By Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam
26 March 2024
Blasphemy Law Misuse Should Be Addressed Globally With a Unified Solution to Prevent Injustice
Main Points:
1. In March 2022, three seminary students killed a madrassa teacher in Anjumabad, Pakistan, after a relative had a dream that the teacher committed blasphemy.
2. The slogan "Gustakh-e-Nabi Ki Aik Saza Sar Tan Se Juda" is often used in religious gatherings and programs against blasphemy cases.
3. The question remains: who bears the leading responsibility for the misuse of blasphemy?
4. Blasphemy is a serious issue, causing riots and damaging social or national atmospheres.
5. Islam forbids Muslims from inciting anyone’s religious sentiment or abusing anyone’s religion, as it aims to prevent disorder and corruption.
6. The misuse of blasphemy law has resulted in numerous lives being destroyed, with incidents like the murder of Madrasa teacher Safoora Bibi leading to severe sentences.
7. The issue of blasphemy law misuse should be addressed globally, with a unified solution to prevent similar occurrences.
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The blasphemy law is regularly abused and weaponized in Pakistan. However, an unexpected incident that stunned both religious and non-religious societies surfaced in March 2022. Three female seminary students slashed the throat of their madrassa teacher in the Anjumabad neighbourhood of Dera Ismail Khan. Having investigated the incident, District Police Officer Dera Ismail Khan stated that the preliminary examination of these women revealed that one of their relatives had dreamed that the deceased had committed blasphemy, and that is why they killed her. After the case dragged on for almost two years, the local court convicted the three seminary students guilty of killing Safoora Bibi by falsely accusing her of blasphemy. A few days ago, the court sentenced two of them to death and gave the third life imprisonment.
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Also Read: Blasphemy, Islam and Free Speech
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The legislation of blasphemy in Pakistan has been controversial ever since General Zia-ul-Haq's administration proposed constitutional revisions. In a number of documented incidents, blasphemy has been falsely alleged but not proven; instead, lawbreakers have taken control of the situation and killed the accused with brutality.
Blasphemy allegations are frequently made for a variety of reasons, including religious intolerance, personal disputes, and sectarian disagreements.
According to news reports, the frequency of cases involving accusations of blasphemy has reportedly skyrocketed since Sections 295-B and 295-C were added to Pakistan's blasphemy legislation in 1987. In Pakistan, 1,534 people were accused of blasphemy between 1987 and 2017, of whom 829, or 54%, were against members of religious minorities. Although Christians account for only 1.6% of Pakistan's total population, 238 charges—or 15.5%—were lodged against them.
Apart from members of minority religions, several religious individuals and clerics have also been killed on the pretext of blasphemy. At a PTI rally in Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, Maulana Nigar Alam, 40, was beaten to death by angry attendees who accused him of blasphemy. Maulana Nigar Alam was slain because, according to reports, many people believed his statements to be blasphemous and took offence at some phrases he had used in his prayer.
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Also Read: Udaipur Beheading: Educated Muslims Say Not In My Name
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Murder Of A Madrasa Teacher On Charges Of Blasphemy
Safoora Bibi, a 19-year-old madrasa teacher, was killed on March 29, 2022, in the Anjumabad neighbourhood of Dera Ismail Khan, next to Jamia Islamia Falah al-Banaat Madrasa, on suspicion of blasphemy. Following the event, the police apprehended Razia Hanfi, Ayesha Naumani, and Umra Aman, and they filed a complaint based on the information the villagers had given.
The victim allegedly died instantly when the assailant women slashed her throat with a sharp knife. After learning of the traumatic event, the deceased's uncle raced to the madrasa, where he discovered his niece dead and lying in a pool of blood next to the gate. Her throat had been slashed. According to the complaint, he learned that when his niece arrived at the seminary in a rickshaw, as was customary, some ladies were there waiting in the seminary uniform to attack her and sever her throat with a sharp object.
Two of the women who were involved in the murder are sisters, while the third lady is a cousin, according to the police. One of the ladies informed the police that her young niece had been instructed to "kill that Madrasa teacher" in a dream.
A representative of Jamia Islamia Falah Al-Banaat named Shafiullah told the media after the Madrasa teacher was killed that one of the female assailants had previously charged his Madrasa with blasphemy, accusing the teachers of having taught the wrong lesson. However, he did note that this woman had also later expressed regret for it. Shafiullah continued, saying that Safoora Bibi had been teaching in our madrasa for the past two years. She was a well-mannered and nice young lady. She never made any blasphemous remarks regarding the Islamic prophet.
The Pakistani court has legally punished the attacking women in an attempt to teach other residents a lesson from this occurrence, but there is also room for reflection. How absurd is it that someone was told to kill someone for blasphemy in a dream? In Pakistan, the misuse of blasphemy is not a recent issue; rather, it has become the standard. The attackers feed their egos by accusing their "enemies" of blasphemy and then murdering them, sometimes out of personal hatred, sometimes out of communal bias, and sometimes out of religious conviction.
In 2020, Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi, the Prime Minister of Pakistan's Special Envoy for Religious Harmony in the Middle East, acknowledged that forced religious conversion and the abuse of religious legislation are real issues in the nation. Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi said in a special interview with Voice of America in Islamabad, “The government is preparing a report based on recent instances of crimes perpetrated in the name of religion, such as forced religious conversion and blasphemy legislation. Incidents involving religious and sectarian divisions, including the harassment and abuse of non-Muslims, are being investigated.”
During the interview, he asserted that the government's actions had significantly reduced the abuse of the blasphemy law and decreased the number of fraudulent cases filed under Section 295C. However, organisations that defend religious freedom and human rights claim that there has been an increase in cases of discrimination and targeting of non-Muslims in Pakistan due to their beliefs.
Why precisely is Pakistan unable to stop the misuse of blasphemy? For this failure, who bears the leading responsibility? From an Islamic perspective, cases involving false charges of blasphemy are strongly prohibited by Islam. The question then becomes, "What is the reason when Islam does not justify it?" Is ignorance the cause of all of this? It is clear that ignorance is widespread in Pakistan, and an analysis of the majority of cases reveals that some individuals consider their ignorance to be “a form of religion." Have they considered their own desires and opinions to be Islamic? Indeed, that seems to be the case.
If ignorance is the issue, what steps are being taken to eradicate it? The slogan "Gustakh-e-Nabi Ki Aik Saza Sar Tan Se Juda [Translation: “One punishment for insolent of Prophet, head separate from body, head separate from body”]” is frequently used in religious gatherings and programmes held in protest against blasphemy cases, as observed on social media. According to the traditional books on Islamic law, blasphemy against any of the Prophets carries a death sentence. These writings clearly state that the ruler, Khalifa, Haakim, and the Court are the only authorities who have the right to punish convicts for any offense. There are speeches made denouncing blasphemy. However, why does the improper use of blasphemy law not receive the same strong condemnation?
It is questioned why Pakistani Ulama do not react in the same manner when the blasphemy law is used improperly as they do when someone is accused of blasphemy, even if it is unclear whether they truly committed the blasphemy. Why is it not emphasised that the court is the only authority to punish someone for any crime?
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Also Read: The Muslim Consciousness of Persona of Muhammad, the Messenger of God: Reflections on an Islamist Radical Beheading History Teacher Samuel Paty in Paris for Displaying Cartoons portraying the Prophet as a Suicide Bomber
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Of course, I have heard certain scholars and Ulama declare on social media that the court alone has the power to impose punishment. Since accusations of blasphemy are widely made in Pakistan, the Pakistani Ulama and influential scholars should, on a large scale, inform the public in speeches and writings about this situation. They should clarify that the false charges of blasphemy are entirely against Islam and the law of the land, and that the court has the only authority to convict or acquit, punish, or release the accused.
Not every common Muslim has the right to assume the role of a judge, decide which words or statements constitute blasphemy, or use the legal system to destroy the situation of any country.
One other facet of a major issue that Muslims face, one that is global in scope, is that not all of them follow religious precepts when they are taught about them. Islam, for instance, requires Muslims to offer the Namaz, or prayer; however, the majority of Muslims do not. In the same way, they disregard religious acts in other contexts. From this, one might infer something about the common behaviour of the Muslim population. Some Muslims are extremely uneducated, while others are not practical Muslims, even with an awareness of Islamic guidelines.
The discussion above focused specifically on Pakistan. While Indian law does not specifically call for the death sentence for blasphemy, it does forbid insulting any religion or any authority figure. Despite the fact that blasphemy is not punishable by death in India, two Muslim youths brutally killed Kanhaiyalal, a Hindu tailor, in Udaipur, Rajasthan, in 2022, on the pretext that he had committed blasphemy. They subsequently shared a video of the act on social media. The Muslim community in India strongly condemned this painful incident and demanded that those responsible for breaking the law be held accountable. In Bangladesh, such incidents have also happened on a regular basis.
There is no doubt that blasphemy is a serious problem. Whether directed at a religion, holy book, nation, country, or leader, blasphemous remarks, harsh language, or insolence are undoubtedly undesirable. Rioting is a possibility as a result. Because of this, it is forbidden in the Islamic holy book, the Holy Qur'an, to disparage the faith of non-Muslims. The reason for this is that religious individuals have deep emotional ties to their religion and religious personalities.
It is a matter of faith, and insulting someone's faith or religion might damage any social or national atmosphere. For this reason, it is said that certain political figures try to dampen the religious feelings of a certain group in order to gain support from other groups. They are aware that inciting religious feelings is simple.
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Also Read: Is Islam Really Facing A Crisis, As French President Emmanuel Macron Said After The Beheading Of Samuel Paty
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Islam strictly prohibits Muslims from engaging in inciting anyone’s religious sentiment or abusing anyone’s religion. The holy Quran clearly says:
“And insult not those whom they (disbelievers) worship besides Allah, lest they insult Allah wrongfully without knowledge” (6:108)...
The prohibition of insulting other religions aims to prevent bad possible consequences in the form of disorder and corruption in the land, as these deeply associated beliefs are deeply associated with their followers. Islam forbids Muslims from engaging in such behaviour. This suggests that uttering slanderous words or committing acts of blasphemy are actually detrimental. But since the charges of blasphemy have the potential to start riots, endanger national security, or cause the death of any innocent person, Islam fiercely rejects them. This is a type of Fasad, and Fasad in general is forbidden in Islam.
You can view the reports of the number of lives destroyed as a result of the blasphemy law being misused. In the instance of Madrasa teacher Safoora Bibi, who was killed on the charges of blasphemy, the court sentenced two women to death and one to life in jail. We should all take this episode as a lesson and work to create a plan of action that can totally prevent similar occurrences in the future. Muslims should think about this problem and come up with a unified solution, no matter where they may be in the world. This is important because incidents like these have the potential to spread contempt, undermine religious confidence, and give Islamophobic minds a great chance to start holding the religion directly responsible for these kinds of things. The reality is that Islam strongly forbids lying, fraud, deception, and making false accusations.
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Related Articles:
The Brutal Killing Of A Hindu In The Name Of Blasphemy In Udaipur Rajasthan Is Extremely Shameful, Reprehensible And Anti-Islamic: Muslim Organizations, Ulama And Personalities
Fatwa Of Aala Hazrat In The Context Of The Udaipur Incident: Anyone Who Takes The Law Into One’s Hands By Killing For Blasphemy In A Muslim Or Non-Muslim Country Would Be Punished According To Islamic Sharia
Conflicting Perspectives on Blasphemy and the Practice of Taking the Law into One's Own Hands, Which Is Illegal and Punishable Under Islamic Sharia – Part 1
Conflicting Perspectives on Blasphemy and the Practice of Taking the Law into One's Own Hands, Which Is Illegal and Punishable Under Islamic Sharia – Concluding Part 2
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A regular Columnist with NewAgeIslam.com, Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi Dehlvi is a Classical Islamic scholar with a Sufi background and English-Arabic-Urdu Translator.
URL: https://newageislam.com/the-war-within-islam/south-asian-muslims-blasphemy-law-imaginary-acts-blasphemy/d/132007
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9:54 AM
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