Imam arrested after ‘blasphemer’ teen cuts off hand
Source: Al Jazeera Pakistani police have arrested the imam of a mosque for inciting violence after a 15-year-old boy, who was told by the religious leader that he was a […]
Vatican newspaper denounces ‘woeful’ Charlie Hebdo cover
Source: Reuters The Vatican newspaper has criticized French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo for depicting God as a Kalashnikov-carrying killer, saying it was “woeful” and disrespectful to true believers of all […]
Nigeria court in Kano sentences cleric to death for blasphemy
Source: BBC An Islamic court has sentenced a Nigerian cleric to death by hanging for insulting the Prophet Muhammad in the northern city of Kano. Abdulazeez Dauda, popularly known as […]
Blasphemy and punishment: SC has ‘limited powers’ to interpret Islamic laws
Source: Tribune ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has observed that it has limited jurisdiction when it comes to interpreting the injunctions of Islam on the issue of blasphemy and its punishment. A […]
Debunking the Qadri narrative
Source: Tribune Mumtaz Qadri appealed to the courts recently to spare his life after he was sentenced to death for taking the life of Punjab governor, Salmaan Taseer in 2011. […]
Minority matters an Op-Ed from Dawn
Source: Dawn.com By Reema Omer; who is a legal adviser for International Commission of Jurists “I AM the prime minister of all Pakistanis, whether they are Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, […]
Blasphemy and the death penalty: Misconceptions explained
Epigraph: The hypocrites say, ‘If we return to Medina, the one most honorable will surely drive out therefrom the one most mean (Muhammad);’ while true honor belongs to Allah and […]
Call for improvements in blasphemy law not objectionable: Supreme Court Pakistan
Source: Dawn ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has held that a call for improvements in the blasphemy law in order to provide safeguards against its misuse by levelling false allegations should […]
Pakistan supreme court warns against false blasphemy accusations
Guardian: Pakistan’s supreme court has called on the country’s politicians to ensure that hundreds of people facing imprisonment and even execution under controversial blasphemy laws have not been falsely charged, often […]
Video: Laughter is the best medicine: Stoned for saying Jehovah (life of Brian)
No one is to be stoned to death according to the Holy Quran. But, here is a brief glimpse from the Bible: Exodus 21:28 “If a bull gores a man or woman to death, the bull is tobe stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the […]
Pakistan’s top court upholds death sentence in blasphemy murder case
The Guardian: Supreme court says Mumtaz Qadri should be executed for shooting dead Punjab governor who backed reform of country’s hardline blasphemy laws A former police bodyguard revered as a […]
Why repealing blasphemy laws might help promote religious freedom
By Brandon G. Withrow teaches religious studies at the University of Findlay. Follow him on Twitter at @bwithrow. ReligionNews.com: In some countries, uttering, scribbling or texting that statement will get you […]
15 Pakistani Christians arrested over flyer that gave deceased pastor title of ‘apostle’
Source: Christian Today By Jonah Hicap; 28 August 2015 Fifteen Christians have been arrested, detained and slapped with blasphemy charges by Pakistani police in Gujarat province for publishing a flier that […]
The War Over Blasphemy
Lobelog: Two weeks ago, Iceland abolished its 75-year-old blasphemy law. The parliament’s decision was a victory for the unconventional Pirate Party, which made the call to abolish the blasphemy law in Iceland after the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks in France. Churches in Iceland publically opposed this step, but this didn’t […]
Pakistan bans English translations of Islamic terms, including translating ‘Allah’ as ‘God’
Source: Christian Today By Carey Lodge 07 July 2015 A number of Islamic terms have been banned from translation into English under a new law introduced by the Pakistani government. The […]
Iceland’s Pirate Party gets law passed abolishing ‘blasphemy’
Source: RT.com The Pirate Party, which has just three MPs in the Icelandic parliament but is leading in opinion polls, has had its first bill signed into law, decriminalizing “blasphemy.” […]
Christian women tortured, man head shaved and paraded on donkey, for blasphemy accusation
Source: Pakistan Christian Post Sheikhupura, Punjab: July 1, 2015. (PCP) On accusation of blasphemy, the Muslim villagers tortured Christian women, then shaved head of husband of one of woman, color […]
Jinnah and the Blasphemy Law
Source: Pak Tea House By Yasser Latif Hamdani November 11th, 2014 | 17 Comments “I thoroughly endorse the principle that while this measure should aim at those undesirable persons who indulge in wanton vilification or attack upon the religion of any particular class or upon the founders and prophets of […]
Blasphemy in Pakistan: Anatomy of a lynching
Aljazeera: This is the second story in a two-part series about blasphemy in Pakistan. The first part, about the case of the first woman on death row for blasphemy in that country, is available here. KOT RADHA KISHAN, Pakistan — Walking through the quiet, empty streets of Chak 59, patrolled […]
Islamic Clerics Fight to Keep Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws
Source: CP World Islamic Clerics Fight to Keep Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws That Persecute Christians: ‘Those Who Insult Muhammad Deserve to Be Killed’ As Pakistani lawmakers consider legislation to reform the nation’s corrupt blasphemy laws, Islamic clerics are bashing the government for even considering such an option, and are calling for […]