This article appeared in section of letters to editors in Dawn. Kindly Share your views as we have discussed pluralism and Islamic Ummah.
http://www.dawn.com/2005/03/27/letted.htm
Human rights violation
I invite your attention towards the severe violation of human rights in Mirpur, Azad Kashmir. My husband Professor Zahid Hussain Mirza was arrested under section 295-C (blasphemy law), in Mirpur in June 1999. The case was filed against him nearly six years ago by a cleric with the help of some fundamentalist groups, on the false charges of writing a book "Status of prophethood (concept of Islam & Jahilliat)". Prof Mirza is accused of blasphemy.
The aforementioned book has been declared as correct in all respect by more than 100 theologians and scholars of the Muslim world. Some of these scholars include the Imam of Kabah and scholars of the Muslim World League, Rabita Alam-i-Islami.
The prosecution could not produce more than one witness in this case. Whereas we have more than 20 prominent theologians and scholars who have appeared in court as witnesses in support of our case.
In spite of all this, my husband has not been granted bail. Furthermore, he is now suffering from stomach cancer which was diagnosed nine months ago. After a major operation and chemotherapy, doctors have advised a six-week course of radiotherapy, which should have commenced in December 2004. This facility however is not available in the hospital where Professor Mirza is admitted in Mirpur. Being in police custody, he is not being admitted to the hospital where radiotherapy can be done.
To date there has been a delay of 12 weeks in crucial life-saving therapy and yet no decision for allowing further treatment has been made by the administration.
The case proceedings are on hold due to the illness of my husband. The sentence for blasphemy in Pakistan is the death penalty. Either way his fate is sealed. We only hope and pray that we have the opportunity to give him the care he deserves and cherish every moment he is left with, spending with his family and friends in his own home.
I request President Pakistan Gen Pervez Musharraf, the government of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, and all other authorities concerned to end this case as soon as possible to save the life of an innocent man.
SAKINA TASNEEM MIRZA
Mirpur, Azad Kashmir
blasphemy
Re: blasphemy [must read article]
Has anyone here read that book? Know what it's about, or why the blasphemy?
-
swamidada_2
- Posts: 297
- Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2019 8:18 pm
266,000 sign petition to ban release of film starring Paris Jackson as Jesus
Katie Rosseinsky
Evening StandardJuly 1, 2020, 3:27 AM CDT
More than 266,000 people have signed a petition calling to stop the release of a new film starring Paris Jackson as Jesus.
The 22-year-old daughter of Michael Jackson is set to appear as Jesus in Habit, an upcoming movie starring Bella Thorne as “a street smart party girl with a Jesus fetish who gets mixed up in a violent drug deal,” according to film website The Wrap.
Habit is directed by Janell Shirtcliff and also stars The Florida Project’s Bria Vinaite and musician Gavin Rossdale.
The Change.org petition was started last week by an Internet user known only as Vivian N and describes the upcoming film as “Christianophobic garbage.”
It also claims that Jackson will portray a “lesbian Jesus,” though there has been no mention of her character’s sexuality in previous reports about the film.
“A new blasphemous Hollywood film is predicted to come out soon depicting Jesus as a lesbian woman,” the petition description reads.
“The film Habit stars Paris Jackson who plays the role of ‘lesbian Jesus.’
“Distributors haven’t picked it up as of yet, so let’s please spread awareness and wake people up to the Christianophobic garbage that is spread nowadays, but is somehow accepted and praised by society.”
The film is thought to currently be in post-production after filming wrapped shortly before the coronavirus pandemic caused sets to shut down.
No release date has yet been announced for the project.
Habit was previously the target of a separate petition from the website One Million Mums, which described the film as “sacrilegious” and was signed by more than 70,000 users.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/26 ... 02682.html
Katie Rosseinsky
Evening StandardJuly 1, 2020, 3:27 AM CDT
More than 266,000 people have signed a petition calling to stop the release of a new film starring Paris Jackson as Jesus.
The 22-year-old daughter of Michael Jackson is set to appear as Jesus in Habit, an upcoming movie starring Bella Thorne as “a street smart party girl with a Jesus fetish who gets mixed up in a violent drug deal,” according to film website The Wrap.
Habit is directed by Janell Shirtcliff and also stars The Florida Project’s Bria Vinaite and musician Gavin Rossdale.
The Change.org petition was started last week by an Internet user known only as Vivian N and describes the upcoming film as “Christianophobic garbage.”
It also claims that Jackson will portray a “lesbian Jesus,” though there has been no mention of her character’s sexuality in previous reports about the film.
“A new blasphemous Hollywood film is predicted to come out soon depicting Jesus as a lesbian woman,” the petition description reads.
“The film Habit stars Paris Jackson who plays the role of ‘lesbian Jesus.’
“Distributors haven’t picked it up as of yet, so let’s please spread awareness and wake people up to the Christianophobic garbage that is spread nowadays, but is somehow accepted and praised by society.”
The film is thought to currently be in post-production after filming wrapped shortly before the coronavirus pandemic caused sets to shut down.
No release date has yet been announced for the project.
Habit was previously the target of a separate petition from the website One Million Mums, which described the film as “sacrilegious” and was signed by more than 70,000 users.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/26 ... 02682.html
-
swamidada_2
- Posts: 297
- Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2019 8:18 pm
Pakistan's largest province bans 100 textbooks for 'blasphemous' content
Joe Wallen
The TelegraphJuly 24, 2020, 11:14 AM
Pakistan is reviewing the books - REUTERS/Mohsin Raza
Books printed by Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press are among 100 that have been banned by an education board in Pakistan for containing content deemed anti-Pakistan.
The Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB) is currently undertaking a review of 10,000 books being used in private schools after the organisation said no-one had previously checked the curriculum.
Some of the banned books allegedly portray Pakistan as an inferior country to India, while others show Azad Jammu and Kashmir as part of India.
One book contained quotes from India’s famous independence figurehead Mahatma Gandhi while another showed mathematics counting concepts using pictures of pigs, with pork considered haram - or forbidden - by Pakistan's Muslims.
“We will conduct [a] complete inspection of these books within six months and will not allow these books and material against Islam and Pakistan [to be taught],” said Rai Manzoor Hussain Nasir, the Managing Director of the PCTB.
Mr Nasir added that the 31 publishers found to have broken the law would face charges in Pakistan.
Users on social media questioned the PCTB’s decision and claimed it was a crackdown on freedom of speech. “Am I the only one who feels like they’re trapped in a dystopian nightmare and is just waiting to wake up?” wrote one user on Twitter.
“Why don’t they just ban all books so we can happily live in our ignorance forever and forever, ameen,” echoed another.
On Thursday, authorities in the eastern state of the Punjab passed a new act that permits greater control over the publishing industry in Pakistan’s most populous province.
The Punjab Tahaffuz-e-Bunyad-e-Islam Act 2020 allows the Director-General of Public Relations in Lahore to visit and inspect any printing press, publication house, book store and confiscate books before or after printing.
This ruling also attracted derision on social media, with users saying it would curtail the Pakistani publishing industry.
The PCTB did not provide details about which Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press books had been banned.
A spokesman for Cambridge University Press said: “While we are aware of the reports about the PCTB’s announcement in the Pakistani press, we have no further details at present and have not been contacted directly by them about any of our books. We will of course do what we can to help with the PCTB's investigation if they wish to contact us.”
Oxford University Press did not respond to a request for comment.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/pak ... 11210.html
Joe Wallen
The TelegraphJuly 24, 2020, 11:14 AM
Pakistan is reviewing the books - REUTERS/Mohsin Raza
Books printed by Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press are among 100 that have been banned by an education board in Pakistan for containing content deemed anti-Pakistan.
The Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB) is currently undertaking a review of 10,000 books being used in private schools after the organisation said no-one had previously checked the curriculum.
Some of the banned books allegedly portray Pakistan as an inferior country to India, while others show Azad Jammu and Kashmir as part of India.
One book contained quotes from India’s famous independence figurehead Mahatma Gandhi while another showed mathematics counting concepts using pictures of pigs, with pork considered haram - or forbidden - by Pakistan's Muslims.
“We will conduct [a] complete inspection of these books within six months and will not allow these books and material against Islam and Pakistan [to be taught],” said Rai Manzoor Hussain Nasir, the Managing Director of the PCTB.
Mr Nasir added that the 31 publishers found to have broken the law would face charges in Pakistan.
Users on social media questioned the PCTB’s decision and claimed it was a crackdown on freedom of speech. “Am I the only one who feels like they’re trapped in a dystopian nightmare and is just waiting to wake up?” wrote one user on Twitter.
“Why don’t they just ban all books so we can happily live in our ignorance forever and forever, ameen,” echoed another.
On Thursday, authorities in the eastern state of the Punjab passed a new act that permits greater control over the publishing industry in Pakistan’s most populous province.
The Punjab Tahaffuz-e-Bunyad-e-Islam Act 2020 allows the Director-General of Public Relations in Lahore to visit and inspect any printing press, publication house, book store and confiscate books before or after printing.
This ruling also attracted derision on social media, with users saying it would curtail the Pakistani publishing industry.
The PCTB did not provide details about which Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press books had been banned.
A spokesman for Cambridge University Press said: “While we are aware of the reports about the PCTB’s announcement in the Pakistani press, we have no further details at present and have not been contacted directly by them about any of our books. We will of course do what we can to help with the PCTB's investigation if they wish to contact us.”
Oxford University Press did not respond to a request for comment.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/pak ... 11210.html
DAWN.COM
TODAY'S PAPER | AUGUST 20, 2020
Lawyer arrested for allegedly providing gun in slaying of blasphemy accused in Peshawar court
A lawyer has been arrested for allegedly giving a pistol to a teenager accused of gunning down a US citizen as he appeared in a Peshawar court on blasphemy charges, officials told AFP on Wednesday.
Last month's killing of Tahir Ahmad Naseem in a crowded courtroom sparked outrage in the United States.
The US State Department has urged Pakistan to take action in his case and called for a reform of the blasphemy laws under which he was being held.
Naseem, a US citizen of Pakistani origin, was under police escort when he was fatally shot in court on July 29.
According to investigating officer Lalzada Khan, a junior lawyer was arrested on Tuesday for “allegedly providing a pistol to the assassin to kill Naseem”.
“[The lawyer] was produced before the judge in an anti-terrorism court. He was remanded into police custody for three days,” Khan told AFP.
Authorities say the shooter, who according to police is 17 years old, has confessed to the killing, claiming the lawyer provided him with the pistol.
The teenager withdrew his bail petition from an anti-terrorism court on Monday, with a panel of lawyers telling the court that their client didn’t want to pursue the bail plea and was only interested in an early trial of the case.
Lawyers don't typically undergo a pat-down before going into courts, and officials said the arrested lawyer had discreetly handed the pistol over to the teenager.
Washington has said Naseem was lured from his home in Illinois to Pakistan in 2018, when he was arrested on blasphemy charges.
Up to 80 people are known to be imprisoned in Pakistan on blasphemy charges — half of whom face life in prison or the death penalty — according to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
The US State Department has put Pakistan on a blacklist over religious freedom, pointing to the blasphemy cases.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1575283/lawye ... awar-court
TODAY'S PAPER | AUGUST 20, 2020
Lawyer arrested for allegedly providing gun in slaying of blasphemy accused in Peshawar court
A lawyer has been arrested for allegedly giving a pistol to a teenager accused of gunning down a US citizen as he appeared in a Peshawar court on blasphemy charges, officials told AFP on Wednesday.
Last month's killing of Tahir Ahmad Naseem in a crowded courtroom sparked outrage in the United States.
The US State Department has urged Pakistan to take action in his case and called for a reform of the blasphemy laws under which he was being held.
Naseem, a US citizen of Pakistani origin, was under police escort when he was fatally shot in court on July 29.
According to investigating officer Lalzada Khan, a junior lawyer was arrested on Tuesday for “allegedly providing a pistol to the assassin to kill Naseem”.
“[The lawyer] was produced before the judge in an anti-terrorism court. He was remanded into police custody for three days,” Khan told AFP.
Authorities say the shooter, who according to police is 17 years old, has confessed to the killing, claiming the lawyer provided him with the pistol.
The teenager withdrew his bail petition from an anti-terrorism court on Monday, with a panel of lawyers telling the court that their client didn’t want to pursue the bail plea and was only interested in an early trial of the case.
Lawyers don't typically undergo a pat-down before going into courts, and officials said the arrested lawyer had discreetly handed the pistol over to the teenager.
Washington has said Naseem was lured from his home in Illinois to Pakistan in 2018, when he was arrested on blasphemy charges.
Up to 80 people are known to be imprisoned in Pakistan on blasphemy charges — half of whom face life in prison or the death penalty — according to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
The US State Department has put Pakistan on a blacklist over religious freedom, pointing to the blasphemy cases.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1575283/lawye ... awar-court
French magazine Charlie Hebdo to re-print Prophet Mohammad cartoons as terror trial starts
The French magazine Charlie Hebdo, whose offices were stormed by Islamist gunmen in 2015 after it published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, has announced it will republish the same cartoons to mark the start of the terror trial stemming from that day.
“We will never lie down. We will never give up,” editor Laurent “Riss” Sourisseau wrote in a piece to accompany the front cover that will be published in print on Wednesday.
Twelve people, including some of the magazine’s best-known cartoonists, were killed when Said and Cherif Kouachi stormed the Paris HQ of the satirical magazine on Jan. 7, 2015, and sprayed the building with automatic gunfire. In total, 17 people were killed during three days of bloodshed that marked the beginning of a wave of Islamist violence that was to leave scores more dead.
The day after the office attacks, Amedy Coulibaly, an acquaintance of Cherif Kouachi, killed a female police officer. On Jan. 9 he killed four Jewish men at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris. In a video recording, Coulibaly said the attacks were coordinated and carried out in the name of Islamic State. The Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabic Peninsula claimed the Charlie Hebdo attack. The three attackers — Coulibaly and the Kouachi brothers — were killed by police in separate standoffs.
Now, as fourteen suspected accomplices to the French Islamist militants behind the attacks go on trial on Wednesday, the magazine has announced it will re-run the same cartoons which unleashed a wave of anger in the Muslim world.
The decision to republish the cartoons will be seen by some as a defiant gesture in defence of free expression. But others may see it as a renewed provocation by a magazine that has long courted controversy with its satirical attacks on religion. For Muslims, any depiction of the Prophet is blasphemous.
Zineb el Rhazoui, 38, who quit her job as a journalist at Charlie Hebdo two years after the attack, said she hoped her slain colleagues would be remembered as gentle, cultured human beings.
“If (the attackers) committed this butchery, it is because they believed in an ideology and this ideology will have to be put on trial. That’s what I’m waiting for,” she told Reuters.
Among the cartoons which appeared in the build-up to the massacre — most of which were first published by a Danish newspaper in 2005 and then by Charlie Hebdo a year later — is one of Mohammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban with a lit fuse protruding. Muslims have previously said the turban cartoon branded all Muslims as terrorists, as did a Charlie Hebdo cartoon showing the Prophet reacting to Islamist militants by saying: “It’s hard to be loved by idiots.”
The alleged accomplices to the attacks have been charged with crimes including supplying weapons, membership of a terrorist organization and financing terrorism.
Of the 14 defendants, three will be tried in absentia and may be dead. Hayat Boumedienne, Coulibaly’s partner at the time of the attack, and brothers Mohamed and Mehdi Belhoucine are believed to have traveled to areas of Syria under the control of Islamic State just before the attacks.
Among those in the dock will be Ali Riza Polat, who investigators allege helped the three attackers amass their weapons and munitions. He faces life in jail if found guilty.
In 2007, a French court rejected accusations by Islamic groups that the publication incited hatred against Muslims.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/fr ... ailsignout
The French magazine Charlie Hebdo, whose offices were stormed by Islamist gunmen in 2015 after it published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, has announced it will republish the same cartoons to mark the start of the terror trial stemming from that day.
“We will never lie down. We will never give up,” editor Laurent “Riss” Sourisseau wrote in a piece to accompany the front cover that will be published in print on Wednesday.
Twelve people, including some of the magazine’s best-known cartoonists, were killed when Said and Cherif Kouachi stormed the Paris HQ of the satirical magazine on Jan. 7, 2015, and sprayed the building with automatic gunfire. In total, 17 people were killed during three days of bloodshed that marked the beginning of a wave of Islamist violence that was to leave scores more dead.
The day after the office attacks, Amedy Coulibaly, an acquaintance of Cherif Kouachi, killed a female police officer. On Jan. 9 he killed four Jewish men at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris. In a video recording, Coulibaly said the attacks were coordinated and carried out in the name of Islamic State. The Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabic Peninsula claimed the Charlie Hebdo attack. The three attackers — Coulibaly and the Kouachi brothers — were killed by police in separate standoffs.
Now, as fourteen suspected accomplices to the French Islamist militants behind the attacks go on trial on Wednesday, the magazine has announced it will re-run the same cartoons which unleashed a wave of anger in the Muslim world.
The decision to republish the cartoons will be seen by some as a defiant gesture in defence of free expression. But others may see it as a renewed provocation by a magazine that has long courted controversy with its satirical attacks on religion. For Muslims, any depiction of the Prophet is blasphemous.
Zineb el Rhazoui, 38, who quit her job as a journalist at Charlie Hebdo two years after the attack, said she hoped her slain colleagues would be remembered as gentle, cultured human beings.
“If (the attackers) committed this butchery, it is because they believed in an ideology and this ideology will have to be put on trial. That’s what I’m waiting for,” she told Reuters.
Among the cartoons which appeared in the build-up to the massacre — most of which were first published by a Danish newspaper in 2005 and then by Charlie Hebdo a year later — is one of Mohammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban with a lit fuse protruding. Muslims have previously said the turban cartoon branded all Muslims as terrorists, as did a Charlie Hebdo cartoon showing the Prophet reacting to Islamist militants by saying: “It’s hard to be loved by idiots.”
The alleged accomplices to the attacks have been charged with crimes including supplying weapons, membership of a terrorist organization and financing terrorism.
Of the 14 defendants, three will be tried in absentia and may be dead. Hayat Boumedienne, Coulibaly’s partner at the time of the attack, and brothers Mohamed and Mehdi Belhoucine are believed to have traveled to areas of Syria under the control of Islamic State just before the attacks.
Among those in the dock will be Ali Riza Polat, who investigators allege helped the three attackers amass their weapons and munitions. He faces life in jail if found guilty.
In 2007, a French court rejected accusations by Islamic groups that the publication incited hatred against Muslims.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/fr ... ailsignout
'Stop barking, French dogs!': Protests in Pakistan over Charlie Hebdo's reprint of Prophet Mohammed cartoon
Supporters of hardline Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan carry placards and shout slogans during a protest against the reprinting cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad by French magazine Charlie Hebdo, in Rawalpindi on September 4, 2020.
Aamir QURESH
Thousands protested in Pakistan after French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo reprinted a cartoon parody of the Prophet Mohammed to mark the opening of the trial of the alleged accomplices to the deadly 2015 attack on its office.
The demonstrations began on Thursday and continued into Friday, spreading into other cities such as Lahore and Islamabad, with crowds marching and some people burning the French flag. "Stop barking, French dogs!" was reportedly chanted by one group of angry marchers.
Pakistan's foreign ministry condemned the magazine's decision ahead of publication, calling it a "deliberate act to offend the sentiments of billions of Muslims," and adding that it "cannot be justified as an exercise in press freedom or freedom of expression."
Not all members of the Muslim community supported the demonstrations and the anger expressed toward Charlie Hebdo. British anti-extremist activist and former Islamic fundamentalist Maajid Nawaz called on the Muslim world to be "outraged" at more material things than a "cartoon office." "Where are the protests outside the Chinese embassy?" he asked, referring to reports of Uyghur Muslims being systematically oppressed.
Charlie Hebdo's special edition on September 2 featured a reprint of some of its Islam-themed cartoons, including the depictions of the Prophet Mohammed that triggered the 2015 gun attack on its Paris premises. Twelve people were killed in the raid, and a further five in the days that followed, as the gunmen went on the run.
Charlie Hebdo to reprint Prophet Muhammad cartoons on day Islamist attackers of French satirical magazine go on trial
Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, the two brothers who carried out the attack, died in a shootout with the police north of Paris two days after their assault on Charlie Hebdo. The trial centers on 13 men and one woman who are accused of having been accomplices in the terrorist plot.
https://www.rt.com/news/499894-pakistan ... -cartoons/
Supporters of hardline Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan carry placards and shout slogans during a protest against the reprinting cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad by French magazine Charlie Hebdo, in Rawalpindi on September 4, 2020.
Aamir QURESH
Thousands protested in Pakistan after French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo reprinted a cartoon parody of the Prophet Mohammed to mark the opening of the trial of the alleged accomplices to the deadly 2015 attack on its office.
The demonstrations began on Thursday and continued into Friday, spreading into other cities such as Lahore and Islamabad, with crowds marching and some people burning the French flag. "Stop barking, French dogs!" was reportedly chanted by one group of angry marchers.
Pakistan's foreign ministry condemned the magazine's decision ahead of publication, calling it a "deliberate act to offend the sentiments of billions of Muslims," and adding that it "cannot be justified as an exercise in press freedom or freedom of expression."
Not all members of the Muslim community supported the demonstrations and the anger expressed toward Charlie Hebdo. British anti-extremist activist and former Islamic fundamentalist Maajid Nawaz called on the Muslim world to be "outraged" at more material things than a "cartoon office." "Where are the protests outside the Chinese embassy?" he asked, referring to reports of Uyghur Muslims being systematically oppressed.
Charlie Hebdo's special edition on September 2 featured a reprint of some of its Islam-themed cartoons, including the depictions of the Prophet Mohammed that triggered the 2015 gun attack on its Paris premises. Twelve people were killed in the raid, and a further five in the days that followed, as the gunmen went on the run.
Charlie Hebdo to reprint Prophet Muhammad cartoons on day Islamist attackers of French satirical magazine go on trial
Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, the two brothers who carried out the attack, died in a shootout with the police north of Paris two days after their assault on Charlie Hebdo. The trial centers on 13 men and one woman who are accused of having been accomplices in the terrorist plot.
https://www.rt.com/news/499894-pakistan ... -cartoons/
SEPTEMBER 09, 2020
Lahore court sentences Christian man to death over blasphemous texts
AFP | Reuters | Dawn.com 08 Sep 2020
A sessions court in Lahore on Tuesday sentenced a Christian man to death after convicting him of sending text messages containing “blasphemous content”.
Asif Pervaiz, 37, has been in custody since 2013 fighting blasphemy charges that were levelled against him by the supervisor of the garment factory he once worked at. The supervisor had accused him of sending derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to him in a text message.
The court order issued by Additional Sessions Judge Mansoor Ahmad Qureshi, seen by Reuters, said Pervaiz would first serve a three-year prison term for “misusing” his phone to send the derogatory text message. Then “he shall be hanged by his neck till his death.” He was also fined Rs50,000, the order said.
Pervaiz's lawyer Saiful Malook told AFP that Pervaiz has denied all charges against him and had merely forwarded the text messages in question.
“This case should have been thrown out by the judge,” Malook said, adding he would appeal the verdict in the Lahore High Court.
“He has already spent seven years awaiting the court's decision. Who knows how many more years he will have to wait till this is over?”
Pervaiz claims his supervisor, who had been trying to convert him to Islam, had accused him of blasphemy after he quit his factory job.
Human rights groups say blasphemy laws are often misused to persecute minorities or even against Muslims to settle personal rivalries. Such accusations can end up in lynchings or street vigilantism.
Up to 80 people are known to be imprisoned in the country on such charges — half of whom face life in prison or the death penalty — according to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
In July, a US citizen of Pakistani origin on trial over blasphemy allegations in Peshawar was shot dead in a courtroom by a teenager who told bystanders he killed him for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
Since his arrest, the alleged shooter has been glorified as a “holy warrior” by supporters and thousands of people have rallied to demand his release.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1578596/lahor ... mous-texts
Lahore court sentences Christian man to death over blasphemous texts
AFP | Reuters | Dawn.com 08 Sep 2020
A sessions court in Lahore on Tuesday sentenced a Christian man to death after convicting him of sending text messages containing “blasphemous content”.
Asif Pervaiz, 37, has been in custody since 2013 fighting blasphemy charges that were levelled against him by the supervisor of the garment factory he once worked at. The supervisor had accused him of sending derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to him in a text message.
The court order issued by Additional Sessions Judge Mansoor Ahmad Qureshi, seen by Reuters, said Pervaiz would first serve a three-year prison term for “misusing” his phone to send the derogatory text message. Then “he shall be hanged by his neck till his death.” He was also fined Rs50,000, the order said.
Pervaiz's lawyer Saiful Malook told AFP that Pervaiz has denied all charges against him and had merely forwarded the text messages in question.
“This case should have been thrown out by the judge,” Malook said, adding he would appeal the verdict in the Lahore High Court.
“He has already spent seven years awaiting the court's decision. Who knows how many more years he will have to wait till this is over?”
Pervaiz claims his supervisor, who had been trying to convert him to Islam, had accused him of blasphemy after he quit his factory job.
Human rights groups say blasphemy laws are often misused to persecute minorities or even against Muslims to settle personal rivalries. Such accusations can end up in lynchings or street vigilantism.
Up to 80 people are known to be imprisoned in the country on such charges — half of whom face life in prison or the death penalty — according to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
In July, a US citizen of Pakistani origin on trial over blasphemy allegations in Peshawar was shot dead in a courtroom by a teenager who told bystanders he killed him for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
Since his arrest, the alleged shooter has been glorified as a “holy warrior” by supporters and thousands of people have rallied to demand his release.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1578596/lahor ... mous-texts
Auschwitz director offers to serve time in place of 13-year-old Nigerian sentenced to 10 years for blasphemy
Will Brown
The TelegraphTue, September 29, 2020, 1:58 PM CDT
The director of the Auschwitz Memorial in Poland has offered to serve time for a Nigerian child who was convicted of blasphemy and ordered to spend ten years in prison by a Sharia court .
In an open letter, Piotr Cywinski asked Nigeria’s President to intervene and pardon 13-year-old Omar Farouq for the conviction.
“As the director of the Auschwitz memorial, which commemorates the victims and preserves the remains of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camps, where children were imprisoned and murdered, I cannot remain indifferent to this disgraceful sentence for humanity,” he wrote.
Omar Farouq was arrested earlier this year by religious police in Kano, Nigeria’s second-largest city, after he had a ‘blasphemous’ conversation with an older man. His conviction by a religious court has provoked condemnation by the United Nations and global human rights groups.
Mr Cywinski told The Telegraph that he felt he had to act when he heard about Omar.
“When I heard about this story last week, I remembered that [Nigeria’s] President Buhari visited Auschwitz in 2018. So I thought that maybe a voice coming from this difficult place would have some effect on him... I have kids that age.
"There are some times we have to stop our own silence and try to do something. It’s not enough to just like something on Facebook or retweet it.”
Mr Cywinski added that since he sent the letter last week, no one from the government had responded yet.
Kola Alapinni, Omar’s lawyer, told The Telegraph that the adolescent has been held in a prison for adults and not been allowed to see any legal representation. If Omar had been older, Mr Alapinni says, he would have been sentenced to death.
At a federal level, Nigeria is a secular state. But 12 of the country’s northern Muslim-dominated states have a Sharia system running in parallel to the secular courts. These courts can only try Muslims and regularly serve out medieval-style punishments.
Mr Alapinni, a graduate of the University of Essex and a secularist campaigner, says he will keep fighting Omar’s corner.
“Section 10 of the constitution says Nigeria is a secular state. We are not Iran; we are no Saudi Arabia; we are not the Vatican. We are a multi-religious state with freedom of thought, expression and religion enshrined in the constitution,” he says.
“This should not be happening.”
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/au ... 09437.html
Will Brown
The TelegraphTue, September 29, 2020, 1:58 PM CDT
The director of the Auschwitz Memorial in Poland has offered to serve time for a Nigerian child who was convicted of blasphemy and ordered to spend ten years in prison by a Sharia court .
In an open letter, Piotr Cywinski asked Nigeria’s President to intervene and pardon 13-year-old Omar Farouq for the conviction.
“As the director of the Auschwitz memorial, which commemorates the victims and preserves the remains of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camps, where children were imprisoned and murdered, I cannot remain indifferent to this disgraceful sentence for humanity,” he wrote.
Omar Farouq was arrested earlier this year by religious police in Kano, Nigeria’s second-largest city, after he had a ‘blasphemous’ conversation with an older man. His conviction by a religious court has provoked condemnation by the United Nations and global human rights groups.
Mr Cywinski told The Telegraph that he felt he had to act when he heard about Omar.
“When I heard about this story last week, I remembered that [Nigeria’s] President Buhari visited Auschwitz in 2018. So I thought that maybe a voice coming from this difficult place would have some effect on him... I have kids that age.
"There are some times we have to stop our own silence and try to do something. It’s not enough to just like something on Facebook or retweet it.”
Mr Cywinski added that since he sent the letter last week, no one from the government had responded yet.
Kola Alapinni, Omar’s lawyer, told The Telegraph that the adolescent has been held in a prison for adults and not been allowed to see any legal representation. If Omar had been older, Mr Alapinni says, he would have been sentenced to death.
At a federal level, Nigeria is a secular state. But 12 of the country’s northern Muslim-dominated states have a Sharia system running in parallel to the secular courts. These courts can only try Muslims and regularly serve out medieval-style punishments.
Mr Alapinni, a graduate of the University of Essex and a secularist campaigner, says he will keep fighting Omar’s corner.
“Section 10 of the constitution says Nigeria is a secular state. We are not Iran; we are no Saudi Arabia; we are not the Vatican. We are a multi-religious state with freedom of thought, expression and religion enshrined in the constitution,” he says.
“This should not be happening.”
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/au ... 09437.html
Insulting Muslims is an abuse of free speech, Iran's Zarif says
DUBAI (Reuters) - Insulting Muslims is an "opportunistic" abuse of free speech, Iran's foreign minister said on Monday, in an apparent reference to remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron perceived to be critical of Islam.
"Muslims are the primary victims of the 'cult of hatred'," the minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, tweeted, without directly addressing Macron.
"Insulting 1.9B Muslims—& their sanctities—for the abhorrent crimes of such extremists is an opportunistic abuse of freedom of speech. It only fuels extremism," he added.
Macron, who led a tribute to a history teacher beheaded this month by a Chechen teenager for showing caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in class, declared war on "Islamist separatism", which he believes is taking over some Muslim communities in France.
Unlike some Muslim countries, Iran's clerical rulers have not called for a boycott of French goods. But several Iranian officials and politicians, including the heads of parliament and the judiciary, have condemned Macron for "Islamophobia", according to Iranian state media.
Ali Shamkhani, a close ally of Iran's top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Macron's "irrational behaviour" displayed his "crudeness in politics".
"Otherwise he would not have dared to embrace Islam in his quest for leadership in #Europe," tweeted Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National security Council.
"I suggest that he read more history and not rejoice in the support of a declining America & #Zionism."
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi, Editing by William Maclean)
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/in ... ailsignout
DUBAI (Reuters) - Insulting Muslims is an "opportunistic" abuse of free speech, Iran's foreign minister said on Monday, in an apparent reference to remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron perceived to be critical of Islam.
"Muslims are the primary victims of the 'cult of hatred'," the minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, tweeted, without directly addressing Macron.
"Insulting 1.9B Muslims—& their sanctities—for the abhorrent crimes of such extremists is an opportunistic abuse of freedom of speech. It only fuels extremism," he added.
Macron, who led a tribute to a history teacher beheaded this month by a Chechen teenager for showing caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in class, declared war on "Islamist separatism", which he believes is taking over some Muslim communities in France.
Unlike some Muslim countries, Iran's clerical rulers have not called for a boycott of French goods. But several Iranian officials and politicians, including the heads of parliament and the judiciary, have condemned Macron for "Islamophobia", according to Iranian state media.
Ali Shamkhani, a close ally of Iran's top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Macron's "irrational behaviour" displayed his "crudeness in politics".
"Otherwise he would not have dared to embrace Islam in his quest for leadership in #Europe," tweeted Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National security Council.
"I suggest that he read more history and not rejoice in the support of a declining America & #Zionism."
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi, Editing by William Maclean)
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/in ... ailsignout
JUSTICE: Insulting Prophet Mohammed in Europe can land you in jail, court declares
Austria – The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) passed the verdict on Thursday that insulting Islam’s Prophet Mohammed will be punishable offence and will not be counted under ‘freedom of expression’.
The court was compelled to pass the verdict after an Austrian woman Mrs. S insulted the Prophet in 2009 in two different seminars.
Panel of seven-judges said, defaming or demeaning the Prophet goes beyond permissible limits of an objective debate and could cause prejudice in the society and will risk religious peace.
The court said that the Mrs. S’ comments did not abide by freedom of expression, and stated that “the applicant’s statements had been likely to arouse justified indignation in Muslims” and “amounted to a generalization without factual basis.”
Austrian court trialed her in 2011 for disparaging religious doctrines and fined her 480 euros.
Based on Article-10 which permits freedom of expression, Mrs. S. complained that the domestic courts failed to address the substance of the impugned statements in the light of her right to freedom of expression.
However, ECHR today said,
On today’s ruling, the ECHR said “the domestic courts comprehensively assessed the wider context of the applicant’s statements and carefully balanced her right to freedom of expression with the right of others to have their religious feelings protected, and served the legitimate aim of preserving religious peace in Austria.”
https://millichronicle.com/2018/10/just ... -declares/
Austria – The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) passed the verdict on Thursday that insulting Islam’s Prophet Mohammed will be punishable offence and will not be counted under ‘freedom of expression’.
The court was compelled to pass the verdict after an Austrian woman Mrs. S insulted the Prophet in 2009 in two different seminars.
Panel of seven-judges said, defaming or demeaning the Prophet goes beyond permissible limits of an objective debate and could cause prejudice in the society and will risk religious peace.
The court said that the Mrs. S’ comments did not abide by freedom of expression, and stated that “the applicant’s statements had been likely to arouse justified indignation in Muslims” and “amounted to a generalization without factual basis.”
Austrian court trialed her in 2011 for disparaging religious doctrines and fined her 480 euros.
Based on Article-10 which permits freedom of expression, Mrs. S. complained that the domestic courts failed to address the substance of the impugned statements in the light of her right to freedom of expression.
However, ECHR today said,
On today’s ruling, the ECHR said “the domestic courts comprehensively assessed the wider context of the applicant’s statements and carefully balanced her right to freedom of expression with the right of others to have their religious feelings protected, and served the legitimate aim of preserving religious peace in Austria.”
https://millichronicle.com/2018/10/just ... -declares/
TODAY'S PAPER | NOVEMBER 20, 2020
Why they lynched Mashal Khan
Pervez Hoodbhoy Updated 07 Feb 2018
THE mental state of men ready and poised to kill has long fascinated scientists. The Nobel Prize winning ethologist, Konrad Lorenz, says such persons experience the ‘Holy Shiver’ (called heiliger Schauer in German) just moments before performing the deed. In his famous book On Aggression, Lorenz describes it as a tingling of the spine prior to performing a heroic act in defense of their communities.
This feeling, he says, is akin to the pre-human reflex that raises hair on an animal’s back as it zeroes in for the kill. He writes: “A shiver runs down the back and along the outside of both arms. All obstacles become unimportant … instinctive inhibitions against hurting or killing disappear … Men enjoy the feeling of absolute righteousness even as they commit atrocities.”
While they stripped naked and beat their colleague Mashal Khan with sticks and bricks, the 20-25 students of the Mardan university enjoyed precisely this feeling of righteousness. They said Khan had posted content disrespectful of Islam on his Facebook page and so they took it upon themselves to punish him. Finally, one student took out his pistol and shot him dead. Hundreds of others watched approvingly and, with their smartphone cameras, video-recorded the killing for distribution on their Facebook pages. A meeting of this self-congratulatory group resolved to hide the identity of the shooter.
Much of the Pakistani public, tacitly or openly, endorses violent punishment of suspected blasphemers.
Khan had blasphemed! Until this was finally shown to be false, no proper funeral was possible in his home village. Sympathy messages from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and opposition leaders such as Bilawal Bhutto came only after it had been established that Khan performed namaz fairly regularly.
Significantly, no protests of significance followed. University campuses were silent and meetings discussing the murder were disallowed. A demonstration at the Islamabad Press Club drew about 450, a miniscule figure against the estimated 200,000 who attended Mumtaz Qadri’s last rites.
This suggests that much of the Pakistani public, whether tacitly or openly, endorses violent punishment of suspected blasphemers. Why? How did so many Pakistanis become bloodthirsty vigilantes? Evening TV talk shows — at least those I have either seen or participated in — circle around two basic explanations.
One, favoured by the liberal-minded, blames the blasphemy law and implicitly demands its repeal (an explicit call would endanger one’s life). The other, voiced by the religiously orthodox, says vigilantism occurs only because our courts act too slowly against accused blasphemers.
Both claims are not just wrong, they are farcical. Subsequent to Khan’s killing, at least two other incidents show that gut reactions — not what some law says — is really what counts. In one, three armed burqa-clad sisters shot dead a man near Sialkot who had been accused of committing blasphemy 13 years ago. In the other, a visibly mentally ill man in Chitral uttered remarks inside a mosque and escaped lynching only upon the imam’s intervention. The mob subsequently burned the imam’s car. Heiliger Schauer!
While searching for a real explanation, let’s first note that religiously charged mobs are also in motion across the border. As more people flock to mandirs or masjids, the outcomes are strikingly similar. In an India that is now rapidly Hinduising, crowds are cheering enraged gau rakshaks who smash the skulls of Muslims suspected of consuming or transporting cows. In fact India has its own Khan — Pehlu Khan.
Accused of cattle-smuggling, Pehlu Khan was lynched and killed by cow vigilantes earlier this month before a cheering crowd in Alwar, with the episode also video-recorded. Minister Gulab Chand Kataria declared that Khan belonged to a family of cow smugglers and he had no reason to feel sorry. Now that cow slaughter has been hyped as the most heinous of crimes, no law passed in India can reverse vigilantism.
Vigilantism is best explained by evolutionary biology and sociology. A fundamental principle there says only actions and thoughts that help strengthen group identity are well received, others are not. In common with our ape ancestors, we humans instinctively band together in groups because strength lies in unity. The benefits of group membership are immense — access to social networks, enhanced trust, recognition, etc. Of course, as in a club, membership carries a price tag. Punishing cow-eaters or blasphemers (even alleged ones will do) can be part payment. You become a real hero by slaying a villain — ie someone who challenges your group’s ethos. Your membership dues are also payable by defending or eulogising heroes.
Celebration of such ‘heroes’ precedes Qadri. The 19-year old illiterate who killed Raj Pal, the Hindu publisher of a controversial book on the Prophet (PBUH), was subsequently executed by the British but the youth was held in the highest esteem. Ghazi Ilm Din is venerated by a mausoleum over his grave in Lahore. An 8th grade KP textbook chapter eulogising him tells us that Ilm Din’s body remained fresh days after the execution.
In recent times, backed by the formidable power of the state, Hindu India and Islamic Pakistan have vigorously injected religion into both politics and society. The result is their rapid re-tribalization through ‘meme transmission’ of primal values. A concept invented by the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, the meme is a ‘piece of thought’ transferrable from person to person by imitation. Like computer viruses, memes can jump from mind to mind.
Memes containing notions of religious or cultural superiority have been ‘cut-and-pasted’ into millions of young minds. Consequently, more than ever before, today’s youth uncritically accepts the inherent morality of their particular group, engages in self-censorship, rationalizes the group’s decisions, and engages in moral policing.
Groupthink and deadly memes caused the lynching and murder of the two Khans. Is a defense against such viral afflictions ever possible? Can the subcontinent move away from its barbaric present to a civilized future? One can so hope. After all, like fleas, memes and thought packages can jump from person to person. But they don’t bite everybody! A robust defense can be built by educating people into the spirit of critical inquiry, helping them become individuals rather than groupies, and encouraging them to introspect. A sense of humor, and maybe poetry, would also help.
The writer teaches physics in Lahore and Islamabad.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1329909/why-t ... ashal-khan
Why they lynched Mashal Khan
Pervez Hoodbhoy Updated 07 Feb 2018
THE mental state of men ready and poised to kill has long fascinated scientists. The Nobel Prize winning ethologist, Konrad Lorenz, says such persons experience the ‘Holy Shiver’ (called heiliger Schauer in German) just moments before performing the deed. In his famous book On Aggression, Lorenz describes it as a tingling of the spine prior to performing a heroic act in defense of their communities.
This feeling, he says, is akin to the pre-human reflex that raises hair on an animal’s back as it zeroes in for the kill. He writes: “A shiver runs down the back and along the outside of both arms. All obstacles become unimportant … instinctive inhibitions against hurting or killing disappear … Men enjoy the feeling of absolute righteousness even as they commit atrocities.”
While they stripped naked and beat their colleague Mashal Khan with sticks and bricks, the 20-25 students of the Mardan university enjoyed precisely this feeling of righteousness. They said Khan had posted content disrespectful of Islam on his Facebook page and so they took it upon themselves to punish him. Finally, one student took out his pistol and shot him dead. Hundreds of others watched approvingly and, with their smartphone cameras, video-recorded the killing for distribution on their Facebook pages. A meeting of this self-congratulatory group resolved to hide the identity of the shooter.
Much of the Pakistani public, tacitly or openly, endorses violent punishment of suspected blasphemers.
Khan had blasphemed! Until this was finally shown to be false, no proper funeral was possible in his home village. Sympathy messages from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and opposition leaders such as Bilawal Bhutto came only after it had been established that Khan performed namaz fairly regularly.
Significantly, no protests of significance followed. University campuses were silent and meetings discussing the murder were disallowed. A demonstration at the Islamabad Press Club drew about 450, a miniscule figure against the estimated 200,000 who attended Mumtaz Qadri’s last rites.
This suggests that much of the Pakistani public, whether tacitly or openly, endorses violent punishment of suspected blasphemers. Why? How did so many Pakistanis become bloodthirsty vigilantes? Evening TV talk shows — at least those I have either seen or participated in — circle around two basic explanations.
One, favoured by the liberal-minded, blames the blasphemy law and implicitly demands its repeal (an explicit call would endanger one’s life). The other, voiced by the religiously orthodox, says vigilantism occurs only because our courts act too slowly against accused blasphemers.
Both claims are not just wrong, they are farcical. Subsequent to Khan’s killing, at least two other incidents show that gut reactions — not what some law says — is really what counts. In one, three armed burqa-clad sisters shot dead a man near Sialkot who had been accused of committing blasphemy 13 years ago. In the other, a visibly mentally ill man in Chitral uttered remarks inside a mosque and escaped lynching only upon the imam’s intervention. The mob subsequently burned the imam’s car. Heiliger Schauer!
While searching for a real explanation, let’s first note that religiously charged mobs are also in motion across the border. As more people flock to mandirs or masjids, the outcomes are strikingly similar. In an India that is now rapidly Hinduising, crowds are cheering enraged gau rakshaks who smash the skulls of Muslims suspected of consuming or transporting cows. In fact India has its own Khan — Pehlu Khan.
Accused of cattle-smuggling, Pehlu Khan was lynched and killed by cow vigilantes earlier this month before a cheering crowd in Alwar, with the episode also video-recorded. Minister Gulab Chand Kataria declared that Khan belonged to a family of cow smugglers and he had no reason to feel sorry. Now that cow slaughter has been hyped as the most heinous of crimes, no law passed in India can reverse vigilantism.
Vigilantism is best explained by evolutionary biology and sociology. A fundamental principle there says only actions and thoughts that help strengthen group identity are well received, others are not. In common with our ape ancestors, we humans instinctively band together in groups because strength lies in unity. The benefits of group membership are immense — access to social networks, enhanced trust, recognition, etc. Of course, as in a club, membership carries a price tag. Punishing cow-eaters or blasphemers (even alleged ones will do) can be part payment. You become a real hero by slaying a villain — ie someone who challenges your group’s ethos. Your membership dues are also payable by defending or eulogising heroes.
Celebration of such ‘heroes’ precedes Qadri. The 19-year old illiterate who killed Raj Pal, the Hindu publisher of a controversial book on the Prophet (PBUH), was subsequently executed by the British but the youth was held in the highest esteem. Ghazi Ilm Din is venerated by a mausoleum over his grave in Lahore. An 8th grade KP textbook chapter eulogising him tells us that Ilm Din’s body remained fresh days after the execution.
In recent times, backed by the formidable power of the state, Hindu India and Islamic Pakistan have vigorously injected religion into both politics and society. The result is their rapid re-tribalization through ‘meme transmission’ of primal values. A concept invented by the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, the meme is a ‘piece of thought’ transferrable from person to person by imitation. Like computer viruses, memes can jump from mind to mind.
Memes containing notions of religious or cultural superiority have been ‘cut-and-pasted’ into millions of young minds. Consequently, more than ever before, today’s youth uncritically accepts the inherent morality of their particular group, engages in self-censorship, rationalizes the group’s decisions, and engages in moral policing.
Groupthink and deadly memes caused the lynching and murder of the two Khans. Is a defense against such viral afflictions ever possible? Can the subcontinent move away from its barbaric present to a civilized future? One can so hope. After all, like fleas, memes and thought packages can jump from person to person. But they don’t bite everybody! A robust defense can be built by educating people into the spirit of critical inquiry, helping them become individuals rather than groupies, and encouraging them to introspect. A sense of humor, and maybe poetry, would also help.
The writer teaches physics in Lahore and Islamabad.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1329909/why-t ... ashal-khan
Descent into fanaticism
Asfand Yar Warraich Updated 15 Nov 2020
VERY recently, we witnessed the occurrence of two terrifying incidents of vigilante justice, and although they were separated by many miles, whatever they lacked in geographical proximity, they made up for in a unified ideology — both were carried out in the name and on the pretext of religion.
First, there was the horrific murder of Imran Hanif, a bank manager in Quaidabad, who was gunned down in broad daylight by a security guard employed at the same establishment. Although later reports indicate that there may have been an element of personal enmity involved (apparently the two had had an earlier tiff), once the deed was done, the guard declared the manager a blasphemer. This was not murder, he asserted, but an execution. His motive was pious — all he wanted was to avenge the honor of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
As word spread, a throng of people gathered around the killer. But, rather than decry the fact that he had taken another life, they showered him with admiration and praise.
Videos made shortly after the incident depict the murderer not being taken into custody but marching to the police station, boldly and defiantly. And he does not march alone. Escorting him is a whole coterie of fans. They are in thrall, it appears. One kisses his cheek, overwhelmed by emotion. Another caresses him, almost in awe, as though he is an object of reverence. As for the rest, they rally behind and around him, making videos and snapping pictures and chanting slogans.
If we have come to the point of venerating premeditated murder, where are we truly heading?
More ominously, even after their arrival at the police station, the guard and his devotees were given carte blanche to do as they please, and so, they clambered onto the rooftop of the building, where the self-confessed killer was allowed to take one final stand — like a gallant hero basking in the glory being heaped upon him. One is compelled to ask: if we have come to the point of venerating premeditated murder, an egregious crime in law and an egregious sin in religion, where are we truly heading?
The second incident took place at Kohat University of Technology, and is eerily reminiscent of the brutal lynching of Mashal Khan only three years prior. A young student accused of posting blasphemous content on social media was assaulted by a gang of his colleagues — on university premises, no less. Thankfully, due to the timely intervention of the vice chancellor (VC) the student was escorted to safety and law-enforcement agencies promptly alerted. This, however, was not the end of the saga.
As anti-riot police arrived, students put the entire campus on lockdown. They shuttered the gates and besieged the VC’s office, demanding that the student be expelled, failing which they would be forced to kill him. It was only when the VC issued a formal notification of expulsion that the mob of pupils finally relented. As of now the particular student is safe but, unfortunately, his ordeal has only just begun. Before him lies a long and dangerous trial and for the foreseeable future, his life shall remain at risk, as will the safety of those around him — his family, friends, lawyers and, should there be an acquittal, perhaps even the judge presiding over his case.
These episodes, not to mention countless others just like them in the not-so-distant past, all point to a rising tide of fanaticism, and in a country where moral uproar is rarely lacking over the most trivial of matters, both these incidents have been met with deafening silence. Mainstream electronic media, normally so eager for stories of violence, has barely given this any coverage. Religious organizations have remained mum, along with most prominent members of the clergy. And Twitter-friendly parliamentarians, typically chirpy, suddenly became tongue-tied.
Most disturbing, though, is the muteness of the state. The incumbent government, while bemoaning Islamophobia globally and passionately championing the case for making ‘defamation of religion’ an internationally recognized crime, has here at home chosen to exercise silence in the face of such barbarity. No hue and cry has been raised. No denunciation delivered. This bout of paralysis is telling — even the state has succumbed to fear.
Today, blasphemy has become a crime of such explosive sensitivity that to be merely accused of it is a death sentence in itself. Let us face it — since their crystallization, blasphemy laws have become a rallying call for radicalism, and under their cover, crimes of unspeakable violence have been committed. They are consistently being weaponized and abused before our eyes, and thus make quite an urgent case for their own review.
Contrary to what some commentators may suggest, blasphemy is neither a colonial product nor a novel invention attributable solely to the Zia regime. The legal rationale for enacting and enforcing blasphemy laws in an Islamic state actually lies in orthodox interpretations of the Sharia. Its status as a capital offence has been endorsed by a near-unanimous consensus of classical fuqaha — though admittedly, they too differ on questions of minutiae, such as whether repentance is acceptable in such cases, or whether the death penalty applies to a non-habitual non-Muslim blasphemer. If and to what extent these traditional interpretations ought to be applicable in the context of modern-day Pakistan is a subject unto itself, and so must be left for another time.
For now, it is more imperative to find a point of congruence. This should not be difficult — murder is unacceptable no matter the guise it may adopt. As long as we keep conferring sainthood upon these individuals, sections of the public shall continue to look up to them. The misguided zeal fuelling this feverish vigilantism cannot be stopped until it is condemned and corrected — loudly, boldly and from each and every quarter. Till then, this frenzied trigger-happy bloodlust shall only continue to pick up pace.
Writing on the subject of fanaticism in his rather peculiar encyclopaedia, the Philosophical Dictionary, Voltaire likened the phenomenon to a disease, remarking that once it has “gangrened the brain of any man, the malady may be regarded as nearly incurable”. We, as a nation, must by necessity disagree with Voltaire, for if he is correct in his fatalistic prognosis, we may be too far gone already.
The writer is a barrister.
Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2020
https://www.dawn.com/news/1590473/desce ... fanaticism
Asfand Yar Warraich Updated 15 Nov 2020
VERY recently, we witnessed the occurrence of two terrifying incidents of vigilante justice, and although they were separated by many miles, whatever they lacked in geographical proximity, they made up for in a unified ideology — both were carried out in the name and on the pretext of religion.
First, there was the horrific murder of Imran Hanif, a bank manager in Quaidabad, who was gunned down in broad daylight by a security guard employed at the same establishment. Although later reports indicate that there may have been an element of personal enmity involved (apparently the two had had an earlier tiff), once the deed was done, the guard declared the manager a blasphemer. This was not murder, he asserted, but an execution. His motive was pious — all he wanted was to avenge the honor of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
As word spread, a throng of people gathered around the killer. But, rather than decry the fact that he had taken another life, they showered him with admiration and praise.
Videos made shortly after the incident depict the murderer not being taken into custody but marching to the police station, boldly and defiantly. And he does not march alone. Escorting him is a whole coterie of fans. They are in thrall, it appears. One kisses his cheek, overwhelmed by emotion. Another caresses him, almost in awe, as though he is an object of reverence. As for the rest, they rally behind and around him, making videos and snapping pictures and chanting slogans.
If we have come to the point of venerating premeditated murder, where are we truly heading?
More ominously, even after their arrival at the police station, the guard and his devotees were given carte blanche to do as they please, and so, they clambered onto the rooftop of the building, where the self-confessed killer was allowed to take one final stand — like a gallant hero basking in the glory being heaped upon him. One is compelled to ask: if we have come to the point of venerating premeditated murder, an egregious crime in law and an egregious sin in religion, where are we truly heading?
The second incident took place at Kohat University of Technology, and is eerily reminiscent of the brutal lynching of Mashal Khan only three years prior. A young student accused of posting blasphemous content on social media was assaulted by a gang of his colleagues — on university premises, no less. Thankfully, due to the timely intervention of the vice chancellor (VC) the student was escorted to safety and law-enforcement agencies promptly alerted. This, however, was not the end of the saga.
As anti-riot police arrived, students put the entire campus on lockdown. They shuttered the gates and besieged the VC’s office, demanding that the student be expelled, failing which they would be forced to kill him. It was only when the VC issued a formal notification of expulsion that the mob of pupils finally relented. As of now the particular student is safe but, unfortunately, his ordeal has only just begun. Before him lies a long and dangerous trial and for the foreseeable future, his life shall remain at risk, as will the safety of those around him — his family, friends, lawyers and, should there be an acquittal, perhaps even the judge presiding over his case.
These episodes, not to mention countless others just like them in the not-so-distant past, all point to a rising tide of fanaticism, and in a country where moral uproar is rarely lacking over the most trivial of matters, both these incidents have been met with deafening silence. Mainstream electronic media, normally so eager for stories of violence, has barely given this any coverage. Religious organizations have remained mum, along with most prominent members of the clergy. And Twitter-friendly parliamentarians, typically chirpy, suddenly became tongue-tied.
Most disturbing, though, is the muteness of the state. The incumbent government, while bemoaning Islamophobia globally and passionately championing the case for making ‘defamation of religion’ an internationally recognized crime, has here at home chosen to exercise silence in the face of such barbarity. No hue and cry has been raised. No denunciation delivered. This bout of paralysis is telling — even the state has succumbed to fear.
Today, blasphemy has become a crime of such explosive sensitivity that to be merely accused of it is a death sentence in itself. Let us face it — since their crystallization, blasphemy laws have become a rallying call for radicalism, and under their cover, crimes of unspeakable violence have been committed. They are consistently being weaponized and abused before our eyes, and thus make quite an urgent case for their own review.
Contrary to what some commentators may suggest, blasphemy is neither a colonial product nor a novel invention attributable solely to the Zia regime. The legal rationale for enacting and enforcing blasphemy laws in an Islamic state actually lies in orthodox interpretations of the Sharia. Its status as a capital offence has been endorsed by a near-unanimous consensus of classical fuqaha — though admittedly, they too differ on questions of minutiae, such as whether repentance is acceptable in such cases, or whether the death penalty applies to a non-habitual non-Muslim blasphemer. If and to what extent these traditional interpretations ought to be applicable in the context of modern-day Pakistan is a subject unto itself, and so must be left for another time.
For now, it is more imperative to find a point of congruence. This should not be difficult — murder is unacceptable no matter the guise it may adopt. As long as we keep conferring sainthood upon these individuals, sections of the public shall continue to look up to them. The misguided zeal fuelling this feverish vigilantism cannot be stopped until it is condemned and corrected — loudly, boldly and from each and every quarter. Till then, this frenzied trigger-happy bloodlust shall only continue to pick up pace.
Writing on the subject of fanaticism in his rather peculiar encyclopaedia, the Philosophical Dictionary, Voltaire likened the phenomenon to a disease, remarking that once it has “gangrened the brain of any man, the malady may be regarded as nearly incurable”. We, as a nation, must by necessity disagree with Voltaire, for if he is correct in his fatalistic prognosis, we may be too far gone already.
The writer is a barrister.
Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2020
https://www.dawn.com/news/1590473/desce ... fanaticism
‘God rapes young middle eastern migrant’ skit on Irish state TV provokes Catholic Church fury
The controversial sketch was broadcast during a New Year's Eve countdown show.
A comedy sketch depicting God as a rapist, aired during a New Year’s Eve countdown program by Ireland’s national broadcaster, has sparked a furious backlash from the country’s catholic bishops.
The mock news report was broadcast on RTÉ as viewers across locked-down Ireland tuned into the state television station to finally bid farewell to 2020. In the controversial clip an aged man in a white robe, with white hair and a long white beard, is seen being dragged away from a courthouse and into a police vehicle by a member of the Irish police.
“In another shocking revelation this year, God became the latest figure to be implicated in ongoing sexual harassment scandals,” a newsreader explains in a voiceover.
The five-billion-year-old stood accused of forcing himself on a young middle-eastern migrant and allegedly impregnating her against her will.
“He was sentenced to two years in prison with the last 24 months suspended,” the voiceover added, poking fun at Ireland’s notoriously lax sentencing laws.
The role of the newsreader was played by veteran broadcaster Aengus Mac Grianna, who worked on RTÉ’s news coverage for many years. The sketch was the work of the satirical news outlet Waterford Whispers News, which was hired by RTÉ to produce content for the New Year’s Eve show.
The sketch provoked a furious reaction from the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin, who blasted the state TV outlet for broadcasting the joke.
“I am shocked that producer/editor of NYE Countdown Show didn’t realise how deeply offensive was a mocking news report accusing God of rape and reporting his imprisonment,” Archbishop Martin said.
This outrageous clip should be removed immediately and denounced by all people of goodwill.
“To broadcast such a deeply offensive and blasphemous clip about God and Our Blessed Mother Mary during the Christmas season is insulting to all Catholics and Christians,” he added.
The Archbishop of Dublin, Dermot Farrell, also condemned RTÉ, accusing it of “mocking the divine” and of “trivializing rape victims.”
Many Twitter users were quick to side with the church leaders, accusing RTÉ of peddling “offensive rubbish,” while also calling for people to stop paying the tv license fee that funds the national broadcaster.
“Truly appalling. The absolute state of our public broadcaster,” one person said. “All Catholics should stop paying their TV license fee,” another added.
The outrage was far from confined to the Catholic church as many in the political sphere also expressed their anger at the broadcast.
Junior Minister for Special Education and Inclusion Josepha Madigan blasted the sketch for making light of rape. “Satire is an important part of free speech, but I am very concerned about flippant jokes being made about a topic as serious as rape,” she told the Irish Daily Mail.
It truly was a New Year’s Eve to forget for RTÉ as the God sketch wasn’t the only controversy that befell the program. Amazingly, the New Year countdown show managed to miss the countdown to 2021 as studio guests were busy chatting about their heroes of 2020. The program then cut to a 30 second countdown after 2021 had already arrived. Needless to say, many viewers were not happy.
https://www.rt.com/news/511384-god-rape ... oadcaster/
The controversial sketch was broadcast during a New Year's Eve countdown show.
A comedy sketch depicting God as a rapist, aired during a New Year’s Eve countdown program by Ireland’s national broadcaster, has sparked a furious backlash from the country’s catholic bishops.
The mock news report was broadcast on RTÉ as viewers across locked-down Ireland tuned into the state television station to finally bid farewell to 2020. In the controversial clip an aged man in a white robe, with white hair and a long white beard, is seen being dragged away from a courthouse and into a police vehicle by a member of the Irish police.
“In another shocking revelation this year, God became the latest figure to be implicated in ongoing sexual harassment scandals,” a newsreader explains in a voiceover.
The five-billion-year-old stood accused of forcing himself on a young middle-eastern migrant and allegedly impregnating her against her will.
“He was sentenced to two years in prison with the last 24 months suspended,” the voiceover added, poking fun at Ireland’s notoriously lax sentencing laws.
The role of the newsreader was played by veteran broadcaster Aengus Mac Grianna, who worked on RTÉ’s news coverage for many years. The sketch was the work of the satirical news outlet Waterford Whispers News, which was hired by RTÉ to produce content for the New Year’s Eve show.
The sketch provoked a furious reaction from the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin, who blasted the state TV outlet for broadcasting the joke.
“I am shocked that producer/editor of NYE Countdown Show didn’t realise how deeply offensive was a mocking news report accusing God of rape and reporting his imprisonment,” Archbishop Martin said.
This outrageous clip should be removed immediately and denounced by all people of goodwill.
“To broadcast such a deeply offensive and blasphemous clip about God and Our Blessed Mother Mary during the Christmas season is insulting to all Catholics and Christians,” he added.
The Archbishop of Dublin, Dermot Farrell, also condemned RTÉ, accusing it of “mocking the divine” and of “trivializing rape victims.”
Many Twitter users were quick to side with the church leaders, accusing RTÉ of peddling “offensive rubbish,” while also calling for people to stop paying the tv license fee that funds the national broadcaster.
“Truly appalling. The absolute state of our public broadcaster,” one person said. “All Catholics should stop paying their TV license fee,” another added.
The outrage was far from confined to the Catholic church as many in the political sphere also expressed their anger at the broadcast.
Junior Minister for Special Education and Inclusion Josepha Madigan blasted the sketch for making light of rape. “Satire is an important part of free speech, but I am very concerned about flippant jokes being made about a topic as serious as rape,” she told the Irish Daily Mail.
It truly was a New Year’s Eve to forget for RTÉ as the God sketch wasn’t the only controversy that befell the program. Amazingly, the New Year countdown show managed to miss the countdown to 2021 as studio guests were busy chatting about their heroes of 2020. The program then cut to a 30 second countdown after 2021 had already arrived. Needless to say, many viewers were not happy.
https://www.rt.com/news/511384-god-rape ... oadcaster/
Death threats for director of Pakistan's Oscars film banned by hardliners
Ben Farmer
The Telegraph Sat, February 6, 2021, 9:22 AM
When Sarmad Sultan Khoosat finds out next week if his film has made the Oscars shortlist, even the announcement of a coveted nomination place may be slightly bittersweet. While other entrants in the best international feature category have their work feted by audiences at home, Mr Khoosat's film cannot currently be released in Pakistan.
Zindagi Tamasha, or Circus of Life, may have won awards at international festivals, but a furore from religious hardliners has kept it out of Pakistani cinemas.
Three days before the film was due to be released a year ago, it was instead denounced. The director endured a tumultuous year of death threats and harassment and said he had come to accept it may never get a cinema release in his native country.
“It's been some journey that's all I can say,” he told the Telegraph last week.
His plight is all the more remarkable because his fate has partly echoed that of his protagonist. The low-key, character-driven drama tells of social media judgment descending on a pious, staid man who lets his hair down at a wedding and is filmed dancing.
The video goes viral and the man finds himself ostracized and humiliated among his conservative peers and eventually having to film a second video of apology.
When a two-minute-15 second trailer for the film was released, it was savaged by the influential Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan hard-line religious party (TLP), even though members had not seen the full film.
The party objected to the portrayal of the protagonist as a singer of religious poems, and to a brief reference in the trailer to child abuse by clerics.
The TLP complained the film “can cause discomfort to the public and might lead them to deviate from Islam and Prophet (Muhammad)” and must not be released “as it could otherwise be a grave test of the Muslims of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan."
Such is the power of the TLP that the government quickly caved in. The party rose to prominence campaigning against reform to anti-blasphemy laws and its ability to drum up vast crowds has made it a formidable force in Pakistan. As the party threatened mass street protests, the film's release was suspended.
“The state didn't ban the film, they just buckled under the pressure,” Mr Khoosat explained.
Like in his film, Mr Khoosat became the target of persecution by an online mob. He was threatened and his address and private details were leaked.
Pakistan's senate was convened to judge the film and eventually gave it a clean bill of health after a special screening, but it remains in limbo with officials apparently unwilling to give formal permission for the release.
Taking advantage of specially relaxed rules for Oscar qualifications during the pandemic, the film was still able to be entered, after it received a week-long online release.
Hamza Bangash, one of the independent committee which nominated the film as Pakistan's entry, described it as “a beautiful piece of art and a very rare example of contemporary Pakistani cinema that speaks to the condition of the society”.
He said the film illustrated growing intolerance in Pakistani society, but also had messages for the wider world.
“We are living in such interesting times where across the world fascism and extremism is growing in leaps and bounds and this film puts a very Pakistani face to that issue, he said. “A growing culture of intolerance and a shrinking of the margins of free speech.”
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/de ... 25747.html
Ben Farmer
The Telegraph Sat, February 6, 2021, 9:22 AM
When Sarmad Sultan Khoosat finds out next week if his film has made the Oscars shortlist, even the announcement of a coveted nomination place may be slightly bittersweet. While other entrants in the best international feature category have their work feted by audiences at home, Mr Khoosat's film cannot currently be released in Pakistan.
Zindagi Tamasha, or Circus of Life, may have won awards at international festivals, but a furore from religious hardliners has kept it out of Pakistani cinemas.
Three days before the film was due to be released a year ago, it was instead denounced. The director endured a tumultuous year of death threats and harassment and said he had come to accept it may never get a cinema release in his native country.
“It's been some journey that's all I can say,” he told the Telegraph last week.
His plight is all the more remarkable because his fate has partly echoed that of his protagonist. The low-key, character-driven drama tells of social media judgment descending on a pious, staid man who lets his hair down at a wedding and is filmed dancing.
The video goes viral and the man finds himself ostracized and humiliated among his conservative peers and eventually having to film a second video of apology.
When a two-minute-15 second trailer for the film was released, it was savaged by the influential Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan hard-line religious party (TLP), even though members had not seen the full film.
The party objected to the portrayal of the protagonist as a singer of religious poems, and to a brief reference in the trailer to child abuse by clerics.
The TLP complained the film “can cause discomfort to the public and might lead them to deviate from Islam and Prophet (Muhammad)” and must not be released “as it could otherwise be a grave test of the Muslims of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan."
Such is the power of the TLP that the government quickly caved in. The party rose to prominence campaigning against reform to anti-blasphemy laws and its ability to drum up vast crowds has made it a formidable force in Pakistan. As the party threatened mass street protests, the film's release was suspended.
“The state didn't ban the film, they just buckled under the pressure,” Mr Khoosat explained.
Like in his film, Mr Khoosat became the target of persecution by an online mob. He was threatened and his address and private details were leaked.
Pakistan's senate was convened to judge the film and eventually gave it a clean bill of health after a special screening, but it remains in limbo with officials apparently unwilling to give formal permission for the release.
Taking advantage of specially relaxed rules for Oscar qualifications during the pandemic, the film was still able to be entered, after it received a week-long online release.
Hamza Bangash, one of the independent committee which nominated the film as Pakistan's entry, described it as “a beautiful piece of art and a very rare example of contemporary Pakistani cinema that speaks to the condition of the society”.
He said the film illustrated growing intolerance in Pakistani society, but also had messages for the wider world.
“We are living in such interesting times where across the world fascism and extremism is growing in leaps and bounds and this film puts a very Pakistani face to that issue, he said. “A growing culture of intolerance and a shrinking of the margins of free speech.”
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/de ... 25747.html
Pakistan police seek arrest of 2 Christians over blasphemy
Associated Press Wed, February 17, 2021, 12:58 AM
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan's police said Wednesday they were seeking arrest of two Christian men in the eastern city of Lahore on charges they allegedly used insulting remarks against Islam's holy book and its Prophet Muhammad.
The case against the two men was registered last Saturday on the complaint of a Muslim local resident Haroon Ahmed, said Muratab Ali, a police investigator, who said the accused persons had yet to be arrested.
He provided no further details and only said they were still investigating to determine whether the two minority Christians made derogatory remarks about the Quran and Islam's Prophet during a discussion on religion.
Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone accused of insulting Islam or other religious figures can be sentenced to death if found guilty. While authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy, just the accusation of blasphemy can cause riots in Pakistan.
According to domestic and international human rights groups, blasphemy allegations in Pakistan have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and to settle personal scores. A Punjab governor was killed by his own guard in 2011 after he defended a Christian woman, Aasia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy. She was acquitted after spending eight years on death row and left Pakistan for Canada to join her family after receiving threats.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/pa ... 44213.html
Associated Press Wed, February 17, 2021, 12:58 AM
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan's police said Wednesday they were seeking arrest of two Christian men in the eastern city of Lahore on charges they allegedly used insulting remarks against Islam's holy book and its Prophet Muhammad.
The case against the two men was registered last Saturday on the complaint of a Muslim local resident Haroon Ahmed, said Muratab Ali, a police investigator, who said the accused persons had yet to be arrested.
He provided no further details and only said they were still investigating to determine whether the two minority Christians made derogatory remarks about the Quran and Islam's Prophet during a discussion on religion.
Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone accused of insulting Islam or other religious figures can be sentenced to death if found guilty. While authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy, just the accusation of blasphemy can cause riots in Pakistan.
According to domestic and international human rights groups, blasphemy allegations in Pakistan have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and to settle personal scores. A Punjab governor was killed by his own guard in 2011 after he defended a Christian woman, Aasia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy. She was acquitted after spending eight years on death row and left Pakistan for Canada to join her family after receiving threats.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/pa ... 44213.html
Man axed to death over blasphemy allegations in Punjab's Jhang
Imran Gabol Published March 26, 2021
Taqi Shah was attacked while he was visiting a local mela in Basti Murad of Shorkot tehsil with a friend on March 24. — Creative Commons/File
A man was axed to death on Wednesday over allegations of blasphemy in Punjab's Jhang district, it emerged on Friday.
Police said Taqi Shah, a religious scholar from the Shia community, and his friend Hasnain Shah were roaming a local mela (festival) in Basti Murad of Shorkot tehsil on March 24 when they were attacked by a man on foot.
Taqi, who was on a motorcycle, lost his balance and fell on the road upon which the attacker axed him (Taqi) to death, according to police. His friend Hasnain remained safe in the incident and is a witness in the case.
The suspect later fled the scene.
Police then reached the spot and shifted the body to a nearby hospital for post-mortem examination.
Police have registered a murder case against three suspects including one identified man and two unidentified persons at Shorkot City police station on the complaint of a family member of the deceased.
The complainant alleged that the victim was killed by the primary suspect after developing a dispute with him "while playing volleyball".
Investigation Officer Tariq Mehmood said the suspect was arrested on Wednesday evening and was presented before a magistrate who sent him to jail on a 14-day judicial remand.
He said the suspect and the victim had engaged in a quarrel while playing volleyball some days ago and the matter had been resolved at the time.
However, the suspect later developed a grudge against Taqi and attacked him with an axe and killed him.
Meanwhile, Jhang District Police Officer (DPO) Sarfraz Virk told Dawn that the suspect had killed the man after accusing him of committing blasphemy against companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
He said the suspect and the victim had also developed a dispute over playing volleyball some days ago. “The suspect in his statement confessed to have killed the victim, Taqi Shah, over blasphemy allegations,” the DPO added.
He said the victim was also facing charges of committing blasphemy against the companions of the Prophet in a court. The blasphemy case against him was registered in 2019.
Human rights groups say blasphemy laws are often misused to persecute minorities or even against Muslims to settle personal rivalries. Such accusations can end up in lynchings or street vigilantism.
Up to 80 people are known to be imprisoned in the country on such charges — half of whom face life in prison or the death penalty — according to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1614755/man-a ... jabs-jhang
Imran Gabol Published March 26, 2021
Taqi Shah was attacked while he was visiting a local mela in Basti Murad of Shorkot tehsil with a friend on March 24. — Creative Commons/File
A man was axed to death on Wednesday over allegations of blasphemy in Punjab's Jhang district, it emerged on Friday.
Police said Taqi Shah, a religious scholar from the Shia community, and his friend Hasnain Shah were roaming a local mela (festival) in Basti Murad of Shorkot tehsil on March 24 when they were attacked by a man on foot.
Taqi, who was on a motorcycle, lost his balance and fell on the road upon which the attacker axed him (Taqi) to death, according to police. His friend Hasnain remained safe in the incident and is a witness in the case.
The suspect later fled the scene.
Police then reached the spot and shifted the body to a nearby hospital for post-mortem examination.
Police have registered a murder case against three suspects including one identified man and two unidentified persons at Shorkot City police station on the complaint of a family member of the deceased.
The complainant alleged that the victim was killed by the primary suspect after developing a dispute with him "while playing volleyball".
Investigation Officer Tariq Mehmood said the suspect was arrested on Wednesday evening and was presented before a magistrate who sent him to jail on a 14-day judicial remand.
He said the suspect and the victim had engaged in a quarrel while playing volleyball some days ago and the matter had been resolved at the time.
However, the suspect later developed a grudge against Taqi and attacked him with an axe and killed him.
Meanwhile, Jhang District Police Officer (DPO) Sarfraz Virk told Dawn that the suspect had killed the man after accusing him of committing blasphemy against companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
He said the suspect and the victim had also developed a dispute over playing volleyball some days ago. “The suspect in his statement confessed to have killed the victim, Taqi Shah, over blasphemy allegations,” the DPO added.
He said the victim was also facing charges of committing blasphemy against the companions of the Prophet in a court. The blasphemy case against him was registered in 2019.
Human rights groups say blasphemy laws are often misused to persecute minorities or even against Muslims to settle personal rivalries. Such accusations can end up in lynchings or street vigilantism.
Up to 80 people are known to be imprisoned in the country on such charges — half of whom face life in prison or the death penalty — according to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1614755/man-a ... jabs-jhang
How to Save a Movie From Clerics Who Didn’t Watch It
This is the story of an unholy alliance, Pakistan-style.
In 2019, more than 80 young Pakistani artists came together to work on a small-budget independent film about a man and his daughter, “Zindagi Tamasha.” Since then, the film has been cleared for release in Pakistan several times, was selected to be the country’s official entry for the 2020 Academy Awards foreign language film category and has won prizes in international festivals. Yet it still can’t be shown in Pakistan — not because of the pandemic, but because it offends some people who haven’t even seen it.
One evening late last January, the Pakistani filmmaker Sarmad Khoosat, a friend of mine, sat on a stage in the British Council’s library in Karachi to introduce “Zindagi Tamasha.” During the talk, he received a Twitter notification accusing his movie of being disrespectful to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).
Soon, Sarmad’s social-media timelines were filled with death threats. He spent the rest of the year trying to save both his life and the film he had made with love and his own money.
There was nothing in “Zindagi Tamasha” (“Circus of Life”) remotely insulting to the Prophet. In it, the Prophet is only referred to in “naats,” poetry written specifically in praise of, and to evoke love for, the Prophet. But soon after its release, Sarmad’s own life turned into a scary circus.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/09/opin ... 778d3e6de3
This is the story of an unholy alliance, Pakistan-style.
In 2019, more than 80 young Pakistani artists came together to work on a small-budget independent film about a man and his daughter, “Zindagi Tamasha.” Since then, the film has been cleared for release in Pakistan several times, was selected to be the country’s official entry for the 2020 Academy Awards foreign language film category and has won prizes in international festivals. Yet it still can’t be shown in Pakistan — not because of the pandemic, but because it offends some people who haven’t even seen it.
One evening late last January, the Pakistani filmmaker Sarmad Khoosat, a friend of mine, sat on a stage in the British Council’s library in Karachi to introduce “Zindagi Tamasha.” During the talk, he received a Twitter notification accusing his movie of being disrespectful to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).
Soon, Sarmad’s social-media timelines were filled with death threats. He spent the rest of the year trying to save both his life and the film he had made with love and his own money.
There was nothing in “Zindagi Tamasha” (“Circus of Life”) remotely insulting to the Prophet. In it, the Prophet is only referred to in “naats,” poetry written specifically in praise of, and to evoke love for, the Prophet. But soon after its release, Sarmad’s own life turned into a scary circus.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/09/opin ... 778d3e6de3
Blasphemy case registered against two nurses in Faisalabad
Saleem Mubarak Published April 10, 2021 - Updated about 17 hours
FAISALABAD: Police have registered a case against two nurses of the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital on the charge of committing blasphemy.
Scores of hospital employees staged a protest demonstration on Friday against the two nurses while alleging that both committed blasphemy by removing a sticker with sacred inscription from a cupboard.
Some of the unruly agitators attacked the police van parked inside the hospital to get custody of one of the nurses but the police locked her inside the van to keep her safe from the the protesters.
A police officer said it had been reported that two nurses committed blasphemy on Thursday by removing a sticker in a ward where psychiatric patients are being treated.
Deputy Medical Superintendent Dr Mohammad Ali submitted an application to the Civil Lines police claiming that the allegation of blasphemy had been proved by the hospital committee. He said the head nurse had taken the removed sticker into her custody and she apprised him of the issue on Friday.
The hospital administration called police who immediately took the nurse into protective custody so that she could be moved to a safer place. Scores of people tried to get hold of her but police kept her inside the van.
Anti-riot police and Elite Force tackled the situation and a team led by Civil Lines DSP Rana Attaur Rehman after hectic struggle succeeded to move her from the hospital premises.
Among the protesters were clerics who demanded action against the prime suspect.
Police booked both nurses under section 295-B of the PPC.
Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2021
https://www.dawn.com/news/1617348/blasp ... faisalabad
Saleem Mubarak Published April 10, 2021 - Updated about 17 hours
FAISALABAD: Police have registered a case against two nurses of the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital on the charge of committing blasphemy.
Scores of hospital employees staged a protest demonstration on Friday against the two nurses while alleging that both committed blasphemy by removing a sticker with sacred inscription from a cupboard.
Some of the unruly agitators attacked the police van parked inside the hospital to get custody of one of the nurses but the police locked her inside the van to keep her safe from the the protesters.
A police officer said it had been reported that two nurses committed blasphemy on Thursday by removing a sticker in a ward where psychiatric patients are being treated.
Deputy Medical Superintendent Dr Mohammad Ali submitted an application to the Civil Lines police claiming that the allegation of blasphemy had been proved by the hospital committee. He said the head nurse had taken the removed sticker into her custody and she apprised him of the issue on Friday.
The hospital administration called police who immediately took the nurse into protective custody so that she could be moved to a safer place. Scores of people tried to get hold of her but police kept her inside the van.
Anti-riot police and Elite Force tackled the situation and a team led by Civil Lines DSP Rana Attaur Rehman after hectic struggle succeeded to move her from the hospital premises.
Among the protesters were clerics who demanded action against the prime suspect.
Police booked both nurses under section 295-B of the PPC.
Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2021
https://www.dawn.com/news/1617348/blasp ... faisalabad
Pakistan PM calls for West to criminalise blasphemy against Islam
PM Imran Khan calls on Western governments to treat insult against Islam’s prophet as it does the Holocaust.
Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has called for Muslim-majority countries to band together to lobby Western governments to criminalise the insulting of Islam’s prophet, as negotiations between his government and a far-right anti-blasphemy religious group continue.
In a televised address to the nation from the capital, Islamabad, on Monday, Khan said he would lead a campaign of Muslim-majority countries to “convince” Western countries on the issue of blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad.
“We need to explain why this hurts us, when in the name of freedom of speech they insult the honour of the prophet,” Khan said.
“When 50 Muslim countries will unite and say this, and say that if something like this happens in any country, then we will launch a trade boycott on them and not buy their goods, that will have an effect.”
Khan likened the issue to that of the Holocaust, saying the Western nations had understood that questioning the Holocaust hurt the sentiments of the Jewish community, and that it needed to treat the issue of insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad in a similar manner.
Khan’s address came as his government continued to negotiate on Monday with the far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) group, which held days of violent protests last week and abducted several police officers on Sunday as they continued their agitations on the issue of perceived “blasphemy” by the French President Emmanuel Macron.
Since November, the TLP has demanded that Pakistan expel the French ambassador over comments by Macron where he defended a publication’s right to republish caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, an act considered “blasphemous” by some Muslims.
Blasphemy is a sensitive subject in Pakistan, where certain forms of the crime can carry a mandatory death sentence. Since 1990, at least 78 people have been murdered in mob violence and targeted attacks related to blasphemy accusations, according to an Al Jazeera tally.
Play Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQJUaYQN4os&t=13s
Khan blasts TLP protests
Khan denounced the TLP’s violent protests over the last week, which have seen at least four policemen killed and more than 800 wounded, as being damaging to the country.
“My question is: by sending the French ambassador back and cutting all ties, will this stop [this blasphemy]?” said Pakistani PM Khan on Monday. “Is there a guarantee that people will stop insulting the prophet?
“I guarantee that if we do this, if Pakistan does this, then this same thing will happen in another European country on the issue of freedom of expression.”
On Sunday, TLP activists raided a police station in Lahore, Pakistan’s second city, abducting several policemen and prompting a fresh crackdown that saw police fire water cannon and tear gas as they attempted to recover the officers.
Early on Monday, the 11 abducted police officers were released by the TLP, as negotiations between the provincial government in Punjab, of which Lahore is the capital, and a TLP delegation began, the Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed said.
Pir Ijaz Ashrafi, a central leader of the TLP, told Al Jazeera that four TLP activists had also been killed in Sunday’s violence, but Al Jazeera was unable to independently confirm the death toll.
Last week, Pakistan’s government designated the TLP a “terrorist” organisation under anti-terrorism legislation, and said it would begin the process of delisting the group as a political party recognised by the country’s Election Commission.
On Monday, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said a second round of negotiations with the group had concluded, and that a third round would begin on Monday evening.
The next stage of talks would include Interior Minister Rasheed and Religious Affairs Minister Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, he said.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/1 ... inst-islam
PM Imran Khan calls on Western governments to treat insult against Islam’s prophet as it does the Holocaust.
Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has called for Muslim-majority countries to band together to lobby Western governments to criminalise the insulting of Islam’s prophet, as negotiations between his government and a far-right anti-blasphemy religious group continue.
In a televised address to the nation from the capital, Islamabad, on Monday, Khan said he would lead a campaign of Muslim-majority countries to “convince” Western countries on the issue of blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad.
“We need to explain why this hurts us, when in the name of freedom of speech they insult the honour of the prophet,” Khan said.
“When 50 Muslim countries will unite and say this, and say that if something like this happens in any country, then we will launch a trade boycott on them and not buy their goods, that will have an effect.”
Khan likened the issue to that of the Holocaust, saying the Western nations had understood that questioning the Holocaust hurt the sentiments of the Jewish community, and that it needed to treat the issue of insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad in a similar manner.
Khan’s address came as his government continued to negotiate on Monday with the far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) group, which held days of violent protests last week and abducted several police officers on Sunday as they continued their agitations on the issue of perceived “blasphemy” by the French President Emmanuel Macron.
Since November, the TLP has demanded that Pakistan expel the French ambassador over comments by Macron where he defended a publication’s right to republish caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, an act considered “blasphemous” by some Muslims.
Blasphemy is a sensitive subject in Pakistan, where certain forms of the crime can carry a mandatory death sentence. Since 1990, at least 78 people have been murdered in mob violence and targeted attacks related to blasphemy accusations, according to an Al Jazeera tally.
Play Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQJUaYQN4os&t=13s
Khan blasts TLP protests
Khan denounced the TLP’s violent protests over the last week, which have seen at least four policemen killed and more than 800 wounded, as being damaging to the country.
“My question is: by sending the French ambassador back and cutting all ties, will this stop [this blasphemy]?” said Pakistani PM Khan on Monday. “Is there a guarantee that people will stop insulting the prophet?
“I guarantee that if we do this, if Pakistan does this, then this same thing will happen in another European country on the issue of freedom of expression.”
On Sunday, TLP activists raided a police station in Lahore, Pakistan’s second city, abducting several policemen and prompting a fresh crackdown that saw police fire water cannon and tear gas as they attempted to recover the officers.
Early on Monday, the 11 abducted police officers were released by the TLP, as negotiations between the provincial government in Punjab, of which Lahore is the capital, and a TLP delegation began, the Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed said.
Pir Ijaz Ashrafi, a central leader of the TLP, told Al Jazeera that four TLP activists had also been killed in Sunday’s violence, but Al Jazeera was unable to independently confirm the death toll.
Last week, Pakistan’s government designated the TLP a “terrorist” organisation under anti-terrorism legislation, and said it would begin the process of delisting the group as a political party recognised by the country’s Election Commission.
On Monday, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said a second round of negotiations with the group had concluded, and that a third round would begin on Monday evening.
The next stage of talks would include Interior Minister Rasheed and Religious Affairs Minister Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, he said.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/1 ... inst-islam
Pakistan decries EU parliament's move on blasphemy laws
MUNIR AHMED
Associated Press Fri, April 30, 2021, 1:36 PM
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan on Friday decried a move by the European Parliament, which a day earlier adopted a resolution demanding Islamabad allow freedom for religious minorities and asked the EU to reconsider the South Asian country's preferential trade status.
The European Parliament appealed on Islamabad to free a Christian couple — Shagufta Kausar and her husband Shafqat Emmanuel — who have been on death row since 2014. The two were convicted of insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.
It also urged Pakistani authorities to repeal the country's controversial blasphemy laws, provide Kausar and Emmanuel with needed medical care and “immediately and unconditionally” overrule their death sentence.
It also expressed concern at increasing online and other attacks on journalists and human rights activists and asked Pakistan to take steps to ensure their safety.
Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone accused of insulting Islam can be sentenced to death if convicted. Just the mere accusation of blasphemy can cause riots and incite mobs to violence and killings.
The foreign ministry in Islamabad released a statement expressing the government's disappointment at the European resolution, saying it “reflects a lack of understanding in the context of blasphemy laws and associated religious sensitivities in Pakistan — and in the wider Muslim world”.
However, it is unlikely that Islamabad will act on the charged issue. Radical Islamists parties have in recent years held violent rallies to stop the government from making any changes in the blasphemy laws.
Kausar and Emmanuel were arrested in 2013 on suspicion of sending a blasphemous text message to a local cleric in eastern Punjab province, an allegation they denied. The two were tried and sentenced to death in 2014. Since then, their appeals have been pending in the Lahore High Court.
According to domestic and international human rights groups, blasphemy allegations in Pakistan have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and to settle personal scores.
A Punjab governor was killed by his own guard in 2011 after he defended a Christian woman, Aasia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy. She was acquitted after spending eight years on death row and left Pakistan for Canada to join her family after receiving threats.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/pa ... 25961.html
MUNIR AHMED
Associated Press Fri, April 30, 2021, 1:36 PM
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan on Friday decried a move by the European Parliament, which a day earlier adopted a resolution demanding Islamabad allow freedom for religious minorities and asked the EU to reconsider the South Asian country's preferential trade status.
The European Parliament appealed on Islamabad to free a Christian couple — Shagufta Kausar and her husband Shafqat Emmanuel — who have been on death row since 2014. The two were convicted of insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.
It also urged Pakistani authorities to repeal the country's controversial blasphemy laws, provide Kausar and Emmanuel with needed medical care and “immediately and unconditionally” overrule their death sentence.
It also expressed concern at increasing online and other attacks on journalists and human rights activists and asked Pakistan to take steps to ensure their safety.
Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone accused of insulting Islam can be sentenced to death if convicted. Just the mere accusation of blasphemy can cause riots and incite mobs to violence and killings.
The foreign ministry in Islamabad released a statement expressing the government's disappointment at the European resolution, saying it “reflects a lack of understanding in the context of blasphemy laws and associated religious sensitivities in Pakistan — and in the wider Muslim world”.
However, it is unlikely that Islamabad will act on the charged issue. Radical Islamists parties have in recent years held violent rallies to stop the government from making any changes in the blasphemy laws.
Kausar and Emmanuel were arrested in 2013 on suspicion of sending a blasphemous text message to a local cleric in eastern Punjab province, an allegation they denied. The two were tried and sentenced to death in 2014. Since then, their appeals have been pending in the Lahore High Court.
According to domestic and international human rights groups, blasphemy allegations in Pakistan have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and to settle personal scores.
A Punjab governor was killed by his own guard in 2011 after he defended a Christian woman, Aasia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy. She was acquitted after spending eight years on death row and left Pakistan for Canada to join her family after receiving threats.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/pa ... 25961.html
Mob attacks police station in capital
Munawer Azeem Published May 18, 2021
The officials said they started damaging the offices of moharrar, investigating officers and the station house officer. — AP/File
ISLAMABAD: A mob attacked a police station in the capital on Monday night in an attempt to lynch a man detained on a charge of blasphemy.
Senior police officers told Dawn that dozens of villagers wielding batons and iron rods attacked the Golra police station, asking the police for the custody of the suspect held for investigation into a complaint lodged against him on a blasphemy charge.
Acting on the complaint when law enforcers brought the suspect to the police station, scores of people gathered at its gate that the personnel had locked to keep the angry villagers outside. However, they managed to enter the police station after overpowering the guards.
Attempt to lynch blasphemy suspect foiled
The officials said they started damaging the offices of moharrar, investigating officers and the station house officer (SHO).
During the attack, the policemen tried to protect themselves as well as the suspect by locking themselves up in the lock-up and other rooms. They then sought help from a police contingent. Upon getting information, police reinforcement, including personnel of counterterrorism department, anti-terrorist squad and anti-riot unit reached the spot and rescued the staff.
They resorted to excessive teargas shelling and baton-charged the protesting villagers who also put up resistance. However, after over an hour-long effort, the police succeeded to disperse them and get the police station vacated.
It was not confirmed till the filing of this report late into night how many policemen were injured in the attack.
While there was a complete blackout in the police station and its vicinity, the police shifted the man suspected of committing blasphemy to an undisclosed location under strict security.
The police cordoned off the locality and various police teams were patrolling the area on foot while all routes leading to the police station were sealed. ATS, CTD and ARU contingents were deployed at all the sealing points.
Assistant Inspector General of Police Mohammad Usman Tipu said there was information about the attack on the Golra police station, but “let things get clear and we will share details”.
Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2021
https://www.dawn.com/news/1624180/mob-a ... in-capital
Munawer Azeem Published May 18, 2021
The officials said they started damaging the offices of moharrar, investigating officers and the station house officer. — AP/File
ISLAMABAD: A mob attacked a police station in the capital on Monday night in an attempt to lynch a man detained on a charge of blasphemy.
Senior police officers told Dawn that dozens of villagers wielding batons and iron rods attacked the Golra police station, asking the police for the custody of the suspect held for investigation into a complaint lodged against him on a blasphemy charge.
Acting on the complaint when law enforcers brought the suspect to the police station, scores of people gathered at its gate that the personnel had locked to keep the angry villagers outside. However, they managed to enter the police station after overpowering the guards.
Attempt to lynch blasphemy suspect foiled
The officials said they started damaging the offices of moharrar, investigating officers and the station house officer (SHO).
During the attack, the policemen tried to protect themselves as well as the suspect by locking themselves up in the lock-up and other rooms. They then sought help from a police contingent. Upon getting information, police reinforcement, including personnel of counterterrorism department, anti-terrorist squad and anti-riot unit reached the spot and rescued the staff.
They resorted to excessive teargas shelling and baton-charged the protesting villagers who also put up resistance. However, after over an hour-long effort, the police succeeded to disperse them and get the police station vacated.
It was not confirmed till the filing of this report late into night how many policemen were injured in the attack.
While there was a complete blackout in the police station and its vicinity, the police shifted the man suspected of committing blasphemy to an undisclosed location under strict security.
The police cordoned off the locality and various police teams were patrolling the area on foot while all routes leading to the police station were sealed. ATS, CTD and ARU contingents were deployed at all the sealing points.
Assistant Inspector General of Police Mohammad Usman Tipu said there was information about the attack on the Golra police station, but “let things get clear and we will share details”.
Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2021
https://www.dawn.com/news/1624180/mob-a ... in-capital
Pakistan acquits Christian couple facing death for blasphemy
FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2018 file photo, Pakistani lawyer Saiful Malook, left, leaves the Supreme court with a bodyguard, in Islamabad, Pakistan. A Pakistani appeals court on Thursday, June 3, 2021 acquitted a Christian couple sentenced to death on blasphemy charges for allegedly insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad, their defense lawyer Malook said. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash, File)
More
MUNIR AHMED
Thu, June 3, 2021, 12:18 PM
ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani appeals court on Thursday acquitted a Christian couple sentenced to death on blasphemy charges for allegedly insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad, their defense lawyer said.
The appeal of their 2014 death penalty by Shagufta Kausar and her husband Shafqat Emmanuel from the country’s eastern Punjab province had not been heard until now for unexplained reasons, said the lawyer, Saiful Malook. The two were arrested in 2013 and tried on suspicion of sending a blasphemous text message to a local cleric in Punjab.
Then on Thursday, the Lahore High Court overturned the death sentence and ordered the couple released. They had been on death row in two separate prisons, and would be freed after all the paperwork was done, said the lawyer.
“I fought a legal battle for this innocent couple for years," Malook told The Associated Press. “I am happy that justice has been done to this poor wife and her husband.”
Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone accused of insulting Islam or other religious figures can be sentenced to death if found guilty. While Pakistan has yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy, just the accusation of blasphemy can incite riots and lynching.
Thursday's development comes weeks after the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for a review of a preferential trade status given to Islamabad in 2017 and demanding the release of the couple. The EU Parliament in April had also asked Pakistan to immediately repeal its blasphemy laws.
It is unlikely, however, that Pakistan would even consider repealing the laws because as blasphemy remains an extremely sensitive issue in this predominantly Muslim nation. Radical Islamists parties have held violent rallies in recent years to stop the government from making any changes in the blasphemy laws.
Amnesty International welcomed Thursday's acquittal of the Christian couple. The watchdog's deputy director for South Asia, Dinushika Dissanayake, asked authorities to provide protection to the couple and their lawyer. She also urged Pakistan to repeal the blasphemy laws.
Domestic and international rights groups say blasphemy allegations have often been used to intimidate religious minorities in Pakistan and settle personal scores.
A Punjab governor was killed by his own guard in 2011 after he defended a Christian woman, Aasia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy. She was acquitted after spending eight years on death row and left Pakistan for Canada to join her family after receiving threats.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/pa ... 07739.html
FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2018 file photo, Pakistani lawyer Saiful Malook, left, leaves the Supreme court with a bodyguard, in Islamabad, Pakistan. A Pakistani appeals court on Thursday, June 3, 2021 acquitted a Christian couple sentenced to death on blasphemy charges for allegedly insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad, their defense lawyer Malook said. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash, File)
More
MUNIR AHMED
Thu, June 3, 2021, 12:18 PM
ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani appeals court on Thursday acquitted a Christian couple sentenced to death on blasphemy charges for allegedly insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad, their defense lawyer said.
The appeal of their 2014 death penalty by Shagufta Kausar and her husband Shafqat Emmanuel from the country’s eastern Punjab province had not been heard until now for unexplained reasons, said the lawyer, Saiful Malook. The two were arrested in 2013 and tried on suspicion of sending a blasphemous text message to a local cleric in Punjab.
Then on Thursday, the Lahore High Court overturned the death sentence and ordered the couple released. They had been on death row in two separate prisons, and would be freed after all the paperwork was done, said the lawyer.
“I fought a legal battle for this innocent couple for years," Malook told The Associated Press. “I am happy that justice has been done to this poor wife and her husband.”
Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone accused of insulting Islam or other religious figures can be sentenced to death if found guilty. While Pakistan has yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy, just the accusation of blasphemy can incite riots and lynching.
Thursday's development comes weeks after the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for a review of a preferential trade status given to Islamabad in 2017 and demanding the release of the couple. The EU Parliament in April had also asked Pakistan to immediately repeal its blasphemy laws.
It is unlikely, however, that Pakistan would even consider repealing the laws because as blasphemy remains an extremely sensitive issue in this predominantly Muslim nation. Radical Islamists parties have held violent rallies in recent years to stop the government from making any changes in the blasphemy laws.
Amnesty International welcomed Thursday's acquittal of the Christian couple. The watchdog's deputy director for South Asia, Dinushika Dissanayake, asked authorities to provide protection to the couple and their lawyer. She also urged Pakistan to repeal the blasphemy laws.
Domestic and international rights groups say blasphemy allegations have often been used to intimidate religious minorities in Pakistan and settle personal scores.
A Punjab governor was killed by his own guard in 2011 after he defended a Christian woman, Aasia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy. She was acquitted after spending eight years on death row and left Pakistan for Canada to join her family after receiving threats.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/pa ... 07739.html
Home Sport News
‘Blasphemous and offensive’: Muslim customers lambast Nike for ‘writing Allah’ on shoe’s sole
Published time: 28 Jan, 2019 17:05
Edited time: 29 Jan, 2019 10:06
‘Blasphemous and offensive’: Muslim customers lambast Nike for ‘writing Allah’ on shoe’s sole
Thousands of Muslim customers have demanded Nike recall their Air Max sneakers, claiming that the sports giant “insulted Islam” by spelling out the word ‘Allah’ in Arabic on the bottom of the shoe.
A Muslim buyer, Saiqa Noreen, who had noticed the writing which she found offensive, even launched an online petition asking the sports company to remove the popular trainer from the shelves.
Noreen discovered that the Air Max logo design depicted on the sole has similarities to the word ‘Allah’ in Arabic. The woman accused the company of having a disrespectful attitude to Islam, and said that it is “outrageous” to “allow the name of God on a shoe.”
www.rt.com/sport/449985-nike-air-max-allah-muslim/
‘Blasphemous and offensive’: Muslim customers lambast Nike for ‘writing Allah’ on shoe’s sole
Published time: 28 Jan, 2019 17:05
Edited time: 29 Jan, 2019 10:06
‘Blasphemous and offensive’: Muslim customers lambast Nike for ‘writing Allah’ on shoe’s sole
Thousands of Muslim customers have demanded Nike recall their Air Max sneakers, claiming that the sports giant “insulted Islam” by spelling out the word ‘Allah’ in Arabic on the bottom of the shoe.
A Muslim buyer, Saiqa Noreen, who had noticed the writing which she found offensive, even launched an online petition asking the sports company to remove the popular trainer from the shelves.
Noreen discovered that the Air Max logo design depicted on the sole has similarities to the word ‘Allah’ in Arabic. The woman accused the company of having a disrespectful attitude to Islam, and said that it is “outrageous” to “allow the name of God on a shoe.”
www.rt.com/sport/449985-nike-air-max-allah-muslim/
Agreement reached over burials in Sheikhupura village after mob obstructs Ahmadi funeral
Dawn.com Published June 9, 2021 - Updated about 9 hours
Videos shared on social media showed a crowd of locals gathered at the graveyard during the Ahmadi woman's funeral. — Twitter screengrab
An agreement was reached regarding the burial of members of the Ahmadi community between local ulema and the district administration in Punjab's Sheikhupura district on Wednesday, days after a mob allegedly tried to prevent the burial of an Ahmadi woman.
The June 5 incident, which took place in a village near Safdarabad in Sheikhupura, was first highlighted on social media, with citizens and celebrities urging authorities to take action against those preventing the burial.
After days of tension between the two groups over the issue, which also saw some people resort to aerial firing, negotiations were held on Wednesday involving religious leaders from both sides, and the Sheikhupura deputy commissioner and district police.
It was decided after the talks that "legal action will be taken against the people who took the law into their hands by brandishing weapons," said a statement issued by the spokesperson for Sheikhupura district police, Wajid Ali. It added that as per the agreement, members of the Ahmadi community would bury their deceased in pre-determined sites.
Speaking to Dawn.com, Ali said that the incident took place on June 5 after some locals opposed the burial of the Ahmadi woman in the area of the local graveyard that they claimed belonged to them.
He added that there was no desecration of graves in the incident as had been reported on social media, and that the two sides had reached an agreement.
According to Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya spokesperson Aamir Mehmood, the incident took place in Chak 76 of Sheikhupura district. He alleged that some villagers had also made announcements at mosques in the area to not allow the burial of the deceased woman.
"The villagers tried to stop the burial but the woman was laid to rest," he said. He said that the villagers tried to stop the burial even though one portion of the graveyard had been designated for Ahmadis. "The land was allotted to the Ahmadi community," he said.
When the incident was brought to the notice of Azhar Mashwani — the Punjab chief minister's focal person for digital media — he said that the "longstanding issue of the graveyard" had been resolved.
He said that according to the report from the district administration, two different areas had been demarcated for both the communities after an agreement between the elders in the presence of the local administration.
"Police and the administration reached as soon as the incident was reported," he said. When asked about what action was being taken against the perpetrators, Mashwani said that legal proceedings were linked with the complainant's application.
"Apparently they have withdrawn application/complaint after mutual agreement of both communities and resolution of the issue," he said.
The episode involving the mob's obstruction of the funeral prompted criticism on social media.
Ahmadis were declared non-Muslims in Pakistan through a constitutional amendment passed on September 7, 1974, during the tenure of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
This measure was later followed with Gen Ziaul Haq making it a punishable offence for Ahmadis to call themselves Muslim or to refer to their faith as Islam.
Last year saw an uptick in the number of attacks targeting members of the community in Pakistan.
In November, an Ahmadi doctor was shot dead while his father and two uncles were injured after a teenage boy opened fire on them in their home in Punjab's Nankana Sahib district.
An Ahmadi professor was shot dead in a targeted attack in Peshawar, allegedly over his religious beliefs, in October.
In July, an American national, Tahir Naseem, was shot dead by a teenager in a Peshawar courtroom. It later turned out that the deceased had reportedly left the Ahmadi community.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1628422/agree ... di-funeral
Dawn.com Published June 9, 2021 - Updated about 9 hours
Videos shared on social media showed a crowd of locals gathered at the graveyard during the Ahmadi woman's funeral. — Twitter screengrab
An agreement was reached regarding the burial of members of the Ahmadi community between local ulema and the district administration in Punjab's Sheikhupura district on Wednesday, days after a mob allegedly tried to prevent the burial of an Ahmadi woman.
The June 5 incident, which took place in a village near Safdarabad in Sheikhupura, was first highlighted on social media, with citizens and celebrities urging authorities to take action against those preventing the burial.
After days of tension between the two groups over the issue, which also saw some people resort to aerial firing, negotiations were held on Wednesday involving religious leaders from both sides, and the Sheikhupura deputy commissioner and district police.
It was decided after the talks that "legal action will be taken against the people who took the law into their hands by brandishing weapons," said a statement issued by the spokesperson for Sheikhupura district police, Wajid Ali. It added that as per the agreement, members of the Ahmadi community would bury their deceased in pre-determined sites.
Speaking to Dawn.com, Ali said that the incident took place on June 5 after some locals opposed the burial of the Ahmadi woman in the area of the local graveyard that they claimed belonged to them.
He added that there was no desecration of graves in the incident as had been reported on social media, and that the two sides had reached an agreement.
According to Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya spokesperson Aamir Mehmood, the incident took place in Chak 76 of Sheikhupura district. He alleged that some villagers had also made announcements at mosques in the area to not allow the burial of the deceased woman.
"The villagers tried to stop the burial but the woman was laid to rest," he said. He said that the villagers tried to stop the burial even though one portion of the graveyard had been designated for Ahmadis. "The land was allotted to the Ahmadi community," he said.
When the incident was brought to the notice of Azhar Mashwani — the Punjab chief minister's focal person for digital media — he said that the "longstanding issue of the graveyard" had been resolved.
He said that according to the report from the district administration, two different areas had been demarcated for both the communities after an agreement between the elders in the presence of the local administration.
"Police and the administration reached as soon as the incident was reported," he said. When asked about what action was being taken against the perpetrators, Mashwani said that legal proceedings were linked with the complainant's application.
"Apparently they have withdrawn application/complaint after mutual agreement of both communities and resolution of the issue," he said.
The episode involving the mob's obstruction of the funeral prompted criticism on social media.
Ahmadis were declared non-Muslims in Pakistan through a constitutional amendment passed on September 7, 1974, during the tenure of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
This measure was later followed with Gen Ziaul Haq making it a punishable offence for Ahmadis to call themselves Muslim or to refer to their faith as Islam.
Last year saw an uptick in the number of attacks targeting members of the community in Pakistan.
In November, an Ahmadi doctor was shot dead while his father and two uncles were injured after a teenage boy opened fire on them in their home in Punjab's Nankana Sahib district.
An Ahmadi professor was shot dead in a targeted attack in Peshawar, allegedly over his religious beliefs, in October.
In July, an American national, Tahir Naseem, was shot dead by a teenager in a Peshawar courtroom. It later turned out that the deceased had reportedly left the Ahmadi community.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1628422/agree ... di-funeral
Pakistan sends troops after Muslim mob attacked Hindu temple
This frame grab image from video, shows a Hindu temple cordoned off by local authorities after it was stormed by a Muslim mob, in Bhong, in Rahim Yar Khan district, Pakistan, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021.
Pakistan on Thursday deployed paramilitary troops in a conservative town in the country's eastern Punjab province to avoid any communal violence after a Muslim mob badly damaged a Hindu temple there. Wednesday's attack happened after a court granted bail to an eight-year-old Hindu boy who allegedly desecrated a madrassa, or religious school, earlier this week.
ASIM TANVEER
Thu, August 5, 2021, 10:04 AM
MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan on Thursday deployed paramilitary troops in a conservative town in the country's eastern Punjab province, a day after a Muslim mob attacked and badly damaged a Hindu temple there.
In New Delhi, India’s foreign ministry summoned a Pakistani diplomat to protest the attack and demand protection for Hindus living in the predominantly Muslim Pakistan.
Wednesday's attack took place in the town of Bhong in Rahim Yar Khan district after a court granted bail to an eight-year-old Hindu boy who allegedly desecrated a madrassa, or religious school, earlier this week. The mob damaged statues, burned down the temple’s main door and briefly blocked a nearby road.
The boy was earlier arrested on charges of intentionally urinating on a carpet in the madrassa’s library that housed religious books. The mob alleges he committed blasphemy, an act punishable by the death sentence in Pakistan, where mere accusations of blasphemy have in the past incited mobs to violence and deadly attacks.
Prime Minister Imran Khan condemning the attack on Twitter, saying he has ordered the provincial police chief to take action against any officers whose negligence may have contributed to the attack. Khan also promised the government would restore the temple.
Punjab police official Asif Raza said the police have a list of 50 suspects and promised speedy arrests. He said troops were now guarding the temple and that security has been provided to members of the Hindu community.
In New Delhi, India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said such “incidents are occurring at an alarming rate while the state and security institutions in Pakistan have stood by idly and completely failed in preventing these attacks."
Muslims and Hindus have mostly lived peacefully in Pakistan, but there have been attacks on Hindu temples in recent years. Most of Pakistan’s minority Hindus migrated to India in 1947 when India was divided by Britain’s government.
___
Associated Press writer Ashok Sharma contributed to this story from New Delhi.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/pa ... 45844.html
This frame grab image from video, shows a Hindu temple cordoned off by local authorities after it was stormed by a Muslim mob, in Bhong, in Rahim Yar Khan district, Pakistan, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021.
Pakistan on Thursday deployed paramilitary troops in a conservative town in the country's eastern Punjab province to avoid any communal violence after a Muslim mob badly damaged a Hindu temple there. Wednesday's attack happened after a court granted bail to an eight-year-old Hindu boy who allegedly desecrated a madrassa, or religious school, earlier this week.
ASIM TANVEER
Thu, August 5, 2021, 10:04 AM
MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan on Thursday deployed paramilitary troops in a conservative town in the country's eastern Punjab province, a day after a Muslim mob attacked and badly damaged a Hindu temple there.
In New Delhi, India’s foreign ministry summoned a Pakistani diplomat to protest the attack and demand protection for Hindus living in the predominantly Muslim Pakistan.
Wednesday's attack took place in the town of Bhong in Rahim Yar Khan district after a court granted bail to an eight-year-old Hindu boy who allegedly desecrated a madrassa, or religious school, earlier this week. The mob damaged statues, burned down the temple’s main door and briefly blocked a nearby road.
The boy was earlier arrested on charges of intentionally urinating on a carpet in the madrassa’s library that housed religious books. The mob alleges he committed blasphemy, an act punishable by the death sentence in Pakistan, where mere accusations of blasphemy have in the past incited mobs to violence and deadly attacks.
Prime Minister Imran Khan condemning the attack on Twitter, saying he has ordered the provincial police chief to take action against any officers whose negligence may have contributed to the attack. Khan also promised the government would restore the temple.
Punjab police official Asif Raza said the police have a list of 50 suspects and promised speedy arrests. He said troops were now guarding the temple and that security has been provided to members of the Hindu community.
In New Delhi, India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said such “incidents are occurring at an alarming rate while the state and security institutions in Pakistan have stood by idly and completely failed in preventing these attacks."
Muslims and Hindus have mostly lived peacefully in Pakistan, but there have been attacks on Hindu temples in recent years. Most of Pakistan’s minority Hindus migrated to India in 1947 when India was divided by Britain’s government.
___
Associated Press writer Ashok Sharma contributed to this story from New Delhi.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/pa ... 45844.html
The Telegraph
Nestle gets its fingers burned over KitKat bars adorned with Hindu deities
Samaan Lateef
Thu, January 20, 2022, 11:31 AM
Nestle has been forced to withdraw a range of KitKat bars adorned with Hindu gods after a backlash in India triggered by fears that images of deities would end up in bins and gutters.
Protesters argued that images of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Mata Subhadra on KitKat wrappers would eventually be thrown away and end up on roads, drains, and dustbins - unconscionable amid growing Hindu nationalism in India.
“This pic of Bhagwan (lord) Jagannath will end up on the road or trash cans. People will walk on it. Why are pics of Hindu Gods/Goddesses used for marketing?" Ayudhika, an Indian student said, demanding Nestle withdraw the bars.
Nestle said the bars were introduced to "celebrate the culture" as they issued a rare apology and withdrew the bars.
The Kitkat travel packs were circulated in the eastern state of Odisha, with designs representing Pattachitra, an art form identifiable by its vivid imagery.
Nestle said: "We wanted to encourage people to know about the art & its artisans. We do understand the sensitivity of the matter and regret if we have inadvertently hurt people's sentiments."
Several international brands have had to apologise and withdraw advertisements in past few years because they were seen to be insulting to Hindus.
'The latest sign of growing nationalism'
Under the Right-wing Hindu BJP ruling party, India is becoming increasingly intolerant to freedom of expression as it also emerges as one of the fastest-growing markets in the world.
In March last year, Amazon Prime issued an apology after a new mini-series came under investigation for insulting Hinduism in a landmark case for India, one of the world’s fastest-growing streaming markets. It ended up editing out scenes that were accused of being an “insult to Hindu gods”.
In October 2020, Tanishq, a jewellery brand, had to apologise and withdraw its ad featuring an apparent Hindu daughter-in-law of a Muslim family. Tanishq saw its share price fall the day after #BoycottTanishq had trended on social media in India.
In October, Fabindia withdrew an advertisement after facing backlash over “Jashn-e-Riwaaz”, a collection of clothes for the Hindu festive season.
BJP leader Tejasvi Surya argued the collection was an “attempt of abrahamisation of Hindu festivals” and that the models in the advertisement were “depicted without traditional Hindu clothes”.
In the last few years, several other brands including Zomato, Unilever, Manyavar and Tanishq have faced similar backlash.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/ne ... 38767.html
Nestle gets its fingers burned over KitKat bars adorned with Hindu deities
Samaan Lateef
Thu, January 20, 2022, 11:31 AM
Nestle has been forced to withdraw a range of KitKat bars adorned with Hindu gods after a backlash in India triggered by fears that images of deities would end up in bins and gutters.
Protesters argued that images of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Mata Subhadra on KitKat wrappers would eventually be thrown away and end up on roads, drains, and dustbins - unconscionable amid growing Hindu nationalism in India.
“This pic of Bhagwan (lord) Jagannath will end up on the road or trash cans. People will walk on it. Why are pics of Hindu Gods/Goddesses used for marketing?" Ayudhika, an Indian student said, demanding Nestle withdraw the bars.
Nestle said the bars were introduced to "celebrate the culture" as they issued a rare apology and withdrew the bars.
The Kitkat travel packs were circulated in the eastern state of Odisha, with designs representing Pattachitra, an art form identifiable by its vivid imagery.
Nestle said: "We wanted to encourage people to know about the art & its artisans. We do understand the sensitivity of the matter and regret if we have inadvertently hurt people's sentiments."
Several international brands have had to apologise and withdraw advertisements in past few years because they were seen to be insulting to Hindus.
'The latest sign of growing nationalism'
Under the Right-wing Hindu BJP ruling party, India is becoming increasingly intolerant to freedom of expression as it also emerges as one of the fastest-growing markets in the world.
In March last year, Amazon Prime issued an apology after a new mini-series came under investigation for insulting Hinduism in a landmark case for India, one of the world’s fastest-growing streaming markets. It ended up editing out scenes that were accused of being an “insult to Hindu gods”.
In October 2020, Tanishq, a jewellery brand, had to apologise and withdraw its ad featuring an apparent Hindu daughter-in-law of a Muslim family. Tanishq saw its share price fall the day after #BoycottTanishq had trended on social media in India.
In October, Fabindia withdrew an advertisement after facing backlash over “Jashn-e-Riwaaz”, a collection of clothes for the Hindu festive season.
BJP leader Tejasvi Surya argued the collection was an “attempt of abrahamisation of Hindu festivals” and that the models in the advertisement were “depicted without traditional Hindu clothes”.
In the last few years, several other brands including Zomato, Unilever, Manyavar and Tanishq have faced similar backlash.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/ne ... 38767.html
Pakistani court sentences woman to death for WhatsApp ‘blasphemy’
Muslim woman convicted for sharing images deemed to be insulting to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and one of his wives.
Islamabad, Pakistan – A Pakistani court has sentenced a Muslim woman to death for committing “blasphemy” by sharing images deemed to be insulting to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and one of his wives, also considered a holy personage by many Muslims.
The trial court in the northern Pakistani city of Rawalpindi on Wednesday sentenced Aneeqa Ateeq under the country’s strict blasphemy laws, which impose a mandatory death penalty for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
“The blasphemous material which was shared/installed by the female accused on her status [on WhatsApp messaging platform] and the messages as well as caricatures which were sent to the complainant are totally unbearable and not tolerable for a Muslim,” Judge Adnan Mushtaq wrote in his verdict in the case.
Ateeq, 26, had pleaded not guilty to the charges, which were first filed in May 2020.
In a statement to the court, Ateeq said her accuser, Hasnat Farooq, had deliberately pulled her into a religious discussion to frame her after she refused “to be friendly” towards him. The two had met on a popular online multiplayer game and continued communicating on WhatsApp.
“So I feel that he intentionally dragged into this topic for revenge, that’s why he got registered [sic] a case against me and during [WhatsApp] chat he collected everything that went against me,” she said in an evidentiary statement.
Farooq contends the accused shared the allegedly blasphemous material as a WhatsApp status and refused to delete it when he confronted her on that messaging platform.
Ateeq’s death sentence is subject to confirmation by the Lahore High Court, a forum before which she also has the right of appeal.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/2 ... -blasphemy
Muslim woman convicted for sharing images deemed to be insulting to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and one of his wives.
Islamabad, Pakistan – A Pakistani court has sentenced a Muslim woman to death for committing “blasphemy” by sharing images deemed to be insulting to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and one of his wives, also considered a holy personage by many Muslims.
The trial court in the northern Pakistani city of Rawalpindi on Wednesday sentenced Aneeqa Ateeq under the country’s strict blasphemy laws, which impose a mandatory death penalty for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
“The blasphemous material which was shared/installed by the female accused on her status [on WhatsApp messaging platform] and the messages as well as caricatures which were sent to the complainant are totally unbearable and not tolerable for a Muslim,” Judge Adnan Mushtaq wrote in his verdict in the case.
Ateeq, 26, had pleaded not guilty to the charges, which were first filed in May 2020.
In a statement to the court, Ateeq said her accuser, Hasnat Farooq, had deliberately pulled her into a religious discussion to frame her after she refused “to be friendly” towards him. The two had met on a popular online multiplayer game and continued communicating on WhatsApp.
“So I feel that he intentionally dragged into this topic for revenge, that’s why he got registered [sic] a case against me and during [WhatsApp] chat he collected everything that went against me,” she said in an evidentiary statement.
Farooq contends the accused shared the allegedly blasphemous material as a WhatsApp status and refused to delete it when he confronted her on that messaging platform.
Ateeq’s death sentence is subject to confirmation by the Lahore High Court, a forum before which she also has the right of appeal.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/2 ... -blasphemy
Re: blasphemy
Man accused of blasphemy stoned to death by mob in Pakistan
Police officers escort relatives carrying the body of Mushtaq Ahmed, 41, who was killed when an enraged mob stoned him to death for allegedly desecrating the Quran, in eastern Pakistan, Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Asim Tanveer)
MULTAN, PAKISTAN -- An enraged mob stoned to death a middle-aged man for allegedly desecrating the Quran in a remote village in eastern Pakistan, police said Sunday.
The custodian of a local mosque said he saw the man burning the Muslim holy book inside the mosque Saturday evening and told others before informing police, according to police spokesman Chaudhry Imran. The violence took place in a village in the district of Khanewal in Punjab province.
Imran said police rushed to the scene, where a man was found surrounded by an angry crowd. Officer Mohammad Iqbal and two subordinates tried to take custody of the man but the group began throwing stones at them, seriously injuring Iqbal and slightly injuring the other two officers.
Munawar Gujjar, chief of Tulamba police station, said he rushed reinforcements to the mosque but they did not arrive before the mob had stoned to death the man and hung his body from a tree.
Gujjar said the victim was identified as Mushtaq Ahmed, 41, of a nearby village.
"The ill-fated man has been mentally unstable for the last 15 years and according to his family often went missing from home for days begging and eating whatever he could find," he said. He said the body was handed over to the family.
Mian Mohammad Ramzan, the mosque custodian, said he saw smoke inside the mosque, which is adjacent to his home, and rushed over to investigate. He found one Quran burned and saw a man attempting to burn another. He said people were starting to arrive for evening prayers as he was shouting for the man to stop.
Witnesses said a police team that reached the village before the stoning began took custody of a man but the mob snatched him away from them and beat the police as they tried to rescue him.
Later, more officers and constables reached the scene and took custody of the body, they said.
Gujjar, the area police chief, said investigators were scanning available videos to try to identify the assailants. He said police had so far detained about 80 men living in the mosque's surroundings but that about 300 suspects took part.
Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed his anguish over the incident and said he was seeking a report from Punjab's chief minister on the police handling of the case. He said they "failed in their duty."
"We have zero tolerance for anyone taking the law into their own hands and mob lynching will be dealt with with the full severity of the law," he said in a tweet hours after the incident.
Khan also asked the Punjab police chief for a report on the actions taken against perpetrators of the lynching.
The killing comes months after the lynching of a Sri Lankan manager of a sporting goods factory in Sialkot in Punjab province on Dec. 3 who was accused by workers of blasphemy.
Mob attacks on people accused of blasphemy are common in this conservative Islamic nation. International and national rights groups say blasphemy accusations have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal scores. Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan.
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Police officers escort relatives carrying the body of Mushtaq Ahmed, 41, who was killed when an enraged mob stoned him to death for allegedly desecrating the Quran, in eastern Pakistan, Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Asim Tanveer)
MULTAN, PAKISTAN -- An enraged mob stoned to death a middle-aged man for allegedly desecrating the Quran in a remote village in eastern Pakistan, police said Sunday.
The custodian of a local mosque said he saw the man burning the Muslim holy book inside the mosque Saturday evening and told others before informing police, according to police spokesman Chaudhry Imran. The violence took place in a village in the district of Khanewal in Punjab province.
Imran said police rushed to the scene, where a man was found surrounded by an angry crowd. Officer Mohammad Iqbal and two subordinates tried to take custody of the man but the group began throwing stones at them, seriously injuring Iqbal and slightly injuring the other two officers.
Munawar Gujjar, chief of Tulamba police station, said he rushed reinforcements to the mosque but they did not arrive before the mob had stoned to death the man and hung his body from a tree.
Gujjar said the victim was identified as Mushtaq Ahmed, 41, of a nearby village.
"The ill-fated man has been mentally unstable for the last 15 years and according to his family often went missing from home for days begging and eating whatever he could find," he said. He said the body was handed over to the family.
Mian Mohammad Ramzan, the mosque custodian, said he saw smoke inside the mosque, which is adjacent to his home, and rushed over to investigate. He found one Quran burned and saw a man attempting to burn another. He said people were starting to arrive for evening prayers as he was shouting for the man to stop.
Witnesses said a police team that reached the village before the stoning began took custody of a man but the mob snatched him away from them and beat the police as they tried to rescue him.
Later, more officers and constables reached the scene and took custody of the body, they said.
Gujjar, the area police chief, said investigators were scanning available videos to try to identify the assailants. He said police had so far detained about 80 men living in the mosque's surroundings but that about 300 suspects took part.
Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed his anguish over the incident and said he was seeking a report from Punjab's chief minister on the police handling of the case. He said they "failed in their duty."
"We have zero tolerance for anyone taking the law into their own hands and mob lynching will be dealt with with the full severity of the law," he said in a tweet hours after the incident.
Khan also asked the Punjab police chief for a report on the actions taken against perpetrators of the lynching.
The killing comes months after the lynching of a Sri Lankan manager of a sporting goods factory in Sialkot in Punjab province on Dec. 3 who was accused by workers of blasphemy.
Mob attacks on people accused of blasphemy are common in this conservative Islamic nation. International and national rights groups say blasphemy accusations have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal scores. Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan.
SHARE:
Report an error
Editorial standards and policies
Why you can trust CTV News
https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/man-accuse ... -1.5779605