blasphemy

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kmaherali
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Religion-Fueled Mobs on the Rise Again in Pakistan

The recent lynching of a man accused of burning pages from a Quran underscored Pakistan’s leading status as a site of religious violence.


KARACHI, Pakistan — Last month, a man named Muhammad Mushtaq was accused of burning pages of the Quran inside a mosque in central Pakistan. A mob armed with sticks, bricks and axes gathered at the mosque and dragged him out.

Mr. Mushtaq was tortured for hours and eventually killed, his body hung from a tree. A handful of police officers were among those who watched.

The Feb. 12 killing in the district of Khanewal was denounced across Pakistan. Prime Minister Imran Khan said the government had “zero tolerance” for such mob violence and promised that the police officers would be punished.

But lynchings over offenses to Islam, real or imagined, are far from new in Pakistan, where blasphemy is punishable by death. Rights activists say lynch mobs exploit anti-blasphemy laws to take matters into their own hands

In recent years these episodes have risen to an alarming level, with increasing cases of fatal violence.

Critics and rights activists say that vows like those made by the prime minister are mere lip service and that Mr. Khan’s government, much like his predecessors, has not taken any practical steps to curb violence.

Instances of mob violence, and state-enforced criminal blasphemy cases, are more frequent in Pakistan than anywhere else, according to a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

“The lack of political will and commitment has always stood as the biggest obstacle to prevent the abuse, misuse, and exploitation of blasphemy laws,” said Tahira Abdullah, a rights activist based in Islamabad.

Mr. Khan’s government is no different from its predecessors in promising to tackle the menace of religious violence, she said. But “it is too cowardly to confront” influential religious parties in Parliament, Ms. Abdullah said, “and the rampaging militant extremist groups outside Parliament.”

Blasphemy allegations have led to the vandalizing of Hindu temples and neighborhoods, the burning of police stations by angry mobs, the lynching of a student on a university campus and the killing of a provincial governor by his own security guard. After Musthaq’s killing, a senior police official told a parliamentary committee that 90 percent of those involved in blasphemy violence are between the ages of 18 and 30.

Just two months ago, a Sri Lankan, Priyantha Diyawadanage, was lynched by workers he oversaw in a factory in the eastern city of Sialkot. Mr. Diyawadanage was accused of tearing off stickers with religious inscriptions from the factory walls. He was tortured for hours by an enraged mob before his body was thrown off the factory’s rooftop, beaten and set on fire.

Image
A memorial for Priyantha Diyawadanage, who was lynched by a Muslim mob. Credit...K.M. Chaudary/Associated Press

In 2021, at least 84 people faced blasphemy accusations in courts and from angry street mobs, according to the Centre for Social Justice, a Lahore-based minority rights group. Three people, including Mr. Diyawadanage, were killed by a mob over such allegations, it noted.

In August, a mob in the Rahimyar Khan district, also in Punjab Province, damaged statues and burned down a Hindu temple’s main door after a court released an 8-year-old Hindu boy on bail. He had been charged with blasphemy for allegedly urinating in the library of a madrasa.

Defense lawyers are also at risk. In 2014 gunmen murdered a Pakistani lawyer, Rashid Rehman, in Multan city for defending Junaid Hafeez, an academic charged with making derogatory comments about the Prophet Muhammad. Mr. Hafeez had been in prison, unable to find a lawyer, before Mr. Rehman agreed to take up his case.

In 2011, two politicians were murdered in similar episodes. Salman Taseer, then a provincial governor, was killed by a bodyguard after expressing opposition to blasphemy laws. Shahbaz Bhatti, a federal minister, was murdered for opposing the death sentence imposed on Asia Bibi, a Christian convicted of verbally insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Though Ms. Bibi was acquitted in 2019, she fled Pakistan and her lawyer has been receiving death threats.

“The increasing theocratization of Pakistan and rising militant extremism makes it very difficult for lawyers to defend alleged blasphemers,” Ms. Abdullah said. “It takes a great deal of personal courage and professional integrity to withstand huge overt pressure and threats.”

Law enforcement agencies are not trained, or equipped to handle, frenzied vigilante mobs, and find themselves overwhelmed, Ms. Abdullah noted.

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The vehicle of Shahbaz Bhatti, the government minister for religious minorities, was attacked by gunmen in 2011. Credit...Anjum Naveed/Associated Press

Pakistan inherited 19th-century British laws outlining punishments for offenses related to blasphemy. But the government revamped these laws in the 1980s, introducing new clauses adding severe penalties and even a death sentence for anyone who insults Islam.

Iran, Brunei and Mauritania are the other three countries that impose the death penalty for insulting religion.

“Since the death penalty, a mandatory punishment for blasphemy, was made a law, there have been several bouts of religion-based violence in Pakistan,” said Peter Jacob, executive director of the Centre for Social Justice.

While no one has ever been executed for the offense, violence against alleged blasphemers is hardly unusual.

Rights activists link the current spike in blasphemy-related violence to the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, an emerging radical religious party. And Islamist parties and militant groups in Pakistan have been emboldened by the Taliban’s coming to power in neighboring Afghanistan last year.

“The government’s narrative about Islamophobia in the rest of the world” fuels the religion-based violence, Mr. Jacob said.

“This narrative builds on anger among the youth, which becomes ready-made ammunition for sporadic but large-scale violence against anyone who is suspected of offering any disrespect to religious persons, scripture, places or articles,” he said.

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A Pakistani Christian family searching through their home, which had been destroyed by a Muslim mob in 2013. Credit...K.M. Chaudary/Associated Press

Tehreek-e-Labbaik, the radical religious party, first came to prominence as an organized force when it demonstrated for the release of Mumtaz Qadri, the police bodyguard who fatally shot Governor Taseer in 2011. Mr. Qadri was eventually sentenced to death and hanged in 2016. Since then, it has shaped itself into a political party, contesting elections and continuing to unsettle governments.

In April last year, Tehreek-e-Labbaik organized violent, countrywide protests demanding the expulsion of the French ambassador after President Emmanuel Macron of France eulogized a French teacher murdered for showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in a classroom.

The Pakistani Taliban have also announced support for anti-blasphemy campaigns and promoted armed struggle to protect the honor of Islam.

Posters offering a reward of some $56,000 to kill Faraz Pervaiz, a Pakistani Christian, for posting anti-Islamic content on social media often appear in anti-blasphemy protests in the country.

Mr. Pervaiz, 34, now living in self-exile in Thailand, said that he started speaking out for the rights of non-Muslim communities on social media after a Muslim mob attacked a Christian neighborhood in Lahore in 2013, torching more than 150 houses and two churches following reports that a Christian sanitation worker had blasphemed the Prophet Muhammad.

“Even in Thailand, I feel insecure,” he said in an interview, after a Pakistani Muslim refugee shared one of his videos and his location on social media. Mr. Pervaiz left the country in 2014 after receiving threats, he said.

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A protest by members of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan in Lahore last April. Credit...Arif Ali/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Journalists in Pakistan have refrained from reporting on blasphemy cases since the rise of the extremist parties and their growing influence.

“Covering the issue of blasphemy as a journalist, and especially for the Urdu-language press, can either get you killed, or you’ll be fired for jeopardizing the survival of the organization you work for,” said Razeshta Sethna, a journalist and author of a recent report on the stifling media environment in the country.

Salman Masood reported from Islamabad, and Zia ur-Rehman from Karachi, Pakistan.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/20/worl ... iversified
swamidada
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Re: blasphemy

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BBC
Pakistan: Death sentences over killing of Sri Lankan accused of blasphemy
Mon, April 18, 2022, 12:39 PM

The vicious killing - involving hundreds of people - shocked the nation and sparked vigils
Six men have been sentenced to death over the mob killing of a Sri Lankan man accused of blasphemy in Pakistan.

Priyantha Diyawadanage, 48, a factory manager in the city of Sialkot, was beaten to death and his body set alight last December.

Of 88 people convicted, nine were given life sentences and the others jail terms of two to five years.

The case shocked the country and was described as "a day of shame" by the then Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Videos of the lynching on social media showed scenes of the incensed crowd dragging Mr Diyawadanage from his workplace and beating him to death.

They then burnt his body, with several people seen in the crowd taking selfies with his corpse.

The victim's wife, Nilushi Dissanayaka, described how she had seen him "being attacked on the internet... it was so inhumane".

What led to the mob violence?
The violence had begun after rumours spread that Mr Diyawadanage had allegedly committed a blasphemous action, in tearing down posters with the name of the Prophet Muhammad.

But a colleague, who rushed to the site in a bid to save him, told local media at the time that Mr Diyawadanage had only removed the posters as the building was about to be cleaned.

Asia Bibi: Pakistan's notorious blasphemy case

Acquitted of blasphemy and living in fear in Pakistan

The scale of the vicious killing - involving hundreds of people - shocked the nation and sparked vigils.

Blasphemy is defined as speaking insultingly about a particular religion or god. In Pakistan, it can carry a potential death sentence for anyone who insults Islam.

The country's blasphemy law prohibits disturbing a religious assembly, trespassing on burial grounds, insulting religious beliefs or intentionally destroying or defiling a place or an object of worship.

Making derogatory remarks against Islamic personages is an offence - and in 1982, a clause prescribing life imprisonment for "wilful" desecration of the Quran, the Muslim holy book, was added.

In 1986, a separate clause was inserted to punish blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad and the penalty recommended was "death, or imprisonment for life".

In Pakistan, even unfounded accusations can incite protests and mob violence against alleged perpetrators. Human rights critics have long argued that minorities are often the target of accusations.

https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/pa ... 07289.html
swamidada
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Reuters
Nigeria court charges two students over 'blasphemy' death
Hamza Ibrahim
Mon, May 16, 2022, 2:14 PM
By Hamza Ibrahim

KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - Two students were on Monday charged in court with conspiracy and inciting public disturbance after a college student was beaten and burned by fellow students who accused her of blasphemy in the northwestern state of Sokoto last week.

The death of Deborah Samuel, a second year college student, has raised questions about the place of Islamic sharia law in a secular democracy like Nigeria, which is divided between the largely Muslim north and mostly Christian south.

The charges against Bilyaminu Aliyu and Aminu Hukunchi, fellow students, carries a minimum two-year jail term upon conviction, their lead lawyer Mansur Said told Reuters. The accused entered a plea of not guilty.

The choice of the charges will likely anger those who had hoped authorities would take a harder line against what they see as religious intolerance to avoid similar incidences in future.

The two men were denied bail by the magistrates court and will return for a second hearing on Wednesday.

Nigeria's largest grouping of Christian churches has called for demonstrations against Samuel's death at church premises across the country on Sunday.

Samuel was accused by other students of posting blasphemous statements about the Prophet Mohammad in a WhatsApp group.

https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/ni ... 50490.html
swamidada
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Mob storms police station, lynches ‘blasphemy’ accused
Imran Gabol Published February 12, 2023
• Punjab police chief suspends Nankana DSP and SHO, orders inquiry
• PM asks why police didn’t stop mob, Tahir Ashrafi terms it ‘unIslamic’

LAHORE: A middle-aged man was lynched outside a police station in Nankana Sahib by a violent mob on Saturday over allegations of blasphemy, prompting the police chief to order an inquiry and suspend the Nankana DSP and relevant SHO.

Muhammad Waris, 45, of Nankana’s Qazi Town area, was first detained by locals over alleged desecration of the Holy Quran early in the morning, as per the police. Locals were planning to “hang the suspect” when police officials arrived on the scene and moved him to the local police station.

However, the mob, which continued to swell in number, followed the party to the police station and tried to take hold of the suspect. Officials locked Mr Waris inside the police station but the mob gathered outside the building and continued demanding custody of the accused.

Eventually, the enraged mob stormed the police station and entered its premises via its roof, and also managed to break down the front gate of the police station. Officials said the mob took away the suspect after breaking into the lock-up as police officials looked on.

Subsequently, the accused was taken out of the police station, where he was beaten to death by the unruly crowd. The mob wanted to set the body on fire, but police intervened and managed to take the corpse away.

A number of unverified videos were also circulating on social media in connection with the lynching incident. One video showed people scaling the gate of the police station and forcing their way through the gate. This video also showed a large number of people outside the building who had thronged the police station following allegations of blasphemy against the slain suspect. In another video, an enraged crowd was seen roaming inside the police station amid broken furniture and window panes that littered the scene.

Sheikhupura Regional Police Officer (RPO) Babar Saeed Alpa told Dawn that the victim was accused of “desecrating the Holy Quran and was held by locals at around 7:15 am on Saturday”. He said police took custody of the suspect but the crowd swelled and stormed the police station, later killing the man.

Speaking about the police response, the RPO said Police Lines was 28-30 kilometres away from the police station and it took 30-40 minutes for the backup to arrive. Mr Alpa said the department would investigate the failure of the officials who could not protect the accused from the mob.

According to the RPO, the victim was acquitted by a court in a blasphemy case in June 2022 and he was again accused of “desecrating the Holy Quran”. He said the wife of the victim had separated after filing a divorce case and the victim was involved in alleged witchcraft by “placing his wife’s pictures in the Holy Quran”.

However, he said it was the responsibility of police to protect the life of the victim, adding that a police party reached the spot after 30 minutes and stopped the mob from setting the body on fire.

‘DSP, SHO suspended’

The lynching prompted a statement from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who ordered an investigation into the incident. “Why didn’t the police stop the violent mob? The rule of law should be ensured,” a statement quoted him as saying. PM Sharif said that ensuring peace was the prime responsibility of the institutions concerned.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Inspector General Police Dr Usman Anwar took notice of the incident and suspended Nankana Circle DSP Nawaz Virk and Warburton SHO Feroze Bhatti. He also sought a report from the RPO Sheikhupura region over the lynching. The IGP directed DIG Internal Accountability Branch (IAB) Ameen Bukhari and DIG special branch Raja Faisal to reach the spot and identify the perpetrators and submit a detailed report.

Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Interfaith Harmony Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, who is also the chairman of Pakistan Ulema Council, termed the murder of the blasphemy suspect unconstitutional and unIslamic. In a video message, he urged the Punjab government to put the culprits involved in this heinous crime behind the bars and proposed that their trials should be conducted in the Anti-Terrorism Court.

89 killed over ‘blasphemy’

In January 2022, the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) in a report stated that as many as 89 citizens have been killed over 1,415 accusations and cases of blasphemy in the country since the independence.

The report said that from 1947 to 2021, 18 women and 71 men were extra-judicially killed over blasphemy accusations. The allegations were made against 107 women and 1,308 men.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2023

https://www.dawn.com/news/1736708
swamidada
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The Independent
Man sentenced to death in Pakistan over ‘blasphemous’ WhatsApp post
Maroosha Muzaffar
Sun, March 26, 2023 at 2:19 AM CDT

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan sentenced a man to death after he was found guilty of posting “blasphemous” content in a WhatsApp group.

On Friday, the court in Peshawar in northwest Pakistan sentenced Syed Muhammad Zeeshan — under the country’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act and Anti-Terrorist Act — to death and also fined him $4300.

The court order read: “Accused Syed Muhammad Zeeshan, son of Syed Zakaullah in custody has been convicted and sentenced after being found guilty.”

Blasphemy remains a touchy subject in Pakistan.

In January this year, the country further tightened its strict blasphemy laws by extending the punishment to those who are convicted for insulting religious figures connected to the prophet Muhammad.

The Pakistan National Assembly unanimously passed the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill which not only widened the ambit of the law but increased punishment and fines for those convicted under it.

The move raised concerns among human rights activists and observers who said it will increase the prospect of persecution for some, especially religious minorities like Hindus and Christians.

In February, Pakistan’s police arrested at least 50 suspects in the kidnapping and lynching of a man already detained on charges of blasphemy.

A mob of hundreds of enraged Muslims descended on the police station in the Nankana district of eastern Punjab province and dragged the man out of the prison and killed him.

The man, in his twenties, was reportedly in police custody for desecrating the Quran, the Muslim holy book, according to police spokesperson Muhammad Waqas.

Mr Waqas said at the time. “Police could not resist them because a handful of officials were present in the police station.”

Meanwhile, on Friday, the court also handed a sentence of 23 years imprisonment to Zeeshan — who has the right to appeal.

The case of “blasphemy” came under scrutiny when Muhammad Saeed, a resident of Talagang in Punjab province filed an application with the Federal Investigation Agency [FIA] of Pakistan two years ago accusing Zeeshan of posting blasphemous content in a WhatsApp group.

Mr Saeed’s lawyer, Ibrar Hussain was quoted as saying by news media that “the FIA had confiscated Zeeshan’s cellphone and its forensic examination proved him guilty”.

In the last 20 years, 774 Muslims and 760 members of various minority religious groups in Pakistan have been accused of blasphemy, according to a human rights group National Commission of Justice and Peace in Pakistan.

According to the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), at least 89 citizens – 18 women and 71 men – have been the subjects of extra-judicial killings over blasphemy accusations since the country was formed in 1947.

https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/ma ... 31876.html
swamidada
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Associated Press
Pakistan arrests woman for claiming to be Islam's prophet

Fri, April 14, 2023 at 3:25 PM CDT
MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police arrested on Friday a Muslim woman on charges of blasphemy after she allegedly claimed she was an Islamic prophet, a charge that can carry the death sentence under the country's laws.

The woman was taken into custody from her home in the city of Faisalabad in eastern Punjab province, shortly after a mob had gathered outside demanding that she be lynched after news spread of her alleged claims of prophethood, senior police official Nasir Ali Rizvi said.

Rizvi identified the woman as Sana Ullah and said two other people were arrested with her. He said she would be brought before a judge to face the charge against her.

Meanwhile, video footage circulated on social media showing the woman wearing a headscarf, or hijab, which is considered a sign of piousness.

Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws proscribe that anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or the Prophet Muhammad can be sentenced to death or life in prison, though the country has yet to carry out capital punishment for blasphemy.

However, just mere allegations of the offense are often enough to provoke mob violence and even deadly attacks. International and domestic rights groups say that accusations of blasphemy have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal scores.

https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/pa ... 55518.html
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Re: blasphemy

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swamidada wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2023 9:45 pm
In the last 20 years, 774 Muslims and 760 members of various minority religious groups in Pakistan have been accused of blasphemy, according to a human rights group National Commission of Justice and Peace in Pakistan.

According to the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), at least 89 citizens – 18 women and 71 men – have been the subjects of extra-judicial killings over blasphemy accusations since the country was formed in 1947.
One wonders what is the difference about how India is treating its minorities and how Pakistan is treating its minorities? It is clear that excuses of all sorts are used to settle scores be it within their own religion or with outsiders.
swamidada
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Chinese accused of blasphemy shifted to Abbottabad in army helicopter over safety fears: Komila SHO
Umar Bacha Published April 17, 2023 Updated about 9 hours ago

A Chinese national, arrested on charges of blasphemy, was shifted from Upper Kohistan to Abbottabad in a Pakistan Army helicopter on Monday afternoon over safety fears, Komila Station House Officer (SHO) Naseeruddin said.

The accused, who works at the Dasu Hydropower Project, was taken into custody by the Komila police on Sunday night after labourers at the site accused him of blasphemy.

SHO Naseeruddin, while confirming the arrest, said that a first information report (FIR) had been registered against the Chinese national at the Komila police station.

The complaint, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, invokes Section 295-C [use of derogatory remarks, etc., in respect of the Holy Prophet (Peace be Upon Him)] of the Pakistan Penal Code. It was registered on the complaint of Gulistan and Yasir — both of whom are heavy vehicle drivers.

The complaint said that on Sunday night police official Jehanzeb was informed about a mob trying to break into a Chinese camp near Barseen.

It stated that locals had staged a protest and damaged the camp’s site number 6.

“After receiving the information, a police party reached the site, took control of the area and safely shifted the accused to the Komila police station,” the complaint said.

However, it stated that in the early hours of Monday, a large number of people reached Komila and once again blocked the Karakoram Highway. They also shouted slogans.

The protesters opened the Karakoram Highway for traffic after the police assured them of the registration of the FIR. Local religious leaders also urged the demonstrators to call off the protest.

Later in the day, Naseeruddin told Dawn.com that the accused had been moved to Abbottabad via an army helicopter as police feared locals could harm him.

He added that Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act had been included in the FIR, adding that the Chinese national would be presented before a court in Abbottabad.

Misuse of blasphemy laws is often described by courts as an unlawful act. It had said the Islamabad High Court had previously suggested to the legislature to amend the existing laws to give equal punishment to those who level false blasphemy accusations.

The origin of the blasphemy laws dated back to the British era when these were promulgated in 1860.
Initially, four blasphemy laws — section 295, 296, 297 and 298 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) — were introduced and in 1927 section 295 was supplemented by 295-A after the case of Ilmuddin, a Muslim carpenter, who killed Mahashe Rajpal for publishing a blasphemous book named Rangeela Rasul.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1748144/chine ... komila-sho
swamidada
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The Independent

Man accused of blasphemy killed by mob at Pakistan political rally

Shweta Sharma
Sun, May 7, 2023 at 3:46 AM CDT
A Muslim scholar was lynched to death by a mob for making allegedly blasphemous remarks at a political rally in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan, police said.

Maulana Nigar Alam, 40, was beaten by an angry mob of hundreds of people in Sawaldher village in Mardan district, north-east of Peshawar, on Saturday night, police officer Iqbal Khan said.

Disturbing and graphic videos of the incident which are being widely circulated on social media in Pakistani showed a charged- up crowd beating the man with batons and later stomping after he fell unconscious.

The man allegedly made a blasphemous remark while standing on stage to deliver a prayer at the end of a rally in support of the Pakistani judiciary.

A video of his speech shows the man wearing white traditional attire as another man standing beside him tries to stop him from making the remarks.

"Some words of his prayer were deemed blasphemous by a number of protesters, leading to torture and death at the hands of the angry mob," said Mr Khan.

The incident happened despite the presence of police officers at the rally.

According to eyewitnesses, the police deputy on duty at the rally locked the man inside a nearby shop to save him from the mob but people overpowered the police and broke through the door, dragging him out.

Alam died at the scene and later the police took the body into custody.

Accusations of blasphemy, a crime under Pakistan’s laws, have led to a number of mob lynchings in the Muslim-majority country.

It is a highly sensitive issue as even false allegations have led to killings and other incidents of violence. Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy laws carry a potential death sentence for anyone who insults Islam or the Prophet Muhammad.

Human rights groups have criticised the law and say it has been used to disproportionately target minorities, as well asto settle personal scores.

Last month, Pakistani police rescued a Chinese national who was working on a joint dam project between Pakistan and China after he was accused of blasphemy. The man was first arrested and later airlifted to safety after a mob protested and demanded he be handed over.

In February, an angry mob entered a police station in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore, snatched a person accused of blasphemy from his cell and killed him.

And in 2021 a Sri Lankan national named Priyantha Diyawadanage, who was working as a factory manager in Pakistan, was beaten to death and then set ablaze by an angry mob over allegations of blasphemy.

In 2019 the nearly decade-long blasphemy saga involving a Christian woman known as Asia Bibi came to an end after Pakistan’s Supreme Court acquitted her and said there would be no further reviews of her case. Real name Asia Noreen, she has now been granted asylum with her family in Canada, and has released a memoir about her eight years on death row entitled Enfin Libre!

https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/ma ... 45483.html
swamidada
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The Conversation
Christians in Pakistan risk greater persecution from blasphemy laws, while living in poverty

Myriam Renaud, Affiliated Faculty of Bioethics, Religion, and Society, Department of Religious Studies, DePaul University
Wed, July 5, 2023 at 7:22 AM CDT

Two Christian Pakistani teenagers, one 18 and another 14, were arrested in their homes in Lahore in May 2023 on charges of blasphemy after a policeman claimed he heard them being disrespectful of the Prophet Muhammad.

Among Muslim-majority countries, Pakistan has the strictest blasphemy laws. People jailed under these laws risk a sentence of life in prison and worse still, even death. Christians and other religious minorities make up a mere 4% of Pakistan’s population, but they account for about half of blasphemy charges.

As if navigating blasphemy laws weren’t hardship enough, Christians who live in major cities like Lahore are often relegated to poorly paid and hazardous jobs like sanitation work. The nation of Pakistan was created 76 years ago but during this time the lives of its Christian citizens have grown ever more difficult.

As a scholar of world religions, I have studied how the evolution of a hard-line version of Islam in Pakistan has come to shape this country’s national identity and contributed to the persecution of its Christian minority.

Hindu converts to Christianity
Many Christians in Pakistan trace their religious affiliation to the activities of missionary societies during the 19th and early 20th centuries in the Punjab region of what was then British-ruled India.

Early evangelization efforts by both the British and Americans in Hindu-majority India focused on upper-caste Hindus. The evangelizers assumed that these elites would use their influence to convert members of the lower castes. However, this approach led to few converts.

The caste system is a tiered socioeconomic system that consigns people to a particular group, or caste. In Hinduism, this system is part of its religious worldview. People are born into a particular caste.

There are some 3,000 castes in India, each associated with a range of occupations. People from the lowest castes are often expected to do work that is considered “polluting,” such as skinning animals, removing the bodies of the unclaimed dead and cleaning toilets. Because castes are rigid categories, their members are blocked from upward mobility.

In the late 19th century, American missionaries in India decided to focus directly on the least advantaged and began to baptize Hindus of low or no caste. The missionaries’ new approach proved successful, in part because conversion to Christianity offered hope of escape from Hinduism’s caste system. By the 1930s, for example, many members of the largest menial caste in India’s Punjab region had converted to Protestant Christianity.

In 1947, the country of Pakistan was carved out of Indian territory to establish a homeland for Muslims, who were a minority in India. The section of the Punjab where most Christians lived became part of Pakistan.

The majority of those Christians chose to remain in the newly created Pakistan. They believed that they would fare better there because, in principle, Islam rejects social divisions like castes on theological grounds.

In practice, after the creation of Pakistan, not much changed economically or socially for the Christians who stayed: The caste system continued to exist in the new country.

Even today, most Pakistani Christians living in major cities are consigned to poorly paid jobs in the sanitation industry. Pakistan’s government has adopted a systemic policy of reserving sanitation posts for religious minorities.

Newspaper ads for sanitation workers, including by government agencies, explicitly call for non-Muslims. One of Asia’s Catholic news agencies, UCANews, reported that in May 2017, the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation issued a call for 450 sanitation workers, offering contracts that required employees to be non-Muslim and to take this oath: “I swear by my faith that I will only work in the position of a sanitary worker and not refuse any work.”

In Pakistan’s northwest city of Peshawar, as many as 80% of Christians are sanitation workers. According to the 2022 census, 3.27% of urban Pakistanis living in Punjab province are Christian. However, in Lahore, Punjab’s capital city, Christians account for 76% of sanitation workers.

Subject to widespread discrimination, Christians are often refused other work. Confined to low-wage jobs, Christians experience widespread poverty, even in the relatively prosperous Punjab. A 2012 survey in Lahore found that, for Christian families of five, the average monthly income was US$138 — a per capita daily income of 92 cents - which is well below the poverty line defined by the World Bank. In contrast, during the same year, the average monthly income for all Pakistanis was US$255.

Blasphemy laws target minorities
The condition of Christians only worsened when Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s dictatorial president from 1978 to 1988, started the Islamization of the country.

Originally, for example, Pakistan’s blasphemy laws were general in nature. They punished offenders who wounded the religious sensibilities of other people. Only a handful of charges were filed until Zia added several Islam-specific clauses to this nonsectarian code. These changes included making blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad punishable by a minimum sentence of life in prison, and possibly death. Since Zia’s rule, hundreds of blasphemy cases have been filed.

Anthropologist Linda Walbridge, writing about Pakistani Christians, notes that by the 1990s these “Christians certainly believed they were the targets of systematic oppression.” That oppression, she observed, came largely “in the form of laws that have increasingly been used against them.”

Indeed, laws intended to protect Islam have sometimes been used against Christians and other minorities to settle personal scores or business disputes. In one incident, a Christian couple refused to pay back their Muslim employer who had lent them money. A mob burned them alive after he accused them of blasphemy.

The father of one of the arrested teenagers told the The Christian Post, “Our Muslim neighbors have known us for years, and they know we would never indulge in anything that could hurt their religious sentiments.” Prosecuting authorities reviewing the teenagers’ case may lean in their favor, but if the past is any indication, the authorities themselves will face intimidation, threats and accusations.

This is an updated version of a piece first published on June 28, 2018.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. If you found it interesting, you could subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

It was written by: Myriam Renaud, DePaul University.

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BBC
Pakistan: Mob burns churches over blasphemy claims

George Wright - BBC News
Wed, August 16, 2023 at 4:16 PM CDT

Thousands of Muslims in a city in Pakistan have set fire to churches and vandalised homes belonging to Christians over claims that two men had desecrated the Quran, police say.

The attacks took place in Jaranwala in the province of eastern Punjab.

Police said at least four churches had been set on fire, while residents said up to a dozen buildings connected to churches had been damaged.

Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan.

No-one has ever been executed for it, but dozens have previously been killed by mobs after being accused of the crime.

The Muslim community is believed to make up over 96% of Pakistan's population.

Police making the case against the two Christian men say they found pages of the Quran, the holy book of Islam, with derogatory remarks written in red, Reuters reported.

Yassir Bhatti, a 31-year-old Christian, was one of those to flee their homes.

"They broke the windows, doors and took out fridges, sofas, chairs and other household items to pile them up in front of the Church to be burnt," he told AFP news agency.

"They also burnt and desecrated Bibles, they were ruthless."

Videos uploaded to social media show protesters destroying Christian buildings while police appear to watch on.

Amir Mir, the information minister for Punjab province, condemned the alleged blasphemy and said in a statement that thousands of police had been sent to the area and dozens of people had been detained.

The mob was mostly made up of people from an Islamist political party called Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a government source told Reuters. The TLP has denied any involvement.

Caretaker PM Anwar ul Haq Kakar called for swift action against those responsible for the violence.

Pakistani bishop Azad Marshall, in the neighbouring city of Lahore, said the Christian community was "deeply pained and distressed" by the events.

"We cry out for justice and action from law enforcement and those who dispense justice, and the safety of all citizens to intervene immediately and assure us that our lives are valuable in our own homeland," he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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Rangers called after churches vandalised in Faisalabad’s Jaranwala over blasphemy allegations

Imran Gabol | Reuters Published August 16, 2023 Updated about 8 hours ago

Multiple churches in Faisalabad’s Jaranwala were vandalised on Wednesday.
This photo shows a church being vandalised in Faisalabad’s Jaranwala on Wednesday. — Photo via President Bishop of the Church of Pakistan Azad Marshall’s Twitter

An enraged mob vandalised multiple churches in the Jaranwala tehsil of Faisalabad on Wednesday over blasphemy allegations, following which the paramilitary Rangers were called to the area and Section 144 was imposed, according to officials.

A Christian leader, Akmal Bhatti, said the crowd had torched at least five churches and looted valuables from houses that had been abandoned by their owners after clerics made announcements in mosques inciting the mob.

Images on social media showed smoke rising from the church buildings and people setting fire to furniture that had been dragged from them. A Christian cemetery was also vandalised, as well as the local government office.

Dozens of people blocked a nearby highway as well.

Jaranwala pastor Imran Bhatti told Dawn.com that the ransacked churches included the Salvation Army Church, United Presbyterian Church, Allied Foundation Church and Shehroonwala Church situated in the Isa Nagri area.

He added that the mob also demolished the house of a Christian cleaner, accused of blasphemy.

Meanwhile, the police registered a first information report against the accused under sections 295B (defiling, etc., of the Holy Quran) and 295C (use of derogatory remarks, etc., in respect of the Holy Prophet) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

At night, the Punjab government said in a press release that directives had been issued for a “high-level inquiry” on the incident and arrests.

The provincial government attributed the incident to a “planned conspiracy under which an attempt was made to destroy peace in Pakistan”. It said that the “Holy Quran was desecrated and the sentiments of Muslims were hurt”.

The press release further said announcements were made from mosques that action was being taken against the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran, but the situation had aggravated by then.

It added that due to timely action by the police and administration, announcements were made in mosques that the authorities were taking action, but tensions had already escalated due to the alleged desecration.

“Around five to six thousand people gathered in various areas of Jaranwala in different groups, attempting to attack minority settlements. The police foiled their attempts at several places and damage to several buildings was also prevented due to timely action,” the press release read. “But continued attempts to attack Christian settlements in different areas and police continued to safeguard these localities.”

It said a peace committee was immediately mobilised, and together with members from different political parties, condemned the incident. They also assured that no party was in favour of damaging any properties owned by any of the minority communities.

According to the press release, no loss of life was reported during the incident while police had made over 100 arrests so far. Moreover, it said, footage of the incidents was being analysed through scientific methods and the Rangers too had been called to the area.

“Large contingents of police remain deployed in several area and continue to perform their duties,” the press release said, adding that security had also been also provided “to all places of worship”.

It said the Faisalabad commissioner and other officials were present near the Jaranwala.

Section 144 was imposed in Faisalabad district for seven days due to the “prevailing overall security situation”, according to a notification from the deputy commissioner’s office.

The section of the Code of Criminal Procedure empowers the district administration to issue orders in the public interest that may place a ban on an activity for a specific period of time.

Earlier, spokesperson for the Punjab chief secretary Imtiazul Hassan also told Dawn.com at night that the Rangers have been called to the area.

He said the provincial chief secretary and Punjab police chief Usman Anwar were at the site, claiming that the “situation was under control”.

Earlier, Anwar said the police were “negotiating” with the protesters and the area had been cordoned off.

“There are narrow lanes [in the area] in which small two to three marla churches are located and there is one main church … they have vandalised portions of the churches,” he said while speaking to Dawn.com.

The official stated that efforts were under way to contain the situation by engaging with peace committees and police across the province had been activated. No arrests have been made so far.

“The assistant commissioner of the area, a member of the Christian community, has also been evacuated after people turned against him,” Anwar added.

On the other hand, Christian leaders alleged that the police remained silent spectators.

Later in the evening, newly appointed interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar said stern action would be taken against those who violate the law and target minorities.

“All law enforcement has been asked to apprehend culprits and bring them to justice,” he said on X (formerly Twitter), adding that the government stood with “our citizenry on equal basis”.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter) earlier, President Bishop of the Church of Pakistan Azad Marshall said that Bibles had been desecrated and Christians were tortured and harassed “having been falsely accused of violating the Holy Quran”.

“We cry out for justice and action from law enforcement and those who dispense justice and the safety of all citizens to intervene immediately and assure us that our lives are valuable in our own homeland that has just celebrated independence and freedom,” he demanded.

Bishop Marshall added that all priests, bishops and lay people were “deeply pained and distressed” at the incident.

Religious leaders visit Jaranwala: Ashrafi
Separately, Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) Chairman Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi said religious leaders visited Jaranwala today to address the situation.

In a joint statement issued by the PUC and International Interfaith Harmony Council (IIHC), he said religious leaders actively engaged with the community to stabilise the situation and foster an environment of understanding.

“The leadership of PUC and IIHC underscored the shared responsibility of safeguarding worship places and residences of all communities.

“They assured that the protection of the religious places was not only the duty of the Muslim populace but also a responsibility upheld by the state,” the statement added.

On the other hand, Karachi Additional Inspector General of Police Javed Alam Odho has directed authorities to remain on high alert in the city and increase intelligence outside temples, churches, mosques and all other worship places.

Nearly 100 killed over blasphemy allegations since 1947
Last week, a teacher affiliated with a language centre was shot dead by unknown armed men on an allegation of blasphemy in Turbat town of Kech district.

In a similar incident in February this year, a man was lynched over blasphemy allegations in Nankana Sahib after he was accused of “desecrating the Holy Quran”.

In January 2022, the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) in a report stated that as many as 89 citizens were killed in 1,415 accusations and cases of blasphemy in the country since independence. The report said that from 1947 to 2021, 18 women and 71 men were extra-judicially killed over blasphemy accusations. The allegations were made against 107 women and 1,308 men.

Out of the total, 1,287 citizens were accused of committing blasphemy from 2011- 21. “The actual number is believed to be higher because not all blasphemy cases get reported in the press,” the report had said, adding more than 70 per cent of the accused were reported from Punjab.

The report had said misuse of blasphemy laws is often described by courts as an unlawful act. It had said the Islamabad High Court had previously suggested to the legislature to amend the existing laws to give equal punishment to those who level false blasphemy accusations.

The report had said the origin of the blasphemy laws dated back to the British era when these were promulgated in 1860.

Initially, four blasphemy laws — section 295, 296, 297 and 298 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) — were introduced and in 1927 section 295 was supplemented by 295-A after the case of Ilmuddin, a Muslim carpenter, who killed Mahashe Rajpal for publishing a blasphemous book.

Most recently, the Senate passed a bill to increase the punishment for using derogatory remarks against revered personalities — including the Holy Prophet’s (Peace Be Upon Him) family, wives and companions, and the four caliphs — from three years of imprisonment to at least 10 years in jail.

However, the law came under criticism from the PPP. The party’s human rights cell noted that blasphemy in any form of any religion could not be condoned and must be punished. It was also noted that the intentions behind the bill were questionable which, it feared, would only promote sectarianism and intolerance in the country.

Additional input by APP, AFP, Imtiaz Ali and Nadir Guramani

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Blasphemy laws should be reppelled.

There is no reason in this century to entertain this kind of laws that have been abused in many countries. Blasphemy laws are based on the premises that a person can judge what is blasphemy and what is not, while in Islam only Allah can judge therefore these kind of laws are fondamentaly against Islam.
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A timeline of attacks on religious minorities over the last 12 months
Over the last few decades, Pakistan's minority communities have borne the brunt of mob brutality, bomb attacks, arsons, lynchings and other forms of violence.
Areesha Rehan | Hawwa Fazal | Wara Irfan Published August 18, 2023

On Wednesday, August 16, a mob stormed and vandalised five churches, several homes of Christian families and even a cemetery in Faisalabad’s Jaranwala district.

The violence erupted after some locals alleged that several desecrated pages of the Holy Quran had been found near a house at Cinema Chowk in Jaranwala, where two Christian brothers resided. Soon after, members of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) took the matter into their own hands, inviting people to reach the site of the incident to take action.

Thousands of men gathered, burning down the accused brothers’ home as well as several places of worship in Christian-majority communities. Fortunately, no lives were lost, but hundreds had to evacuate and many reportedly spent the night in the fields, afraid to go back home. Section 144 has since been imposed in Faisalabad and the Punjab Rangers have been called in to maintain peace.

There have been condemnations from various quarters, including leading Islamic scholars, and authorities have promised to bring the perpetrators to book.

But we have been here before. Over the last few decades, we have seen a sharp spike in the incidence of faith-based violence, where Pakistan’s minority communities have borne the brunt of mob brutality, bomb attacks, arsons, lynchings and other forms of violence.

Religious minorities come together to march against persecution in Pakistan at the first Minorities Rights March in Karachi — Hawwa Fazal
Here, we present a timeline of faith-based acts of violence and incidents of persecution targeting religious minorities in the past year alone. Needless to say, this list is not exhaustive and only relies on the incidents that made their way to the mainstream media.

August
August 12: Naseer Ahmad, a 62-year-old Ahmadi man was repeatedly stabbed and killed on the spot in Rabwah over his refusal to chant slogans in praise of a far-right Islamic party while waiting at a bus stop for his Friday ritual of paying respects at a graveyard.

August 21: Ashok Kumar, a Hindu sanitation worker, was taken into custody on charges of blasphemy in Hyderabad on Aug 21 for allegedly desecrating the Holy Quran. A formal complaint was registered against him under Section 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Following the allegation, a mob attempted to forcibly enter Kumar’s apartment complex to capture him. The police issued 200 arrest warrants and arrested 42 suspects for involvement in the attack.

Hyderabad SSP Amjad Sheikh claimed that the mob wanted to burn the flats of the Hindu families living in the complex. He added: “Unruly mobs tried to attack temples at four places but police foiled their attempts. We had anticipated such attacks would follow and, therefore, deployed police there”.

Police use tear gas to disperse a crowd following an alleged incident of Quran desecration in Hyderabad — Umair Ali / Dawn
September
September 23: A school expelled four Ahmadi students based on their faith in Punjab’s Attock district.

One of the students had been facing persistent harassment from a classmate. The decision to expel these students was prompted by parents who contacted the school principal, Kulsoom Awan. Tahir Khan, a relative of the students presented a document from the school that explicitly stated: “The following students who were studying in this institute are being withdrawal (sic) on the basis of Qadianiat Religion”.

The document presented by Khan — The Friday Times
October
October 9: In a video circulating on social media, TLP cleric Muhammad Naeem Chattha Qadri urged followers to “chant loud enough to cause the miscarriage of pregnant Ahmadi women. Such a blasphemer should not be born, and those that are, we [will not] leave them alive”.

October 12: Chanda Mehraj, a young Hindu girl, was abducted in Hyderabad. She was abducted while heading back home from the factory where she was employed.

She was later recovered from Gulshan-e-Hadeed and insisted that she was 19 years old and had married out of her own will. Pakistan Darawar Ittehad chairman Faqira Sheva Kachhi claimed that the medical examination established her age as 16 years but the court remanded her custody to Daraul Aman, where her parents were not allowed to meet her.

2023
January
January 10: An Ahmadi historical place of worship, located in Moti Bazar, Wazirabad, established in 1905, was desecrated by the district police.

Ahmadi place of worship in Wazirabad desecrated by police — Express
Irfan Iliyas Butt, a local representative of the TLP, lodged a formal complaint with the Assistant Commissioner of Wazirabad, alleging that the Ahmadi community had constructed a room that closely resembled a nearby mosque with minarets. He sought action under sections 298-B and 298-C of the PPC.

February
February 2: An Ahmadi place of worship in Karachi was vandalised. The incident took place in the jurisdiction of Preedy police station when unidentified men, chanting slogans against the community, vandalised the minarets of the worship place. A video of the incident that circulated widely on social media, showed policemen deployed outside the site, failing to keep the mob away.

February 3: In Noor Nagar village of District Umerkot in Sindh, several people entered an Ahmadi place of worship by scaling the outer wall and setting fire to the furniture after dousing it with petrol.

In another attack on the same day, the minarets of another Baitul Zikr in Mirpurkhas were dismantled.

February 11: A mob stormed a police station in Nankana Sahib, Punjab, where a man accused of desecrating the Holy Quran was being held. The mob vandalised the building and lynched the accused.

Prime Minster Shehbaz Sharif ordered a prompt investigation of the incident.

April
15 April: A Chinese national, who was working as the head of heavy transport at a major hydro-power project in Mansehra, was taken into custody after being accused of insulting the Holy Prophet.

According to locals, the man had complained to workers at the dam that “precious time” was being lost due to prayer breaks and urged them to speed up their pace.

This enraged some of the workers and they fanned out to nearby villages, whipping up emotions. A large frenzied crowd then made its way towards Kamila Bazaar and blocked the Karakoram Highway (KKH), threatening to storm the Dasu Hydropower Project (DHP) site if the Chinese man was not arrested.

“We have arrested the foreigner suspect under blasphemy and terrorism charges and airlifted him from here to present him before the anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Abbottabad,” Mohammad Khalid, the district police officer (DPO) in Upper Kohistan, told reporters.

April 24: Forty-six-year-old Mussarat Bibi, a Christian woman, and Muhammad Sarmad, a Muslim man, were accused of burning pages of the Holy Quran while cleaning the storeroom of the Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Arifwala tehsil of Pakpattan District, Punjab.

The allegations were levelled by Kashif Nadeem, a resident of the town.

Both workers had been told to clean the storeroom which was filled with paper and other scrapped items. The complainant only named the Christian woman. However, the investigation revealed Sarmad to also be involved. Both had not burned the pages intentionally as they were illiterate. The police arrested them to avoid unrest by protesters.

The duo was set free less than a month after the arrest.

May
May 18: Two Christian teenagers Simon Nadeem, 12, and Adil Baber, 17, were booked under Section 295-C of the PPC. Both boys were arrested after a complaint was made against them by police constable Zahid Sohail, accusing them of disrespecting the Holy Prophet.

Babar’s father informed the media that both boys were in conversation on the street when Sohail picked a fight with them and alleged that they had committed blasphemy. “When elders of the neighbourhood asked Sohail to substantiate his accusation with evidence, he failed to satisfy them and left,” said Babar’s father.

Race Course police later raided the locality and arrested both the boys.

June
June 10: A 15-year-old Hindu girl was abducted from her home in Benazirabad district, Sindh, and reportedly forced to convert and marry a Muslim.

The victim was kidnapped at gunpoint by her tutor and his aides in front of her mother. Kumari’s father filed a police report, alleging that nine armed men kidnapped his daughter, a student of class-VIII, from his home and also took away Rs100,000 cash and gold jewellery.

The Sindh police recovered Kumari by taking immediate action and presented her in court where she recorded her statement and declared that she wanted to go with her family, following which custody was granted to the family.

June 30: Haroon Shehzad, a 49-year-old Christian man was accused of blasphemy. He shared a Facebook post of the text from the First Corinthians chapter 10 on June 27, two days before Eidul Azha, allegedly questioning the sacrifice of animals, reports Sajjad Abbas, a Dawn News reporter from Sargodha.

Muhammad Imran Ullah, the complainant, reported to be a TLP activist, filed a complaint claiming that Shehzad had committed blasphemy. A case was registered under Section 295-A of the PPC. Announcements were made in mosques and protests were carried out by religious party activists. However, the police was reluctant to give a comment to the media and even refrained the complainant from doing so.

The case has been covered by international news and rights organisations.

July
July 3: Punjab Police registered five FIRs against members of the Ahmadi community for slaughtering or attempting to slaughter sacrificial animals on Eidul Azha. The FIRs under section 298-C of PPC were registered in Lahore, Faisalabad, Nankana Sahib, and Gojra.

In addition to these FIRs, police officials in some other towns and districts of Punjab barred Ahmadis from offering sacrifice. In a viral social media video, Faisalabad police raided the house of an Ahmadi individual a day before Eid and “recovered” three goats.

The DPO Hafizabad issued an official order, directing all Station House Officers to meet members of the Ahmadi community and make them take an oath to not perform animal sacrifice on Eid.

The action came despite a 2022 judgement of the Supreme Court, ruling that obstructing non-Muslims from practicing their religion within the confines of their place of worship was against the Constitution.

July 5: The construction of an Ahmadi place of worship was halted and the building was sealed by the Sanghar police at the insistence of a mob.

The construction of the house of an Ahmadi leader and the Baitul Zikr had sparked outrage among locals as the architecture of the Baitiul Zikr allegedly included a minaret.

July 8: Sargodha Police arrested a 35-year-old Christian man after a case was filed against him under Sections 295-A and 298 of the PPC.

The charges were brought forward by Muhammad Awais, a local resident, who alleged that Zaki had shared a blasphemous post on Facebook. Despite receiving support from the Imam of the village mosque and other Muslims from the neighbourhood, who confirmed that Zaki’s post did not disrespect any religion, he was taken into custody.

Zaki’s brother explained that the post was written by a Muslim individual criticising those involved in food adulteration. The family believes that the case against Zaki stems from a long-standing land dispute with individuals who continue to harbour grudges, despite attempts at reconciliation through village elders.

July 16: A gang of dacoits attacked a place of worship — reportedly with rocket launchers — belonging to members of the Hindu community in Sindh’s Kashmore. The assailants also attacked adjoining homes belonging to the community in the jurisdiction of Ghouspur police station.

They fired indiscriminately, prompting a police unit led by Kashmore-Kandhkot SSP Irfan Sammo to reach the scene. The police official said that the dacoits fired rocket launchers at the place of worship, which was closed during the attack.

July 25: An Ahmadi place of worship was vandalised in Karachi’s Drigh Road area. Korangi Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Tariq Nawaz said that around four people damaged the minarets.

A spokesperson for the Ahmadi community said vandals destroyed the minarets of the place of worship. — Dawn.com
August
August 16: Mobs stormed and vandalized five different churches, many homes of Christian families and even a cemetery in Faisalabad’s Jaranwala district following blasphemy allegations.

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Associated Press
Mob attacks on Christian churches and homes in Pakistan set off by false implication, police say

ASIM TANVEER
Mon, September 4, 2023 at 3:05 AM CDT
MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Last month's mob attacks on churches and homes of Christians in eastern Pakistan erupted after three Christians threw the pages of Islam's holy book outside the house of two others to falsely implicate them in a blasphemy case due to a personal dispute, police said Monday.

The three detained suspects confessed to conspiring and throwing Quran pages outside Raja Amir’s house, three police officials said. Amir and his brother had been arrested after they were accused by Muslims of desecrating the Quran.

The suspected mastermind was Pervez Kodu, who thought Amir had an affair with his wife and knew Muslims would target Amir if Kodu had thrown the pages outside his house to give the impression Amir had desecrated the holy book, three police officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media on the record. They said the three men now face charges of causing violence and falsely implicating Amir and his brother in a blasphemy case.

Khalid Mukhtar, a local priest, said he had heard about the arrests of the three men and told The Associated Press that he was trying to get details about the investigations from the police.

At least 17 churches and nearly 100 homes were damaged in the Aug. 16 mob attacks in Jaranwala, a city in Punjab province. There were no casualties but it was one of the most destructive attacks on Christians in the country.

Since then, authorities have repaired most of the churches and handed out thousands of dollars to nearly 100 families whose homes were destroyed or damaged.

Police have also arrested nearly 200 Muslims over involvement in the attacks.

Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam can be sentenced to death. While authorities have yet to carry out capital punishment for blasphemy, often mere accusations can incite mobs to violence and lynching.
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Situation unfolded due to ‘confusion’, says Lahore cop after rescuing woman in Arabic print shirt from mob
Wasim Riaz Published February 26, 2024 Updated a day ago

Gulberg Circle Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Shehr Bano Naqvi, who saved a young woman wearing a dress with Arabic calligraphy printed on it from a mob attack in Lahore yesterday, said on Monday that the incident took place due to “mere confusion” and “miscommunication”.

A day earlier, a charged mob had gathered outside a shop in Lahore’s crowded Ichra Bazaar after someone alleged that a woman’s shirt had Quranic verses printed on it.

As per eyewitnesses, most of the people in the mob were either customers, visitors or passersby, while the garment traders who rescued the woman were aware of the calligraphy print being available in the market. But despite the traders’ explanation, some charged zealots insisted on a “blasphemy” charge.

A video clip on social media showed the girl hiding in a shop and shivering with fear.

Sensing the sensitivity of the issue, some police officials present at the site called in their higher-ups. Subsequently, a police team led by ASP Shehr Bano engaged the crowd, took the woman into protective custody and shifted her to the police station amid heightened security measures.

In a video shared by the Punjab police on X, the ASP could be seen rescuing the woman from the bazaar while a mob hurled abuses in the background. Another showed her addressing the mob, urging them to trust the police while convincing them that no blasphemous act had been committed.

Speaking to the media today, ASP Shehr Bano provided details on how the incident unfolded.

“At 1:30pm, we received a call that a blasphemous act took place near Pakistan Chowk in the jurisdiction of Ichra,” she said. “The caller chose to stay anonymous and just mentioned that a woman was wearing a dress with calligraphy that, God forbid, seemed to be Quranic verses.”

Upon arriving at the scene, a charged mob had gathered around the shop where the woman was, she said. “There, it emerged that the woman was very scared and the mob was religiously charged,” she said.

The ASP highlighted that the area was very crowded and congested, which prevented the police from taking their vehicles inside.

She further highlighted that the shop opposite the one where the woman was supposedly being kept safe had a burning stove, adding that police feared the shop could be set ablaze if the people mobilised.

“At that time, our survival instinct kicked in that we need to get the woman out of here. We arranged a burqa, covered her face and told people not to take the law into their hands,” she said, adding that the mob was informed about the concept of verification in Islam and assured that prompt action would be taken if a blasphemous incident had taken place.

ASP Shehr Bano recalled that the most difficult stage during the operation was transporting the woman from the shop to the police vehicle.

In response to a question, the police official refused to reveal the woman’s identity. She further stated that the calligraphy on the woman’s clothes did not bear Quranic verses.

“The word written [on the clothes] is doing the rounds on social media […] the meaning of the word is literally sincerity, love, goodness, life, humanity,” she said, adding that the dress belonged to a brand based in a foreign Muslim country.

To another question, ASP Shehr Bano said the entire incident began when a man in the locality went up to the woman — who was in the shop along with her husband — and told her to change her clothes. “The woman asked why should she change and during that heated argument, considering it a religious matter, people started gathering.

“So the situation unfolded because of mere confusion, miscommunication, lack of verification and playing on mob psychology,” the official said.

She further said that a video which emerged later, that showed the woman apologising alongside religious scholars, was filmed with “consent”.

“As a police officer, our major concern was that the sanctity, respect and life of that woman should remain safe. Second was that we should not take the law into our hands and there should be due course of justice,” the ASP stressed.

She further stated that some situations called for “long-term thinking” and that the police had to think about the woman’s long-term safety.

“Therefore, that video and the coming together of all stakeholders and saying that the incident took place because of confusion was very important so that the life of a victim is protected,” ASP Shehr Bano explained.

She added that this case should become an example for everyone that action is always preceded by an investigation.

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India Zoo Official Gave Revered Names to 2 Lions. He Was Punished.

The names, Sita and Akbar, evoking a Hindu goddess and a Muslim emperor, drew outrage from Hindu activists who saw it as blasphemy.

Image
The Bengal Safari park in 2020. Names given to a pair of lions have been drawn into a religious and legal debate.Credit...Diptendu Dutta/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The lions look bemused or even bored in photos but not unhappy. Sita and Akbar had been living together for years. Now in a captive-breeding program in India’s eastern state of West Bengal, they are as married as animals can be.

But many of the humans around them are upset. On Saturday, the authorities suspended a high-ranking forestry official who had overseen the animals for naming the lioness Sita, after a revered Hindu goddess, and her mate Akbar, after a medieval Muslim emperor.

Amid an atmosphere of heightened religious and political tensions between Hindus and Muslims in the country, the lions’ names drew an outcry. Lakshman Bansal, an official of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a far-right group linked to India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party, said that when he read the lions’ names in a Bengali newspaper it “felt provocative.”

“It is blasphemy,” Mr. Bansal said by telephone. “And an assault on religious beliefs of millions of Hindus.”

The Asiatic lions, along with other animals like spectacled langurs, two leopards and four Indian antelopes, had been transferred to the Bengal Safari park from the nearby state of Tripura early this month.

Indian zoos have a long tradition of naming animals, particularly tigers and other great cats, after warriors, kings and mythological figures. A cheetah in the central state of Madhya Pradesh is named Agni, for an ancient god of fire. At zoos across the country, wildlife officials said there were many other cats named after Sita and Akbar, who are among the most popular figures in Indian myth and history. Such names help boost the animals’ popularity among children and adults alike.

Heightened sensitivities between Hindus and Muslims are playing a role in the animal-naming dispute. Since Jan. 22, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a vast temple to the god Ram in Ayodhya, members of Mr. Bansal’s V.H.P. organization have been celebrating it as their own victory. In 1992, they led a mob that destroyed a Mughal-era mosque that had stood where the new temple was built.

The real-life Akbar was not only a Muslim but had Central Asian roots and took wives of different religions, including a Hindu princess. Present-day right-wing Hindu activists have campaigned against interreligious marriage, accusing Indian Muslim men of trying to woo, marry and convert Hindu girls.

Mr. Bansal said that after he read the news, he immediately wrote a letter to forestry officials in West Bengal. When he failed to get a response, he went to court to file a petition to demand, on behalf of practicing Hindus around the world, that the name of the female lion be changed.

The case was initially brought before a judge, who expressed surprise and asked the petitioners’ lawyer if he was talking about land.

“No, your lordship, of lion, lion,” the lawyer said with emphasis.

“Lion!” the judge said. “So you have challenged the naming of the lion,” the judge continued. At a certain point, he asked: “But how does it matter?”

Mr. Bansal’s lawyers argued that lions named Akbar and Sita might set a dangerous precedent: “Tomorrow, a donkey may be named after some deity.”

Whether the court was convinced of the risk of a slippery slope, it concluded days later that there was no justification for the big cats’ names and asked officials of the West Bengal government if they would consider changing them.

And the court went a step further. At a hearing, Justice Saugata Bhattacharya said, “Sita is worshiped by a larger section of this country. I also oppose naming the lion after Akbar. He was an efficient, successful and secular Mughal emperor.”

Under pressure, the state government in Tripura, where the animals were named before being transferred to Bengal, decided to investigate how the names came about. Its officers soon found references to Akbar and Sita in records. The official suspended on Saturday, Prabin Lal Agrawal, had denied choosing the names.

Some people took to social media to call the situation absurd. One said it set “a mockable precedent” and another said she at first thought it was “a joke shared from a parody account.”

Shubhankar Dutta, a lawyer representing Mr. Bansal and other petitioners, said the next hearing was scheduled for early March and he would like justices to issue directives to zoo officials to stop naming cats and tigers after religious figures, at least in West Bengal.

Sameer Yasir

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/27/worl ... 778d3e6de3
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Re: blasphemy

Post by Admin »

The main question be it for Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Budhists, Christians etc... is this:

Are people become more extremist at they become less intelligent or are they becoming less intelligent as they become more extremist? As Shakespear would have said, "That is the question!"
kmaherali
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Re: blasphemy

Post by kmaherali »

Admin wrote: Wed Feb 28, 2024 11:09 pm The main question be it for Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Budhists, Christians etc... is this:

Are people become more extremist at they become less intelligent or are they becoming less intelligent as they become more extremist? As Shakespear would have said, "That is the question!"
What is even more amazing is that Hindus believe in non-human avatars, so what is wrong in naming a lion Sita ? Wouldn't it remind them of Narsihn Avatar?
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