Re: Blasphemy, Islam and Pakistan
Brother, I have written many a time, that Blasphemy law is nothing to do with Islam. Islam promotes free speech and freedom to believe, practice and say what one likes, as long as one is not physically harming anyone else.
One cannot enforce love or respect of anyone. Obviously, love is out of question, but even when respect is getting enforced, it only creates hate and fear of the person whose respect is getting enforced, so it is obvious that Islam cannot even afford that.
It is only false and misguided religion with illogical and indefensible beliefs that craves for enforced respect, and that is what happened in subcontinent.
British government took over India in 1857, and gave panel code act as law to govern subcontinent in 1860. In that panel code, they introduced blasphemy law (first time in subcontinent).
As far as I know, this was first time (1860) blasphemy law was introduced in area that had significant Muslim population. Else there is no evidence that any past (pre-colonial) Muslim governments ever had such law. Pakistan panel codes adopted laws given by British, and made them more stringent. Panel codes defining blasphemy are from 295 to 298. Pakistan modified British given laws (Panel code 1860), and thus in Pakistan Panel Code (PPC) there are various additions, extensions, and introductions of various penalties.
Pakistan has anti-blasphemy laws that are quite complicated. Offenders may be vigorously prosecuted. Chapter XV of Pakistan Penal Code deals with “offences relating to religion”:
· §295. Injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class.
· §295-A. Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting Its religion or religious beliefs.
· §295-B. Defiling, etc., of Holy Qur’an.
· §295-C. Use of derogatory remarks, etc., in respect of the Holy Prophet.
· §296. Disturbing religious assembly.
· §297. Trespassing on burial places, etc.
· §298. Uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings.· §298-A. Use of derogatory remarks, etc., in respect of holy personages.
· §298-B. Misuse of epithets, descriptions and titles, etc., reserved for certain holy personages or places.
· §298-C. Person of Qadiani group, etc., calling himself a Muslim or preaching or propagating his faith:
There is a death penalty for blasphemy in Pakistan.
Punishment relating to the offence of Blasphemy (with applicable panel code and nature of blasphemy):
**Summary of Offences Relating to Religion
**[TABLE]
PPC
Description
Penalty
298A
Use of derogatory remarks etc., in respect of holy personages
Three years’ imprisonment, or with fine, or with both
298B
Misuse of epithets, descriptions and titles etc., reserved for certain holy personages or places, by Ahmadis
Three years’ imprisonment and fine
298C
An Ahmadi, calling himself a Muslim, or preaching or propagating his faith, or outraging the religious feelings of Muslims, or posing himself as a Muslim
Three years’ imprisonment and fine
295
Injuring or defiling places of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class
Up to two years’ imprisonment or with fine, or with both
295A
Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs
Up to ten years’ imprisonment, or with fine, or with both
295B
Defiling, etc, or Holy Quran
Imprisonment for life
295C
Use of derogatory remarks, etc; in respect of the Holy Prophet
Death and fine
Islam and Blasphemy: I have written about this in my past posts more than 3 years ago (that I believe you must have missed). Let me put it down again.
Islam is clear regarding people involved with blasphemy, that such people and their blasphemy is test of believers and their patients, as believers would get hurt by their words (of blasphemy) but would stay patient and would leave them alone, whereas those who would not be believers would lose patient, would fight and would engage people doing blasphemy.
We have examples from both sources (Quran and Sunnah) what to do about blasphemy. As for Prophet (SAW), it is historical fact that Prophet (SAW) stayed patient and ignored those who used to abuse and ridicule him (SAW), ridicule Quran, and ridicule Islam. That is obvious too, as Quran gives same direction, that is to stay patient and ignore ignorant guilty of blasphemy. Prophet (SAW) was walking Quran, and would not have done anything contradictory to Quran.
As for Quran, there are numerous ayahs that deal with the situation and tell Muslims what to do in such situation, that is, to preserve patient and ignore person guilty of blasphemy.
Quran 4-140: Already has He sent you Word in the Book, that when you hear the signs (Revelations, Quran) of Allah held in defiance (rejected, disbelieved) and ridicule (mocked), ye are not to sit with them unless they turn to a different theme: if ye did, ye would be like them. For Allah will collect the hypocrites and those who defy faith - all in Hell:-
Above ayah is clear that when we find people doing blasphemy, that is, rejecting, mocking, or ridiculing signs of Allah (Prophets (AS), Quran, religious books, miracles by Prophets or religious personalities, Allah or Islam … they are all signs of Allah), we should leave them alone until they stop doing blasphemy and become believer. If we join them, that could happen if we keep sitting with them listening to their blasphemy, or not leave them alone, rather argue and fight them, persecute them or whatever, than we would be similar to them … would become those who are either unbelievers or hypocrites.
Quran 73-10: And have patience with what they say, and leave them with noble (dignity).
Quran 3-186: You shall certainly be tried and tested in your possessions and in your personal selves; and you shall certainly Hear much that will grieve you, from those who received the Book before you and from those who worship many gods. But if ye persevere patiently, and guard against evil,-then that will be a determining factor in all affairs.
Blasphemy is something that when believers hear, it brings grief to believers, and Allah tells that such grief would be test/trial for believers from Allah, as believers would bear this grief, preserves patient on the grief, and ignores the person giving grief by ignoring and moving away from that person … and that is the condition of success in such test/trial.
Those who would stay in the gathering would be unbelievers and those who would lose patient then retaliate, would be munafiqs. That is obvious, as those who would stay where blasphemy is going on without any reaction cannot be Muslim, but those who would stay and retaliate would not be Muslim too, as they are not Muslim for Allah but their own emotional, family or birth attachment to Islam as religion.
It is just like with everything. Money, properties, life, career, children, wife, or whatever we have in life. Even though we may love them but if we believe that all what we have belongs to Allah, we would be patient when we lose them, but if we love them and think that it is ours (we personally own them), then we would not lose them with patient, but we would get agitated when losing them and thus would retaliate … and that situation would show that the person is munafiq as that person might say that all what he/she has belongs to Allah, but he /she literally does not believe that.