Now who will protect her from raging Muslim mobs avid for her blood? “Christian girl granted bail in Pakistan Islam defamation case,” by Aisha Chowdhry for Reuters, September 7 (thanks to David):
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – A Christian girl arrested in Pakistan for defaming Islam was granted bail on Friday, a judge said, days after police detained a Muslim cleric on suspicion of planting evidence to frame her in a case that caused an international outcry.
Masih, believed to be 14, may be in danger if she is set free and stays in Pakistan. Her arrest last month angered religious and secular groups worldwide but protests in Pakistan attracted only a handful of supporters.
In Muslim Pakistan, the mere allegation of causing offence to Islam can mean death. Those accused under an anti-blasphemy law are sometimes lynched by the public even if they are found innocent by the courts….
Last year, Punjab province governor Salman Taseer was shot dead by his bodyguard for suggesting the law be reformed. Lawyers hailed Taseer’s killer as a hero, tossing rose petals at him after he was arrested.
Taseer had been defending a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was jailed on blasphemy charges. She is still in jail on death row.
Two months after Taseer’s murder, Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian, was killed by the Taliban for demanding changes to the law.
Critics of Pakistan’s leaders say they are too worried about an extremist backlash to speak out against the law in a nation where religious conservatism is increasingly prevalent.
Christians, who make up four percent of Pakistan’s population of 180 million, have been especially concerned about the blasphemy law, saying it offers them no protection.
Convictions hinge on witness testimony and are often linked to vendettas, they complain.
In 2009, 40 houses and a church were set ablaze by a mob of 1,000 Muslims in the town of Gojra, in Punjab province. At least seven Christians were burnt to death. The attacks were triggered by reports of the desecration of the Koran.
Two Christian brothers accused of writing a blasphemous letter against the Prophet Mohammad were gunned down outside a court in the eastern city of Faisalabad in July of 2010.