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June 17, 2006

Pakistan: Muslim Clerics Refuse Funeral Rites To Murdered "Blasphemer"

We reported yesterday that a cleric, Hafiz Qamar Javed, was beaten to death by a mob in Bahawalpur state, Pakistan, after he was accused of burning a copy of the Koran. The incident happened on Thursday (June 15). After he had died from his injuries, police filed charges against him for blasphemy.

Under Pakistan's Penal Code, Article 295-B, desecration of a Koran can lead to life imprisonment. "Defiling, etc, of copy of Holy Quran. Whoever wilfully 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."

The law was introduced in 1986 by the Islamist dictator, Zia ul-Haq. The penalty for ridiculing the "prophet" of Islam, under Article 295-C, can be the death sentence.

Following the murder of the Sunni cleric on Thursday, another man, accused of blasphemy was murdered, states Dawn. The man who was killed was on trial at Muzaffargah District and Sessions Court, in Punjab Province. As Abdul Sattar Gopang was being brought into the court compound to attend his trial, two attackers with daggers struck. Gopang was stabbed repeatedly, and had severe injuries. The two policemen who tried to subdue the attackers received knife injuries.

Gopang was taken to Muzaffargarh District Headquarters Hospital, but he died from loss of blood before any medical triage could be given.

The two attackers, Iqbal Ahmad (Muhammad Iqbal Khan, a vendor) and Muhammad Imran (Muhammad Imran Waheed, a student), were arrested. They are from a nearby madrassa in the Shehr Sultan area of Muzaffargarh. Eyewitnesses said that as they were taken into custody, the two men were chanting religious slogans. They were wearing black gloves, police said, to avoid being detected via their fingerprints.

The murder victim, Sattar Gopang, was a tax collector. He had been arrested on March 13, following an argument with a truck driver. Gopang's offence was registered by a member of the extremist Islamist group, the Aalmi Majlis-e-Tahafuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat. This group is well known in Pakistan as exploiting the blasphemy laws to tyrannize civilians. They were behind the blasphemy death penalty issued to Dr Younas Sheikh in 2001. He was subsequently acquitted in November 2003, after spending three years in jail. The Majlis-e-Tahafuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat has also organised demonstrations against the Danish cartoons. The group is opposed to birth control.

According to Maulana Abdul Rasheed, a local office-bearer of the Aalmi Majlis Tahafuz-i-Khatam-i-Nabuat (Majlis-e-Tahafuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat), when Gopang had argued with the truck driver, he had uttered words which blasphemed the prophet, (contravening Article 295-C of the Penal Code).

Today, when it came time for Abdul Sattar Gopang to be buried, he was not allowed the dignity of funeral prayers (Namaz-e-Janaza) led by any Muslim cleric, even though he had not been officially convicted of blasphemy.

The Pakistan Daily Times states that no clerics would lead the funeral prayers, and only 35 people turned up for the funeral, small for a Muslim funeral in Pakistan. The family managed to pay a madrassa teacher to perform the funeral rites, and police were in force to prevent attacks from Muslim extremists.

The Tehrik Khatm-e-Nabuwat (Majlis-e-Tahafuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat) have praised the two killers of Mr Gopang. Maulana Muhammad Siddique, a spokesperson for the group, said: "We will provide full financial and legal support to Waheed and Khan. We are proud of them for accomplishing this noble task."

Gopang's younger brother, Talib Hussain, has also been arrested. He had thrown a brick at Maulana Abdul Rasheed, the man from the Majlis-e-Tahafuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat who had first filed the case against Abdul Sattar Gopang.

The autopsy of Gopang showed he had ten knife wounds, one of which had damaged his heart, causing death.

Today, the District and Sessions Court in Muzaffargarh heard another blasphemy case. Abdul Rehman Fani's lawyer asked that further hearings involved in his case should take place in prison. The murder of Gopang was given as a reason. The case was adjourned until a later date.

The involvement of the extremist Sunni sect, the Majlis-e-Tahafuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat, in bringing the case, and their offer to pay for the defense of the murderers raises questions. Did they commission the assassins? Such a suggestion is not as outlandish as it first appears.

In Bangladesh, a local group connected to this organization is responsible for persecutions against the Ahmadiyya sect. Their attacks have involved extreme violence and a total disregard for secular law. The words "khatme nabuwat" mean "end of prophecy".

In Pakistan the "Tahafuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat" has been active in persecuting the Ahmadiyya sect, which is called "Qadiani" in this country, states an Islamist website.

In January last year, the Islamist opposition coalition, the MMA, accused the American envoy to Pakistan, Ryan C Crocker, of trying to stifle the Majlis-e-Tahafuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat movement. The MMA's leader, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, is an ardent supporter of Osama bin Laden, and has threatened revolution. He also was actively involved in February's anti-cartoon protests.

On March 18 this year, the Majlis-e-Tahafuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat and local clerics forced an Ahmadiyya girl's body to be removed from a Muslim graveyard, 10 days after her death. At the 17-year old's original burial, the local imam refused to give her funeral rites, or Namaz-e-Janaza.

The extreme feelings surrounding "blasphemy" have always been able to invoke extreme violence. We reported earlier that in 2000, Lahore High Court Judge Mr Justice Nazir Akhtar publicly stated that anyone accused of blasphemy should be killed on the spot by Muslims as a religious obligation (swab).

This is not the first time that extrajudicial killings for blasphemy have happened, once legal proceedings have started. A report by CWSA relates how a judge (Arif Ibaql Bhatti) was murdered in October 1997 after he had earlier acquitted Rehmat and Salmat Masih of a blasphemy case. In 1995, the pair were shot outside Lahore High Court in 1995, but survived. Manzoor Masih, also accused of blasphemy, was shot in this incident, but died.

Keywords: Aalmi Majlis Tahaffauz Khatm-i-Nubawwat, Aamli Majlis Tahaffuz Khatm-e-Nabuwat, Aalmi Majlis Tahafuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat, Majlis-e-Tahafuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at June 17, 2006 9:05 PM

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