June 2
PAKISTAN:
Death for blasphemy?
The contemporary time we live in is full of horrendous and heartrending news.
Not a single day passes without such horrific news of killing and bloodshed in
the name of God, and in the name of his prophets who were the messengers of
peace, brotherhood and love for mankind.
Recently, a university journalism student Mashal Khan was murdered on baseless
accusations of blasphemy in Pakistan.
After the investigation, the police confirmed that they did not find any proof
of blasphemy against him.
This incident is not the first of its kind; there have been many other cases
where people accused of blasphemy have been killed by an angry mob. Pakistan's
blasphemy law prescribes a death penalty for those guilty of blasphemy.
This law has been used to persecute and unfairly target the minorities and
those who do not toe the line with the majority Sunni Muslims. Many a times, it
is used for personal grudges and vested interests. In brief, this law has been
extensively misused.
The religious imams and clerics openly claim in public gatherings and on print
and electronic media, that the moment blasphemy is committed, the person is
liable to the death penalty.
Such views are not limited to Pakistan alone, but there are many Muslim clerics
and imams who believe the same in many other countries. These clerics exploit
the ignorance of the people and mould it for showing their strength and power,
and to keep a hold on people.
Such are the leaders about whom the Holy Prophet Muhammad warned the Muslims
more than 1,400 years ago to be watchful and be careful. He said:
"There will come a time upon the people when nothing will remain of Islam
except its name and nothing will remain of the Quran except its words. Their
mosques will be splendidly furnished but destitute of guidance. Their leaders
and clerics will be the worst people under the Heaven; strife will issue from
them and avert to them."
There is not a minor punishment prescribed in the Holy Quran for blasphemy, let
alone the death penalty
This saying speaks volumes about the academic dishonesty of such so-called
clerics who openly claim but do not substantiate their claims with proofs from
the Holy Quran and the life of the founder of Islam.
Keeping different sayings of the Prophet Muhammad in view, one can categorize
Islamic scholars and imams into 2 categories; Ulema-e-Haq (truthful and good
scholars) and Ulema-e-Soo (untrustworthy and dishonest scholars).
The true and honest scholars are those who always promote love, tolerance,
harmony, brotherhood, peace, human welfare, unity and build bridges between
people. Their every word and action is motivated by the extreme and merciful
love for mankind. They enlighten people about spirituality and strive to instil
the love of Creator and the creation in the hearts and minds of people.
The disloyal scholars and imams are those who misguide people, who commit
academic dishonesty, who spread hatred and promote hate speech for their
personal and vested interests, who discourage dialogue, who build walls and
barriers, who exploit the ignorance of their people for violence, bloodshed,
extremism and terrorism; and those who make their people narrow-minded through
inflicting fear in their hearts and minds to broaden their thoughts and
knowledge, and those who issue baseless fatwas (edicts) against others, etc.
The question is why Mashal Khan was killed cold-bloodedly? Does Islam permit
anyone taking the law into his hands; and what is Islam's position on
blasphemy?
There is no doubt that blasphemy is the most repugnant, detestable and
loathsome act, which touches on the sensitivities of all decent-minded and
believing people. No matter which faith one belongs to, any violation by words
or deeds of the sanctity of God or his chosen messengers, is considered deeply
offensive. In fact, Islam condemns every form of blasphemy. The use of abusive
and filthy language cannot be permitted against any human being, so how could
it be acceptable against religion, divine messengers and God? However, there is
no physical worldly punishment prescribed for blasphemy in Islam, whatsoever.
I personally, as a student of the Quran for many years, have read the Quran
numerous times and failed to find a single verse, or a part of a verse, which
declares blasphemy to be crime punishable by human beings.
The Islamic punishments are divided into 2, the crimes committed against God
and against man. The crimes committed against God are only punishable by God
and man has no authority to go into that domain, and blasphemy is part of that.
The Holy Quran elaborates this point and states:
"Verily those who annoy Allah and His Messenger - Allah has cursed them in this
world and in the hereafter, and has prepared for them an abasing punishment
(Ch.33:V.59)."
There is no worldly punishment prescribed in this verse.
According to the Holy Quran all the messengers were mocked and ridiculed by
their opponents. Similarly, the Prophet Muhammad, was also blasphemed
throughout his life. Despite all the ill-treatment and disrespect shown to him
and the Quran, God instructed him not to retaliate, God says: "We will, surely,
suffice thee against those who mock (Ch.15:V.96)."
There is not a minor punishment prescribed in the Holy Quran for blasphemy, let
alone the death penalty, not even a permanent social boycott is permitted
against the blasphemers.
The Holy Quran gives clear guidance on how Muslims should behave when they are
faced with those committing blasphemy. Instead of punishing the blasphemers,
believers are advised to leave the company of such people until they change the
topic of their conversation. God says:
"When you hear the Signs of Allah being denied and mocked at, sit not with them
until they engage in a talk other than that; for in that case you would be like
them (Ch.4:V.141)."
How beautifully God has summarised this entire subject; after this clear
guidance how can anyone justify the punishment of death for blasphemy in Islam?
For me as a Muslim, the Holy Prophet Muhammad is dearer to me than my own life;
and I am ready to sacrifice even if I have 1,000 lives for his sake. He is my
romance of life.
However, rationality requires from me to deliberate, what the true love means?
Does it mean to kill others or loose myself in fighting with others, to
substantiate my love with him, or the true love demands to follow his noble
teachings as taught by him (ignoring the misinterpretations of today's clerics)
and become the well-wisher of humanity, and follow his footsteps and character
and become blessing for humanity as he was titled by God as a "Blessing for the
entire mankind"?
(source: Laiq Ahmed Atif is president of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat
Malta----timesofmalta.com)
KENYA:
Poor Kenyans should not get death penalty for SGR vandalism - Zakayo Cheruiyot
Zakayo Cheruiyot caused excitement at Kuresoi South IEBC offices on Thursday
when thousands of residents turned up to see him get IEBC clearance.
After he was cleared, the MP praised Jubilee for the Standard Gauge Railway but
asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to respect the constitution as poor, hungry
Kenyans "deserve lenient punishment".
"It is wrong to vandalise public property but the government should [not give
the death penalty for this]," said Cheruiyot, who was a member of URP party but
will vie on a CCM ticket.
The President threatened to sign a law for vandals to be hanged, saying their
actions amount to economic sabotage.
Cheruiyot further asked Uhuru to empower unemployment Kenyan youths and give
them jobs on the SGR. He said they should replace Chinese youths.
The MP said he is more than a political party and that he was sure of a
victory.
"I am proud of the projects I have initiated and completed in my constituency,"
said the leader who was taken through Keringet town by hissupporters.
The legislator asked the government not to rig the election as the people's
wishes should be reflected after the election.
"The IEBC should be fare by announcing the correct results because Kenyans are
fed up by the current leadership and need change," he said.
Cheruiyot said he will conduct door to door campaigns and have his scorecard at
every polling station.
"Do not be deceived that Kuresoi will vote for a party. My electorate are wise
and will elect a leader based on performance," he said.
The MP will face off with Joseph Tonui of Jubilee, Kanu's Bruce Chitalu, ODM's
Kenneth Rotich and Nicholas Rono of NVP.
(source: The Star)
ZAMBIA:
Hanged bodies of 8 UDF members are exhumed----There were 140 political
prisoners hanged between 1960 and 1989 and buried as paupers in cemeteries
around Tshwane.
It was an emotional day for families of eight United Democratic Front (UDF)
members who were hanged for politically motivated offences between 1986 and
1989 and buried in unmarked graves, when their remains were exhumed yesterday
at the Mamelodi Cemetery, in Mamelodi West, Pretoria.
The Missing Persons Task Team (MPTT) in the National Prosecuting Authority
conducted the exhumation.
Madeleine Fullard, head of the MPTT, said the exhumations form part of the
gallows exhumation project, launched by Justice Minister Michael Masutha in
2016, and aimed at recovering the remains of political prisoners who were
hanged prior to the suspension of the death penalty in 1990.
Fullard said there were 140 political prisoners that were hanged between 1960
and 1989 and buried as paupers in cemeteries around Tshwane.
"As the missing persons task team, our mandate coming from the work of the
Trust and Reconciliation Commission is to try and trace the whereabouts of the
people who are missing as a result of the political conflict of the past.
"There are another 10 UDF members that we will still recover, also in the
Mamelodi Cemetery, as well as more Pan Africanist Congress members," Fullard
said.
She said they used surveyors to locate the graves and have been very successful
so far.
According to Fullard, the task team will start forensic examinations on the
exhumed remains today and it will take at least 6 weeks for the remains to be
handed to the families.
The exhumed remains are those of:
Michael Lucas, 21, from Outdtshoorn, hanged on March 25, 1988;
Benjamin Mlondolozi Gxothiwe, 27, hanged on March 25, 1988;
Tsepo Letsoara, 25, hanged on March 18, 1988;
Sipho Mahala, 21, hanged on March 29, 1988;
Siphiwe Lande, 22, hanged on April 14, 1988;
Ndumiso Silo Siphenuka, 25, hanged on April 20, 1989;
Makhezwene Menze, 44, hanged on April 20, 1989; and
Welile Raymond Gwebushe, 29, hanged on August 19, 1987.
(source: The Citizen)
THAILAND:
Thailand has not scrapped death penalty: Dr Wissanu
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngarm clarified on Thursday that Thailand
has not scrapped death penalty, but, in actual practice, the punishment has not
been enforced for the past 10 years and replaced by life imprisonment.
Mr Wissanu made the clarification in reference to a recent verdict of the
Criminal Court handing down death sentence on 2 defendants for stabbing to
death a student in order to steal the victim's iPhone smart phone.
The deputy prime minister said that death penalty still exists in the Thai law
but, in practice, it has not been enforced for the past decade. He added that
the executioners have been redundant for 7-8 years.
, He explained that there are 2 schools of thought about capital punishment.
One school of thought is that the capital punishment will discourage people
from committing serious crimes while the other believes that it goes against
the humanitarian principle.
(source: thaivisa.com)
EGYPT:
Egyptian Court Sentences Man to Death for Child's Rape
An Egyptian court sentenced a man to death on Thursday for raping a
20-month-old girl, in a case that sparked widespread public outrage, judicial
sources told Reuters.
The victim's mother accused a 35-year-old man of kidnapping and raping her
daughter, causing heavy bleeding. The authorities arrested the defendant in
March.
A criminal court in the Nile Delta province of Dakahlia recommended the death
penalty in April and referred the case to the top religious authority, the
Grand Mufti, for a non-binding but legally required opinion.
The defendant may appeal the verdict to the Court of Cassation, the country's
top court, which may uphold it or order a retrial.
"I hope the verdict is upheld so that society is assured that deterrence
exists," the victim's lawyer, Tarek al-Awady, told Reuters.
(source: Reuters)
KUWAIT:
Rare executions set for Kuwait
A gang of 7 men are facing execution in Kuwait after abducting and raping a
13-year-old disabled boy.
The assault that happened in September last year was filmed by the gang who
then threatened the victim that they would put the video online if he told
anyone.
According to The Sun, the gang were initially sentenced to 10 years in prison,
however an appeal court overturned that ruling leaving the fate of the seven
men in the hands of the supreme court.
That sentence could now be upgraded to death by hanging.
6 of convicts have been identified as 4 Kuwaitis, a Yemeni, an Iraqi and 1
other convict has no known nationality.
Executions in Kuwait are rare and only 80 men and woman have received the death
penalty in the past 50 years.
(source: newshub.co.nz)
SAUDI ARABIA:
Saudis Signal Expanded Executions Policy After Donald Trump's Visit----The
president's 1st trip abroad also appears to have sparked crackdowns in Bahrain
and Egypt.
President Donald Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia this month encouraged the kingdom
to expand its controversial use of the death penalty, including toward peaceful
protesters, a top human rights advocacy group says.
The state has executed 39 people so far this year, according to Reprieve, a
London-based nonprofit, which exclusively shared its latest statistics on Saudi
executions with HuffPost this week. At the current rate, the kingdom is on
track to have executed 2,020 people between the coronation of a new king,
Salman, in 2015 and 2030, the target date for a loudly promoted reform plan
that promises a more progressive Saudi Arabia but is viewed with skepticism by
human rights advocates.
Reprieve noted that a contentious terrorism court upheld on Thursday the death
sentence of a 23-year-old man with disabilities for protesting in 2012. It's
the 1st time the Saudis have taken such a step since they included detained
dissidents in a mass execution last year, sparking global outrage.
Maya Foa, Reprieve's director, blamed Trump for the Saudis' apparent new sense
of impunity.
"International condemnation of the mass killing is thought to have been a key
factor in the kingdom's decision to halt the executions of protesters," Foa
told HuffPost in an emailed statement on Wednesday. "But it appears that
president Trump's recent visit, and his explicit approval of the Saudi regime
despite gross human rights abuses, may have emboldened Saudi authorities, who
are now signalling their intention to resume protest-related executions."
The jailed protester, Munir Adam, is being punished on the basis of a forced
confession he made under torture in a Saudi prison, according to Reprieve. He
has one more opportunity to appeal before the king signs his death warrant and
he is placed on death row.
Trump speaks of the Saudi leg of his 1st foreign trip as its highlight, and he
celebrated the U.S. relationship with the kingdom by delivering a speech
parroting Saudi rulers' worldview and offering them a huge, potentially illegal
arms deal. He and his team seem at best blind to the way the authoritarian
Saudi regime rules: After Trump returned from the kingdom, Commerce Secretary
Wilbur Ross told CNBC he was impressed with the lack of protesters on the
streets. When an anchor said that might simply reflect the way the Saudis
punish dissent, Ross said, "In theory, that could be true."
The Trump administration has said it wants to raise human rights concerns only
in private.
But critics believe foreign governments will understand that preference to mean
that that the U.S. does not care if other countries respect rights, universal
standards or the rule of law.
2 governments aligned with Saudi Arabia have also taken repressive steps since
Trump, a long-time fan of authoritarian tactics and leaders, indicated to their
leaders at the Saudi summit that he was willing to embrace them and not "tell
other people how to live."
3 days after Trump's May 21 photo op with the king of Bahrain, Bahraini
security forces raided the home of an activist cleric, killing at least 1
person and arresting hundreds involved in a sit-in demonstration. Officials
said the action was necessary because the protesters were harboring fugitives
aligned with Iran and refusing to disperse peacefully, but rights watchdogs
were not convinced. "Yet again the architects of bloody destabilizing violence
in Bahrain appear to be the [U.S.-friendly] Al Khalifa government, and the
timing of this operation - 2 days after King Hamad's convivial meeting with
President Trump - can hardly be a coincidence," Human Rights Watch said.
On Wednesday, a Bahraini court prompted further concern when it dissolved a
major political opposition group known as Waad or the National Democratic
Action Society. "Bahrain is now heading towards total suppression of human
rights," said Lynn Maalouf, an Amnesty International official, in a statement.
"The suspension of Waad is a flagrant attack on freedom of expression and
association, and further proof that the authorities have no intention of
delivering on promises of human rights progress."
Authorities shut down the chief opposition party, Al Wefaq, last summer.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi has also been busy since the Saudi
conference. He authorized new media controls and the arrests of political
opponents last week, and on May 29 ratified a brutal new law allowing for far
greater government interference in civil society.
Foreign criticism, particularly from top members of Congress like Sen. John
McCain (R-Ariz.), appeared to have prevented the ratification for months. But
Sisi clearly now feels that the time is right to crack down on dissidents.
"Grave damage will be done to U.S. strategic interests in the region if Mr.
Sisi is allowed to pocket billions in American aid even as he consolidates what
amounts to a totalitarian state," The Washington Post warned in a May 30
editorial. McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) blasted the ratification in
a statement Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian ruler's strongman tactics continue to brutalize
Americans: At least 9 U.S. citizens are in Sisi's crowded jails. One turned 18
years old there last week.
And Saudi executions and other abuses, including the targeting of religious
minorities, continue unabated. Reprieve said the kingdom is using capital
punishment on people arrested over non-violent alleged crimes, despite
international prohibitions on that policy. Many of those put to death this
year, it noted, appear to be Pakistani nationals - which means they may be
victims of human trafficking.
Trump's State Department was flummoxed this week when a reporter asked a top
official why he would condemn the lack of democracy in Iran but not in Saudi
Arabia. A viral clip shows Stuart Jones, the acting head of the agency's Middle
East bureau, pausing for 20 seconds before condemning Iran further.
The Saudi Embassy did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
(source: Huffington Post)
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