We have previously discussed the scourge of blasphemy laws, particularly in Muslim nations, used to punish and even execute people with differing views of religion. We have a deeply disturbing new case outside of Lahore, Pakistan where a Christian couple was accused of desecrating the Koran (Quran), beaten by a mob, and then burnt in a brick kiln where they worked. The couple, known only as Shama and Shehzad, were killed at the behest of a local Muslim mullah in Kot Radha Kishan, some 60 kilometres from Lahore.
One promising aspect to this story is that the police have actually made 44 arrests and identified some 468 others who might be involved. The government has called for prosecutions and a committee has been set up.
However, the greatest step would be for Pakistan to eliminate all blasphemy laws from its own books. It is not just the murders but the underlying allegation that is offensive. By allowing people to be arrested for blasphemy, the government reinforces the view that people should be punished for religious views and expressions. This point was made by Louis Brandeis:
Decency, security, and liberty alike demand that government officials shall be subjected to the same rules of conduct that are commands to the citizen. In a government of laws, existence of the government will be imperiled if it fails to observe the law scrupulously. Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. To declare that in the administration of the criminal law the end justifies the means — to declare that the government may commit crimes in order to secure the conviction of a private criminal — would bring terrible retribution. Against that pernicious doctrine this court should resolutely set its face.
Dissenting, Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928).
I am relieved to read of the arrested but Pakistan has to make a choice in whether to join the modern world and stand with free speech and free exercise against blasphemy and apostasy laws. 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.
Much of this writing has focused on the effort of the Obama Administration to reach an accommodation with allies like Egypt and Pakistan to develop a standard for criminalizing anti-religious speech. 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.
These cases reflect the true purpose of blasphemy laws: to silence minority sects and religious critics in the name of a “true faith.” Fortunately the effort of Hillary Clinton and others in the Administration to reach a compromise on blasphemy failed, though there continue to be efforts to create an international standard.
Recently, we discussed a Christian pastor accused of blasphemy who was shot and killed in a Pakistani jail by a guard.
abhttp://tribune.com.pk/story/787133/humanity-humiliated-by-christian-couples-lynching-vatican/#comment-2394895
This picture is so painful to see. Countries like this will not change their blasphemy laws that legitimize this barbarism. They have to be isolated as a consequence of their barbarism. Once they feel the pain of boycott at every level only then their coward leaders will eliminate blasphemy laws that give savages the cover to kill people.
Ghod-damn-it!!! ;-O
Want to be a ‘Christian’ in Pakistan??? Fine, but Be smart, and keep it to yourself…. or be prepared… to suffer the consequences of your “Heresy”…. you INFIDEL!!!
That’s the essence of wisdom, Slohrss. Throughout the history of humanity, there have been people like you to address the mob, call for restraint and offer some valuable perspective.
In any mob, there is one or more of those, sometimes heard, often not. I am sure they were there too, trying to help the man and his wife, trying to talk some sense to the rush, themselves overwhelmed, impotent, tearful.
You can’t compromise with Satan.
Thank you Po. I just like to cut through the spin and expose self-righteousness and vengeance wherever possible. Usually, if you find those two culprits, the real situation can emerge instead of convenient labels.
As usual, yous aid it well slohrss29!
For JT, another story from Pakistan:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/786605/police-beat-man-to-death-with-axes/
Nice thoughts Po. I actually think of it being a money thing at the very top, then sold to us as fear and vengeance the lower you get on the foodchain. I have found, routinely, that people are pious. If cash is somehow involved, it’s OK for all ideals, Christian, Muslim, college football… to go out the window.
Crazy people have taught me many things in life. A crazy uncle did tell me once, “don’t believe anything you hear, and only half of what you see and you’ll be OK.” Maybe if Americans would quit letting very good corporate media get them all worked up, and question the motives when they see something shocking, things would start changing. Kind of like the ISIS video beheading people, then we find out the Camelot of Saudi Arabia rolls so many heads it looks like bowling–we get a little perspective.
Hey… maybe we could help out Detroit! If we can send billions of dollars all over the world, maybe we can step back, analyze the Detroit situation, turn the water back on for Americans, and try to stop a steady decline. I don’t know. Seems better then sending drones into Yemen.
Also, people need a bigger picture. Seems like a lot of people think US history starts somewhere between CHIPS and T.J. Hooker.
Many here have made sensible, thoughtful comments, and I commend them. You get a cookie, Karen for not bringing in shariah law.
This Muslim here says the Mullah should be burnt in the kiln, and the mob deserves the same.
I could go on and bring up how many Muslims in India were pogrommed, one of the last instances under the watch of…yes, the current Indian prime minister.
I could quote Glen Greenwald and bring this up:
” When Obama began bombing targets inside Syria in September, I noted that it was the seventh predominantly Muslim country that had been bombed by the U.S. during his presidency (that did not count Obama’s bombing of the Muslim minority in the Philippines). I also previously noted that this new bombing campaign meant that Obama had become the fourth consecutive U.S. President to order bombs dropped on Iraq. Standing alone, those are both amazingly revealing facts. American violence is so ongoing and continuous that we barely notice it any more. Just this week, a U.S. drone launched a missile that killed 10 people in Yemen, and the dead were promptly labeled “suspected militants” (which actually just means they are “military-age males”); those killings received almost no discussion.
To get a full scope of American violence in the world, it is worth asking a broader question: how many countries in the Islamic world has the U.S. bombed or occupied since 1980? That answer was provided in a recent Washington Post op-ed by the military historian and former U.S. Army Col. Andrew Bacevich:
As America’s efforts to “degrade and ultimately destroy” Islamic State militants extent into Syria, Iraq War III has seamlessly morphed into Greater Middle East Battlefield XIV. That is, Syria has become at least the 14th country in the Islamic world that U.S. forces have invaded or occupied or bombed, and in which American soldiers have killed or been killed. And that’s just since 1980.” https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/11/06/many-countries-islamic-world-u-s-bombed-occupied-since-1980/“.
I could challenge every single point of Believer’s comments, starting with this simple question, how many Muslims have Americans killed compared to how many Americans have Muslims killed?
I could also answer Karen’s point about Islamic extremism and bring up Timothy MC Veigh but hey, why bother…?
The problem with people trying to look past that beam in their eye so they can point to that beam in someone else’s eye, is that it forces others, in trying to be more intellectual honest, to inadvertently seem to be defending the indefensible. So please, people, manage your beam first. It is there and it is a problem.
Separation of church and state ? Right, when God is on the money, and the prez , the leaders swear on the bible, and the congress people say, yes, outloud and publically, that the bible will guide their term in office…
Hypocrisy, hypocrisy…!
The next Christian who is unchristian will have their right to claim Jesus (AS) taken away from them. Prophet Muhamad is lost on Many Muslims, and Jesus AS is lost on many Christians.
Prophet Mohammed was a pedophile. Jesus Christ had sex with a dog. It goes on and on. I report back to my planet Remulak the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Some call me a blaster and some call me a phemmy.
That’s pretty funny Steg! We’ve gotten alot out of that department for the billions we have put in!
Bwahahaahaaa!
Meanwhile, since the wacky rebels are handing over our military hardware to the enemy of the week, we’ll change our tune… how about “Send in the Clowns” or “Send in the Drones…” or just Send in both???
As long as one Abdul is shooting at another, the defense industry is happy. Who knows, maybe that is the only thing keeping the value of the US currency afloat.
Karen, wasn’t that one of the stated goals of the Department of Energy? Forty years later it’s a failure, and has grown bigger. Ve vill tell you vhat light bulbsss you may use.
The wealthier ME countries don’t need our money; but they are essentially a single export country that desperately depends on the West buying its oil.
Energy independence is how you take our dollars away.
Karen – the wealthier ME countries do need our protection, which we can refuse.
I hope one of the future presidents understands that war against Islamic terrorism is actually a war against the beliefs of islam and requires psychotherapy.
slohrss29:
No it is not a Christian message, but there is no such thing as a christian government, certainly not this one. My question “Why are we there?” says it all, being there only kills off our boys and allows the enemy to gain control of all our good weaponry and learn our fighting techniques. Besides, after we leave, they combine forces and come after us using our weapons, or behead us. My first entry implied they had been killing since the beginning of time also so we all know they will never change that is all they know, killing, maiming and savagery.
The punishments of any would be done by our government which is its own entity and does not answer to a deity as individuals do. I admit, it would be nice to see if our government would take a more meaningful stand than threatening and chickening out when the red line is reached. Instead, it is a paper tiger. Also, POTUS has in mind a worse situation for this nation, give up our rights to the government and become like those of lawless nations or worse yet slaves of the government and whatever ruling hierarchy that runs it. I like my country as it used to be.
I agree, as you said, “Death to America” is their prevailing sentiment. Some Religions give justification to kill. The goal, to kill all who disagree with them or worse,make the disbelievers slaves. Why then do we sell them anything they only destroy everything they get or use it against us. (Hornet’s nest indeed!, You either eradicate a hornet’s nest or steer clear or you get badly stung.) Again, WHY ARE WE THERE?
The people should open their eyes and wake up. Who wants to become less than equal and become chattel to any government. Our attention should be on Washington, and protecting our borders.
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Prof: Turley: Hopefully this does not offend anyone, just my thoughts. My usual method of pointing out things is with either irony or sarcasm. Apparently that type of delivery is not appreciated by those who read the blog, sorry if I offended anyone.
As awful as it is Daniel, where do you have the authority to affect Pakistan???
This is the kind of thinking that has put us on the road to the dustpan of history.
This had nothing to do with law. The couple had a dispute with the owner of the kiln. Being Christians, they were already outsiders, and the police has stated the owner of the kiln is the person that told a mulah that these people desecrated a Koran. The mulah announced it over the P.A. used for calls to prayer and a mob murdered those people. The police that attempted to protect the couple, and were also beaten by the mob, said there was no evidence of any koran, desecrated or otherwise, and that it appears the kiln owner made it up as a way to defame these people because he was angry with them.
I agree that sovereign nations get to have their own laws, but this is not one of those cases. This is the Pakistani equivalent to a public lynching. This was religious bigots murdering people, pure and simple.
Hey Believer dude–Richard the Lionhearted tried that… oh, about 1958 I think… still waiting for that strategy to be fully realized. And not really a very Christian message.
???????????????
People will choose to be savage using whatever paper, book, or hat they have handy as justification. Lots of angry people over there. Kind of like a hornets nest. You can punish them too, but I doubt they’ll respond in the matter desired.
A blasphemy standard is a fool’s errand. First, Obama thinks he is respected and carries some sort of authority over there (a perpetual neocon ideal…). How quickly we forget, “Death to America” is their prevailing sentiment.
We need to keep all of our great ideals to ourselves, and sell them stuff if they want to buy it from us, and leave it at that.
Oh yeah, maybe not further radicalizing a bunch of radicals with nuclear weapons may be a start.
Annie:
“…When a state adopts or recognizes a deity and incorporates it into their societies laws, it’s the end of the freedoms for individuals and the beginning of tyranny for all it’s citizens. We here in the West need to take a lesson and recognize the dangers of combining state and religion.”
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Very true, however, your democratic president ‘s speech to the UN stated (paraphrase) …The people are unable to take care of themselves so it is time for the One World Order to begin as the world will not function properly until they give up their individual rights to the government”. Can’t say I want to be a part of a government that I must believe as I am told. Opening all borders are next on the agenda. Keep watch.
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Just a note about condemning me: if one is Christian and as I understand the written word, I believe it implies that no one but the deity has that right, only God has the right to condemn or judge. However, our government is not ruled by any deity so it can also condemn/judge. You may think I am wrong that is your right, the condemnation and judging-is left to the Christian deity
My point was that unless we use their method of punishment on them, then they will continue their savagery. Being a Christian in a nation of many unbelievers, that thought was lost on this blog. The Middle east savagery cannot ever be changed until they suffer the same fate. Why are we there?
Prof. I fully expected it to be deleted. Food for thought.