Pakistani sentenced to death for blasphemy on social media

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  • #3074

    Rebel
    Keymaster

    A minority Shiite Muslim was sentenced to death in Pakistan for sharing blasphemous content about Islam on social media, a government prosecutor said.

    Judge Shabbir Ahmed announced the sentence for 30-year-old Taimoor Raza on Saturday in Bahawalpur in eastern Punjab province, according to Shafiq Qureshi. Raza was arrested last year for allegedly posting derogatory content about Sunni Muslim religious leaders and the wives of the Prophet Mohammed on Facebook.

    Qureshi said Bahawalpur’s counter-terrorism force arrested Raza in April last year following a complaint that he was showing onlookers objectionable material on his cell phone at a bus terminal. He added that Raza had previously posted other blasphemous material on Facebook.

    Pakistan is a predominantly Sunni Muslim country and the rivalry between Shiite and Sunni Muslims dates back to the seventh century when they had a disagreement who should be the heir to Islam’s Prophet Mohammed.

    Under Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws, anyone accused of insulting God, Islam or other religious personalities can be sentenced to death.

    Pakistan last year arrested 15 people, 10 Muslims and five non-Muslims, on blasphemy charges, according to a report issued by the independent rights group Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

    The country has never executed anyone convicted of blasphemy, but the mere accusation is enough to ignite mob violence or lynching in the deeply conservative country. Right groups say the harsh blasphemy laws are often used to settle personal scores.

    Earlier this year, a student in the country’s conservative northwestern province was attacked and killed by a stick-wielding mob who accused him of blasphemy. There was no evidence of blasphemy, and his death generated widespread protests.

    In January 2011, a provincial governor was shot and killed by his police guard who accused him of blasphemy after he criticized the law and defended a Christian woman sentenced to death under the law.

    In recent months, the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif launched a campaign to rid social media of any content considered insulting to Islam, at least any posted by Pakistanis.

    The government petitioned Facebook and Twitter to identify Pakistanis worldwide posting material considered offensive to Islam so that Pakistani authorities can prosecute them or pursue their extradition on charges of blasphemy, tantamount to a death sentence.

    Source: http://nation.com.pk/national/10-Jun-2017/pakistani-sentenced-to-death-for-blasphemy-on-social-media

    #3075

    David Boots
    Participant

    This is the country that hid and sheltered Osama Bin Laden so why would anyone be surprised.

    Some people may be surprised at how extensive blasphemy laws are. This map shows just how widespread they are.

     

    Blasphemy Laws

    Since this research was completed Kuwait has now made blasphemy a capital offense and Denmark has charged a citizen under it’s blasphemy laws.

    There is an odd connection between Pakistan and Norway. In early March 2016, over 100 Norwegian muslims demonstrated to show support to the Pakistani Mumtaz Qadri. Why? Mumtaz Qadri, a muslim, killed a governor in Pakistan who wanted to remove the death penalty for blasphemy in Pakistan.

    A later Gallup poll conducted in Norway showed that 7% of Norwegian muslims believe that the punishment for blasphemy should be capital punishment. The sample size was 600 self identified muslims, so presumably 43 muslims approved of this statement: the one who performs blasphemy can be punished with death wherever in the world the person is.

    Not all is bad however, almost two thirds of those surveyed (65%) agreed in part or totally that ‘(muslims) must withstand blasphemy, so just meet it with words and discussion.’

    I hope that enlightened majority feel free to condemn such an unenlightened minority.

     

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by  David Boots.
    • This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by  David Boots.
    #3084

    Atheist Ireland along with the Evangelical Alliance of Ireland and Irish Ahmadiyya Muslims have just made a written submission to the United Nations challenging human rights abuses in Pakistan. Next month Atheist Ireland will address these issues at the UNHCR in Geneva. Read Me.

    #3090

    David Boots
    Participant

    Pakistan (and India before partition) has had blasphemy laws on the books for hundreds of years. It is only in the last twenty or so years with the growth of religious extremism that they have taken on a sinister pall.

    They are now used to settle disputes and get revenge in petty civil matters. The judiciary, to it’s credit, sometimes dismisses these cases despite huge public pressure. However the accusation itself is virtually a death sentence. Moreover anyone can be a victim. These laws have been used against people of all religions and even muslim clerics themselves.

     

     

     

    #3234

    Lloyd
    Participant

    New Zealand has refused to rid itself of its blasphemy laws claiming that nobody would use them because they are outdated and old! This of course begs the question of why keep them on the books does it not?

     

    #3385

    Andrew Brown
    Participant

    As always, such a shame to see Islamic culture has fallen so far from the roots.
    From what I have read, it seems like the original Islamic culture was more aligned towards the enlightenment values of philosophy and scientific investigation.

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