Condemnation of Death Sentence to Asia BiBi
Under Blasphemy Law
I condemn the death sentence of Asia Bi Bi under Blasphemy Law. Awarding such barbaric punishment to anyone under such so called Sharia Law is against the universal principles of humanity. .
I appeal to all Pakistanis to stand up against clergy and oppose such draconian punishments.
The use of religion to deny justice to people is naked brutality which has no space in any modern day society.
Islam is an egalitarian religion which teaches human beings to live fear-free and peaceful lives in a peaceful country. In Pakistan , so much religious deviation has taken place it has become difficult to differentiate between what is Islamic and un-Islamic.
By implementing tribal punishments in the guise of Islam is taking toll on Pakistan society. Idealizing historical incidents from the early days of Islam is an open invitation for social disorder and mass scale violence in Pakistani society. We are already witnessing such incidents in all parts of Pakistan where people have started taking law into their own hands.
It is about time for the members of the governing elite and the people of Pakistan to clearly define what type of Pakistan they want. Do they want a Pakistan where people start killing people or have them killed through state apparatus simply for uttering words which people of one set of faith do not like?
It is heart breaking to see comments from many learned scholars of Islam in support of death sentence of Asia Bi Bi. Supporting death sentence to Asia Bi Bi by these scholars is causing a bad name to Islam.
I appeal to the government and the people of Pakistan to stand up against this un-Islamic act in the name of Islam and save Islam from becoming a stigma in the world.
Dr Ashraf Abbasi
It is a positive step of Dr Ashraf Abbasi. However the problems in Pakistan except Jawed Ghamdi, who is a Muslim Scholar exiled abroad is only against the Blasphemy Law and speaks positive. Apart from that all the Religious Scholars including the prominent anchors are on the same page without knowing the real picture that 295 B & C is included in the penal code in 1986 & 1992.
ReplyDeleteI would like to remind them that 295 B & 295 C were note included in the Pakistan Penal Code and Christians live together with their Muslims brothers before Pakistan came in 1947. There was no problem until 1986.
It is not hidden from any one that the 295-C and such clauses were deliberately included in the Pakistan Penal Code to achieve the political support. Pakistan’s late dictator, Gen. Mohammed Zia ul-Haq in order to maintain his Govt he created Federal Council (Majlis-e-Shura) consisting of such persons as the President may, by Order, determine. This Shura consisted of like minded people as they were selected not elected, and even if they were elected but the PPP was not included. As I stated above he needs to protect his seat thus he was on the mercy of their decisions, and the blasphemy law and other Islamic clauses included in the constitution to gratify them.
The Pakistani Islamic Blasphemy law, Section 295/C of the Pakistan Penal Code, is vague and susceptible to abuse, but carries a mandatory death penalty, with practically no right to bail and is, therefore, inherently oppressive, unjust and unethical. It is widely abused as an instrument for terrorizing political opponents and members of religious minorities, and for settling political, sectarian and petty rivalries. This is nothing less than religious terrorism through the abuse of the state apparatus and the civil law.
In 1986 General Zia revised it again to be more strictly in accordance with the Sharia, and finally in 1992 it was revised again when the death penalty was made mandatory under the democratically-elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. John Bosco