British citizen sentenced to death in Pakistan for blasphemy

January 27, 2014 • 11:55 am

The bad news: A British citizen, 65-year-old Mohammad Asghar, has been arrested for blasphemy in Pakistan (where he was living) for blasphemy.  According to Dawn.com, blasphemy is a capital crime in that country, and, after a trial, Asghar was sentenced to death.:

Asghar was arrested in Sadiqabad in 2010 after he wrote letters to different people, a police officer among them, claiming that he was a prophet. Police booked Asghar under section 295-C of the PPC.

The section reads: “Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.”

Public prosecutor Javed Gul produced before the court a copy of letters which Asghar wrote to an SHO of Sadiqabad. Four police officials testified against Asghar.

The prosecution also submitted opinions of handwriting experts testifying that the letters were written by the accused.

Note that the blasphemy wasn’t even a direct insult to Islam, but merely a claim that Asghar himself was a prophet.  Since a court-appointed panel determined that Asghar was not suffering from any “mental disorder,” this was deemed to be serious blasphemy and not just delusional ravings (unlike the utterances of many Muslims). I guess claiming that you’re a prophet is a direct defilement of the Only True Prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him but death on those who try to be his rival).

The good news: Although 1,274 people have been arrested in Pakistan for blasphemy between 1986 and 2010, none have been executed, even after conviction. The preceding link, also from Dawn.com, notes this:

An estimated number of 1,274 people have been charged under the stringent blasphemy laws of Pakistan between 1986, from when they were included in the Constitution by General Zia ul Haq, until 2010.

Pakistan’s Penal Code Section dates back to pre-partition India when it was introduced in 1860. Section 295, better known as the Blasphemy Law, deals with religious offences and was meant to prevent religious violence. Prior to 1986, only 14 cases pertaining to blasphemy were reported.

The blasphemy laws include a death penalty for the defamation of the Holy Prophet and life imprisonment for the desecration of the Holy Quran.

. . . However, the death sentence has never been implemented.

The bad news: “According to sources, 51 people accused of blasphemy were murdered before their respective trials were over.” Also, “blasphemers” have been sentenced to life imprisonment.

The second link to Dawn.com gives a timeline of various cases of blasphemy since 1990. Here are a few of many examples (quotes are direct from the article). Note how trivial the “crimes” are:

  • 1991. Chand Barkat, 28, a bangle stall holder in Karachi, was accused of blasphemy by another bangle vendor, Arif Hussain, because of professional jealousy. Barkat was denied bail for 15 months even though six Muslim witnesses had said in court that they had no proof he had committed blasphemy. He was finally acquitted in 1993 but had to go into hiding due to harassment by Muslim neighbours. According to reports, the accuser formed a group that wanted to kill Barkat after his acquittal which forced him to leave Karachi and go into hiding.
  • 1992. Naimat Ahmar, 43, was a Christian teacher in Faisalabad. Naimat’s collegaues, unhappy with his professional success, convinced a student, Farooq Ahmed, that Naimat had committed blasphemy and urged him to take the law into his own hands. Ahmed believed Naimat had uttered insults against the Prophet and stabbed him to death. He was jailed for 14 years and was reportedly praised in prison for his act.
  • 1994.  Hafiz Farooq Sajjad, a Muslim, was stoned to death after a Quran in his house caught fire. The local mosque announced that a Christian had burned the Quran and a mob gathered outside Sajjad’s house. Sajjad was beaten by the mob after which the police came and took him into custody. However, the mob reached the police station and pelted Sajjad with stones, eventually setting him on fire. The police had fled for safety by this point.
  • 2003. While in police custody Masih contracted tuberculosis and was sent to Gulab Devi Chest Hospital for treatment. He was killed by a police officer, Faryad Ali, who was one of the guards escorting him. He used a hammer to kill him in the presence of other officers and claimed that it was his duty as a Muslim to kill Masih.According to Masih’s family, they were informed of the death two days after it happened. Ali was arrested under formal murder charges.
  • 2005. In August 2005, an anti-terrorist court found Younus Sheikh guilty of disrespecting the Quran after he wrote a book ‘Shaitan Maulvi’ which mentioned that the concept of stoning to death after committing adultery does not exist in Islam. The judge imposed a fine of Rs 100, 000 rupees and sentenced him to lifetime imprisonment.

Apparently, even discussing the blasphemy laws is blasphemy!:

  • 2012. After a trial spread over 14 months, Additional District and Sessions Judge Raja Pervez Akhtar jailed a blasphemy accused for 10 years and imposed a fine of Rs 200,000. Convict Ghulam Ali Asghar, a resident of Chinji village in Talagang tehsil, was booked on Nov 17, 2011, on a charge of blaspheming the Holy Prophet (PBUH) by misquoting a Hadith in Punjabi language. Ghulam Ali Asghar was acquitted under 295-C, but imprisoned him for ten years under 295-A (which forbids outraging religious feelings). The convict will have to undergo an additional jail term of six months if he does not pay the fine.

Finally, this year, Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S., Sherry Rehman, has had a case filed against her for simply opposing the death penalty for blasphemy laws.

Pakistan is, of course, an ally of the U.S., and yet it’s about as barbaric as you can get about free speech and “insult” to religion. What’s worse, even discussing the blasphemy laws can land you a stiff prison sentence—or death at the hands of an outraged mob. How can you change the law if you’re forbidden to talk about it?

h/t: Tom

53 thoughts on “British citizen sentenced to death in Pakistan for blasphemy”

  3. And what if this poor guy was actually the next Prophet (peace be upon him) prophesied by Muhammad (peace be upon him) to return with a message to bring us a greater understanding of the message that we already possess? And they kill him?!?!

    Boy, won’t their faces be red…

  4. The reason for the continued indulgence of Pakistan is, of course, their possession of nuclear missiles. No one wants to see Islamists and Jihadis in control of that country.

    Holding one’s nose at the barbarities of Pakistani Law is a necessary evil.

    1. Necessary for whom? What possible personal motive is there (as opposed to professional diplomatic motive, where that applies) to refrain from stating that this shit stinks?

  5. Barbarism lives on. Superstition, murderous hysteria, embedded within the courts and institutions seems to reign supreme in these Muslim countries. What particularly angers me is the demand of some Muslim immigrants in western countries to institute sharia law on their behalf.

  8. “I guess claiming that you’re a prophet is a direct defilement of the Only True Prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him but death on those who try to be his rival).”

    There are many prophets in Islam (including Moses and Jesus) but Muhammad is considered the “seal” or last of them, and also the greatest. Supposedly there can be no more prophets.

    1. Not according to these loonies. It is kind-of interesting that the most they will reveal on the website is that they are in the Rocky Mountains somewhere. My guess is Boulder, CO. (but a quick Google reveals a chapter of these nutsacks approximately 1 mile from where I sit. Eew.)

      1. Baha’is to Islam is a bit like the Mormons to Christianity (almost all others in the larger group don’t consider them real X). However this webpage seems to be from a breakaway group of a breakaway group of Baha’is (see wikipedia for Bahá’ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant). Current membership is probably under 30.

        Mainstream Baha’is themselves number about 5-7 million worldwide and face heavy persecution in some countries. It is a bit more egalitarian than many religions though the uppermost authority, the 9 member Universal House of Justice must be all male and over 21 (all other positions are apparently open to women). Shunning of ‘covenant breakers’ is one method of controlling dissidence within the faith and some are rather eager to suppress criticism if they can (seen back on usenet in the day and possibly in wikipedia editing).

  9. > Although 1,274 people have been arrested in Pakistan for blasphemy since 1974, none have been executed, even after conviction.

    Mistake? Right next in the quotation, it says:

    An estimated number of 1,274 people have been charged under the stringent blasphemy laws of Pakistan between 1986 […] until 2010.

  10. Let me get this straight: to prevent religious violence, they write laws allowing them to kill people in defense of their religion.

  11. Poor guy.

    Sounds like he’s suffering from mental health issues even though the brave state of Pakistan disagrees.

    The religion of peace.

  12. Well don’t the totalitarian rulers have that tied up with a neat little bow? You can’t even talk about the blasphemy law or you will be charged with blasphemy and I assume that includes saying you support the blasphemy law because talking about the blasphemy law, is blasphemy no matter what!

    It seems to me it would be blasphemous to make a law that calls a mundane thing, like talking about blasphemy, blasphemy. Too bad you couldn’t really challenge it since you’d be arrested before you could point this out.

          1. This can only be settled in one way. For Bl-sph-m-rs who violate the law, they will be given the opportunity to give a final statement. If the statement is true, they will be burned at the stake. If it is false, they will be beheaded. He who is shown wise enough to escape the punishment for Bl-sph-my shall be hailed as the next prophet (peace unto him).

    2. You can’t even talk about the blasphemy law or you will be charged with blasphemy

      Yes, Circumlocution Office gone haywire.

      Imagine being issued with an administrative — i.e., non-judicial — subpoena or equivalent thereof containing a gag order restricting you, under fearsome penalty, from ever disclosing that you had been served with such a writ.
      What was the islamic name for such a provision again?
      National Security Letter?

      Or, as random examples, 18 U.S. CODE § 2703, § 2705, § 3123 ?

      To make it absolutely clear to any irony-challenged casual reader: I am in no way pointing out this abhorrent nonsense in order to exonerate any “blasphemy laws”, anywhere in the world, least of all in bloody Pakistan. But we must be aware that totalitarian tendencies have taken root at the core of our Western democracies as well. A key difference, for the time being at least: a gag order, in Pakistan and similar regimes, can have quite a literal meaning.

      1. In the UK, iirc, one of the provisions of signing the Official Secrets Act (i.e., a declaration under the Act) is that you cannot tell anyone that youve signed it.

        If you ask me if Ive signed it or not, I cannot honestly tell you

        /@

          4. Speaking of looking-glass logic, you may recall the appalling interview which The Times of London conducted on Nov. 20, 1979 with Anthony Blunt upon his public unmasking.
            Blunt, the former Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures, director of the Courtauld Institute, and intelligence officer with MI5 during WW II, was also a Soviet spy and a member of the Cambridge Five Communist spy ring.

            During his interview with The Times, Blunt deftly eschewed probing questions, claiming in a totally dead-pan (and insufferably arrogant) manner that he was prevented from answering because he had signed the Official Secrets Act.

          5. Being an Yank and not old enough to be paying much attention to world affairs in ’79, no I don’t recall that. But I do gotta admire his style. Shame that wasn’t enough to jolt Parliament back to sanity….

            b&

          6. But if you haven’t signed it, one would hope that it’s permissible to tell people that you haven’t signed it, no?

            Nice try, but: “Signing this has no effect on which actions are legal, as the act is a law, not a contract, and individuals are bound by it whether or not they have signed it. Signing it is intended more as a reminder to the person that they are under such obligations.”
            (quoting WP entry on the OSA)

          7. So, it’s illegal in the UK to say whether or not you’ve signed certain documents.

            Just as it’s illegal in the US to say whether or not you’ve been served with a writ of attainder in the form of an NSL from our very own Star Chamber, the FISC.

            Well, fuck that shit.

            For the record, I have never been served with any such tyrannical papers and I recognize the authority of no such laws. Should I ever state anything otherwise, including “No comment,” it’ll be because somebody’s holding some sort of a gun to my head.

            Cheers,

            b&

        2. Do you have to sign a document that says you won’t admit to signing the Official Secrets Act document? OMG it’s signed documents all the way down!

  13. Not surprising based on what I’ve read.

    Interestingly enough, considering this “blasphemy” story, Pakistan has the world’s largest Ahmadiyya community, and it is said to be growing. The Ahmadiyyas are an offshoot of Islam, founded by the prophet/reformer Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in late 19th century British India.

    While the Ahmadiyyas consider themselves to be Muslims, the government of Pakistan does not, because the Ahmadiyyas see Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as the final prophet, not Muhammed. They are despised by many mainstream Muslim Pakistanis, and often discriminated against. Abdus Salam, who helped discover the Higgs Boson was an Ahmadiyya – http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/jul/08/higgs-boson-pakistan-scientist

    Because he was an Ahmadiyya, many Pakistanis refuse to acknowledge his greatness or see him as a national hero. In fact, his name has been removed from Pakistani science textbooks.

    I remember this Pakistani woman I knew who was a religious Sunni Muslim and was a mostly reasonable person. She got along fine with Ahmadiyyas and other minority sects, but she told me about her ultra-religious grandmother who hated the Ahmadiyyas with a passion. She would often speak out against them, and even yell at them and confront them in the streets, along with some other angry Muslims, to tell them to move out of the country or correct their beliefs.

    Hopefully Pakistan will be a much more tolerant place when that generation dies off, though, unfortunately, there are too many young extremists blowing themselves up or murdering people who talk about “blasphemy”.

  14. Pakistan has become increasingly chaotic, feel sorry for the common people out there.

    Compare how India and Pakistan who were a single country a few decades ago diverged after they split. India of course has its own problems – but is a much safer country in comparison. India started and continues to be a secular democracy and Pakistan started out as a religious democracy but quickly slipped into military/dictatorial state. Significant (but not the only) difference being the emphasis on religion.

  15. “How can you change the law if you’re forbidden to talk about it?”- why, that’s the beauty of it!
    I love the reference to a 2005, Islamic “anti terrorist court”: THERE’S an oxymoron for you! Terror, real, or implied, is the underpinning and sustainer of the entire twisted belief system.

  16. I really don’t see the problem here. Seems like a reasonable and effective means of dealing with pesky nut jobs, atheists, heretics, etc.

    Memo to self: email tea party republicans in congress re: prospects for enacting similar legislation right here in good ol’ US of A.

    Sent from my iPhone

  18. How appalling. This quote is so informative I think it bears recitaton. “An estimated number of 1,274 people have been charged under the stringent blasphemy laws of Pakistan between 1986, from when they were included in the Constitution by General Zia ul Haq, until 2010.

    Pakistan’s Penal Code Section dates back to pre-partition India when it was introduced in 1860. Section 295, better known as the Blasphemy Law, deals with religious offences and was meant to prevent religious violence. Prior to 1986, only 14 cases pertaining to blasphemy were reported.”

    The role of political leadership in breathing new life into old religious bigotry can hardly be underestimated. Perhaps it should be emphasized how important the US was in supporting Zia. (You might remember the Tom Hanks movie, Charlie Wilson’s War.) Its pursuit of support for the mujahedeen to fight Communism didn’t just lead to blowback in the form of Bin Laden, but helped to inflict this kind of horror on Pakistan.

  19. I wonder how many Christian Dominionists would like to see the same kinds of laws in the US? It wouldn’t surprise me if O’Reilly wanted to establish prison sentences for saying, “Happy Holidays”.

    1. I think he’d honestly only come out in support of them if they improved his ratings. O’Reilly always seems more like he cares about how his political views affect his bank account than what the actual views are.

  21. Of all the strange “crimes” that human beings have legislated out of nothing, “blasphemy”is the most amazing — with “obscenity” and “indecent exposure” fighting it out for second and third place.

    -Robert Heinlein

  22. Dangerous. We’re bidding for work in Pakistan. And trying to find volunteers to fill the work if we get it. (I’m assigned to the boat for the next several years, so I’m not in the running.)

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