Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Lahore (Agenzia Fides) – Anyone who opposes the controversial law on blasphemy (art. 295b and 295c of the Pakistani Penal Code) “is considered blasphemous and an enemy of Islam”, sustain radical Islamic groups who intend to lock down the law and discourage all the voices that are raised for its revision or abolition. The Pakistani civil society registers with extreme concern this attempt that, as local sources report to Fides, “will put religious minorities in a corner, reducing those who dissent to silence.”
Current victim of this is Sherry Rehman, parliamentarian from the Pakistan People's Party who sponsored a motion in Parliament to amend the blasphemy law. A court in Multan, which intends to indict the accused, are looking for a police station to carry out this intention and register an FIR (First Information Report), the official complaint that starts the legal process.
“The situation is getting worse. The radicals would like to condemn to death anyone who opposes the blasphemy laws, and nobody seems to want to stop them,” Joseph Nadeem tells Fides, a lay Catholic and head of the “Renaissance Education Foundation, a NGO that runs schools in Lahore and promotes education for thousands of children and young Christians and other religious minorities. “We hope in for help from God and in the prayers of the Holy Father Benedict XVI, who is close to us in our suffering,” he adds.
“We are at breaking point: Defining as blasphemous those who criticise the blasphemy law is an absurdity and becomes a gun to the head for many Christians. We are angry and worried because Islamic extremism is continually rising,” notes the president of the Masihi Foundation, Haroon Barket Masih, speaking to Fides. The foundation is working to provide legal and material assistance to Asia Bibi and her family.
Fr Bonnie Mendes, currently a priest in Faisalabad, Pakistan (director of the Asian Department of Caritas Internationalis) agrees on the danger of growing intolerance, but also intends to point out some positive notes: “The interreligious dialogue that, despite social tensions, continues at all levels; the courage of some Muslims. For example, the Muslim policeman wounded at ambush on the Emmanuel Brothers in July 2010 – two Christians accused of blasphemy and killed before the court in Faisalabad – has announced that he will testify against the murderers, who are still at large.” (PA) (Agenzia Fides 18/2/2011)
