REPORT Joelle Fiss September 2016 DOWNLOAD Download the full report Given the rise of media and information technology, the debate over anti-blasphemy laws has become one of international importance. Cutting across different regions and faiths, blasphemy laws have triggered instability, empowered extremists, and increased sectarian violence. With frequently vague wording, they […]
By JT – Sep 27,2016 – JORDAN TIMES AMMAN — Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday called on Jordan to remove blasphemy charges from the Kingdom’s legislation in a statement condemning the murder of Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar. “Jordan’s new Cabinet should take immediate steps to introduce legislation to […]
BY ANGELINA E. THEODOROU Apostasy and blasphemy may seem to many like artifacts of history. But in dozens of countries around the world, laws against apostasy and blasphemy remain on the books and often are enforced. Last December, for instance, authorities in Sudan charged 25 men for apostasy – the […]
MARCH 11, 2016 Aatish Taseer By AATISH TASEER ON Feb. 29 — a bad day for anniversaries — Pakistan executed my father’s killer. My father was the governor of Punjab Province from 2008 until his death in 2011. At that time, he was defending a Christian woman who had fallen […]
Source: Voice of America GENEVA—The special U.N. investigator on freedom of religion or belief is calling for the universal repeal of blasphemy laws, saying they restrict freedom of expression and […]
UMER ALI Full of contradictions The hanging of Mumtaz Qadri united all religio-political parties last week as together they protested against it. Blocking roads, closing down markets forcibly, thrashing journalists and attacking media houses for not covering their protests – all was done to send a message that come what […]
Source: Daily Times By Saad Hafiz Asking for the repeal of the blasphemy laws is not about wishing to deny people the right to feel offended or to defend their beliefs; these rights should be available for the religious and the non-believer alike. And this is what it finally comes […]
Source: The Guardian Georgia is planning a “blasphemy bill” that will make religious irreverence punishable by law, prompting concerns about freedom of expression in the devoutly Orthodox Christian society. Critics […]
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 […]
IMRAN GABOL — PUBLISHED 18 MINUTES AGO LAHORE: Local police on Saturday arrested the imam of a mosque on terror charges in relation to the incident involving a 15-year-old boy who had cut off his own hand believing he had committed blasphemy. On Friday night a first information report (FIR No. […]
Source: Daily Times By Yasser Latif Hamdani The blasphemy law, as enacted in Pakistan in 1986, militates first and foremost against the Islamic principles of justice and here is why: if it is conceived as an Islamic law, is it subject to hadd? Five years ago today, Salmaan Taseer, the […]
Ahmadi bookstore owner and manager arrested under blasphemy law Pakistani authorities have arrested two Ahmadi Muslim men for alleged Blasphemy. Bookstore owner Abul Shukoor and manager Mazhar Ahmad were arrested Wednesday, Dec. 2 from Ahmadiyya Book Depot in Rabwah. Both men were taken to an unknown location after their arrest. […]
Blasphemy allegations: Mob torches factory in Jhelum Source: Tribune Express LAHORE: An angry mob set ablaze a factory owned by members of the Ahmadiyya community in Jhelum on Friday.According to […]
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 […]
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 […]
Religious News Service | by Naveed Ahmad Posted: 02/19/2014 2:32 pm EST Updated: 02/19/2014 2:59 pm EST ISLAMABAD (RNS) Mohammad Asghar, a 69-year-old paranoid schizophrenic, faces a death sentence in Pakistan for claiming to be the Prophet Muhammad in letters written to officials and police in 2010. The retired British national of Pakistani descent is […]
Source: CP Asia By Stoyan Zaimov, Christian Post Reporter October 17, 2013|1:55 pm A Protestant Christian pastor and two laymen have been accused and charged with blasphemy in Lahore, Pakistan, allegedly for writing derogatory remarks about Islam. “The complaint was filed by the Muslim Abid Mehmood accusing the three of having written […]
Religion News Service | By Richard S. Ehrlich Posted: 09/25/2013 10:23 am EDT (RNS) Pakistan’s constitutionally mandated Council of Islamic Ideology told the government anyone who wrongly accuses a person […]
Source: business-standard.com Pakistani police have arrested a woman under the controversial blasphemy laws for declaring herself a ‘Prophet’. According to police, Salma Fatima, wife of Tanvir, who lived in the vicinity […]
Friday 7 June 2013 ARABNEWS ISLAM prohibits sinful speech that intends to cause harm to other human beings. It also prohibits excessive laughter or extreme humor. People in general do not think twice about what they are saying; they forget that every word they utter is being recorded and will […]