Ahmet T. Kuru, San Diego State University A Sri Lankan working in Pakistan, Priyantha Kumara, was lynched by a mob of hundreds of people on Dec. 3, 2021, over allegations of blasphemy, or sacrilegious act. After being assaulted, he was … Continue reading Understanding the history and politics behind Pakistan’s blasphemy laws
Execution for a Facebook post? Ahmet T. Kuru, San Diego State University ( @prof_ahmetkuru ) Junaid Hafeez, a university lecturer in Pakistan, had been imprisoned for six years when he was sentenced to death in December 2019. The charge: blasphemy, … Continue reading Why blasphemy is a capital offense in some Muslim countries
If we thought we had seen the worst of what the blasphemy laws of this country could be used for, we really had not seen anything until the very unusual, very outrageous current case of as many as 68 lawyers being booked for the ambiguous ‘crime’ of committing blasphemy. In what can only be termed absurdity, the Punjab police has charged the largest number of people ever for a single blasphemy case after the same lawyers protested when one of their colleagues was detained by the police. Now, one wonders how a blasphemy case is applicable to a protest and … Continue reading Pakistan: When blasphemy charges make no sense
A nation going nowhere They burn public property and hurl stones at cars if there is reportedly blasphemous content on YouTube. They undertake processions, chant slogans and choke traffic, causing inconvenience to the public. Another injustice has been dispensed, this time to Sawan Masih. This is an addition to the history of Pakistan, which is already pregnant with such incidents where the weak and meek have been ground fine in the mill of so-called justice. Pakistan is a country where more than 70 percent of the people have been mentally debilitated, exploited by religious scholars and politicians. They can be steered in any … Continue reading Pakistan: Where Do You Want To Be In 25 Years Time?
Islam is tolerant of difference and promotes diversity, reasoning and knowledge is it not? Just like secularism? – but in Pakistan anything that threatens the positions and status of those narrow-minded self-styled holy-ones and their hangers on who have abused and exploited Islam, Muslims and non-Muslims alike to gain social, economic and political benefits for themselves are suspect. These political thugs dressed in religious clothing have a history of demonizing anyone that threatens their hold on gullible folk who cannot differentiate the words of Mullah to those pure words of Allah – The Lord of The Worlds. Islamic Scholars Sir … Continue reading Can a Pakistani Muslim be secular?
To overcome the awe of guilt we seek refuge in religion, which demands our unconditional subservience to its hegemony. For his faith — genuine or not — man remains prepared to take life The Greek word blasphemia means speaking ill or using impious language. The word has two elements: blas, which has no clear meaning, is perhaps rendered as ‘in a spirit of hurtfulness’, while pheme is ‘utterance’. Prior to the hegemony of monotheistic religions, ‘blasphemy’ had a rare existence, though its echo can be heard as far back as 400 BC in one of the orations of Demosthenes. Among … Continue reading Blasphemers — the first victims of neurosis?
As in most cases, the events surrounding the arson of a Hindu temple in Larkana had a monetory aspect that is becoming clear. On Saturday night, gangs of hooligans burnt a Hindu temple to the ground after allegations of blasphemy were levelled at a young man from the local Hindu community, specifically that he was burning pages of the Quran. At this point one must ponder if religious minorities in this country are ignorant, insane, or just incurably stubborn since they apparently can’t stop burning pages of the Quran where everyone can see them. They must be suicidal to do … Continue reading Mullahs, Money & Blasphemies!
Palestinian poet’s work removed from Saudi book fair Youths from the religious police complained that Mahmoud Darwish’s work was blasphemous Works by the celebrated Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish have been withdrawn from the Riyadh International Book Fair amid allegations that they contain blasphemous passages, a Saudi news site reported. The publications administration at the book fair, one of the biggest of its kind in the Arab world, ordered the removal of all books containing Darwish’s work after youths from the religious police complained about the content of the books. A verbal confrontation broke out between the youths and a stall … Continue reading Mahmoud Darwish Attacked By Saudi Salafist Police!
Mohammed Abbasi 