Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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Are minorities really safe and happy in Pakistan? Whenever we read anyone from minority section………

Minorities leader says Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

The following is from an interview with Shahbazz Bhatti, chairman of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, which includes Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Balmeek, Bheel, Maingwal, Zoarastrian, Baha’i and Kelash communities. He spoke with journalists at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom offices, including Julia Duin of The Washington Times.

Q: What has been the situation of Christians in Pakistan after September 11, 2001? 
A: Many of our churches and hospitals were attacked and we lost many innocent lives. Islamic extremists link Pakistani Christians to America, due to their commonality of faith. Because they believe all Muslims around the world are of one nation, all Christians are of one nation as well. Thus, raping and killing and victimizing Pakistani Christians is taking revenge on the West and on America. 
 
Q: Weren't things bad for minority religions before then, especially because of the blasphemy law under which anyone can be jailed for supposedly insulting Muhammad? 
A: All religious minorities must face the blasphemy law, which in the hands of Islamic extremists is always misused. This law is against all international norms. It must be repealed immediately. 
 
Q: Why are Christian women being targeted? 
A: Since 9/11, there's been more discrimination in Pakistan and many cases of rape, kidnapping, abduction and forcible conversions [to Islam] of Christian women. These Islamic radicals think that just by raping and kidnapping Christian women, they are satisfying their religious requirements. The culprits are never punished, even though their links with al Qaeda and the Taliban have been revealed by the authorities, by the press and other witnesses. 
Christians are loyal citizens of their country, they are ready to sacrifice for its prosperity and development and are proud to be Pakistani. 
 
Q: So what should the United States do? 
A: We want the United States and its coalition partners to realize the plight of those who have become victims of retaliation. Make Pakistan abolish all discrimination laws. Make sure the life and property of the non-Muslim, especially the Christian, are protected in Pakistan. 
Jihad warriors and the concept of holy war in the name of Islam should be banned in Pakistan, because these jihad warriors are linked to terrorist groups. Our president has taken progressive steps to ban terrorism in Pakistan, but these terrorist organizations have international links. Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries are supporting them, giving them moral and diplomatic support to continue their activities. Minorities in Pakistan are peace-loving and faithful citizens but they are paying the price of their faith. 
 
Q: Are Hindus getting similar treatment from the Muslims? 
A: The attacks after 9/11 have only occurred against Christians, but Hindus are also victims of discrimination laws. You cannot find any Hindu in the Pakistani military. You can't find any Christian in any intelligence institution. You cannot find any minority in the high bureaucracy. You cannot find any Christian or minority in a sensitive position. 
 
Q: Are Islamic moderates protesting discrimination against minorities? 
A: They are upset with what's happening, but they do not protest or condemn it. I don't think all Muslims are bad. There are many peace-loving ones, many liberals among them, many good people. But the Islamic militants are terrorists.
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Re: Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

ya mon repeal em blasphemy laws. dunn make no sense.

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Re: Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

yep... Its just wrong... But trying to convince people of this is impossible...

Mera or GS ka sath Do sal ka ho giya:D
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Re: Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

Yes yes yes, but who will bell the cat (mulla)????

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Re: Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

//yep... Its just wrong... But trying to convince people of this is impossible...//

Isnt that running away from the problem. Some begining should be made and it is better is if the same is made now rather than later. Where are all the so called jehadis who cry themselves hoarse about minority discrimination in India !!!

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Re: Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

hmmm duno about u guys.. bt we hav a church like 100m away from our house in lahore.. and not heard a single incident happen their.. they have their 25 Dec openly.. and its a national holiday i think..

duno wts all that got to do with blasphemy law.. sounds more like propoganda then actual things.. coz there are plenty of christains in pak with good posts.. who i dont thing get hassaled.. e.g. yosuf yohana... most of the convent schools are run by nun.. and most of the richies study there..

then the hindus.. from my best knowledge the Supreme court jude is a hindu.. so duno where all this thing is cumin from..

and since its from washington post.. whcih is like.. US presient home.. dunst seem too convincing

WATS IT GOT TO DO WITH BLASPHEMY LAW????.. :s..

the funny thing is.. it again said in the interview for america to force the pak govt.. meanin bully.. and secoundly.. it makes it sound like as if america is angelic.. that it keeps high on muslim minorities..

Allah hafiz

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Re: Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

there is nothing wrong with the law. It has not been fully implemented though.
So all about it is just crap and propaganda.

Monorities have no problems in Pakistan as compared to other countries like India. No mass murder of non-muslims by common people in Pakistan. Not even a single death based on blesphemy law.

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Re: Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

The law must be repealed. It's not based on any sound legal reasons. It doesn't do any good. It just brings Pakistan into disrepute and is diametrically opposed to the values and principles of the Pakistan National Movement of Quaid-i-Azam Jinnah.

Pakistani Christians are Pakistanis, they should not have to suffer under such laws. It is wrong. Laws which are prone to abuse should not be enacted at all.

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Re: Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

Any law that canbe abused and has been abused for some personal gains as is the case here must be repealed... There are many loop holes in the law which people can exploit. The fact that most dont exploit these loop holes and dont bother the minorities for the most part doesnt mean we should ignore the potential for this law to be used in a negative manner...

Time Pass
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Re: Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

Again no christian is in bad situation in Pakistan just because of being christian. And does pakistan has to care about silly news media evil propaganda and has to look good in the eyes of anti-Pakistan. One way or other anti-Pkaistani will continue to lie about Pakistan's laws, religeon, social norms or whatever. So be it.

People need to understand that Pakistan is based on an ideology to uphold at least basic Islamic values and defending islamic values has to be part of the law.

Former Yousuf Youhanna's conversion to Islam should shut many people's mouth right away!........................Unless they love to argue for argument sake.

No one has come up with concrete answer to the proof of alleged discrimination against christians except traitors who love to involve foreign media and foreign government into Pakistan's business.

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Re: Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

^^ Deedee bhayya! Minorities in Pakistan are not in great shape due to “bad laws”. Read the following editorial before terming everyone a “traitor”.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_29-9-2005_pg3_1

EDITORIAL: How to deal with bad laws

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has recently observed that the law against “meals at weddings” is not being enforced in the provinces. A number of TV documentaries showed how blatantly wedding families were being allowed by local administrations to arrange lavish feasts. The food and catering industry had also found loopholes in the law banning meals at weddings that was legislated by the Nawaz Sharif government and upheld by the Supreme Court in November 2004. For instance, on July 23, 2005, PTV reported on wedding parties and tried to embarrass guests eating dinners in violation of the law. Everyone said that they wanted a feast at weddings. One bridegroom said that he did not want the feast but his bride’s family wanted the feast to reciprocate for the feasts they had enjoyed from others. It was found that in Karachi the police were not raiding wedding halls. But those questioned were not able to give any economic arguments against the law.

Indeed, the PTV documentary did not discuss a bad law. A bad law is that which does not have the support of the people and, therefore, cannot be enforced. Many so-called “Islamic” laws fall in this category, like the one on murder of khataa (manslaughter) and its diyat (blood money) especially in cases of manslaughter in the shape of road accidents. The ban on feasting has been partly inspired by religion, but it has no nexus with the economy. The law has damaged the economy, rendered hundreds of thousands of people unemployed and caused the poultry industry much harm. The Supreme Court may be dismayed by the fact that the anti-meal law is being flouted, but it should take a close look at why this is actually happening.

The Sharia bench of the Supreme Court also ruled in 1999 that banking and insurance and other riba-carrying instruments were unlawful, but the state was unable to enforce the law and the verdict came right back to the Supreme Court in appeal. We are still living in a legal limbo while modern banking grows apace and riba is the moving force of the economy. Repeatedly, special commissions, set up by governments to investigate why women were being legally discriminated against, have recommended the abolition of hudood laws simply because they are abused. Dozens of verdicts of qatt-e-yadd (cutting of hands) and rajm (stoning to death) have been handed down over the years, but the punishment has not been carried out in a single case.

The normal Pakistani reaction to this state of affairs is that the laws are good but we have not been able to mould our society enough for their proper implementation. What about looking at the whole issue from the legal tradition of judging “bad” laws? The laws must conform to the physical circumstances and social conditions of the society they are meant for. Even in the Islamic tradition, we know of instances where the laws were held in abeyance because society was not ready for them or they were too stringent, as in the case of the Quranic conditions to talaq (divorce). If we want to discuss the issue seriously, there is a mountain of “bad laws” that either “wither on the vine” like the one on qatl-e-khataa in the case of traffic accidents and the one on blasphemy. Known as the ‘insult’ law, and embodied in the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) Article 295-C, through an Act of Parliament in 1986, it seeks to punish with death individuals who insult the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Called Blasphemy or Gustakhi-e-Rasul Law, it has targeted the minority communities, particularly the Christians. The most dangerous part of the Article 295-C is where it says that the offender shall be punished if he insults the sacred name of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) ‘by words either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly’. The official interpretation of the Article says that insult to any of the Prophets mentioned in the Quran would attract the death penalty.

There are hundreds of cases of blasphemy under which innocent people are rotting in jails. These people have been targeted and they now increasingly include Muslims who are trapped into blasphemy by their rival Muslims. The lower courts are coerced by local religious militias, who can actually cause harm to the judge, into handing down the death sentence. The property of the “blasphemer” is redistributed by the local thugs and the family of the “blasphemer” – in most cases a non-Muslim – is driven out. After being convicted, the accused goes to the death cell. After that, the case drags on for an average of seven years before the Supreme Court finally lets the accused go. So far not a single “blasphemer” has been punished. Is this, then, a “good” law?

The anti-meal law is not being observed and the economy and society is the winner in this case. If the provinces were to become strict, a whole section of economy and society would be harmed by it. By analogy, there should be a law against consumerism in general which brings the middle class under pressure, but there isn’t. On the other hand, there are laws like hudood and blasphemy which are being abused and there are whole sections of society brought under pressure by them. All these are “bad laws” in the legal sense and should be set aside. Meanwhile, since there is no political consensus on them, it is better to wink at their non-observance than insist that they be enforced. Surely the honourable Supreme Court should be seized of more weighty matters than compliance of such a bad law. *

Official Thread 4 Flooders
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Re: Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

There was the case of the Christian priest who shot himself I think at the Supreme court building in protest of these laws. Why would he have done that if all was rosy and bright?

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Re: Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

Do you really beleive what you have written?
Christian minorities in Pakistan
harassment and violence for all religions alike
Pakistani textbooks packed with anti-Christian bias
Many victims of an evil law
Religious minorities, persecuted and marginalised
'In 1997, the Christian village of Shanti Nagar in southern Punjab was attacked by a mob of 30,000 Islamic extremists: 1,500 homes were looted and 80 per cent of the village was torched. Fourteen churches in nearby Khanewal were also destroyed.

Discrimination takes many forms, some seemingly minor. In some areas, restaurant owners ask their patrons’ for their religion before serving them. One restaurant in Hafizabad (Gujranwala district) has separate utensils and wash-basins for Muslims and non-Muslims.’

///\Please confirm that all this is a fake propaganda.

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Re: Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

What do you think will the result if a referendum is conducted for repealing the Law of Blasphemy in Pakistan?

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Re: Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

^The majority will vote in its favor.. Sad fact about Pakistan is that most people have become too head strong about religion, too intolerant, and perhaps really insecure to ever think logically.. Even the smallest most cosmetic change to such "Islamic" laws, are seen as a way for some unseen force (read America, Israel, or other secular internal forces) to undermine Islamic Ethos. So, very little chance of any changes so long as people are so insecure about their religon and so intolerant... What do you expect in a country where "secular" is a dirty word!?!?!

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Re: Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

bt wat is being secular..

sayin that a law has loop holes.. and comparing that to being a bad law.. its two different things..

loopholes=.. the law needs to be revised and needs to be specific about the situation and complete those loopholes

bad law= the law needs to be delleted and removed.. becusae it is harming the society..

i still duno wat is hadood law.. many call it islamic law.. bt most ppl mis-interpret islamic law.. they are harsh.. bt to get those extremem punishment. many things need to be fulfilled.. and i dono the criteria.. so i cannot say..

its time where ppl try to think if islam and its laws are corect or not.. and will try to remove things because outside force or internal views hav changed.. it was predicted 1400 yrs ago.. and its hapening now.. rahter then mis-interpreting the law and calling it not worth the current time.. its more like u understand wat it actually means. y it was put in.. and wats the purpose of the law..

Allah hafiz

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Re: Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

Humm..I am wondering …one or two sites saying the same thing. One or two people writing the article.

No non-muslim is forced to read Quran..come on…is that believable? Thats just plain simple joke. Do you think people in a chirtian majority country should demand that christianity not be taught ot explained or discussed in that country.

So why Yousuf Yuhanna converted to Islam my friends? Was he forced? Please prove it if thats the case.

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Re: Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

We could understand it if non-Muslims had scored high status in Pak cricket team anytime in past.

http://www.aina.org/news/20050920123115.htm

Pakistan Prosecutes More Minorities for 'Blasphemy’

[[[ Meri Kabr ]]]
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Re: Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

Again.. that article was released from Washington.. there must sum dude in washington whose playin up on anti-pak.. and its minorities. hmm...

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Re: Pakistan must repeal its blasphemy law

umm its really startin to make me uncomforatble about this person in washington.. he really must have sumfin stuck up his ass... lookin at his disgusting articles..

it seems to me.. hes neave been to pak.. they don act like americans where they pic on the look alikes or becuase they belong to the same religion or country and rape them or terrorise them...

no this aint america... and yes i can beleive if they used bombs.. bt beatin sumone up for such cases.. umm NO..

neway its media.. ppl are told many times that wat u see is not wats there.. so i guess we still humans hav no choice bt to beleive..
Allah hafiz