Christians in Pakistan continue to be accused of blasphemy against Islam. Recently, there have been three new, separate cases. In one of the groups, involving 35 Christians, they were briefly accused of insulting the Prophet Mohammed before the charge was changed to blasphemy. However, from the evidence, it appears that all the cases were either brought to seek personal revenge or mainly to target Christians for their faith.
All three cases were filed in Punjab, the largest province of Pakistan and home to several extremist Islamic organizations. This is where most blasphemy cases against Christians have been filed since the early 1980s when the controversial blasphemy laws were introduced by the then president, Zia ul-Haq.
The court has released the suspects on bail in all three cases, which is rare in blasphemy cases, suggesting that the charges are not well-founded.
In the first case, a Muslim had brought a criminal case against a Christian for sharing the story of Lot from the Old Testament, from Genesis 2. Book of Genesis.
The incident took place on August 23 in Bahawalpur, about 450 kilometers from Lahore. 60-year-old Naja Masih, a Bahawalpur resident and retired sweeper, was sitting outside her house with her neighbor Shahid Mehmood, who owns a hair salon on Masih's street.
They were discussing similarities between the Quran and the Bible when Masih was reported and handed over to the police. In the police report filed at The Civil Lines police station, his neighbor Mehmood had stated that Masih had told him that "God himself took human form and appeared to Lot and told him to leave his village." Mehmood further claimed that Masih had hurt his religious feelings by saying that when Lot fled to Sodom with his daughters, his daughters had gotten him drunk and then slept with him to ensure his descendants.
Masih's wife, Nargis Bibi, told World Watch Monitor that Mehmood's wife came to her after the incident and told her that the Christians in the colony should be grateful that their house had not been burned down for committing blasphemy. Nargis said the situation was tense in their area after the incident, so they fled. "For more than a week, the police did not tell us where Masih was," she added. She said that when they saw Masih in police custody a week later, he said he still couldn't understand why he was arrested; he had only explained what was in the Bible.
Civil Lines Deputy Inspector Muhammad Ishaq, who is investigating the case, told World Watch Monitor that the local police were informed as soon as the argument between Masih and Mehmood turned into a conflict. They immediately found where they were and arrested Masih. "Because there was a danger of an attack, Masih was detained at another police station for his own safety," said Ishaq.
When told that what Masih had shared with Mehmood was exactly what was written in the Bible, investigator Ishaq said that no one had told him. "If it can be proved that what Masih said is part of his faith, then relief will be granted in the investigation," he assured, but then said that the case would now be decided in court.
Voice Society, an organization working for Christians, represented Masih in court and secured his release on bail before the trial on 27 September.
The issues raised in Masih's case are not new. Pakistan's Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or Jamiet Ulema-e-Islam, consists of three political blocs, each named after the politicians who represent them. In 2011, one of them, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami-ul-Haq (JUI-S), demanded that the Supreme Court ban specific pages of the Bible for blasphemous content. The leader of JUI-S is Senator Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, who heads Darul Uloom Haqqania, also known as Jihad University. Several students who attended the school are now leaders of the Taliban group, including Mullah Omar.
Because Islam believes that all prophets are innocent, sinless and perfect, JUI-S believes that "several stories have been inserted into the Bible to accuse various prophets of a variety of moral crimes, undermining their holiness. Such additions greatly offend Muslims." Although the JUI-S retracted their claim, this is one of the accusations Christians still face in Pakistan.
Source: WorldWatch Monitor, translated by intern Carol Commey
