Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws
What are the Blasphemy Laws?
The Blasphemy Laws were introduced to Pakistan’s Penal Code by the dictator Zia-ul-Haq in the 1980s to safeguard the honour of Islam.
Which of the laws are of particular concern?
Code 295B imposes life imprisonment on those who defile the Qu’ran.
Code 295C carries a sentence of death or life imprisonment for those who insult the Prophet Mohammed.
Who has been found guilty under the laws?
Reports indicate that since 1986 at least 964 people were charged with Blasphemy Law offences – nearly half of them Muslims. A significant proportion of the rest were Ahmadis (followers of faith derived from Islam).
119 Christians have suffered and 32 people have been killed before a trial has taken place.
The numbers don’t sound that high. Why are the laws such a big problem?
The laws are very widely abused. Attacks are carried out by people who do not wait for Blasphemy Law cases to be dealt with by the justice system.
Instead, extremists carry out ‘summary justice’, frequently inflicting violence on the accused and people in their neighbourhood. Radical militia groups have reportedly been bussed in to carry out some of the atttacks.
What has been done to oppose the Blasphemy Laws?
Protests against the laws escalated in August 2009 following unprecedented attacks in Gojra, Punjab Province, in which eight people died.
Many thought the country was at last ready to see the dangers associated with the laws. Asghar Ali Engineer, a leading Muslim scholar in Bangalore, India, denounced the laws saying “they bring a bad name to Islam and shame on Pakistan”.
In Pakistan, petitions were organised, attracting widespread support. And in May 2010, in the presence of Pakistan minorities’ minister Shabhaz Bhatti, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for a fundamental review of the laws. After speaking out against the laws, Mr Bhatti was assassinated in March 2011. His death came two months after Salman Taseer, Governor of Pakistan's Punjab Province, was murdered after he sought a pardon for Asia Bibi, a Christian woman on death row for Blasphemy Law offences.
Would repealing the Blasphemy Laws resolve the problem?
The problem centres around abuse of the laws rather than the laws themselves. Key to the issue is the rise of extremism and growing problems with law and order in Pakistan.
The reported radicalisation or ‘Talibanisation’ of Islam has seen the emergence of over-zealousness in defending the honour of the religion.
Nevertheless, repealing the laws – or fundamentally changing them – would make a huge difference. It would remove the pretext of respectability which is exploited by those who invoke the laws to carry out what are in effect heinous crimes.
Any change of this nature would gain support from more moderate Muslims anxious that their country is changing from a secular state to an Islamist regime.
What is Aid to the Church in Need doing about the problem?
Following the 2009 attacks in Gojra, UK Director Neville Kyrke-Smith made a statement opposing the laws. Other national offices are also campaigning against them. We have also expressed our concerns about the laws to leaders of public life in the UK and work is ongoing in this area.
What can I do?
In association with the British Pakistani Christian Association, we are asking supporters to show their solidarity with suffering Christians in Pakistan by signing our petition against the Blasphemy Laws.
We are also encouraging people to take part in a protest march arranged by the British Pakistani Christian Association on Saturday, 2nd July in London.