Tag: Blasphemy

A new day for Pakistan? The Aasia Bibi Verdict

A strange thing has happened in the land of the pure, the bastion of Islam that is Pakistan. A woman imprisoned for almost nine years and who was on death row for blasphemy has been acquitted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The reason I call this strange is that in Pakistan — it is. The country’s infamous blasphemy laws are used willy-nilly to settle personal scores and it is very difficult to be absolved of this ridiculous crime. Plenty of people are languishing in jail because they had supposedly “blasphemed” against Islam, its Prophet or the Qur’an.  In fact, Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab, was murdered for trying to get Asia Bibi’s acquittal. And it is Asia who has been acquitted today.

This is no doubt a landmark ruling, not least because there was absolutely no evidence against Asia Bibi, but also because it shows that even though the case against her was entirely fabricated she still had to languish in jail for almost a decade before getting justice. Judges would continue to recuse themselves from her case and lawyers were unwilling to represent her.

This is how hard it is to get out of the blasphemy trap in Pakistan. Her acquittal at least gives a little hope that others might get justice too. Much has to be said about her current lawyer Saiful Malook, who argued her case successfully in the supreme court and who is no doubt under threat for his life as well. Her previous lawyer, Naeem Shakir, died last year.

Of course, the religious fanatics cannot just let this go without an outcry. For them it is not important that there was no evidence against her. In Pakistan, the accusation of blasphemy is always the judgement — and sometimes the execution.

Now, TLP (Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan), a party of right-wing religious nut jobs, has come out on the streets to protest against the verdict.  They have threatened the judges, the army chief, the government and, of course, Asia and her lawyers. She and her family are still in danger and it is not clear when she will be released and where she will go.

TLP, like many other religious parties, has been propped up by Pakistan’s military establishment to keep tight control over democratically-elected governments.  They have usually been brought out whenever the ruling party has to be reined in. Recently, the TLP was used to go after Nawaz Sharif’s government.

After Asia’s acquittal, the current Prime Minister Imran Khan addressed the nation.  He supported the verdict and told the TLP and its members on the streets to cease and desist. He warned them that the state will take action if they turn violent.

Yes, this is the same Imran Khan who used the blasphemy card when it was convenient for him to do so, against Nawaz Sharif. In this case he, maintained that Pakistan is an Islamic country, all laws are as per Islam and this decision was too.

The fact that he has changed his tune makes me wonder: has the military establishment had enough of the TLP? Because the only way Imran Khan could have made a speech against a religious party is if he had the backing of the military. Previous prime ministers did not have this backing and therefore always had to tiptoe around fundamentalists.

What is clear from Khan’s bravado is that the military establishment is still very much in control. He is standing his ground because they are behind him. Have they realised that when you unleash monsters, sometimes the monsters come after you?

Are we about to see a change in Pakistan’s support to religious extremists? Perhaps. Or perhaps this is just another strategic move. For now, the army will support the Prime Minister and the TLP will be quietened down. Until the next time.

There is much to celebrate. An innocent woman has been acquitted. But here is the rub.  That very word “innocent,” because she would have been punished if she had been guilty. Asia has been released because there was no evidence against her.

This is the first baby step against the misuse of blasphemy laws in Pakistan. This acquittal has indicated that there needs to be evidence to show that a person has blasphemed. There are many many more steps to follow. This does not mean that there is a wave of support to repeal these arcane laws.

While we should rejoice that she has been released, we must think of all those still incarcerated. And we must not forget the fact that blasphemy as a concept and blasphemy laws as part of the justice system need to be completely abolished.  Human rights demand it.

(Published in Sedaa – Our Voices)

BLASPHEMY: PAKISTAN’S CURSE

India’s British rulers first codified offences against religion in 1860, which were then expanded in 1927. When Pakistan become a separate country, it inherited these laws; and decided to keep them. In the 1980s, Zia ul Haq added more clauses to this ridiculous and frankly unnecessary law.

Over the years, this law been used to put people in jail (Aasia Bibi has now been acquitted by a Pakistani court after being in jail for over seven years, with a death sentence hanging over her head). The mere concept of blasphemy has been used to murder people (Salman Taseer, who was trying to help Aasia Bibi, was murdered by his own security guard), settle personal scores (Mashal Khan was murdered by a group of people because he was speaking against his University’s administration), and seek revenge. General vigilante justice has become the norm.  A Christian couple was burned alive in 2014 by a mob of 1200 people when they were accused of blasphemy.

In July 2018, once again blasphemy was used against Sindhi artist Qutub Rind. Qutub had rented a flat in Lahore. There was a disagreement with the landlord regarding rent and, lo and behold, blasphemy allegations were bandied about. Rind was tortured and murdered.

Since 1990, saviours of the religion have been accused of killing at least 65 people. And not a single government — military or civilian — has been able to do away with this law. Some may have tried to make tiny adjustments but had to backtrack due to the same ever-ready frenzied mobs.

Things are likely to get worse. Imran Khan, the freshly-minted prime Minister of Pakistan based his campaign on over-emphasis of creating an Islamic Welfare State, supporting blasphemy and anti-Ahmadi laws. Khan’s tenure has begun with the appointment of a supporter of the killer of Salman Taseer as the Information Minister of Punjab.

Pakistan continues to give succour to religious hysteria; its military is known for harbouring extremists as strategic assets and now, in their infinite wisdom, they have started mainstreaming fundamentalist organisations. The result is that these groups hold sway over large areas of the country and have tens of thousands of followers. They are able to bring these same followers out on the street at a moment’s notice and thus exert a lot of influence over the country’s political and governance spheres.

Just this past week one of the largest pro-blasphemy law parties, the Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP), stoked religious hysteria over a forthcoming cartoon contest in the Netherlands. Mobs came out, death threats were issued and the contest has now been cancelled.

Geert Wilders, the propagator of this contest is himself a right-wing nut-job, whose sole intention was to be provocative. However, that is not the point here. The issue remains that Pakistan’s population is more and more beset with worrying about saving Islam than anything else.

In a country where almost all development indices are at the lowest levels, this incessant clarion call of Islam and blasphemy as the prime requirement of the population is distressing and does not bode well for the future.

Khan is a new to this political game; he is going to test the waters very gently. There is no expectation that he will do away with the blasphemy laws and/or make any strides towards a more liberal and free society. I predict that more freedoms will be curtailed and there will be more hysteria over Islam. And, unfortunately, there will be more Mashal Khans and Qutub Rinds.

(Published in Sedaa – Our Voices)

We have been silenced into submission because we don’t want to be the next Mashal

Muslim tradition holds that in the early 7th century AD, in a town in Arabia, a slave called Bilal was tortured by his owner. His crime, so says Islamic history, was to walk away from the existing ideological landscape. To embrace a new religious and political order. To dissent. Bilal did not back off and 1,400 years later, he is considered a hero in Islam. Why? Because he dissented. But also because he blasphemed.

Move forward and the followers of the religion that Bilal evidently helped to spread, have adopted the traditions of his torturers. Two years ago, on April 24, Sabeen Mehmud was killed because she wanted to provide a safe space for people to gather and discuss ideas, to challenge ideology, to dissent. We were told that extremists had killed her. The same jihadists who have killed thousands of Pakistanis. The same ilk, who have killed thousands all over the world.

But in Pakistan, the situation gets evermore fascinating. The State itself has adopted the same techniques as Bilal’s tormentors. And against whom you ask? Surely, the State – which includes civilian and military both – must be performing its duties to the letter; and if horrible torture techniques are being used, it must be against those that have killed our children?

Well, no. The State still has its ‘assets’, which have always been in the form of Islamic terror organizations that have continued to indulge in violence all over the country. We always knew this was happening. There were some who even vocally questioned it. Perhaps in the hope that our small voices will gather momentum and the State will be made to answer. Answer for deceiving us by continuing to support our killers, while pretending to fight them.

It wasn’t meant to be though. Some activists and bloggers were abducted. They were spirited away to unknown locations and they were tortured. The rest of us continued to protest and in an unprecedented move they were released. Almost none of them have spoken about what happened to them and who did it.

The bloggers were accused of blasphemy. It was said that their social media pages were full of anti-Islamic content. That tactic has now become the norm. The State has weaponized blasphemy because it knows that it is a death sentence without a trial. It is the perfect way of silencing any questions about how its machinery works. Accuse someone of blasphemy and sit back. The caretakers of religion will take over.

That is what happened to Mashal Khan. His horrendous murder did what was required. The government beat the drum of blasphemy for months, prior to his killing. Perhaps it did so of its own accord or perhaps it was compelled to do so. But it got the job done. People got scared. Many of those who used to question the way this country was being run, have backed off. They have been intimidated into silence. But silence was not enough. We also needed to be shown clearly and irrevocably, who rules us.

So it transpired that Naureen Leghari, who admitted to plotting a terrorist attack on Easter, became the daughter of the nation, who should be rehabilitated. While small time bloggers and activists are tortured and killed, known terrorists like Ehsanullah Ehsan – who has recently surrendered – can be seen on TV smilingly parroting the state narrative of RAW involvement in terrorism in Pakistan.

Just silencing wasn’t enough. A slap in the face was also needed to ensure complete acquiescence. Not only do we not have the right to question State agenda, we also need to be shown how inconsequential we are. Because it is not about good Taliban and bad Taliban anymore. From the looks of it, all Taliban are good Taliban now. The enemy are those who need to be muzzled for looking askance at the State. While terrorists are given the benefit of the doubt, activists and writers are taken to task in the worst possible manner. And what better way to do so than to use blasphemy. It is a time honoured tactic. And it has again been successful. Journalists are self-censoring. Activists and bloggers have gone into hiding. At a time when we needed more voices to come out and challenge 70 years of propaganda and brainwashing, we have very very few left.

Because nobody wants to be the next Mashal.

(Published in The Nation)

Pakistan: The land of bigotry, misogyny and violence with blasphemy allegations as its raison d’etre

Here is what has happened this week in the land of the pure. A politician (from PTI) punched another one (from PML-N) for calling his leader a traitor. In response, the first politician stood in front of the media and made allegations against his harasser’s sisters. That’s violence and misogyny taken care of, within a space of 24 hours.

Let’s move on to a few days before that. It seems that our judiciary is in need of special hugs because one of its members, a judge in the Islamabad High Court, professed to weeping inconsolably when he reads anything against his religion on social media. He wants the government to ensure that “blasphemers” are put on Pakistan’s pride and joy: the Exit Control List. One wonders why you would want anyone who you think has made fun of your religion to remain in the country. The answer is pretty simple. You don’t want them to leave because you want to punish them. And punish them how? Blasphemers get the death penalty. It’s not that these people just want others to leave their religion alone, they want to ensure that they get killed for criticizing it. After following the due process of the law, of course. As an aside, please note that I always hear the word “blasphemers” in John Cleese’s voice from the movie Life of Brian.

The Honorable Judge has had the support of various factions of the media and other parts of society, who are ever ready to lay down other people’s lives in the name of religion. The issue for them is very clear: no one gets to criticize Islam. That is how things are and should remain. On the other hand, nary a protest is made when Christians are called by derogatory names and Hindus are called “baniyas”, as was done by another politician to criticize his opponent.

Now let’s come to the last two days. Our Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar has also been triggered. He has professed to being very upset that social media sites like Facebook are not providing him with information regarding some people running a campaign against the Islamabad High Court judiciary. In his campaign to support only those elements that want to suppress others through religion, he has threatened to block social media sites in Pakistan, in an attempt to protect the very sensitive citenzry from reading blasphemous content. On the other hand, the statement by a blogger that he was kidnapped and tortured by state institutions has had no impact on our esteemed leaders.

These events of the past week or so show that violence, misogyny and bigotry define Pakistan and recourse to blasphemy is the cornerstone of its society.

If you are upset with an opponent, hit him. If you want to flex your muscles against bloggers, kidnap and torture them. When you have nothing in response to your rival, use the time-honoured practice of abusing the women in his family. And always ensure that the blasphemy law is kept as a precious resource, to be used whenever you require.

This is what we have reduced ourselves to: cultishly following leaders without allowing any criticism of them. It is interesting to note that not even the women leaders of PML-N called out their colleague on abusing women for point scoring. Because misogyny is so entrenched in our minds that even women do not think anything is wrong with it.

As for PTI, they also indulged in misogyny, while criticizing it. Their social media teams made allegations of blasphemy and threats against a reporter for recording a video of their esteemed leader.

These are the important aspects that define Pakistan. Our violent, bigoted, misogynistic reactions to even the smallest of infractions.

These are the things that outrage us. Not our low scores in human rights and education. Not the fact that while we wax eloquent about the Islamic golden age, the country is below every other one for any scientific achievements (other than the nuclear bomb and the water kit car of course), but the fact that our messiahs are criticized and our ideologies are not given due deference.

Freedom of speech is an important characteristic of civilized society. Censoring content and threatening people just ensures that the only kind of progress you make is in oppressing people. Using misogyny as a counter argument does not make you macho; it just shows your pathetic mindset. And using religion as a tool of the state has only ever meant clinging to backward notions of morality. Notions, which have never resulted in progress.

The enlightenment ensured that the west moved on from being bogged down by the same issues of violence, misogyny, bigotry and dependence on blasphemy. They were in the same boat till they realized that antediluvian methods of living one’s life did not work anymore. That religion and state needed to be separate. That life, liberty and freedom were important facets of civilized society. We need to do the same.

(Published in The Nation)

The Ahmadi Conundrum in Pakistan

(Published in The Huffington Post)

Blasphemy is a crime in Pakistan, the punishment for which can be death. The law is a left over of the Indian Penal Code that the British had introduced, and which was later expanded upon by the military dictator Zia ul Haq. More often than not, it is used to target minority communities, especially the Ahmadiyya, who were declared non-Muslims in 1974, through a constitutional amendment. Under this amendment, the community is banned from using Islamic terms, using Islamic texts to pray or even calling their places of worship ‘masjid’.

Click here to read the blog. 

On Blasphemy in Pakistan

(Published in The Huffington Post)

On January 4, 2011, the Governor of the Pakistani Province of Punjab was shot and killed by one of his own security guards, Mumtaz Qadri. The reason for this was Taseer’s defense of the proposed amendments in the Country’s blasphemy laws, as well as his support for the release of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who has been sentenced to death for allegedly insulting Prophet Mohammad. The murderer Qadri was subsequently sentenced to death for his crime.

 

Blasphemy and blood money

(Published in The Nation Pakistan) This and many other Shariah laws have no place in the world today. And any demand to impose them over society, instead of secular laws, is not an idea that we should accept. And therefore, we must step up and be vocal about their abrogation. This is because most of these laws exponentially favour some people and are not very considerate to women, minorities and the poor.

Click here to read more.