Muslims Condemn Blasphemy Charges Against Christian Girl in Pakistan

Blasphemy has become a tool of harassment to a few who have nothing better to do than create chaos. We ask the people of Pakistan to seriously debate the blasphemy laws. Islam is about free will and as Muslims we need to stand against any oppression towards any human being following in the footsteps of the prophet.

Full article at: 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/muslims-condemn-blasphemy-charges-against-pakistan-christian-girl_b_1815127.html

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 Law & Violence - 3

Blasphemy Law & Violence - 3 (Reporter - Dawn News Jan 2011)

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

Court convicts imam and son for blasphemy AFP | 11th January, 2011 MULTAN: A Pakistan court has jailed a Muslim prayer leader and his 20-year-old son for life on controversial blasphemy charges http://dawn.com/2011/01/09/more-than-20000-protest-blasphemy-law-change-police/ in the rural centre of the country, court officials said Tuesday. The case follows the killing of Punjab provincial governor Salman Taseer by his bodyguard last Tuesday, after the outspoken politician called for reform of the law that was recently used to sentence a Christian woman http://dawn.com/2010/11/12/christian-woman-sentenced-to-death-in-blasphemy-case-2/ to death. Mohammad Shafi, 45, and his son Mohammad Aslam, 20, were arrested in April last year for removing a poster outside their grocery shop advertising an Islamic event in a nearby village which allegedly contained Quranic verses.

Judge Mohammad Ayub, heading an anti-terrorism court in the central Pakistani town of Muzaffargarh, handed down a life sentence to the pair on Monday, his assistant Faisal Karim told AFP by telephone. The prosecution alleged organisers of the event, which commemorated the anniversary of the Prophet Mohammad’s birth, said the pair had “pulled the poster down, tore it and trampled it under their feet,” Karim said. “The judge sentenced them to life imprisonment on charges of blasphemy and ordered them to pay a fine of 200,000 rupees ($2,350) each,” he said. Liberal politicians and human rights activists in Pakistan say the blasphemy law, which carries the death penalty for the worst offences, is sometimes used to settle personal scores and encourages extremism.

Defence counsel Arif Gurmani vowed to challenge the verdict in the high court because “it has been given in haste” and was the result of inter-faith rivalries, he said. “Both are Muslims. The case is the result of differences between Deobandi and Barelvi sects of Sunni Muslims,” he said. “Shafi is a practising Muslim, he is the imam of a mosque and he had recently returned from a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia…. I am defending them because I am convinced they are not guilty of blasphemy,” he said. Nobody has been executed in Pakistan for blasphemy and those given the death penalty have so far had their sentences http://dawn.com/2010/12/12/doctor-arrested-for-blasphemy-police/ overturned or commuted on appeal.

Since Taseer’s assassination, right-wing religious clerics have heaped praise on his killer and stoked controversy over reform of the law. The government has said it has no plan to reform the law. http://dawn.com/2010/12/30/govt-appeases-religious-parties-on-blasphemy-law/ The controversy was sparked when former information minister Sherry Rehman tabled a private member’s bill in November, seeking to abolish the death penalty for blasphemy. REFERENCE: Court convicts imam and son for blasphemy AFP | 11th January, 2011 http://dawn.com/2011/01/11/court-convicts-imam-and-son-for-blasphemy/

Blasphemy Law & Violence - 2

Blasphemy Law & Violence - 2 (Reporter - Dawn News Jan 2011)

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

Court jails imam and son for blasphemy 12th January, 2011 MULTAN, Jan 11:A court has jailed a prayer leader and his 20-year-old son for life on blasphemy charges in the rural heartland of the country, court officials said on Tuesday. The case follows the assassination of Punjab governor Salman Taseer by his bodyguard last week, after he called for reform of the blasphemy law under which a Christian woman was sentenced to death.

Mohammad Shafi, 45, and his son Mohammad Aslam, 20, were arrested in April last year for removing a poster outside their grocery shop promoting a religious event in a nearby village. The poster allegedly carried Quranic verses.

Judge Mohammad Ayub, heading an anti-terrorism court in Muzaffargarh, handed down a life sentence to the pair on Monday, his assistant Faisal Karim said by telephone.

According to the prosecution, the organisers of the event marking the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said the pair had “pulled the poster down, tore it and trampled it under their feet,” Mr Karim said.

“The judge sentenced them to life imprisonment on charges of blasphemy and ordered them to pay a fine of Rs200,000 each,” he said.

Defence counsel Arif Gurmani vowed to challenge the verdict in the high court because “it has been given in haste” and was the result of inter-sect rivalries, he said.

“Both are Muslims. The case is the result of differences between Deobandi and Barelvi sects of Sunni Muslims,” he said. “Shafi is a practising Muslim, he is the imam of a mosque and he had recently returned from a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia… I am defending them because I am convinced they are not guilty of blasphemy,” he said. Nobody has been executed in Pakistan for blasphemy and those given the death penalty have so far had their sentences overturned or commuted on appeal.—AFP REFERENCE: Court jails imam and son for blasphemy 12th January, 2011 http://dawn.com/2011/01/12/court-jails-imam-and-son-for-blasphemy/

Blasphemy Law & Violence - 1

Blasphemy Law & Violence - 1 (Reporter - Dawn News Jan 2011)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCP6zi5bZ0k

Imam lynched by mob for ‘blasphemy’ By Majeed Gill June 16, 2006 Friday Jumadi-ul-Awwal 19, 1427 BAHAWALPUR, June 15: A mosque Imam was killed while a religious leader sustained critical injuries in violence caused reportedly by sectarian tension between two Sunni sects in Choonawala Mandi near Hasilpur, about 90km from here, on Thursday. According to reports reaching here, the trouble started when Hafiz Qamar Javed, prayer leader at local Masjid Ahl-e-Hadith, burnt some trash near his mosque. The fire attracted neighbours, including people from the rival sect, who propagated that Javed was burning pages from Quran.

Within no time a huge mob turned up at the scene and attacked Javed. When Ahl-e-Hadith’s local leader Master Muhammad Sadiq came to his rescue, he was also beaten up severely. The assailants left the scene when the two fell unconscious. Police rushed to the scene after getting information. In a hurry, a police vehicle hit and injured Muhammad Nadeem (13). The mob then damaged the van and thrashed ASI Muhammad Nawaz, who also sustained injuries.

Later, the Hasilpur DSP and tehsil nazim reached Choonawala and managed to disperse the mob. The injured were rushed to the Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur, where Hafiz Qamar Javed succumbed to injuries while Master Muhammad Sadiq was in precarious condition.

Following an appeal, Choonawala traders’ president, shopkeepers pulled down their shutters to protest the ‘blasphemous act’.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that a case under the Blasphemy Act had been registered against deceased Hafiz Qamar Javed and injured Muhammad Sadiq while no case was registered against the assailants.

DPO Arif Nawaz was not available for comments. STRIKE: Shopkeepers of Dubai and Al-Karim plazas pulled down their shutters to protest the registration of cases against some traders by Kotwali police. The police had registered the cases on the report of Wasim Azam who had accused the traders of assaulting them. REFERENCE: Imam lynched by mob for ‘blasphemy’ By Majeed Gill June 16, 2006 Friday Jumadi-ul-Awwal 19, 1427 http://archives.dawn.com/2006/06/16/nat10.htm

Muslims Condemn Blasphemy Charges against Christian teen In Paksitan

MUSLIMS CONDEMN BLASPHEMY CHARGES AGAINST CHRISTIAN TEEN IN PAKISTAN

Blasphemy has become a tool of harassment to a few who have nothing better to do than create chaos. We ask the people of Pakistan to seriously debate the blasphemy laws. Islam is about free will and as Muslims we need to stand against any oppression towards any human being following in the footsteps of the prophet.

Full article at: 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/muslims-condemn-blasphemy-charges-against-pakistan-christian-girl_b_1815127.html