When, exactly, will the protests in the West begin?
In Pakistan, blasphemy laws carry a death sentence. These notorious statutes are often used abusively for settling personal scores, making personal gains or for satisfying grudges that one neighbor may have against another.
The country’s blasphemy laws are also used to target minority groups, and Christians are disproportionately affected. Indeed, roughly a quarter of all blasphemy accusations target Christians. Business rivals accuse Christian men of blasphemy as a means of destroying their business and reputation.
In 2020, a Christian man was sentenced to death for having allegedly sent “blasphemous” text messages to his former supervisor. He has been held in custody since 2013.
While the death sentence is seldom carried out, people accused of blasphemy are vulnerable to attack or murder by rampaging Muslim mobs. In June 2024, for instance, an elderly man was killed by mob violence after being accused of desecrating the Quran.
In its 2024 report, the human rights organization Open Doors found that anti-Christian violence in Pakistan has been at the maximum possible level for many years. Violence against Christians does not only include widely publicized attacks against the Christian community, such as in the city of Jaranwala in August 2023, but also small-scale, localized, and increasingly persistent killings and attacks on Christians and churches, often spurred on by the country’s notorious blasphemy laws, which have been expanded in scope and punishment.
Christians in Pakistan are more frequently arrested and charged than acquitted, and although not all situations are linked with blasphemy accusations, those are the most prominent examples.
In 2023, Pakistan’s National Assembly passed legislation that increased punishment for some forms of blasphemy by raising the penalties from three years to no fewer than 10 years for insulting the companions, wives, and family members of Islam’s founder, Muhammad. The widening of the scope of blasphemy laws and the increase in penalties on conviction demonstrate the level of importance that politics and society attach to this topic.
All of this, in turn, is further encouraging vigilante attacks on Christians. In the Jaranwala incident, after false blasphemy allegations were made against two Christians, up to 26 churches were burned or damaged and hundreds of Christians fled their homes.
In 2024, a court in Punjab sentenced a 22-year-old student to death on charges of sharing “blasphemous” pictures and videos. A 17-year-old student was sentenced to life imprisonment in the same case only because Pakistani law prohibits the death sentence for child offenders.
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan adopted an Islamic Constitution in 1973 and Sharia law in its civil code, even though Article 20 grants freedom of religion and belief. Ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan (who was ousted in April 2022, but whose party has growing influence) stated that the government system in place in the days of Islam’s prophet Mohammed should be seen as the perfect governing system for Pakistan.
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq introduced infamous laws on blasphemy in 1986. Shortly after that, blasphemy became one of the main issues that the Christian and Hindu minorities in the country had to face. --->READ MORE HERE
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| Abdul Majeed/AFP via Getty Images |
Figures from CSJ show that last year 343 people were charged with blasphemy, including 19 Christians, five of whom were women.
A Pakistani court has sentenced four young men to death for allegedly posting blasphemous content against Islam on social media, a prosecuting attorney said Jan. 27. The condemned men, who are Muslim, are between 20 and 32 years old and are from Punjab province.
A member of the Voice of the Victims of Blasphemy Business Group, a support group formed by families affected by the alleged blasphemy charges, requesting anonymity told UCA News that “three of them are from Lahore, while one is from Bahawalpur. They were trapped in the same pattern of being lured into social media groups where controversial content was shared. They were also tricked into saving the blasphemous content on their phones and sharing it with others.”
“Their parents are worried and are at a loss about what to do. Their lawyer was hopeful of the acquittal, but the judges were not ready to listen to our pleas. Everything looks preplanned,” he added.
A lawyer, Nasir William, a member of the advocacy group Center for Social Justice (CSJ), expressed concern about the growing persecution of Christians and alleged cases of blasphemy in Pakistan, which have risen sharply in recent times.
“Activists are slowly holding press conferences urging government authorities to intervene and provide long-overdue redress to these victims. The National Assembly Standing Committee will discuss this issue in a session on Jan. 27 evening. At least these victims have a right to appeal in a higher court,” William said. --->READ MORE HERE
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