Pakistan mob burns man to death for 'blasphemy'

[Bhai Zakir]

Pakistan mob burns man to death for 'blasphemy'

By Shahzeb Jillani BBC World Service South Asia Editor



A Pakistani mob has taken a man accused of blasphemy from a police station and burnt him to death, police say.

The man was being held for allegedly burning a copy of the Koran in public. The incident took place on the outskirts of Bahawalpur, in Punjab province.

Witnesses said hundreds of people looked on as he screamed for help.

Pakistan's controversial blasphemy law imposes the death penalty for insulting Islam, but it is rarely carried out.

The area where the lynching took place is home to hundreds of madrassas - religious schools - run by radical Islamist or sectarian groups.

Police said they detained the man after locals complained that he had desecrated the Koran.

But before the allegation could be investigated, thousands of angry people surrounded the police station, police said.

"They were demanding that we kill him in front of them, or they'll take him away and kill him themselves," police inspector Ghulam Mohiuddin told the BBC.

'Hysterical'

After officers unsuccessfully tried to calm the crowd, it attacked the station, as police tried to disperse it with tear gas. Several policemen were wounded in the violence.

The mob put up roadblocks to prevent police reinforcements from reaching the area, officers said.

"We were totally outnumbered. There were too many of them and they were hysterical. Eventually, they succeeded in taking him away," said one.

The man was reportedly beaten and dragged to the spot where he is said to have desecrated the Koran.

The mob then poured petrol on him and set him on fire, according to witnesses.

Police say they are trying to identify the victim, who was said to be mentally unstable.

"The man had no idea what was going on," said an official.

"While he was in our custody, he kept laughing and chanting."

A case has been registered against unknown attackers. No arrests have been made yet.

BBC News - Pakistan mob burns man to death for 'blasphemy'

 

[Ahmad]

who knows the same mob will not have any problem burning other people's holy books and sacred places of worship. double standards.

 

[p(-)0ENiX]

Such gruesome incidents are just shameful. I commented on another thread similar to this one, the people had no right whatsoever to take the law in to their own hands. Only the courts may punish an individual for his or her crimes. Those who burned the accused must face the death penalty. I am not aware of the kind of punishment a mentally unstable individual is supposed to receive under the Islamic law. Although, I do know that a mentally unstable individual is supposed to be monitored & cared for at all times according to Islamic traditions. Getting back to the burning of the Quran, I might be mistaken, but there is no punishment in the Islamic law for such an act. Even if there was, it wouldn't be death, capital punishment is reserved for specific crimes. While all acts of pointlessly burning or desecrating the Quran must be condemned, it should be made clear to people that many Muslim countries do burn old or excess copies of the Quran to dispose of them. So the motive of the individual burning the Quran must be taken in to account.

 

[Yeti]

Thats just sickening how the hell they got the poor guy out the jail if the police were there with guns? were they just standing on looking? law and order seems to have gone out the window here.

 

[Fekay]

Thats just sickening how the hell they got the poor guy out the jail if the police were there with guns? were they just standing on looking? law and order seems to have gone out the window here.

Maybe the police don't get paid enough to become sacrificial lamb for a criminal chased by infuriated mob. They have families who rely on them.

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

Bloody ,************** scumbags! the whole damn mod should be execute.

 

[Karachiite]

These religious scumbags are Ray Charles to tolerance and reality.

 

[sur]

These religious scumbags are Ray Charles to tolerance and reality.

It's NOT the religion that teaches them to do such,,, Blame the driver NOT the car, if driver is driving car WRONG.

I bet these mobsters would go & do all sorts of "sinful" things that religion stops them from,,, So are they "religious"!!! NO.

Just like by changing their name to "Taliban",,, R.A.W patsies do NOT actually become Taliban. Similarly just coz someone claims to do sth in the name of religion does NOT mean that religion asked them to do so. It just means that they are misusing the religion, knowingly or unknowingly.

My Prophet was the one on whom a lady used to throw garbage regularly, & he smiled,,, & one day when she didn't, he got worried & went to see her. Found her ill, gave her water & took care of her. The Prophet who was stoned to point that his shoes filed with his blood & he prayed to God to guide them instead of asking retribution for them... The Prophet who asked NOT to cut even a fruit bearing tree even during a war...

There are ppl who call themselves "muslim", & claim to be staunch followers, but go to graves & pray to dead,,, Islam does NOT teach them that. We cannot blame islam just coz such ppl claim to be muslims... Islam is NOT defined by what I do, rather by Quran & Sunnah of Prophet.

These are same kind of ppl who once build a mosque, but when Prophet came to know what they were actually doing, he demolished that mosque to stop activities of those who were claiming to be acting in the name of Islam.

 

[Arian]

The Pakistani government should find them out and execute them one by one that they understand the country has its own judiciary system and it's not Jungle neither 1400 years ago that they do whatever they want. Just find them and kill them, that will be a good lesson for them.

 

[Leader]

sickening...

 

[Agni5000]

It's NOT the religion that teaches them to do such,,, Blame the driver NOT the car, if driver is driving car WRONG.

I bet these mobsters would go & do all sorts of "sinful" things that religion stops them from,,, So are they "religious"!!! NO.

Just like by changing their name to "Taliban",,, R.A.W patsies do NOT actually become Taliban. Similarly just coz someone claims to do sth in the name of religion does NOT mean that religion asked them to do so. It just means that they are misusing the religion, knowingly or unknowingly.

My Prophet was the one on whom a lady used to throw garbage regularly, & he smiled,,, & one day when she didn't, he got worried & went to see her. Found her ill, gave her water & took care of her. The Prophet who was stoned to point that his shoes filed with his blood & he prayed to God to guide them instead of asking retribution for them... The Prophet who asked NOT to cut even a fruit bearing tree even during a war...

There are ppl who call themselves "muslim", & claim to be staunch followers, but go to graves & pray to dead,,, Islam does NOT teach them that. We cannot blame islam just coz such ppl claim to be muslims... Islam is NOT defined what I do, rather by Quran & Sunnah of Prophet.

These are same kind of ppl who once build a mosque, but when Prophet came to know what they were actually doing, he demolished that mosque to stop activities of those who were claiming to be acting in the name of Islam.

Same bs whenover there is violance due to religion.

 

[Elmo]

Do read this in its entirety to know that lynchings aren't only a Pakistani phenomenon.

Intolerance, Religious Lynchings and the Future of Indonesia?????????????????????? :: JapanFocus

A lot about Indonesia also applies on Pakistan-

“We are hiding behind slogans like ‘A Tolerant Islamic State’, but if you go below the skin, we are not tolerant at all. To make things worse, Europeans and Americans are not critical of us. Why: because of our strategic and geopolitical position. For the West, Indonesia can serve as a buffer zone against the rise of China and India. We had proven, especially during the Suharto dictatorship, that we are prepared to ‘talk’ and ‘negotiate’ with the West. Furthermore, Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. So to portray Indonesia as a moderate Islamic nation is useful in challenging existing beliefs in the West about the inevitability of the ‘clash of civilizations’. This is all totally wrong and very much against the interest of Indonesian people. We are Asians – with very different ways of thinking and solving problems. By accepting definitions of ourselves from abroad we are selling our souls to the devil.”

It is true that the mainstream press and academia used plenty of self-restraint for decades with respect to Indonesian religious excesses connected to the genocides in East Timor and Papua, as well as the mass slaughter that accompanied Suharto’s US-sponsored coup of 1965/66 in which between 500.000 and 3 million people died (there has been no official investigation to provide authoritative figures to this day). Seven years ago I discussed the issue with the former President of Indonesia – Abdurrahman Wahid (popularly known as Gus Dur). At that time he was still the head of NU (Nahdlatul Ulama – the largest Muslim organization in the world) and he apologized on camera to the victims of 1965/66 because, as he said “I do not want Islam to go down in history as a bigoted religion.” (Documentary film: “Terlena – Breaking of a Nation”, 2004).



What he was referring to was participation of the religious cadres (mainly but not only NU) in mass murder of 1965/66. During that time, Indonesian Islam became an ally of Western interests in the region – destruction of Communism and all progressive parties, movements and individuals - therefore becoming untouchable. It was also promoted as ‘peaceful’ and ‘tolerant’. The next stage of cooperation came with Afghanistan – when numerous jihadi cadres from Indonesia were in the forefront of the fight against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

The mainstream media in the West had chosen to largely overlook major milestones and indicators that were warnings of increasing intolerance inside Indonesian society under pressure from the main religion of the land.


.............. (skipped bit)

The grim reality, however, is that Indonesia is losing the right to call itself a tolerant nation that promotes or protects diversity. Instead, due to failed policies, its government has allowed a real militant threat to grow within its borders.” A description of the events follows:

“Hard-line extremists are literally getting away with murder, as their vile attacks result in no punishment. At the root of the problem is Indonesia 's misused 1965 Blasphemy Law, which makes it unlawful ‘to, intentionally, in public, communicate, counsel, or solicit public support for an interpretation of a religion or a form of religious activity that is similar to the interpretations or activities of an Indonesian religion but deviates from the tenets of that religion.’"

..... skipped part

Relying on God was not what the founding father of Indonesia – Sukarno – had in mind as the way forward for the nation. A religious man himself, he strongly believed in socialism and ‘nation and character building’; he believed in secularism and in secular justice. It may be time to revisit old slogans from the independence era; ideas and pillars on which Indonesia was supposed to stand before the brutal interruption of its natural development in 1965. It is highly unlikely that the Indonesian archipelago will succeed in achieving peace, prosperity and justice under the leadership of those who served faithfully during the years of darkness and terror.

Ends



Just substitute Indonesia for Pakistan and it will be completely identical for us, and our transitions in to this quagmire.

 

[KingMamba]

Same bs whenover there is violance due to religion.

I like how you have nothing useful to contribute to the thread dumb troll.

On topic, authorities should round up as many as these people as they can and hang them to make an example out of them.

 

[Xestan]

When we have a Blasphemy law, the strictest in the world, why do these illiterate take law into their hands? And if the matter was taken to court, this man was not liable to death under Sharia'ah as he was not in his senses, stupid people and jaahil Mullahs, i hope Police gets them and they are given severe punishment.

 

[Yeti]

Maybe the police don't get paid enough to become sacrificial lamb for a criminal chased by infuriated mob. They have families who rely on them.

They have a heart dont they? and money is not everything just take the example of that other Pakistani policeman who handed in cash he found and compare them to these chaps who did nothing but watch a man who is not quite there in the mind being burnt alive.