Qamar David, a Pakistani Christian serving a life sentence for blasphemy against Islam, was found dead in his Karachi jail cell yesterday. David, in prison since 2002, was sentenced for allegedly sending derogatory text messages about the Prophet Mohammad, though his lawyer maintains that the charges were motivated by a business rivalry. He was 55 years old and the father of four sons.
Authorities report that he died of a heart attack, but it is widely suspected that he was murdered by radical Muslims who, in recent months, have sought by violent means to defend Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws.
Qamar David is the most recent in a mounting toll of Pakistani deaths his year related to blasphemy. In January 2011, Salman Taseer, governor of Punjab, was shot by one of his bodyguards, who was angry about Taseer’s opposition to the blasphemy laws. Taseer, a Muslim, had come to the defense of Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of five, who was sentenced to death by hanging for blasphemy in November 2010. Her continuing imprisonment has attracted international concern.
On March 2, Shahbaz Bhatti, a Roman Catholic and the only Christian member of Pakistan’s cabinet, was shot dead during an ambush by gunmen in Islamabad. He had received numerous death threats over his efforts to reform the blasphemy laws. He had courageously and outspokenly defied the threats.
Also this year in Pakistan, ten Sufis were murdered for their religious heterodoxy, and a Sunni Muslim man was killed by someone who had accused him of blasphemy.
Pakistan’s draconian laws only apply to alleged blasphemies against Islam; no other religions are similarly protected. The laws neither define blasphemy nor provide measures to protect those who are falsely accused. This, of course, invites outrageous abuses and false accusations, frequently motivated by personal grudges, property disputes, or religious intolerance.
Although no one in Pakistan has yet officially been executed for blasphemy, since the 1980s many of those accused have been murdered by police, vigilantes, or mobs. Some have been killed even after having been acquitted. Many others suffered brutal assaults, and there have been innumerable mob attacks on churches, homes, and businesses.
Efforts to amend the laws have inflamed radical Islamists. After Bhatti’s death, Farahnaz Ispahani, an aide to President Asif Ali Zardari, said of the recent bloodshed, “This is a concerted campaign to slaughter every liberal, progressive and humanist voice in Pakistan. The time has come for the federal government and provincial governments to speak out and to take a strong stand against these murderers to save the very essence of Pakistan.”
— Lela Gilbert is an adjunct fellow of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom.
I am glad to see that NRO has not forgotten Asia Bibi and other victims of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan.
It is odd - but not surprising - that the secular media in the West tends to regard even mild criticism of Islam as some sort of heinous hate crime unparalleled in human history, yet ignores Pakistan's blasphemy laws and other evidence of Islam's raging intolerance of non-Muslims. This indifference is all the more unusual considering the fate of women and homosexuals under fundamentalist Islam.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt's not "radical Islamist" -- that's two times redundant -- it's just "Muslim."
For Muhammad -- whom Allah describes as a "beautiful pattern of conduct" for those who want to please it -- commanded and practiced slavery or death for all who refuse the "invitation" to convert. And Muhammad solicited or approved of the murders of several people who mocked him, one of them being a poetess, Asma bint Marwan.
What should one reasonably expect from the adherents of an ideology the "Ideal Man" of which preached and practiced, "kill the pagans wherever you find them" (Qur'an 9:5)?
amillennialist.blogspot.com
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIf you're "recovering," Lutheran, you must have been ELCA.
Go Missouri or Wisconsin.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbusePew Report: Views of Pakistani Muslims 2010
Opinions about "extremist" groups:
51% are at least somewhat worried about "extremist" groups taking control of Pakistan, down from 69% in 2009.
Pakistanis feel less threatened by the Taliban and much less by al Qaeda. Last year, 73% rated the Taliban a serious threat, compared with 54% now. Roughly six-in-ten (61%) considered al Qaeda a serious threat last year; now, just 38% feel this way.
Only 53% voice an unfavorable view of al Qaeda, down from 61% in 2009.
65% currently give a negative rating of the Taliban, down from 70% in 2009.
Just 35% have a negative view of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani group active in Kashmir that has often attacked Indian targets (it is widely blamed for the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks), while 25% express a positive assessment and 40% offer no opinion.
Roughly 20% approve of both Hezbollah and Hamas.
View of the US:
Only 17% have a favorable view of the U.S. 59% describe the U.S. as an enemy, while just 11% say it is a partner.
61% have a negative view of the American people, while just 18% express a positive opinion.
Only 8% of Pakistanis express confidence that Pres. Obama will do the right thing in world affairs.
The U.S.-led war in Afghanistan is widely opposed by Pakistanis. 65% want U.S. and NATO troops removed as soon as possible. Relatively few Pakistanis believe the situation in Afghanistan could have a serious impact on their country: 25% think it would be bad for Pakistan if the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan and 18% say it would be good; 27% think it would not matter and 30% have no opinion.
64% say it is important for relations with the U.S. to improve, up from 53% last year.
23% believe the U.S. provides a lot of financial aid, 22% say it provides a little aid, 10% say hardly any, and 16% believe the U.S. gives Pakistan no aid.
Widespread Support for Harsh Sharia Laws:
85% support segregation of men and women in the workplace
82% support stoning adulterers to death
82% support whippings and cutting off limbs for robbery/theft
76% support the death penalty for leaving Islam
20% support suicide bombings and violence against civilians
Support for gender segregation and for severe punishments is pervasive across all demographic and regional groups.
44% say there is a struggle between those who want to modernize their country and Islamic fundamentalists; just 12% see no struggle, and 44% do not offer an opinion.
61% who say there is a struggle between those who want to modernize Pakistan and Islamic fundamentalists also say they identify with the modernizers, down from 73% in 2009.
Majorities among those who identify with modernizers AND among those who side with Islamic fundamentalists in a struggle between the two groups endorse making harsh punishments the law in Pakistan. 88% of those who say they identify with Islamic fundamentalists favor the death penalty for people who leave the Muslim religion, compared with 67% of those who side with the modernizers. 88% of Muslims who side with fundamentalists and 85% of those who identify with modernizers say they favor the segregation of men and women in the workplace.
Islamic influence in politics:
42% prefer democracy to other types of government; 15% say that, in some circumstances, a non-democratic government can be preferable, and 21% say that, for someone like them, the kind of government their country has does not matter.
46% say Islam plays a very large or fairly large role, while 36% say the role of Islam in Pakistani politics is small. 88% of those who see Islam playing a large role say that is a good thing. Similarly, 79% of those who say Islam’s role is small say that is a bad thing for their country. This pattern is true across all demographic groups.
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Now see that's just not true. Mild criticism of Islam is accepted in most of the media, and Islam ought to be criticized for certain aspects. It's when you view Islam as unique outside the context of historical atrocities committed by other religions. Even if Muslims are the fanatics now, that hasn't always been the case. It's also when you say that American Muslims can't be trusted and are probably terrorists.
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