Desecration of Holy Quran: Accused shop owner blames ‘blasphemous voices’
Sitting cross-legged in a small cell at the Karachi Central Jail, a lean-framed man screams for help every 10 minutes.
“Please, don’t kill me,” he cries, when someone enters the room. For 34-year-old blasphemy accused Saleem Suleman, life, as he knew it, has completely changed.
He was taken to the police by his neighbours after being accused of desecrating the Holy Quran in his apartment in North Nazimabad, Karachi.
A case was lodged against him – the second blasphemy case in Karachi this year.
Suleman, who is from a moderately religious family, lives in Karachi, while his family resides in the United States.
“I did my schooling in the US. Things here were not good financially. I drove a cab for a while but was not able to earn much. So my mother gave me money to set up a shop at a shopping centre,” he said.
However, owing to peer pressure, he soon turned towards drugs, and was unable to concentrate on his business.
Suleman claims he began hearing voices which told him to do things. Burying his face in a chaddar, he says: “God help me. I didn’t mean it.”
On Sunday night, a mob, armed with sticks and stones, lurched towards the Taimuria police station to lynch him, he recalls. But threats to Suleman’s life also come from within the prison. Fearing a backlash from fellow prisoners, the police have placed him in a separate cell along with two officers for his security.
“We have put the militants and those accused of blasphemy under one roof. It will be very difficult to handle the situation,” said a nervous official.
Taimuria police station SHO Kamal Nasim remains doubtful of Suleman’s mental health. “The neighbours brought him to us and did not harm him. But the situation became tense when religious leaders attacked the police station, demanding that Suleman be handed over to them so they could kill him.”
While Nasim claims that the police found torn pages of the Holy Quran from Suleman’s apartment, no other objectionable material was found. The police also did not find any drugs from his apartment.
Psychiatrists are of the view that before the court declares him guilty of blasphemy, a medical board should be formed to examine his mental condition.
“His condition should be evaluated,” said Dr Syed Ali Wasif, a psychiatrist at Ziauddin Hospital in Karachi.
“In a common psychotic illness, people are not in touch with reality. They have hallucinations and delusions in which they consider themselves to be someone else,” he added.
Meanwhile, human rights activist Abdul Hai of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said that the blasphemy law is not applicable to people who suffer from mental illness.
Published In The Express Tribune, June 24th, 2012.
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@P Diddy:
"the law has affected more muslims than non muslims. doesnty that serve as food as though for the maulvis"
So, if the law affects mostly non-Muslims, then it is OK according to you?
Why not admit these blasphemy, apostasy etc. medieval laws are barbaric and primitive from a humanistic and civilized perspective?
Whole nation is suffering from blasphemy phobia, why not to abolish these as they are neither natural nor Islamic laws. Pakistan has not been securing Islam with these laws as Islam is protected by Allah SWT and these laws are just political and not Islamic, serving just a few for their political aspirations.
@antanu g: Then your next job is to work on your insecurities. If your God and religion are so great, he'll deal with the people. I'm pretty sure he never states he made you to be irrational bodyguards.
Eye opener by OG: "Ironically this country was founded for the minorities of India (that being Muslims) and look how we treat our minorities. Sad!"
The problem with our maulvis is that neither they listen anything against holy Prophet and holy Quran nor they listen to holy Prophet and holy Quran.
@BlackJack: but this will pave the for for every every religion-hater to indulge in blasphemy and get away
@Blackjack, you made an excellent point Blasphemy = painful form of suicide in Pakistan. to that I add Blasphemy allegation = painful form of murder in Pakistan
No one accused of blasephemy should be prosecuted, as none of them can possibly be sane; blasephemy is clearly a rather painful form of suicide in Pakistan and you need to be out of your mind to choose such an option.
It must be disturbing for him to live in such a condition and imagine the torture coming from jail authorities. we must keep a regular check on that person to see ifs hes doing ok. i am not justifying his act but if he did it because of mental illness, then Allah will is there to decide what to do and not people
"..But the situation became tense when religious leaders attacked the police station, demanding that Suleman be handed over to them so they could kill him....”
This is an intent to murder by the 'religious' leaders!!! Cant the court/police put this 'religious' leaders behind the bar? The judiciary will not interfere because they know that harm awaits judges and their family if they did! The judiciary is only able to show its bravado when it comes to the politicians!
Anybody arrested for blasphemy should be subjected to psychiatric tests to ensure they are not mentally ill. Only subsequently should they be prosecuted if found stable.
For those asking if we could help him, the answer is NO! Pakistan unfortunately has become an ingovernable cess-pool of extremism and bigotry. Imagine these people attacking the police station for their anger knew no limits and vent unless they lynched the man themselves. Their madness is frightening. At times I wonder if we are even humans! Where have we lost our souls? Simply frightening!
CAN WE DO SOMETHING TO SAVE HIM? he might be mentally ill and he would have done it in a fit of madness
My suggestion : put all mentally ill patients of Pakistan imn prison so that they are not lynched by lynch mobs on charges of blasphemy.
Schizophrenia..
I've seen many patients like these. People who hear "God's" voice, commanding them to preach a new religion, or destroy objects of religious significance, like idols and books.
They are neither liars, nor blasphemers. They are simply ill.
M'Naghten rule applies here: a person may not be punished for a crime that he committed because of an established mental disorder. Of course when illiterate, emotional mobs start interfering in judicial matters, such rules cannot be effectively followed.
If Pakistan is to prosper, they should get rid of these blasphemy law. everyone should have the freedom to worship or not to worship if they wish. If this person did desecrate the Holy Quran.. how about let God punish him instead of us pretending to be God and handing out judgement. This way at least the mentally ill and the innocent people who are framed won't get persecuted. State and religion should be separated. This is not what the founder of this nation had in mind may I remind you! It was to be a secular nation where everyone had the freedom to worship whoever they want and freedom of speech. Sadly, that just isn't the case for the minorities in Pakistan. Ironically this country was founded for the minorities of India (that being Muslims) and look how we treat our minorities. Sad!
the law has affected more muslims than non muslims. doesnty that serve as food as though for the maulvis