Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes Are Choking Freedom Worldwide (81 page)

63
. “Blasphemer Attacked in Pakistan”; Joshua Partlow, “They Want to Destroy Christians,”
The Washington Post
, August 3, 2009,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/02/AR2009080202011.html
; “Pakistan Christians Burned to Death in Islamist Attacks,”
Compass Direct News
, August 1, 2009,
http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/archives/2009/08/pakistan_christ.html
; “Gojra Assault Was Planned in Advance: HRCP,” Dawn.com, August 7, 2009,
http://www.hrcp-web.org/shownews.asp?id=33
.

64
. “Blasphemer Attacked in Pakistan”; Joshua Partlow, “They Want to Destroy Christians”; “Christians Flee after Muslims Destroy Village,”
Union of Catholic Asian News
, July 31, 2009,
http://www.ucanews.com/2009/07/31/christians-flee-after-muslims-destroy-village
; Sabrina Tavernise, “Hate Engulfs Christians in Pakistan,”
The New York Times
, August 3, 2009,
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/03/world/asia/03pstan.html
; Omar Waraich, “Pakistan: Who’s Attacking the Christians?”
Time
, August 6, 2009,
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1914750,00.html
; Zofeen Ebrahim, “Attacks on Christians Spotlight Blasphemy Laws,” Inter Press Service, August 25, 2009,
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48206
; “Reemergence of Violence Against Christians in Pakistan,” Report and Analysis by NCJP, August 4, 2009.

65
. Tavernise, “Hate Engulfs Christians in Pakistan.” For further reports on Gojra and related incidents, see Partlow, “They Want to Destroy Christians”; “Christians Flee after Muslims Destroy Village”; Omar Waraich, “Pakistan: Who’s Attacking the Christians?”; Ebrahim, “Attacks on Christians Spotlight Blasphemy Laws”; Salman Masood and Waqar Gillani, “4 Militants Held in Fatal Attack on Christians in Pakistani Town,”
New York Times
, September 10, 2009; “5 More Pakistani Christians Killed,”
Zenit
, September, 9, 2009,
http://www.zenit.org/article-26757?l=english
; Fareed Khan, “Punjab, Muslim Extremists Burn Church over Alleged Blasphemy Case,”
AsiaNews.it
, September 12, 2009,
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=16308
; “LHC Grants Bail to Muslims Accused of Gojra Violence: Killers of Robert Danish Will Be Reinstated,”
Pakistan Christian Post
, September 18, 2009,
http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/viewnews.php?newsid=1499
; “Pakistani Christian Youth Accused of Blasphemy Killed in Sialkot Jail,”
Pakistan Christian Post
, September 15, 2009,
http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/viewnews.php?newsid=1496
; “Pakistani Church Burned by Muslims,”
Zenit
, September, 19, 2009,
http://www.zenit.org/article-26875?l=english
; “Police Shoot Mourners at Funeral of Christian,”
Compass Direct News
, September 17, 2009,
http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/pakistan/9439/
; Fareed Khan, “Sialkot: Police Charges Crowd at Funeral for Young Man Killed in Prison for Blasphemy,”
AsiaNews.it
, September 16, 2009; Brian Sharma, “Cooperation among Police, Muslim and Christian Leaders Stave Off Religious Brushfires,”
Compass Direct News
/HRWF, September 9, 2009; “Archbishop Saldanha Condemns Killing and Carnage in Gojra, Calls for Closure of Christian Institutions for Three Days Mourning in Punjab,” Pax Christi press release, August 3, 2009,
http://storage.paxchristi.net/2009–0553-en-ap-HR.pdf
; “Reemergence of Violence Against Christians in Pakistan” (n. 64 above).

66
. Waqar Gillani and Sabrina Tavernise, “Pakistan Rights Groups Seek Answers on Christian’s Death,”
New York Times
, September 16, 2009,
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/world/asia/17pstan.html
. See also ANI, “Pakistan Govt Asked to Review Blasphemy Law,” Pakistan News.net, September 2, 2009; “Statement on the Misuse of the Blasphemy Law and the
Security of Religious Minorities in Pakistan,” World Council of Churches, September 1, 2009,
http://www.oikoumene.org/gr/resources/documents/central-committee/geneva-2009/reports-and-documents/report-on-public-issues/statement-on-the-misuse-of-the-blasphemy-law-and-the-security-of-religious-minorities-in-pakistan.html
; see also “Pakistani Christians ‘Live in Fear,’ Churches Say,” Reuters, September 23, 2009.

67
. “Muslim Threats to Christians Rise in Pakistan,”
The Washington Times
, October 4, 2009,
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/04/muslim-threats-to-christians-on-rise-in-pakistan/?source=newsletter_must-read-stories-today_headlinespage=2
; “Pakistan Leader, Pope Talk of Attacks on Christians,”
Zenit
, October 1, 2009,
http://www.zenit.org/article-27014?l=english
; “Zardari Promises Pope to Overcome Discrimination Caused by Religion,”
AsiaNews.it
,
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=16475&size=A
. See also “All Christian Parties Conference to End Blasphemy Law Set to Launch Movement,”
Pakistan Christian Post
, October 18, 2009,
http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/headline-newsd.php?hnewsid=1460
; Maria Mackay, “Pakistan’s Minorities Minister Vows to End Persecution of Christians,”
Christian Today
, October 11, 2009,
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/pakistans.minorities.minister.vows.to.end.persecution.of.christians/24358.htm
; Zeeshan Haider, “Pakistan Intends to Alter Blasphemy Law,” Reuters, February 25, 2010,
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61O1M820100225
. According to a Pakistani government official, possible changes included requiring an investigation and a judge’s approval before a case could be registered, as well as demanding proof that defendants had intended to commit blasphemy.

68
. Ishaq Tanoli, “Life Term for Blasphemy Accused,”
Dawn
, February 26, 2010,
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/life-term-for-blasphemy-accused-620
; Fareed Khan, “Punjab: Christian Couple Touches Qur’an with Dirty Hands”; “Pakistan’s ‘Blasphemy’ Laws Claim Three More Christians,”
Compass Direct News
, March 10, 2010.

69
. Tanoli, “Life Term for Blasphemy Accused”; Khan, “Punjab: Christian Couple Touches Qur’an with Dirty Hands”; “Pakistan’s ‘Blasphemy’ Laws Claim Three More Christians.”

70
. “ ‘Blasphemy Laws’ Used to Jail Elderly Christian in Pakistan,”
Compass Direct News
, June 29, 2010,
http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/pakistan/22092/
. For other cases, see Thomas Kelly, “‘Blasphemy Laws’ Used to Jail Elderly Christian,”
Compass Direct News
, June 26, 2010,
http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/pakistan/22092/
; “Lahore: Christians Accused of Blasphemy Flee Extremists and Police,”
AsiaNews.it
, July 9, 2010,
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Lahore:-Christians-accused-of-blasphemy-flee-extremists-and-police-18892.html
.

71
. Rob Crilly and Aoun Sahi, “Christian Woman Sentenced to Death ‘for Blasphemy,’”
The Telegraph
, November 9, 2010.

72
.
Daily Jang
, July 11, 2001, excerpted in National Commission for Justice and Peace,
A Report on the Religious Minorities in Pakistan
.

73
.
International Religious Freedom Report 2008
.

74
. Alex Alexiev, “The Taliban of Fact and Washington Fiction,”
National Review Online
, May 13, 2009,
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OGIyNWUwMGVjOWI0MmFmNDIwNTI3YzI1NmFhN2JmMDk
.

75
. Amnesty International, “Pakistan: Insufficient Protection of Religious Minorities.”

76
. The following is drawn from
Daily Dawn
, July 10, 2002, excerpted in NCJP,
A Report on the Religious Minorities in Pakistan
, (n. 4 above).

77
.
Daily Dawn
, July 7, 2002, excerpted in National Commission for Justice and Peace,
A Report on the Religious Minorities in Pakistan
.

78
. Donna E. Arzt, “The Treatment of Religious Dissidents Under Islamic Law,” in
Religious Human Rights in Global Perspective: Religious Perspectives
, ed. John Witte, Jr. and Johan D. van der Vyver (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1996), 430.

79
. “Blasphemer Attacked in Pakistan.”

80
. “Pakistan, Islamists Sign Deal to Enforce Sharia,” ABC News, February 16, 2009,
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/16/2493056.htm
; Zarar Khan, “Pakistan President
Agrees to Islamic Law in Swat,”
AP
, April 13, 2009,
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/04/14/70606.html
; “Militants Bomb Ancient Shrine in Pakistan,”
The Independent
, March 5, 2009,
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/militants-bomb-ancient-shrine-in-pakistan-1637955.html
; Douglas Feith and Justin Polin, “Radio-Free Swat Valley,”
The New York Times
, March 30, 2009,
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/30/opinion/30feith.html
; “Blasphemer Attacked in Pakistan.”

81
. Nahal Toosi, “Pakistanis Blame US after Shrine Attack Kills 42,”
AP
, July 2, 2010,
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100702/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan
; Mubashir Bukhari, “Suicide Bombers Strike Shrine in Lahore, Pakistan, Killing at Least 35,”
Washington Post
, July 2, 2010,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/01/AR2010070106081_pf.html
.

82
. For more information on Shaikh, see Celia Dugger, “Pakistani Sentenced to Death for Blasphemy,”
New York Times
, August 20, 2001,
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/20/inter-national/asia/20DOCT.html
; “Dr. Shaikh Sentenced to Death,”
http://www.rationalistinternational.net/Shaikh/2001.08.26.htm
; Ahmad, “Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws”; “Blasphemy Doctor Faces Death,”
The Guardian
, August 19, 2001,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,539348,00.html
. A good overview is given in “Dr Younus Shaikh Free!” International Humanist and Ethical Union, January 23, 2004,
http://www.iheu.org/node/85
. Dr. Shaikh should not be confused with Younus Shaikh, who, in July, 2007, was sentenced by Karachi’s Anti-Terrorism Court to life imprisonment under section 295-B for writing a book that the judge claimed had negated the punishment of
rajam
(stoning to death in the case of adultery). “Blasphemous Writer Gets Life Term,”
The News International
(Karachi), July 30, 2007,
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=65594
.

83
. Dugger, “Pakistani Sentenced to Death for Blasphemy”; see also “Dr. Shaikh Sentenced to Death,”
http://www.rationalistinternational.net/Shaikh/2001.08.26.htm
.

84
. Ahmad, “Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws.”

85
. Dugger, “Pakistani Sentenced to Death for Blasphemy.”

86
. Ahmad, “Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws.”

87
. Paul Wiseman, “Words Can Bring Death Sentence in Pakistan,”
USA Today
, March 25, 2002,
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/03/26/usat-blasphemy.htm
.

88
. See “Dr Younus Shaikh Free!”

89
.
Daily Dawn
, July 8, 2002, excerpted in National Commission for Justice and Peace,
A Report on the Religious Minorities in Pakistan
.

90
. Fasih Ahmed, “The War on Words,”
Newsweek
,
http://www.newsweek.com/id/167386/output/print
; “Death Threat for Editor Najam Sethi over Islamic Cartoon,”
Times Online
, July 26, 2008,
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article4402382.ece
.

91
. Salman Masood and Carlotta Gall, “Prominent Ally of Pakistan’s President Is Assassinated,”
New York Times
, January 4, 2011; Zahid Hussain and Tom Wright, “Pakistan Assassin Had Revealed Plans,”
Wall Street Journal
, January 5, 2011; “Pope Urges Pakistan to Repeal Blasphemy Law,”
BBC
, January 10, 2011,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/world-south-asia-12156825

92
. Augustine Anthony, “Militants Say Killed Pakistani Minister for Blasphemy,” Reuters, March 2, 2011; Nahal Toosi and Chris Brummit, “Militants Kill Sole Christian Minister in Pakistan,:
AP
, March 2, 2011; see “Blasphemer Attacked in Pakistan.”

93
. Ahmad, “Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws.” The BBC suggests that with respect to blasphemy, “Hundreds of people have been lynched since the mid-1980s”; see “Blasphemer Attacked in Pakistan.”

94
. Sabrina Tavernise, “At Top University, a Fight for Pakistan’s Future,”
New York Times
, April 20, 2010,
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/21/world/asia/21university.html
.

95
. Christian Caryl, “A Eulogy for Pakistan,”
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
, March 16, 2011,
http://www.rferl.org/content/pakistan_bhatti_washington/2340390.html
; Lela Gilbert, “Pakistan and Blasphemy: A Matter of Life and Death,”
Jerusalem Post
, April 21, 2011,
http://www.jpost.com/Features/InThespotlight/Article.aspx?id=217432
; Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan press release, “Pakistani and US Leaders Urge Tolerance, Harmony in Minister Shahbaz Bhatti Memorial Service at the Embassy,” March 10, 2011,
http://www.embassyofpakistanusa.org/news474_03102011.php