PAKISTAN’S TROUBLES: Blasphemy laws stir vigilante violence

HAROON JANJUA

Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws have once again been thrust into the spotlight after an angry Muslim mob burned down several Christian churches and houses in the eastern district of Faisalabad in Punjab last week after accusing two Christians of desecrating the Quran. Videos shared on social media showed hundreds of people armed with batons and sticks attacking the Salvation Army Church and the Saint Paul Catholic Church. Both were set on fire. Christians were also attacked in their homes.

The dispute erupted when torn pages of the Holy Quran, the holy book for Muslims, were found near a Christian settlement with allegedly blasphemous content written on the pages. Allegations of blasphemy frequently incite violent mobs in Pakistan. In February, a man accused of blasphemy was lynched by a violent group in Punjab, despite being held in police custody at the time. The laws set out a punishment of death or life imprisonment for those found guilty of making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad. Critics say the laws, which originated in the British colonial period, are often misused against Pakistan’s vulnerable minority groups and even against Muslims to settle personal scores. Activists point to the history of glorifying vigilante violence in Pakistan.

“In the case of Ghazi Ilm-ud-din, our political and religious leaders, rather than exercising restraint in such matters, find it convenient for them to rile up a crowd and lead a mob so they can establish their personal credentials and influence,” Jibran Nasir, a human rights activist, told DW. Ilm-ud-din assassinated book publisher Mahashe Rajpal in 1929 over claims of blasphemy years before Pakistan’s formation. Ilm-ud-din was executed for his crime but is still hailed as a hero among some circles in Pakistan. A recent parallel has been drawn with Mumtaz Qadri, the police bodyguard who killed Salman Taseer in 2011. Taseer was the liberal governor of Punjab who had opposed the harsh blasphemy laws.

Christians, comprising about 2% of Pakistan’s 241-million-strong population, have been the primary targets of blasphemy allegations over the years. “Religious hatred is deeply intoxicated in the social structures due to lack of education, and for students, it is injected through the curriculum. Masses who may not be aware of their basic rights guaranteed by the constitution are fully acquainted with the use of blasphemy laws to settle their personal vendetta,” Ruth Stephen, a minority rights activist, told DW.

Blasphemy convictions are common, and even though no judicial executions have ever been carried out, at least 85 people have been murdered since 1990 in relation to blasphemy allegations, according to local media. “Most of the religious minorities form the lower stratum of Pakistani society. With no equal opportunities available to climb the social ladder, they are seen as scum and treated accordingly while working menial jobs such as sanitary workers or cleaners,” Stephen said.

But Tahira Abdullah, a human rights activist, believes the religious bigotry may at times just be a cover for something else. “There are several reasons for such mob attacks including religious extremism, violent fanaticism, increasing bigotry, intolerance of all minority/non-Muslim communities on the one hand,” Abdullah told DW.

“And on the other, there are various real estate mafias and groups’ vested material interests and ulterior motives for exploitation and misuse of military dictator General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq’s harsh amendments and severe punishments inserted into the blasphemy laws.” Research has shown that more than 90% of blasphemy accusations are false, but Stephen believes the state responds by siding with the accusers rather than protecting vulnerable minorities.