Shehzad and Shama beaten and burnt alive for alleged blasphemy

(image Dawn media)

Once again this week we have seen an horrific case of mob rule in Pakistan, the beating and burning alive of a young Christian couple Shehzad and his pregnant wife Shama Masih for alleged “blasphemy”. The incident took place at Kot Radha Kishan around 60km southwest of Lahore and has shocked any decent minded Muslim who can only condemn such extreme violence.

What is blasphemy?

A definition of “blasphemy” in the Oxford Dictionaries states, “the action or offence of speaking sacrilegiously about God (Allah) or sacred things; profane talk:” 

Shama Masie was said to be illiterate according to Pakistani media. She had taken up the task of disposing of some possessions that had belonged to her deceased father and a local vendor claimed to have found desecrated pages of the Quran at the site of the brick kiln where the couple worked. In a frenzy of hatred, around 600 villages are believed to have descended on a dwelling where the couple were taking refuge. A First Investigation Report (FIR) reveals the extent of the savagery and was quoted in DAWN media which states,

“some villagers tore apart the roof of the room and forcibly took the couple out.

They thrashed the couple before dragging them to the kiln where 18 accused, including the kiln owner Mohammad Yousaf Gujar and his accountants Shakeel and Afzal, allegedly removed a lid from one of the openings of the furnace and threw the couple into it.

Both Shama and Shahzad were reduced to ashes in no time”

Police called to the scene had been unable to save them and had themselves come under attack. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has announced 5 million rupees compensation for the family and 10 acres of land but no amount of money can replace the loss of a mother and father to the three orphaned children left behind. Imran Khan, chairman of political party, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) said, “I condemn in strongest terms the burning alive of Christian couple in Bhatta in Kot Radha Kishan. Oppression & killings of minorities must end.”

Blasphemy Cases

Human Rights activists, fearful themselves of a backlash, have called for blasphemy laws to be revised. In a country where 97 per cent of the population is Muslim, they claim laws are often used to target minorities and to settle disputes and personal vendettas.

One case in question is that of Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of five, whose death sentence was recently upheld by a Lahore Court after spending 4 years in prison. She was alleged to have insulted the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) when an arguement broke out with Muslim neighbours over wanting to drink the same water as the group. Asia was it appears considered too “unclean” to share the water due to her religion. Had these so called Muslims who quibbled over giving water to their fellow worker forgotten that the Prophet PBUH had narrated to his companions the virtue of saving the life of a dog by giving it water and quenching its thirst!

Samira Shackle writing in the Guardian argues that blasphemy laws are open to massive abuse and states,

“blasphemy carries a maximum penalty of death, yet the law sets out no standards for evidence, no requirement to prove intent, no punishment for false allegations and, indeed, no guidance on what actually constitutes blasphemy.

The accuser can refuse to repeat the offending statement in court, and judges can choose not to hear evidence in case it perpetuates the blasphemy and offends religious sensibilities. This means that in some cases, the accused can go through a whole trial without knowing what they are supposed to have done or said”

Human rights lawyers at Reprieve (UK) recently highlighted the disturbing case of Mohammed Asghar, a 70-year-old British citizen and grandfather said to be suffering from paranoid schizophrenia who was given a death sentence for blasphemy in Pakistan in 2010. They had fought for him not to be deported to Pakistan due to concerns over his safety and point out that, “over 51 people accused of blasphemy have been murdered before the conclusion of their trial in the country.”

The concerns proved correct as Mr Asghar is now in hospital after being targeted by a prison guard and shot in the back while on death row in Adiala, a maximum-security jail in Rawalpindi. As a qualified psychiatric nurse, I question how could someone with severe mental health problems be considered fit to stand trial for blasphemy?

There is a history of target killings against alleged blasphemers in Pakistan. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assassination of minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian who had challenged a law that prescribes the death penalty for insulting Islam. Prior to this, the governor of Pakistan’s Punjab province, Salman Taseer died after being shot by one of his bodyguards in the capital, Islamabad. He had also questioned blasphemy law. Now yet another case has emerged on Wednesday, a Pakistani policeman, Faraz Naveed was arrested after allegedly killing Tufail Navqui with an axe because he suspected this man of being a blasphemer.

Who are the worst blasphemers?

With regard to assassinations and mobs that target alleged blasphemers there are a number of points to consider. The first is that there are some individuals and institutions acting on behalf of Pakistan that are failing to lead by example and uphold current laws. The country has become notorious for “enforced disappearances” torture in custody and extrajudicial killings. This makes it difficult to persuade ordinary citizens not to take the law into their own hands as seen in the lynching of the Masihs.

Second, there must also be trust in a fair judicial system. It seems that there is little support for the man -made laws in Pakistan. Many people are currently violating these laws… perhaps it is because “to err is human” and man- made laws reflecting this are inherently flawed. Laws can appear in practice as “selective justice” and not to protect all equally within society. Is it time then to consider alternatives such as Shariah (Islamic law) as there is such a resistance to upholding the laws of man?

The third point to ponder is whether those that incite violence and attack and kill blasphemers are themselves committing blasphemy (which could be dozens of villagers in the Shehzad and Shama case). These individuals coming together in hatred are placing themselves ABOVE Allah as judge, jury and executioner? Is such behaviour the way to bring people to Islam…a religion that teaches tolerance for others…more than likely it will cause those considering reverting to run a mile!

There is a terrible hypocrisy here… Do the target killers and mindless mobsters consider themselves greater than Allah through their words and deeds? Isn’t that in itself blasphemous? Have they forgotten how to SUBMIT? Are they failing to show RESPECT and REVERENCE to Allah and dissenting from the teachings of Islam. Perhaps these people are the ones who should be put on trial for blasphemy (through lawful means of course) and if proven guilty, they could turn out to be the worst blasphemers of all?

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad . She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.