70 Yr Old UK Man faces the Death Penalty for Blasphemy in Pakistan

[bhramos]

BBC News - Blasphemy case: Briton in Pakistan sentenced to death

A court in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi has sentenced a 70-year-old British man to death after convicting him of blasphemy.
Muhammad Asghar was arrested in 2010 after writing letters to various people claiming to be a prophet, reports say.
His lawyers argued for leniency, saying he has a history of mental illness, but this was rejected by a medical panel.
Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws carry a potential death sentence for anyone deemed to have insulted Islam.
Several recent cases have prompted international concern about the application of these laws.
Asghar, who is from Edinburgh, Scotland, was accused of writing letters to police officers claiming to be a prophet. He is thought to have lived in Pakistan for several years.

 

[Blackwater]

BBC News - Blasphemy case: Briton in Pakistan sentenced to death

A court in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi has sentenced a 70-year-old British man to death after convicting him of blasphemy.
Muhammad Asghar was arrested in 2010 after writing letters to various people claiming to be a prophet, reports say.
His lawyers argued for leniency, saying he has a history of mental illness, but this was rejected by a medical panel.
Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws carry a potential death sentence for anyone deemed to have insulted Islam.
Several recent cases have prompted international concern about the application of these laws.
Asghar, who is from Edinburgh, Scotland, was accused of writing letters to police officers claiming to be a prophet. He is thought to have lived in Pakistan for several years.

pakistanis once gets biritsh citizenship, consider themselves khuda

 

[The Last Stand]

Death penalty for blasphemy?

Truly, is there no regard for the fact that in all other democratic countries, people are allowed to speak their mind? If he is such a megalomaniac that he claims he is a prophet in modern times, then by all means, let him do so!

And being a religious megalomaniac can't mean blasphemy, can it?

And even if Pakistan is an Islamic state, this is unacceptable by international standards. A warning and a few visits to a psychiatrist should suffice, really.

 

[tramp]

So you have not heard about the great blasphemy laws of the Land of the Pure?

Death penalty for blasphemy?

Truly, is there no regard for the fact that in all other democratic countries, people are allowed to speak their mind? If he is such a megalomaniac that he claims he is a prophet in modern times, then by all means, let him do so!

And being a religious megalomaniac can't mean blasphemy, can it?

And even if Pakistan is an Islamic state, this is unacceptable by international standards. A warning and a few visits to a psychiatrist should suffice, really.

 

[boris]

pakistanis once gets biritsh citizenship, consider themselves khuda

I have heard they are quite problematic there and in areas with more Indians they themselves pretend to be Indians?

 

[jmj_overlord]

Death penalty for blasphemy?

Truly, is there no regard for the fact that in all other democratic countries, people are allowed to speak their mind? If he is such a megalomaniac that he claims he is a prophet in modern times, then by all means, let him do so!

And being a religious megalomaniac can't mean blasphemy, can it?

And even if Pakistan is an Islamic state, this is unacceptable by international standards. A warning and a few visits to a psychiatrist should suffice, really.

nothing can be done about it.......those guys are living in another timezone where religion is the most sensitive issue. These guys have been brainwashed for years and there is nothing we can do to change their mindset. No wonder pak is the breeding ground of terrorism...

 

[Blackwater]

I have heard they are quite problematic there and in areas with more Indians they themselves pretend to be Indians?

True heard

 

[The Last Stand]

So you have not heard about the great blasphemy laws of the Land of the Pure?

No (embarrassed, bangs head against the table)



It is really illogical for a democracy to have such laws.

 

[bennedose]

It is really illogical for a democracy to have such laws.

Where did you hear that Pakistan is a democracy?

 

[The Last Stand]

Where did you hear that Pakistan is a democracy?

Um,

1. Pakistan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pakistan is a federal Parliamentary Republic

India is a federal Parliamentary Republic as well.

2. My school books. ('Nuff said)

And,

3. The Pakistani Constitution

Whereas sovereignty over the entire Universe belongs to Almighty Allah alone, and the authority to be exercised by the people of Pakistan within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust;

And whereas it is the will of the people of Pakistan to establish an order :-

Wherein the State shall exercise its powers and authority through the chosen representatives of the people;

Wherein the principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice, as enunciated by Islam, shall be fully observed;

Wherein the Muslims shall be enabled to order their lives in the individual and collective spheres in accordance with the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out in the Holy Quran and Sunnah;

Wherein adequate provision shall be made for the minorities freely to profess and practise their religions and develop their cultures;

Wherein the territories now included in or in accession with Pakistan and such other territories as may hereafter be included in or accede to Pakistan shall form a Federation wherein the units will be autonomous with such boundaries and limitations on their powers and authority as may be prescribed;

Therein shall be guaranteed fundamental rights, including equality of status, of opportunity and before law, social, economic and political justice, and freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship and association, subject to law and public morality;

Wherein adequate provision shall be made to safeguard the legitimate interests of minorities and backward and depressed classes;

Wherein the independence of the judiciary shall be fully secured;

Wherein the integrity of the territories of the Federation, its independence and all its rights, including its sovereign rights on land, sea and air, shall be safeguarded;

So that the people of Pakistan may prosper and attain their rightful and honoured place amongst the nations of the World and make their full contribution towards international peace and progress and happiness of humanity :

Now, therefore, we, the people of Pakistan,

Cognisant of our responsibility before Almighty Allah and men;

Cognisant of the sacrifices made by the people in the cause of Pakistan;

Faithful to the declaration made by the Founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, that Pakistan would be a democratic State based on Islamic principles of social justice;

Dedicated to the preservation of democracy achieved by the unremitting struggle of the people against oppression and tyranny;

Inspired by the resolve to protect our national and political unity and solidarity by creating an egalitarian society through a new order;

Do hereby, through our representatives in the National Assembly, adopt, enact and give to ourselves, this Constitution.

It's religious, yes, but it also explicitly mentions that,

Pakistan is a state, wherein the principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice, as enunciated by Islam, shall be fully observed;

You were probably not serious, but still. That should do it!

P.S. The principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice, as enunciated by Islam shall be fully observed.

 

[Ash]

BBC News - Blasphemy case: Briton in Pakistan sentenced to death

A court in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi has sentenced a 70-year-old British man to death after convicting him of blasphemy.
Muhammad Asghar was arrested in 2010 after writing letters to various people claiming to be a prophet, reports say.
His lawyers argued for leniency, saying he has a history of mental illness, but this was rejected by a medical panel.
Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws carry a potential death sentence for anyone deemed to have insulted Islam.
Several recent cases have prompted international concern about the application of these laws.
Asghar, who is from Edinburgh, Scotland, was accused of writing letters to police officers claiming to be a prophet. He is thought to have lived in Pakistan for several years.

Touchy buggers, aren't they?

 

[bennedose]

You were probably not serious, but still. That should do it!

P.S. The principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice, as enunciated by Islam shall be fully observed.

Thanks for the reply. In fact Pakistan is not a functioning democracy at all despite what Wiki and your school books tell you. North Korea is called the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" and also calls itself democratic.

I will expand on this later - no time at present.

But if you must search for information yourself, just see what has been done with the Pakistan constitution since the 1950s - how many changes and who changed them. Exactly what constitution is being followed in Pakistan now is another moot point.

Exactly one fair election was held in 1970, but having said that, the last elections held were also probably describable as fair. But two fair elections among a handful of elections and 30 plus years of military rule is not what one could call a functioning democracy. there are other issues, but more of that later

 

[dhananjay1]

If people in 7th century Arabia effectively killed of all self proclaimed prophets we wouldn't have this problem.