Pakistani Court Sentences Asia Bibi To Death

Asia Bibi has officially been sentenced to death by hanging according to a ruling made by the Pakistani Court.

This month a Pakistani court sentenced IshaIsham's mother, 45-year-old Asia Bibi, to death, not because she killed, injured or stole, but simply because she said something.

Prosecutors say Bibi, who is a Christian, broke Pakistan's strict blasphemy law by insulting Islam and the prophet Muhammad, a crime punishable by death or life imprisonment according to Pakistan's penal code....

Neither the Koran nor the prophet Muhammad's teachings in the Hadith call for the execution of blasphemers, but Islamic scholars and jurists from generations past included the death sentence when drafting Islamic law.

Human rights groups have long blamed Pakistan's blasphemy laws for persecution and violence against religious minorities like last year's attack on a Christian village in Punjab Province and recent bombings of minority Muslim mosques.

Activists say the government has refused to amend the law for fear of backlash from Islamist groups and their followers who deem scrapping the law as un-Islamic.

At the time this report was filed, Pakistan's law minister had not responded to CNN's request for an interview.

Bibi has appealed her death sentence and asked for bail, the chief prosecutor of Punjab province told CNN.

The prosecutor, Chaudhry Muhammad Jahangir, said the appeal will be heard by the Lahore High court and a decision could be months away.

Pakistan has never executed someone convicted of blasphemy but in Bibi's village public opinion was unanimous.

"Yes, she should be hanged," a group of villagers cried out.

Please continue to pray for Asia Bibi and do what you can to advocate on her behalf!

Christians in Pakistan Fearful After Assassination of Second Pakistani Official

On March 2nd, the last remaining Christian Pakistani official, Shahbaz Bhatti, was assassinated while getting into his car headed for work. Apparently, a car drove up and a group of gunmen rang out a total of 50 shots, twenty of which ended up wounding Bhatti. The driver was not injured, but drove Bhatti to the nearest hospital. Bhatti did not survive; he died on the way there. The government had provided security for Bhatti, but they were not present when the assassination took place. The gunmen littered pamphlets on the lawn just after the shooting, stating that this was done because of Bhatti's opposition to the blasphemy law. This year, this is the second assassination of a Pakistani official for opposing the law. Here is a report from Christianity Today:

Christians in Pakistan are fearful after the assassination yesterday of Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti.

The minority Christian community took to the streets to protest after Mr Bhatti, the country’s only Christian minister, was murdered by gunmen outside his parents’ home in the capital Islamabad.

‘Rashid’, a Christian campaigner, whose name has been changed for security reasons, told Release International he was “heartbroken” by news of his close friend’s death.

He demanded justice on behalf of Mr Bhatti and Pakistani Christians, who are even more fearful for their safety.

Rashid fears that if the government is unable to protect its own ministers then ordinary Christians are even more at risk.

“Shahbaz was a government servant and it’s the responsibility of government to keep him safe,” he said.
“When a minister is not secure, what is the position of Christians?

“We are like the sheep – extremists can come and slaughter us. We have no cause, no weight.”
He said the government was not taking its responsibility to protect Christians seriously enough.....

Yaqub Masih, President of UK Pakistan Christian Concern offered his prayers for Mr Bhatti and his family.

He said: “It is a very black day for the freedom of minorities in Pakistan when a Christian is martyred for standing up for human rights and freedom of speech.

“We pray for Mr Bhatti and his family and supporters at this difficult time.”

Pakistani Christian Leader Speaking Out Against Blasphemy Law

[Source: Catholic Herald] Pakistan’s leading Catholic politician has said that death threats will not stop him speaking out against the country’s blasphemy law.

Shahbaz Bhatti, Minister for Minorities and the first Christian to hold a cabinet post in Pakistan, has received multiple death threats. He said during a trip to Canada: “I have been told by pro-Taliban religious extremists that if I will continue to speak against the blasphemy law, I will be beheaded.” But he said his faith gave him strength.

“As a Christian, I believe Jesus is my strength. He has given me a power and wisdom and motivation to serve suffering humanity. I follow the principles of my conscience, and I am ready to die and sacrifice my life for the principles I believe,” he said.

Mr Bhatti spoke in Ottawa while on a trip to raise awareness for his campaign to reform the country’s notoriously strict blasphemy laws, which most recently were used against Asia Bibi, the Christian woman sentenced to death for “insulting” Islam. Mrs Bibi says the allegation was invented by a neighbour to settle a score, a common complaint about the blasphemy law, and she is now in hiding. Although no one has ever been executed under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, as many as 10 people are thought to have been murdered while on trial.

Public figures have been scared to criticise the blasphemy laws since the assassination of the governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer, by one of his bodyguards last months. Taseer had protested at the death sentence given to Asia Bibi and supported reform of the law.

On Monday it was announced that Mr Bhatti would retain his position in the cabinet following a reshuffle, despite calls by Islamists for him to be removed.

A Muslim Sheds Light On the Blasphemy Law

The Times of India just put out an article titled "Blasphemy and the Islamic Way" in light of the recent hype in Pakistan over the blasphemy law. The article reads in part:

To use abusive language against the Prophet or to praise him are both a matter of one's own choice. Whatever the choice, it is in God's domain to pass judgment on it. Muslims have nothing to do in this situation except try to remove the misunderstanding and then leave the rest to God.

If there is such a case - which could be called blasphemy - and in anger one tries to punish the offender, one is simply reacting negatively to the situation. And acting in this way is looked upon with extreme disfavour in Islam. Islam always tries to go to the root cause of any given problem.....

Islam suggests capital punishment for only one offence, and that is murder. Except in the case of murder, there is no such severe legal punishment in Islam.

You will recall that Muslims in Pakistan are pushing for the death sentence of Asia Bibi over her supposed blasphemy of the Prophet Muhammad; yet this article states that this is not the way that Muslims should respond according to Islamic teaching. (And it should be noted the author of the article is himself a Muslim.) Please see the full article as it sheds some interesting light on the subject.