Allegedly offensive words = life destroyed. The sentence is light years beyond excessive, since Manzarul Haq Shah Jahan should not even be in jail, but one can’t help but ask: why did he get life in prison while Asia Bibi was sentenced to hang?
The charge of “blasphemy” flirts perilously with the worship of Muhammad. But honestly:
If you’re a Muslim and believe he’s gone to his eternal reward, he has other things on his mind.
If you’re not a Muslim and believe he’s gone to eternal punishment, he has other things on his mind.
If you’re not a Muslim and believe he’s floating on a cloud in some vague alternate dimension in with your lost keys and socks, he has other things on his mind.
If you’re not a Muslim and you believe in reincarnation, he has other things on someone else’s mind.
If you’re an atheist and believe he’s just plain dead, well, none of the above applies.
But Manzarul Haq Shah Jahan must be destroyed! “Court gives life-term to SHO for blaspheming,” from Pakistan Today, March 17 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
KASUR – A court on Friday awarded life-imprisonment to Police Station House Officer (SHO) Manzarul Haq Shah Jahan for uttering blasphemous remarks against the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
Additional District and Sessions” Judge Chaudhry Umar Hayat handout out the verdict on a case registered at the complaint of Muhammad Younis. The complainant had alleged that the then SHO of Raja Jung Police Station had uttered blasphemy in a conversation with him and two other men, Javed Iqbal and Hafiz Shahid, on street crime. Younis had alleged that the SHO called Hafiz a “Maulvi” and used blasphemous words against the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The complainant had added that he was getting the case (No 20/2009) registered at the police station under Section 295-C after discussing the incident with 65 members of a mosque.
A fatwa was also issued by religious scholars of prominent seminaries like Darul Aloom and Jamia Naeemia, Lahore, against the SHO. In his judgement, the judge observed that the offence of blasphemy had been fully proven against the accused, and that he had been found guilty. The judge awarded life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 200,000 in the case, adding that the accused would have to undergo further two years of imprisonment if he failed to pay the fine.