The intolerance and abuse of religious minorities in Pakistan reached a new low this case with the incarceration of Dr. Masood Ahmad, 72, a British doctor who is has been charged with the ridiculous crime of “posing as a Muslim.” In 1984, a law was passed declared Ahmadis to be “non-Muslims.” He could face three years in prison after being caught reading and interpreting the Koran.
One would expect most countries, particularly a developing country, to welcome Dr. Ahmad who returned to Pakistan to open a pharmacy and business. However, Ahmad is an Ahmadi, a religious group that considers themselves Muslim but believe in a prophet after Mohammed. The problem is that the Muslim extremists in the government view the Ahmadis as heretics and religious leaders have said that killing an Ahmadi guarantees the murderer a place in heaven. Many have accepted the bargain with 20 Admadis murdered last year.
What is chilling about the Ahmad case is that he was arrested after a sting operation by two men posing as patients in Lahore. The men reportedly asked him for advice on issues related to faith. When he answered and read a verse from the Koran, Ahmad was charged is posing as a Muslim. One of these fanatics was Islamic teacher Muhammad Ihsan who swore that he preached to them in answering their questions. The arrest was a final success of local Muslims who have tried repeatedly to have him arrested. Indeed, there have been efforts to arrest all Ahmadis for such crimes as giving out sweats on Muslim holidays or displaying bunting. Last April, a mob led by Islamic mullahs raided the home of an Ahmadi family, looted the home, beat the men, and had them arrested.
Tahir Ashrafi, head of the powerful Ulema Council of clerics, showed the world what such fanatics believe is a moderate position: “We would not have a problem with them if they did not use the name of Islam and the symbols of Islam.” Like many in his country. Ashrafi dismisses notions like free exercise of religion or free speech in favor of the overriding demands of the Muslim majority.
Pakistan is one of our allies that has worked with the Obama Administration to create a new international blasphemy standard. The continued crackdown of anti-religious speech is part of its long-standing blasphemy abuses. For many years, I have been writing about the threat of an international blasphemy standard and the continuing rollback on free speech in the West. For recent columns, click here and here and here.
We have been following the rise of anti-blasphemy laws around the world, including the increase in prosecutions in the West and the support of the Obama Administration for the prosecution of some anti-religious speech under the controversial Brandenburg standard.
The prosecution of Ahmad shows the still unresolved tension between Islamic laws and free speech. Indeed, there remains a deep incompatibility with the views of many Muslims in countries like Pakistan and basic civil liberties. Many of us do not view free speech and freedom of religion as “Western concepts” but part of the fundamental rights entitled to all humans. These same countries are the first to claim affronts to their religion while routinely denying the same protections to other faiths. Saudi Arabia is such an example of an country that champions the claims of the free exercise and free speech rights of Muslims internationally while barring even the construction of a church in the country.
The case also raises the distinct between our allies and countries like Iran that we denounce as evil and intolerant. I am afraid that persecuted people like Dr. Ahmad would fail to see the distinction from his cell in Pakistan.
Shadowfury-1 An AOE that causes Shadow damage and stuns enemies.
meaning that enemies behind or to the side will not
be hit. “Where is Washington taking us in, now, this new commitment of action.
Kraaken 1, December 16, 2013 at 7:26 pm
Dredd, may we should get rid of moderation altogether?
nick spinelli 1, December 16, 2013 at 8:05 pm
Dredd, We both seem to be tasty looking for the voracious wordpress eating machine. I hear he’s competing next July 4th @ the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest. You would like Italy, my man. Small cars and lots of trains..some real fast ones! However, All you see on every sidewalk, even thousand year old streets, are cigarette butts.
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Everything looks like a cigarette butt to the Lards of Word Mess.
They are the Germs of Gummit and the genes of pigs at best, in my Italian opinion.
I can’t figure out why Tony C “believes” in machine intelligence.
Oh wait, “yes we can.”
These folks must be out friends because we gave them tons of money. That’s how we get friends, right?
Ahamdis are not Muslims as Koran has closed the doors for Prophet and Mohammad was the last messenger of Allah. Britishers produced Ghulam Ahmed as prophet and protected him and he was anti Islam.
There is nothing wrong in it as Muslim means complete submission to devine laws which includs also last prophet. Allah has so planned that Mohammad has no male child as most of the prophets their children were prophets like Abraham.
may allah mian give hadayat to sdo called muslims and pakistani government.
The Shia genocide situation in Pakistan is even more explosive and with greater global consequences.
Pirate Territory. Fly over and flush.
Kraaken comment @ 7:26PM,
There is no “moderation” with the exception of four or five naughty words and comments with three or more links. If you are referring to the spam filter, you really don’t want to go there. It was cleaned out a little earlier, and when I checked about two minutes ago, there were 293 spams in it. Spamming knockoff handbags, sunglasses, shoes with an “ugly” name, and all kinds of products for male equipment failure. And we musn’t omit all those Nigerian widows with a few million US$ to spare if you will be their pen pal.
I have tried to figure out what will trigger the spam filter to become grabby, but very long comments with a lot of formatting in them stand the highest chance of being intercepted.
Dredd, We both seem to be tasty looking for the voracious wordpress eating machine. I hear he’s competing next July 4th @ the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest. You would like Italy, my man. Small cars and lots of trains..some real fast ones! However, All you see on every sidewalk, even thousand year old streets, are cigarette butts.
Dredd, may we should get rid of moderation altogether?
“I am Muhammad” is free to pose here and there: http://jonathanturley.org/2013/12/16/73561/#comment-724293
long live posing.
Nick, I had about three eaten by the Word Mess but you and are seem to be out of favor, so the Lards of The Mess will not extract our comments from their mentor Word Mess.
So much for spreading the word. Those people who are doing the perseucting just need to chill out and get a life, and spare a few while they are at it.
Islamic extremists want everyone to convert to their faith or be killed as an infidel, but if you practice the faith you’re a heretic fraud?!
This is what happens when religion and civil law are intermingled: “heretics” can expect being viewed, treated and punished as criminals by the State and the public opinion and barbarious acts are ordained and praticized and sometimes lawfully.
And this is not specific to the Islamic religion.
Gary T….. I think you’re on the right track…. But…. I think the British should step up yo the plate and call this what it is….. Bull hockey….. But they have there own sets of laws that do the same….
Thanks for the post .
I would like only to shed light upon certain global factors , which tend to decrease tolerance for other religions and free speech right.
Swift global funding , immigration spreading , and the global fight against terror , are causing growing suspicions among nations , concerning undue interference with their own – cultural , political identities .
Thanks ……..
We have something similar here, also a jailable offense:
Reading and interpreting the law for someone else, while not being a lawyer.
What do we owe Pukestan? I’m for cutting all aid and placing them right up there with North Korea on the don’t give a dam list
Help please, a comment was eaten by wordpress. Thank you.