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March 5, 2006

Pakistan: Mosque Leader Arrested On Blasphemy Charges

Pakistan's brutal and backward blasphemy laws have scored an "own goal" as the imam of a mosque in Ganj Mandi, Rawalpindi, has been arrested for desecrating the Koran, states the Pak Tribune.

The imam was held under section 295-B of Pakistan's penal code:

Defiling, etc, of copy of Holy Quran. Whoever will fully defiles, damages or desecrates a copy of the Holy Quran or of an extract therefrom or uses it in any derogatory manner or for any unlawful purpose shall be punishable for imprisonment for life.

Maulvi Arif, imam of a mosque on Babu Lal road, had been burning a copy of the Koran, and pages had dropped into the street below. Local Muslims were outraged, and a large police contingent descended on the mosque.

Arif said that he had been burning an "extinct" copy of the Koran, in accordance with Sharia Law. Police registered the case and were continuing their investigation.

The offence of desecrating a Koran led to an innocent Christian, Yousaf Maseh, being held for three months in custody after being accused of burning pages of the Koran. This false allegation led riots at Sangla Hill in Punjab province, with several churches burned.

On June 28 last year, another Christian man who was ordered by his employers to burn "rubbish" was accused of desecrating a Koran. This man, similarly called Yousaf Masih, was illiterate, and of a low IQ. He did not know he was burning pages with verses of the Koran printed upon them. He was beaten in police custody, and subsequently had to go into hiding, because of death threats against him, stated Asia News.

At least the worst Maulvi Arif can look forward to, if found guilty, is only a life sentence. If he had insulted the "prophet" Mohammed, he could be facing the death penalty under section 295-C of the penal code.

The blasphemy laws are discriminatory, as they only serve to protect Islam. Under Section 298-A, if one uses derogatory language about any of Mohammed's wives or family members, one can get a three year jail sentence.

298-B of the penal code directly discriminates against the Ahmadi or Ahmadiyyah sect of Muslims, who are widely viewed as heretics, and are banned from entering Mecca:

Misuse of epithet, descriptions and titles, etc. Reserved for certain holy personages or places.
1 Any person of the Qadiani group or the Lahori group (who call themselves Ahmadis or by any other name) who by words, either spoken or written or by visible representation:

a) refers to or addresses, any person, other than a Caliph or companion of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), as "Ameerul Momneen", "Khalifat-ul-Momneen", "Khalifat-ul-Muslimeen", "Sahaabi" or "Razi Allah Anho";
b) Refers to or addresses, any person, other than a wife of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), as Ummul-Mumineen;
c) refers to, or addresses, any person, other than a member of the family (Ahle-Bait) of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), as Ahle-Bait; or
d) refers to, or names, or calls, his place of worship as Masjid;
shall be punished with imprisonment or either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine.

2 Any person of the Qadiani group or Lahore group, (who call themselves Ahmadis or by any other names), who by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representations, refers to the mode or from of call to prayers followed by his faith as "Azan" or redites Azan as used by the Muslims, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.

Section 298-C states that no Ahmadi or Ahmadiyya can call him or herself a Muslim, nor can they preach or propagate their faith. To do so can lead to a fine and a prison term of three years.

The draconian blasphemy laws were introduced in 1986. Compass Direct states:

A recent study showed that Pakistan's Christians, about 3 percent of the country's 150 million people, constitute a disproportionately high percentage of those tried under the blasphemy law.

January statistics from the National Solidarity for Equal Rights, a coalition of human rights organizations, reported that Christians made up 12 percent of the 745 people charged with blasphemy since 1986.

Of 21 blasphemy suspects extra-judicially murdered, six (almost 30 percent) were Christian, the report stated.

After a recent visit to Pakistan, the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, criticised the blasphemy laws, but said it would be hard for any government to change them, due to the power of the religious conservative element in the nation.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at March 5, 2006 9:20 PM

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Posted by: John Sobieski at March 5, 2006 11:10 PM

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