Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes Are Choking Freedom Worldwide

by Paul Marshall

  Ahmadis

  The Ahmadi community, also called Ahmadiyya, was founded by Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908) in the Punjabi village of Qadian, now in India, in 1889. It has followers in some 166 countries, who usually identify themselves as a movement for spiritual renewal within Islam that emphasizes the wisdom and philosophy that underlie its teachings.33 Ahmadis typically support tolerance and universal human rights and consistently denounce militant Islam.34 One of the best-known Pakistani Ahmadis, Abdus Salam (1926–96), received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979.

  However, most Muslims do not accept Ghulam Ahmad’s teachings and maintain that he claimed to be a prophet even though Islam teaches that there can be no prophet after Muhammad. Hence, although Ahmadis consider themselves Muslims, their differences have been deemed by many Muslims sufficient to place them outside Islam. Ahmadis in Pakistan and elsewhere face religious and political attacks and are often declared apostate.35 They are targeted by government policies, which reinforce discrimination and attacks against them, and by blasphemy laws, the Hudad Ordinances, and even specific anti-Ahmadi laws and constitutional provisions.

  In 1974, Section 260(3) of the 1973 constitution was amended to declare that a Muslim believes “in the absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him), the last of the prophets, and does not believe in, or recognize as a prophet or religious reformer, any person who claims to be a prophet, in any sense of the word or of any description whatsoever, after Muhammad (peace be upon him).” This is understood to declare that Ahmadis are not Muslims.36

  Some blasphemy laws specifically target Ahmadis, described as Quadianis.37

  According to Section 298-B:

  (1) Any person of the Quadiani group or the Lahori group (who call themselves Ahmadis or by any other name) who by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation:

  (a) refers to, or addresses, any person, other than a Caliph or companion of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), as Ameer-ul-Mummineen, Khalif-tul-Mumineen, Khalifa-tul-Muslimeen, Sahaabi or Razi Allah Anho;

  (b) refers to, or addresses, any person, other than a wife of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), as Ummul-Mumineen;

  (c) refers to, or addresses, any person, other than a member of the family (Ahle-bait) of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), as Ahle-bait; or

  (d) refers to, or names, or calls, his place of worship as Masjid; shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine.

  (2) Any person of the Quadiani group or Lahori group (who call themselves Ahmadis or by any other name) who by words, either spoken and written, or by visible representation, refers to the mode or form of call to prayers followed by his faith as Azan, as used by the Muslims, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine.

  Section 298-C states:

  Any person of the Quadiani group or Lahori group (who call themselves Ahmadis or by any other name), who, directly or indirectly, poses himself as a Muslim, or calls or refers to, his faith as Islam, or preaches or propagates his faith, or invites others to accept his faith, by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representations in any manner whatsoever outrages the religious feelings of Muslims, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.

  Together, these laws prohibit Ahmadis from calling themselves Muslims, from naming their children Muhammad, from nearly any public expression of their faith, and from anything else that could be construed as insulting the “religious feelings” of Muslims.38 A constitutional challenge to these laws was dismissed by the Pakistani Supreme Court in 1993 on the grounds that the Pakistani state was entitled to “protect” Islamic terms from use by non-Muslims and was necessary for law and order, given that “Ahmadi religious practice, however peaceful, angered and offended the Sunni majority in Pakistan.”39

  As American-Ahmadi leader Mujeeb Ijaz reported, an Ahmadi in Pakistan can even fear being arrested for “saying assalam-o-lekum to another Muslim.”40 There is even a requirement for Pakistani Muslims seeking passports to denounce Ahmadi beliefs by declaring in writing:

  I do not recognize any person who claims to be prophet in any sense of the word or of any description whatsoever after Mohammad (peace be upon him) or recognize such a claimant as prophet or a religious reformer as a Muslim.

  And, more directly:

  I consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Quadiani to be an imposter nabi and also consider his followers whether belonging to the Lahori or Quadiani group, to be NON-MUSLIM.41

  Ahmadis have faced decades of severe persecution in Pakistan, with their mosques burned and cemeteries desecrated. They are also prohibited from making the pilgrimage to Mecca or burying their dead in Muslim graveyards. Their literature is often confiscated, their attackers are rarely prosecuted or punished, and police complicity in attacks is ignored.42

  Ahmadis are also disproportionately subject to blasphemy and related charges, such as “hurting the religious feelings” of Muslims. The U.S. State Department reported in 2002 that, since 1999, 316 religiously motivated criminal cases, including blasphemy, had been brought against Ahmadis, some for “crimes” such as wearing an Islamic slogan on a shirt.43 For example, in July 2002, Zulfiqar Goraya was arrested and charged for “posing as a Muslim,” based on greeting cards he had sent out that included a Qur’anic verse and Islamic salutations.44 In October 2006, police charged Mohammed Tariq with blasphemy because he had allegedly removed anti-Ahmadi stickers placed inside a bus.45 An Ahmadi-related website estimates that, between April 1984 and December 2008, 756 Ahmadis were charged with illegally displaying the kalima, a traditional Islamic testament of faith, 37 with offering a call to prayer, 44 with posing as Muslims, 161 with using Islamic words and epithets, and 679 for preaching. The same estimate reports over 900 other charges of violating section 298-B and -C, 258 cases under 295-C, and more than 24 for distributing pamphlets criticizing the laws against them.46 The following are five out of hundreds of such incidents.

  Attar Ullah Warraich, from the Bahawalnagar district, in Punjab province, was charged with violating section 298-B on September 8, 1999. The accusation, by members of the radical Khatam-e Nabuwwat organization, alleged that he had built a minaret and a niche in a mosque adjacent to his house, possessed a copy of the Qur’an, and taught Ahmadiyyat. He responded that he had not had the mosque built, that it had been there decades, that he did not own the land on which it stood, and that he was not its caretaker. The judge concluded that a Qur’an had been found in the mosque, as had Ahmadi literature, and that Warraich had built the mosque in its current form. The judge then inexplicably added that the mosque may have been built before the passing of section 298-C made it a criminal offense, but that Warraich “should have changed the shape of the mosque after the said amendment.” Since he was a first-time offender and an illiterate farmer, the judge claimed to exercise leniency and on January 31, 2000, sentenced Warraich to rigorous imprisonment for two years with a fine of Rs. 2,000.47

  On July 31, 2000, Ghulam Mustafa, Hamid, Maqsud Ahmad, and Mian Fazil were charged under sections 298-C and 295-A for “injuring the feelings of Muslims” in Bharokay Kalan, Sialkot district. They had allegedly dared to watch an Ahmadiyya television program in a garage that had its door open because of the mid-summer heat. However, Ghulam Mustafa, who was head of the Daryapur Ahmadiyya community, had never even been to Bharokay. Subsequently fifty local men gave written testimony that the allegations against the trio were false. Still, two of the men were kept in detention for at least a year.48

  On September 7, 2008, the anchorman for the religious television program Alam Online, Dr. Amir Liaquat Hussain, urged Muslims not to be afraid to kill Ahmadis, and two other Islamic scholars on the program supported him. Within twenty-four ho
urs, six vigilantes found their way into the Fazle Umer Clinic in Mirpur Khas city and killed forty-five-year-old Dr. Abdul Manan Siddiqui, who was shot eleven times. The killers waited at the hospital until the doctor was pronounced dead and then fearlessly walked out the front door. Meanwhile the police registered the killers as unknown. A second killing occurred forty-eight hours after Hussain’s statement was broadcast. Yousaf, a seventy-five-year-old rice trader and local Ahmadi leader, was shot as he went to pray in Nawab Shah. He was hit three times and died on his way to the hospital. No arrests were made.49

  In March 2009, in Sillanwali Tehsil, Punjab province, fifteen Ahmadi men were arrested when a local radical religious leader complained that the building they were using for worship resembled a mosque, in violation of Section 298-C, which forbids Ahmadis to pose as, or call themselves, Muslims “or in any manner whatsoever to outrage the religious feelings of Muslims.” Although Ahmadis had been using the facility for decades without a word of official complaint, the police complied with the radical leader’s demands. Three of the fifteen were detained and denied bail.50

  In one of the most horrific attacks in recent years, on May 28, 2010, gunmen attacked two Ahmadi mosques or worship centers (in Pakistan it is illegal to call them masjid, mosques) during Friday prayers in Lahore, firing shots and setting off grenades. The attacks took place within minutes of each other at locations several miles apart, and ninety-three people were killed. It took the police several hours to regain control, and, when they entered the mosque, several of the attackers blew themselves up with suicide vests packed with explosives. It was reported that the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. While Ahmadis suffer frequent violent attacks, this is the first coordinated one bearing the mark of careful planning by militants.51 A week later, the former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, shocked much of the country by referring to Ahmadis as his “brothers and sisters.”52

  Christians

  Christians, some 2 percent of the population, are mainly descendants of converts from Hinduism and suffer widespread abuse and harassment because of their religious beliefs and usually very low socioeconomic status. This leaves them particularly vulnerable to blasphemy accusations.53 Following are a few examples out of many hundreds.54

  After a disagreement with a Muslim neighbor in 1996, Ayub Masih, a Christian, was accused of speaking favorably of Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses. On November 6, 1997, one of Ayub’s accusers, Mohammad Akram, shot the defendant outside the court, wounding him. Although there were firsthand accounts of the crime, the police refused to investigate Akram. Many of the Muslim defense lawyers and judges in the case also received death threats. On April 27, 1998, a court in the Punjab town of Sahiwal sentenced Ayub to death for alleged blasphemy, relying only on the complainants’ statement. A lower appeals courts upheld the sentence, as did the High Court. During his six years in prison, there were at least two attempts on his life.55 Eventually, his lawyer was able to prove that Akram had used the conviction to force Ayub’s family off their land and to acquire control of it himself.56 On August 16, 2002, Ayub was acquitted by the Supreme Court, who ordered his immediate release from the high-security cell in the Multan New Central Jail. Faced with ongoing death threats, Ayub quietly left Pakistan in early September 2002. Not only had he lost nearly six years in prison, but also he had forfeited his home simply because a contentious neighbor wanted his land.

  Ayub’s death sentence may also have provoked the death, perhaps by suicide, of prominent Catholic bishop John Joseph of Faisalabad. On May 6, 1998, Bishop Joseph was shot in the same courtroom and at the same spot where Ayub had been shot; he died on the steps of the courthouse. Many Pakistani Christians interpreted his death as a protest against the blasphemy law, and thousands marched at his funeral to protest his death and to oppose the laws. Hundreds were arrested, and two Christians were jailed on blasphemy charges because of remarks they allegedly made. One, Ranjha Masih, was sentenced on April 26, 2003, to life imprisonment and a 50,000-rupee fine on the charge of desecrating a sign on which was printed a declaration of Islamic faith: Ranjha had allegedly thrown a stone that hit the sign. Ranjha worked for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and the accusation against him came from a political opponent.57

  In an especially peculiar accusation, Aslam Masih (Masih is a common Christian surname in Pakistan referring, in Arabic, to the Messiah) of Faisalabad, an illiterate Christian man in his mid-fifties, was arrested in November 1998 on charges that he had hung verses from the Qur’an in a charm around a dog’s neck.58 Court testimony indicates that some local Muslims resented seeing a Christian as a successful farmer and so refused to pay him for animals he had sold them. Subsequently, they stole all of his animals and filed a blasphemy case. Some locals then beat him up and handed him over to the police, where he faced further abuse. When his case was finally heard three and a half years later, a mob often gathered outside the courtroom while the prosecution produced only hearsay evidence against him. Nevertheless, he was found guilty in May 2002 and given two life sentences.59 He was often placed in solitary confinement and regularly beaten by other prisoners so that he became traumatized and suffered memory loss. After four and a half years, during which his family was allowed to visit him only three times, the Lahore High Court finally acquitted him on June 4, 2003. The appeals hearing took only five minutes, and, in overturning the conviction, Justice Najam ur-Zaman criticized the prosecution, noting that their chief witness had retracted his statement. However, Aslam has had to remain in hiding, with continuing threats on his life and against those who have sheltered him. On one occasion, arsonists set ablaze the house in which he was hiding.60

  Yet another Christian named Masih—Younis Masih, age twenty-nine—was arrested and charged with blasphemy in September 2005 near Lahore, after locals told police he made derogatory remarks against Islam and Muhammad. He told Shahbaz Bhatti, who was then head of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, that dozens of Muslims attacked him on September 10, 2005, when he asked them not to sing loudly, because his nephew had died, and his body was still lying at home. On May 30, 2007, Younis Masih was sentenced to death. His appeals continue.61

  In early July 2009, Imran Masih, a Christian living in Faisalabad, was accused of having desecrated the Qur’an. Following a common practice, Imran had cleaned out waste paper from his shop and burned it in the street. A nearby shop owner, possibly motivated by a business rivalry, accused him of burning pages of the Qur’an and blaspheming against Islam and its Prophet. He repeated the accusation to other Muslims, by some reports through a mosque loudspeaker. Imran was subsequently attacked, beaten, and tortured by an angry mob, which also looted his shop. Police intervened to stop the beating, but then they themselves detained Imran. On January 11, he was convicted of violating Sections 295-A and -B of the penal code and received a life sentence, as well as a fine of over $1,000 for intentionally burning the Qur’an so as to “foment interfaith hatred and hurt the feelings of Muslims.”62

  Several of the most brutal attacks against Pakistani Christians in recent years began on July 30, 2009, in the village of Korian, home to around 100 Christian families. Several days after a Korian family was accused of throwing torn pieces of a Qur’an in the air at a wedding ceremony, where guests threw money in the air according to custom, mosque loudspeakers began calling for attacks against Christians. A mob of angry Muslims, armed with guns and explosives, used trucks to break through walls and gasoline to start fires. Approximately sixty houses were destroyed, two churches were ransacked, and livestock was stolen. Many families were able to escape and hide in the fields, where they watched their homes burn to the ground.63

  The blasphemy charges and attendant violence soon reached the town of Gojra, where, on August 1, a crowd of around 1,000 Muslims, believed to be connected to the Taliban-linked Sipah-e-Sahaba militant group, attacked local Christians. Over forty homes were razed, and at least seven Christians were killed, six of whom (including two chil
dren) were burned alive. The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) found, in a report released on August 4, 2009, that the police had been aware of plans for the attack in Gojra, which appears to have been premeditated, but had not acted to stop it. “The police remained silent spectators,” said Zahid Iqbal, a local councillor. According to the HRCP, calls for Muslims to “make a mincemeat of Christians” in retaliation for the alleged blasphemy had come from Gojra mosques the previous night.64

  Following the Gojra riots, Shahbaz Bhatti, then Minister of Minority Affairs, declared that “[t]he blasphemy law is being used to terrorize minorities in Pakistan.”65 Asma Jahangir, chair of HRCP, stated that Pakistan was witnessing a “pattern” of rising violence against religious minorities, while local politicians protect the violators “and keep their names out of police reports.”66 On October 1, Pope Benedict XVI met with President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan and discussed the growing trend of anti-Christian violence in Pakistan, and there was talk of amending the laws.67

  Despite these discussions, blasphemy convictions against Christians continued in 2010. On February 25, Qamar David received a twenty-five-year prison sentence for allegedly outraging Muslim religious feelings by disseminating blasphemous text messages concerning Muhammad and the Qur’an.68 In early March, a Christian couple were found guilty of desecrating the Qur’an after allegedly touching it without first washing their hands. Witnesses at the trial asserted that the couple had used the Qur’an in a black magic ritual and that they had written the Muslim profession of faith on the walls of their home. The couple, Munir Masih and Ruqqiya Bibi, were sentenced to twenty-five-year jail terms.69 On June 19, 2010, Rehmat Masih, believed to be eighty-five years old, was arrested by police in Jhumray and sent to Faisalabad District Jail. He had been accused of blasphemy by a Muslim neighbor, Muhammad Sajjid Hameed, with whom he had a land dispute.70 In November 2010, Asia Bibi, a mother of five, was sentenced to death for blasphemy in the town of Sheikhupura, near Lahore.71