Muslim scholars - judged by the blasphemy laws

Most Muslims - especially those in Pakistan think that the laws against blasphemy are justified.  Those who are deemed "progressive" only want procedural changes.  So in this post I will take some quotes from the scholars of Islam and indicate the clauses of the blasphemy law of Pakistan that they have violated.  Keep visiting this blog as I would build on it.

Syed Abul Ala Maudoodi
He is the founder of the "Jamat Islami".  One of his basic philosophies was that in order to reform the society control over the government is essential.  Lets see some of his quotes:

(Hadrat Ayesha (ra)) had become too bold against the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and had started to raise her voice against the Holy Prophet (pbuh).  [Weekly Asia Lahore 1957.  Volume 15 - Page 17].  Blasphemy Law 298-A applies

Hadrat Abu Bakr acted against the spirit of Islam [Tarjaman ul Quran Volume 12].  Blasphemy Law 298-A applies

Hadrat Usman was guilty of giving special treatment to his friends and relatives and gave them special considerations.  [Khilafat o Malookiat pp 105].   Blasphemy Law 298-A applies 

Brailvies vs Deobandies
Brailvies are a subsect of Hanafi sect which is one of the subsects of the Sunnis.  In Pakistan JUI (Noorani) is one of the prominent religious political party that belongs to this school.  The founder of Awami Tehreek Dr. Tahir ul Qadri also belongs to this sect.
Deobandies are another subsect of the Hanafi sect.  The "Tableeghi" jamat in Pakistan, Majlis Ihraar and Majlis Tahafuz Khatm-e-Nabuwwat are all offshoots of this sect.

Here are some of the beliefs of Brailvies:

• Holy Prophet (pbuh) did not have a shadow.
• Holy Prophet (pbuh) knew ghaib (or that which is unknown or known only to God

And in contrast the Deobandies consider the Holy Prophet (pbuh) as a human being and subject to the limitations and deny the two beliefs about the Holy Prophet (pbuh)

Blasphemy Law 295-C applies - it just depends on who files the complaint!

Founder of Deobandi Sect - Maulana Muhammad Qasim

"Hypothetically speaking if a new prophet comes after the Holy Prophet (pbuh), even then the Khatam-e-Nabuwwat of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) will remain intact" [Tehzeer-ul-Nas pp 28]

It is interesting that the founder of the Deobandi sect says this but this is where the Majlis Tahaffuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwwat started.  People need to understand that this stuff is politically motivated!

Anyways, since all Ahmadies are subjected to 295-C why should he be spared!

Hadrat Shah Waliullah
He does not need any introduction.  He says:

"(Khatam-e-Nabuwwat means that) after the Holy Prophet (pbuh) a prophet with a new law cannot come" (Tafheemat-e-Ilahiya pp 55)

Same belief as Ahmadies so  295-C applies.

Why stop here, lets apply these to the companions of the Holy Prophet (pbuh)

• When Hadrat Ayesha (ra) was accused, during that time several companions would come under the jurisdiction of 298-A.  Since this law does now allow the accused to provide an explanation, the fact that later on all of these companions changed their point of view is irrelevant.
• Recall the war between the two groups of the companions of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) where Hadrat Ayesha was on one side and Hadrat Ali was on the other - 298-A  applies on both sides.
• After compiling the Holy Quran, Hadrat Usman burnt the copies of the Holy Quran that were not according to the final prepared manuscript.  295-B  applies.

Conclusion
The so called moderates need to realize that they cannot hide behind words in this case.  The problem is the law itself and not procedural matters.  The law itself invites abuse.  This law did not exist in Pakistan from 1947 to 1985 - did we see blasphemy rampant in Pakistan during that time?  And since 1985 we have thousands of case - what is the reason?

The law also creates heroes because the death penalty is reserved for the most heinous crimes in any society.  All societies give some latitude to a person who would take law in their own hands when the crime in question warrants the death penalty.  Such people are often defended under "temporary insanity".  The mere existence of this law puts someone who speaks their mind on a religious matter in the same category as a murderer and that should not be acceptable to any decent human being.

While conversing with Pakistanis, they often think that such laws cannot be touched or that they are too volatile.  Well mark my words unless these laws and other laws like these are repealed totally and completely, extremism will increase.  Ofcourse most Pakistanis will be quick to blame the west for every ill in Pakistan but do some basic study and see extremism in Pakistan before and after 1985.

You can refer to http://saadahmad.blogspot.com/2011/01/mess-called-blasphemy-laws-of-pakistan.html to see the text of these clauses.

The mess called "Blasphemy Laws of Pakistan"

During the first week of January 2011, Governor of the largest province of Pakistan, Punjab was assassinated by his own security guard because he had called for modifications in Pakistan blasphemy laws.  Note that his stance was quite guarded as he did not call for its repeal but just modification.  I would consider his stance below par but in Pakistan even getting that much was no less than a miracle.

After that his assassin became a hero.  Even people living in US, Canada, and Europe were hesitant in calling this what it was.  Pakistan President and chief minister of Punjab did not attend the funeral of the governor.  Leaders of several parties openly said that the governor was to be blamed for his own death.

Quite sadly, majority of the people of Pakistan support these "blasphemy laws" and they have no idea about what is in it.  So here it goes (These are taken from http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/legislation/1860/actXLVof1860.html):

Section 295-B
Whoever wilfully defiles, damages or desecrates a copy of the Holy Qur'an or of an extract therefrom or uses it in any derogatory manner or for any unlawful purpose shall be punishable with imprisonment for life.


Section 295-C
Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.




Section 298
Whoever, with the deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of any person, utters any word or makes any sound in the hearing of that person or makes any gesture in the sight of that person or places any object in the sight of that person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year or with fine, or with both.


Section 298-A
Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of any wife (Ummul Mumineen), or members of the family (Ahle-bait), of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), or any of the righteous Caliphs (Khulafa-e-Rashideen) or companions (Sahaaba) of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.


Now many Pakistanis will read this and say "so what is wrong with that?"  So lets see some scenarios:

1. Defiles or "damages" Quran or an "extract".  You do not need to be a rocket scientist to see how ridiculous such a language is.  The word "kafir" (disbeliever) is in Quran so is the word for Satan.  Similarly many authors start their writings with "Bismillah" (in the name of Allah) and several newspapers carry some extracts of Quran and then later on these same newspapers are found on the street corner.  
2. Directly or "indirectly"  "defiles" the sacred "name" of the Holy Prophet (sa).  Again the language is very ambiguous and about a few weeks ago a person was charged for throwing a business card with name "Muhammad" written on it.  Really it is not a joke.  And what about "indirectly" - it makes it completely subjective.  For example I find it offensive to say as some Muslims suggest that Holy Prophet (sa) did not have shadow because it questions his humanity; should I then press charges against everyone that holds that belief?  Some Muslims suggest that at certain times the Holy Prophet (sa) lied as a strategy - I find it offensive and so on.  Personality that is accepted as the most influential in the history of humanity will generate controversy - even among Muslims.  I find those who suggest that the Holy Prophet (sa) used sword to spread the message of Islam (as suggested by Maulana Maudoodi) to be the most offensive accusation against Islam!
3. Defiling the sacred name of the wives of the Prophet - can anyone guess who is this targeted for?  The conflict that arose between Hadrat Ayesha and Hadrat Ali is a historical fact and different Muslims have different perspective on it.  Similarly conflict between Hadrat Ali and Hadrat Ameer Muavia etc.  According to this, probably the "scholar" called Zakir Naik is guilty as well for saying "razi allah" after Yazid's name.  Some Muslim sects suggest that Hadrat Imam Hussain was also at fault in the tragedy of Karbala.  Can Muslims not even discuss their own history openly?

Real Story
In fact these laws were originally made just to target Ahmadi Muslims and are brainchild of General Zia ul Haq.  But lets not blame him for everything the "elected" legislators have ratified all of these laws.  The problem is that when you make bad laws, they will end up shaking the foundation of a society even if the target was someone else - because such laws provide an opportunity.


That is what happened here as well.  Ahmadies are still the largest victim of these laws but people have now started using these laws to settle old scores and to push their point.  


In lieu of this, the stance of the late governor was quite timid.  Anything short of total repeal should be unacceptable to any decent human being - yet he was targeted and most people blame him for his own murder.  But then we are talking about decent humans and there are probably none left in Pakistan.