The Blasphemous Law

I would begin by trying to correct a misconception about the hypothesis that the government is planning to amend the current Blasphemy Law. The bill moved by Sherry Rehman in the National Assembly (on the basis of which a Karachi Masjid Imam declared her Gustakh-e-Rasool, and Wajib-ul-Qatl) was not about amending any God-made law. Neither was Governor Salmaan Taseer’s comment about the Law (that eventually led to his murder) was offensive to the Law itself. Nor did the Prime Minister ever say anything about changing even a comma in the Law (much to the disappointment of the religious leaders who staged rallies – the number of rallies exceeding probably the maximum people who attended those – to demand the PM to take back his words on the floor of the House). The only thing Mr. Taseer and Mr. Gillani talked about was the misinterpretation leading to the misuse of the Law. Ms. Rehman, however, talked about decreasing the sentences, and elaborating the currently rather vague definition of “blasphemy”.

Let me explain it in legal terms. There is something called the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), and a totally different thing called the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). PPC declares the offense and the respective penalty; CrPC describes the legal procedure to follow to get the culprit punished. The infamous article 295-C of the PPC, for example, states “295-C.Use of derogatory remarks, etc., in respect of the Holy Prophet: 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.”

That’s all the PPC says about the insult of the Prophet. How will the case be pursued? Will the Supreme Court hear the case? Will the High Court judge listen to it? Or just a Sessions court judge would be authorized to sentence some-one for blasphemy? Will the petitioner have to go to High Courts or the Supreme Court to report blasphemy? Or the Session court judge would be eligible enough? Or the petitioner can simply go to a Police Station and file an FIR against the criminal? Who will investigate into the case? A judicial body? A Parliament’s ad-hoc committee? The police? The CID? The FIA?

The PPC is quiet on such procedural complexities. That’s where the Criminal Procedure Code comes in. So, once the different between the PPC and the CrPC is clear, under-standing that the only thing the government representatives talked about was asking the Parliament to revisit the CrPC, just to ensure that the law is not abused, shouldn’t remain a hard nut to crack anymore. The real blasphemy happens when someone charges an innocent of disrespecting the Prophet (PBUH), just for settling a personal dispute. And when on the base of this law, a doctor is charged for throwing a Muhammad Faizan’s ID card in dustbin, and when a Masjid Imam along with his son is sentenced for removing a ‘religious’ poster from their grocery shop; the law becomes blasphemous in itself.

Section 15 of the PPC is titled “OF OFFENCES RELATING TO RELIGION”. I fail to understand whom is someone committing blasphemy actually “offending”, since blasphemy is termed as an “offence” here. Does a mere derogatory re-mark about the Prophet (peace be upon him), reduces the majesty and magnificence of his (PBUH) character? I believe not. His stature is there, unharmed, no matter what you do, no matter what you say. If someone refuses to accept it, he is the most unfortunate person on earth. Calling a hen, an ostrich won’t turn it into an ostrich; you’d only end up exhibiting the height of your own illiteracy. So whom does a blasphemer in fact offend? Not the Prophet (PBUH), only those who believe in the Prophet (PBUH). So in effect, this law is actually saying: “Oye you blasphemer! Since you hurt my feelings, I will kill you!”

If hurting someone’s feelings is really a criminal offence, then why is it only about the religious feelings? Why can’t I file an FIR against someone for abusing my mother? Why can’t I petition against someone for laughing at my disabled gait? Why can’t I go to court against someone for jeering at my being a hermaphrodite? Why do I have to settle every-thing with a class-fellow who cheats from my paper and ends up getting more marks than me, myself?

Oh, we are doing that! We are doing exactly that, aren’t we? Settling all our disputes outside the court, based on the same, since-you-hurt-me-I-will-kill-you, notion. From the brutal lynching of two brothers in Sialkot to the torching of a whole Christian town in Gojra, have a look at the kind of society we have turned into. My point in mentioning these incidents here is not to state that the Blasphemy Law is responsible for all these problems Pakistan is facing. I know the law is there in many other countries across the globe as well, even in the West. The Blasphemy Law certainly is not a cause of our irrational society; it’s an effect. It is said that the Law of a nation reflects the wills of its people. Rightly so, our Law is representing the mood of our society, show-casing how extremist we can get, demonstrating how intolerant we are.

As for the history of the Law and its existence in the era of the Prophet (PBUH) himself, we have certain incidents quoted in Ahadith that form the basis of the Blasphemy Law. The Law, as it is in the PPC, is not a divine law. According to Dr Tahir Wasti, a senior lecturer at the Islamic College in London, “While the Quran prescribes punishment for theft, murder, slander and illicit intercourse, there is no mention of blasphemy … the laws relating to blasphemy as contained in the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) are man-made laws.”

Summarizing the whole discussion, I believe it’s time our lawmakers really give their table-tennis of blames a break and start focusing their attention towards the key task they are supposed to pursue: legislation. And as for the public, please… there are more important issues to delve in!

Despite of such strict laws, if our Masjid Imams are still raping their young students, if our police are still supporting extrajudicial murders, if our number of graduate street criminals is still skyrocketing, then there is something terribly wrong somewhere that we are unable to identify. Stop, and think for a moment. If we’re such a pious people, and still it isn’t working out the way it should, maybe it’s we who are wrong somewhere? And if we are, let’s admit it, and change our course before it’s too late – and that is, if it hasn’t already.

Peace. 

Ali Suleman

Editor-In-Chief | Shashca Newspaper