Pakistani Mob Beats To Death and Burns Mentally Ill Man Accused Of Burning A Copy Of The Koran

Another religious group this month made a moral statement through an act of unspeakable violence. In Southern Pakistan, a mentally ill man was accused of burning a copy of the Koran. A mob proceeded to storm a police station and grab the man, beat him to death, and burn him to death.

We have discussed how Pakistan continues to criminally enforce its notorious blasphemy laws which reinforce the sectarian abuses of dissidents and religious critics. I have previously written out how the West is moving in the same direction. For recent columns, click here and here and here. Pakistan is one of the country’s pushing to make such laws an international standard.

The fact that the man was arrested for blasphemy in the first place should be the focus of the story. Critics have repeatedly objected to these investigations as little more than state-directed mob justice. It is not surprising that when laws reaffirm such religious doctrine that mobs feel empowered. In this case, 200 men stormed the police station in the southern town of Dadu and took the accused man.

The fact that this was a mentally disturbed person did not appear to factor into the religiously pure act of a mob killing for these devout Muslims.

Source: NY Times