Sharia alert from Pakistan from AFP, with thanks to Bryce:
KARACHI: A Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced a man to life imprisonment for writing an allegedly blasphemous book about the Holy Qur’an and the Islamic justice system, a lawyer said yesterday.Police in the Islamic republic arrested 40-year-old writer Younus Shaik early this year in Karachi after he brought out the book called Shaitan Maulvi (Satanic Cleric).
Blasphemy in Pakistan carries a maximum sentence of the death penalty. Although no-one has ever been executed, the country’s harsh laws for the crime have been heavily criticised by rights groups.
“The court has sent him into jail for life as he described the four Imams as Jews in his book,” public prosecutor Naimat Ali Randhawa said after the court in Karachi sentenced the man on Thursday.
The four Imams were the third generation interpreters of the religion after the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and their views on law are widely respected by Muslims, he said.
The writer also committed blasphemy by saying that stoning to death for adultery was not mentioned in the Qur’an, he added.
Once again Muslims persecute someone for telling the truth. Stoning for adultery is indeed not mentioned in the Qur'an, and Islamic apologists in the West have never been shy about pointing that out. However, there is this hadith (among others):
'Abdullah b. 'Abbas reported that 'Umar b. Khattab sat on the pulpit of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and said: Verily Allah sent Muhammad (may peace be upon him) with truth and He sent down the Book upon him, and the verse of stoning was included in what was sent down to him. We recited it, retained it in our memory and understood it. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) awarded the punishment of stoning to death (to the married adulterer and adulteress) and, after him, we also awarded the punishment of stoning, I am afraid that with the lapse of time, the people (may forget it) and may say: We do not find the punishment of stoning in the Book of Allah, and thus go astray by abandoning this duty prescribed by Allah. Stoning is a duty laid down in Allah's Book for married men and women who commit adultery when proof is established, or it there is pregnancy, or a confession. (Sahih Muslim, book 17, no. 4194)
This article concludes:
Pakistan’s national assembly last year passed a bill aimed at reducing abuse of the blasphemy law - under which anyone accused of the offence is immediately arrested and charged before any investigation.Human rights activists say it is often misused to settle personal vendettas and arguments over property or money, particularly against the minority Christian community.
there you go, proof of the tolerance of the RoP.
they could have killed him and been legally justified, but did they? why no, they "only" sentanced him to life in a Pakistani prison.
Good God Almighty, can you just IMAGINE what doing life in a Pakistani prison, for BLASPHEMY must be like?
The defendant, when asked if he had a post-sentencing statement, was heard to ask, "are you SURE you couldn't just kill me? Your mother's a whore! How 'bout now? No? Allah sucks! Now? NO?
JEWS RULE!! NOW?? COME ON, KILL ME, WOULD YA?
I think DW should provide a link to where we can read his book online, if it exists in that format.
(Although "blaming the Jews" ["The Four Imams"]for the current 'accepted' version of Islam seems to be the 'crime' that the author was convicted of... which, if it weren't so funny, would be tragic... or vice versa.)
Salman Rushdie should start a club. (They could sell clothing items with a slogan saying:)
"I received a fatwa for blaspheming the Koran
-and all I got was this lousy T-shirt".
Infidels in the West should immediately boycott -- publicly and openly -- all Pakistani goods, and particularly rugs and other textiles made in Pakistan. They should make known to retailers that they will not buy such goods, and that they may take their entire business elsewhere. They may also wish to boycott Pakistani-related or Pakistani-owned businesses, from rug stores and furniture stores, to restaurants. And their intent to do so should be explained publicly to the various propagandists and apologists for Pakistan at the variuos embassies.
Eventually the economic damage will tell. And eventually Pakistan will have to free Younus Shaik.
Do not expect, however, that Irene Khan of Amnesty International will approve such a boycott, or be terribly outraged by this sentence. No, this is not what outrages her. She is too busy being outraged at the three squares a day fed to the Guantanamo prisoners.
You know how it is. Three squares -- but no elevenses, just when those prisoners are feeling peckish. And never a high-tea, with those cucumber and watercress sandwiches, and Cornish clotted cream? And the pile on the prayer rugs is here and there worn. How beastly can those Americans be?
So let's forget about Younus Shaik, shall we?
A cautionary tale. This will happen here if Islam and Sharia gain even a modicum of power.
Hughs idea has much merit:The west, especially America do not need the govs permission to not buy Pakistani goods. I already dont buy those little red nuts from Iran, and I dont buy Chinese made stuff when I know thats what it is.
We can economically boycott anything we choose, and I choose not to support people and govs who want to kill or enslave me. I refuse to pay for my own destruction and, I refuse to pay for yours. Now if only we could find a cheap substitute for gasoline (oil), we could sink those ME Saudi's and others who also have deadly or dhimitudenal plans for us.
I haven't bought anything of muhammedan origin for many years. Well, except the Qukuran. I do strange things to it when I am bored...
I wonder what the jerks who say all the problems in the Islamic world are due to America and Israel? Where are all the free speech advocates on this one?
The boycott idea is most appealing. It needs wider publicity.
Neither Amnesty nor HRW seems to have noticed this case. No surprises there.