Posted: 04/03/2014 at 8:46am | IP Logged

Christians Live In Fear Of Muslim Blasphemy Law

April 01, 2014 | Christine Pasciuti

Christians living in Muslim dominated societies find themselves in constant fear that they may one day be accused of blasphemy - a crime that is punishable by death in some countries such as Pakistan.

The latest victim of such accusations is 27-year-old father of three, Sawan Masih, a Christian sanitation worker. Sawan was sentenced to death by hanging last week, accused by a friend with whom he quarreled in March of 2013 while both had consumed liquor, of blasphemy and insulting the Prophet Muhammad. According to a local resident, Dilawar Masih, "Both Imran and Sawan are close friends and the former has made the allegation only to settle a personal score because they had quarreled over some petty matter.”

In May of 2007, Younis Masih, a Pakistani Christian, was sentenced to death for a 2005 blasphemy charge - apparently unfounded - for allegedly making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed at a religious service held at a house near his own. Masih denies the accusation and his wife corroborates that around midnight, he only asked people inside the house not to sing so loudly as he was in mourning for his recently deceased nephew.

Younis Masih’s lawyer, Parvez Aslam Choudhry, was subjected to death threats and acts of violence for his involvement in the trial. Choudhry is the chairman of the NGO Legal Aid for Destitute and Settlement, an organization which fights discriminatory laws in Pakistan and provides legal assistance to impoverished detainees.

On May 11, 2006, assailants rammed Choudhry’s car which veered off the road and fell forty feet. A passenger, lawyer Rana Javed Rafiq was killed, and Choudhry and another passenger were hospitalized. On two other occasions in February and July of 2006, Choudhry was threatened at gun point to cease his representation in blasphemy cases.

Two Christian Pakistani brothers, Rashid and Sajid Emmanuel, were gunned down in Faisalabad on July 19, 2010 by suspected Islamic extremists after being accused of "blaspheming" Islam's prophet Muhammad. They were arrested on July 10th for allegedly distributing a pamphlet with "disrespectful material" about Muhammad, according to a BBC report.

Atif Jameel, a spokesman for the Pakistan Minorities Democratic Foundation, responded by saying, "No one in his right mind would issue a derogatory pamphlet against the Prophet and put his name and address on it." UPI reported that the brothers were killed prior to their hearing on the blasphemy charges.

Rashid was the ministry director of United Ministries Pakistan which included several churches, a school, an orphanage and a women's program among other resources. On a web profile page, he had stated, “We are a group of believers, committed and dedicated to preaching the Word of God and have been helping the poor and downtrodden people of this area for the past 5 years." News reports described his brother Sajid as a graduate student and one of the ministry's leaders.

The assassination in January 2011 of Salman Taseer, then governor of Punjab Province, by one of his elite police guards, was another grim reminder of the risks taken by Pakistani leaders who oppose religious extremists. Taseer had recently campaigned to repeal Pakistan’s contentious blasphemy laws, which prescribe a mandatory death sentence for anyone convicted of insulting Islam, and was tragically gunned down in broad daylight at close range as he was getting into his car.

In March of 2011, Shahbaz Bhatti, founder of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA), was shot and killed in Islamabad when his car was stopped by terrorists. He had been receiving threats to his life for his defense of the Christian community and for speaking out against the blasphemy law. The killing was attributed to the Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

In the South Asian nation of 193 million, Pakistani Christians comprise less than 3% of the population. Other minority groups have also been targeted by militant groups, including Shiite Muslims, who are significantly outnumbered by Sunnis in Pakistan.

Despite a de facto moratorium on the death penalty in Pakistan, death sentence judgments on blasphemy accusations continue to be delivered with alarming regularity. Organizations such as Amnesty International and U.K.-based Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), are intervening with powerful voices of legal advocacy, filing appeals and fighting the discriminatory laws that continue to enable militant group violence against minorities.

"Unfortunately the blasphemy law has become a powerful tool in the hands of extremists and is continually being used to attack churches, burn down Christian towns and villages and also kill innocent people," noted Nasir Saeed, director of CLAAS-UK.

Rooted within Sections 295 and 298 of the Pakistan Penal Code, the blasphemy laws are frequently misused to target religious minorities – Christians, Shi'as, Ahmadiyyas and Hindus – allowing Islamist extremists to justify killings.

Due to pressure from extremist groups, the Pakistani government has not amended or revoked the blasphemy laws, which are often cited by false accusers and false witnesses, against whom no provision for punishment exists, according to Saeed.

CLAAS reported that police just silently watched as a Muslim mob stole valuable possessions and destroyed Christians' homes after blasphemy charges were delivered against Sawan Masih last year.

Vigilantism across Pakistan – particularly in the northeastern state of Punjab – exists largely because of vagueness in anti-blasphemy laws, inadequate investigation and mob/religious group intimidation, Amnesty International points out.

According to a BBC correspondent in Lahore, though no one has been executed yet under Pakistan's blasphemy law, "about 10 accused have been murdered before the completion of their trial,” and “Dozens more are living in exile to avoid punishment under the legislation.”

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Source: Prophecy News Watch