being slain in great' numbers, or crucified in great numbers, or have, in l' result of their perverseness, their hands and feet cut off in great numbers, ^[44] or are being [entirely] banished from [the face of] the earth: such is their ignominy in this world . ^[45] But in the life to come [yet more] awesome suffering awaits them


43- The term "apostle" is evidently generic in this context. By "making war on God and His apostle" is meant a hostile opposition to, and wilful disregard of, the ethical precepts ordained by God and explained by all His apostles, combined with the conscious endeavor to destroy or undermine other people's belief in God as well

44- In classical Arabic idiom, the "cutting off of one's hands and feet" is often synonymous with "destroying one's power", and it is possible in this sense that the expression has been used here. Alternatively, it might denote "being mutilated", both physically and metaphorically -similar to the (metonymical) use of the expression "being crucified" in the sense of "being tortured". The phrase min khilaf-usually rendered as "from opposite sides"-is derived from the verb khalafahu, "he disagreed with him", or "opposed him", or "acted contrarily to him": consequently, the primary meaning of min khilaf is "in the result of contrariness" or "of perverseness"

The killing is not justified if people evict you. You may only evict them:

[2:191] You may kill those who wage war against you, and you may evict them whence they evicted you. Oppression is worse than murder. Do not fight them at the Sacred Masjid, unless they attack you therein. If they attack you, you may kill them. This is the just retribution for those disbelievers.

The killing is not justified if people insult the Prophet. God will take care of it.

[18:106] Their just requital is Hell, in return for their disbelief, and for mocking My revelations and My messengers

And, these are some of the Quranic wisdoms:

[42:37] They avoid gross sins and vice, and when angered they forgive

[42:40] Although the just requital for an injustice is an equivalent retribution, those who pardon and maintain righteousness are rewarded by GOD. He does not love the unjust.

The Muslim masses need to learn a lot from the Quran.  They are shackled by their Ulams and Allamas!

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Mike Ghouse is a Muslim thinker, speaker and writer. Information about him is available in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his current writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com.

Muslim Speaker Mike Ghouse

NURTURING PLURALISTIC VALUES EMBEDDED IN ISLAM 
A Muslim Speaker, thinker, organizer and an activist committed to building cohesive societies with a belief that what is good for Muslims has got to be good for the world and vice versa to sustain peace, harmony and prosperity.

To be a Muslim is to be a peace maker, one who constantly seeks to mitigate conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence of humanity. God wants us to live in peace and harmony with his creation; Life and Matter. Over 1000 articles have been published on a range of topics in Islam and Pluralism. Insha Allah, a book outlining the Muslim vision is on the horizon.

In defense of Islam, pursuing a civil dialogue

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/steve-blow/20100919-In-defense-of-

Islam-pursuing-9397.ece  
O

ver and over you hear it said: If Muslims oppose terrorism, why don't they stand up and say it?

If that has been you, Mike Ghouse ought to be your hero.

It is hard to imagine that anyone has worked harder than the Carrollton resident to demonstrate the peaceful and moderate side of Islam.

And that effort includes personally visiting Dallas' First Baptist Church last Sunday just to put a friendly face on the "evil, evil religion" that the Rev. Robert Jeffress denounced a few weeks before.

"It was wonderful," Ghouse said of the visit. "We were so warmly received."
He hopes a quick chat with Jeffress will be the start of deeper discussion about Islam and the importance of respect between religions.

"I want to have a dialogue with him, not to say he is wrong but to share another point of view," Ghouse said.

The 57-year-old Muslim was born in India and has lived in the United States for 30 years. He owns a small property management firm. But most of his day is devoted to building bridges between people of different faiths.

"It is my passion," he said in his distinctive raspy voice.

He has been a guest a dozen times on Sean Hannity's TV and radio talk shows. "I don't like the way Sean cuts me off, but I have to honor him for giving the American public a semblance of another point of view."

Ghouse said he can understand fear and criticism of Islam because he went through a time of similar feelings. As a teen, he was troubled by passages of the Quran. He called himself an atheist for a while.

But he said deeper study led him to realize the Quran had been purposely mistranslated down through history.

In the Middle Ages, European leaders commissioned a hostile Quran translation to foster warfare against Muslim invaders.

Later, Muslim leaders produced another translation to inflame Muslims against Christians and Jews.

"It was all for politics," he said.
Ghouse said he hopes to present Jeffress with a modern, faithful translation and challenge him to find evil verses.

"If he can, I will convert. I will join his church," Ghouse said. "If he can't, I will call on him to retract his statements and become a peacemaker."

Ghouse acknowledges that deep problems persist within Islam. "Three steps forward, two steps back," he said with a sigh.

And he agrees that mainstream Muslims have not done enough to counter violent images of their faith.

"That is very true," he said. "But part of it is that many Muslims have given up hope that we will ever be heard."

He said repeated denunciations of terrorism seem to fall on deaf ears.

And some efforts have backfired - like the proposed Islamic information center in New York. He said it should be hailed for furthering the moderate Muslim cause.
Instead, it has deepened hostility toward Muslims.

I have been astounded by the amount of anti-Islam propaganda that circulates via e-mail. Tons of it has come my way in the last few weeks.

One theme is that people like Mike Ghouse can't be trusted, that Islam encourages deception.

But Ghouse says actions speak louder than words. And he points to elections in Muslim nations.

More than half of Muslims live in countries with some degree of democracy. And time and time again, Islamist parties are overwhelmingly rejected in favor of secular, mainstream parties.

"The religious parties don't get more than 3 percent of the vote," Ghouse said.
Polls show deep mistrust of Muslims. "But the most important question in those surveys is: 'Do you know anything about Islam?' " Ghouse said. "Most people say no."
What keeps him going is faith in Americans, he said.

"The majority of Americans, if they know the truth, they will change their minds."
 

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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, writer, thinker, futurist and an activist of Pluralism, Islam, India and Civil Societies passionately offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

He is a commentator at Fox News on the Hannity show, nationally syndicated Radio shows along with Dallas TV, Print and Radio networks and occasional interviews on NPR.  He has spoken at international forums including the Parliament of Worlds Religions in Melbourne, Middle East Peace initiative in Jerusalem, International Leadership conference in Hawaii, Washington and elsewhere.

Concerned by the divisiveness, he saw the need to bring Americans together and founded America Together Foundation committed to building a cohesive America, indeed it is in response to ACT America which is bent on pitching one American against the other.  We will be holding series of educational programs, conferences and workshops to address the issues that divide us such as Civil Right, GLBT, Quraan, Abortion, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Racial Profiling and Stereotyping.

The Annual Unity Day USA is in its 7^th year now, it is a purposeful event to bring Americans together, on this Unity Day, we the people of the United States of America of every faith, race, ethnicity, culture and background will gather to express our commitment to co-existence, unity, prosperity and wellbeing of our nation.  

Thanksgiving Celebration is in its 15^th year showcasing cultural diversity.

The 5^th Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides is to learn and to acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things we have inflicted upon each other and commit to avert such tragedies.  Through this event non-Jewish people have consciously learned about Holocaust for the first time, it was also for the first time that people of 14 faiths came together to join in to commemorate the Holocaust that commemorated within the Jewish Community for years. They are not alone anymore in their anguish, we are all in it together with them, and it is a Muslim initiative to effect a positive change.

The programs, seminars and workshops conducted by the Foundation for Pluralism have become a part of the America Together Foundation. While the Foundation for Pluralism continues championing the idea of co-existence through respecting and accepting the otherness of other, the commitment to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam through the World Muslim Congress continues.

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Full Profile at:  http://www.mikeghouse.net/MuslimSpeaker.MikeGhouse.asp   

Mike is working on two books scheduled to be released this year; The American Muslim Agenda and My Journey to Pluralism.

Mike has written over 1000 Articles on Pluralism, Islam, India, Peace & Justice and civil societies published in a wide spectrum of Newspapers and Magazines around the world.

Locally, he is a panelist at Dallas Morning News's and writes weekly on a range of issues facing the nation. Washington Post, Huffington Post and other news papers and sites regularly publish his work.  

Mike is available to speak on Pluralism, Islam, Civil Societies, and Peace & Justice at your place of worship, school, work place, seminars, workshops or conferences. His work is reflected at three websites & twenty two Blogs listed at http://www.MikeGhouse.net/