- 04 Sep 2012
Paul Bhatti hopes abuse of blasphemy law will end - 04 Sep 2012
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Changing the blasphemy debate
We should keep in mind the way blasphemy laws are misused.
KARACHI: This is with reference to Nadir Hassan’s article “Changing the blasphemy debate” (September 6). I completely agree with the writer’s views on the blasphemy laws. Laws against incitement and hate speech are already there on the statutes and should be enough to convict people who insult others’ religions with malicious intent. Keeping in mind the way blasphemy laws have been misused, it is important to debate its utility in protecting people’s religious beliefs.
Sayyed Mehdi
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2012.
Reader Comments (1)
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Totally agree. The key phrase is “malicious intent”. I doubt there was malicious intent in any of the cases prosecuted under the blasphemy law. It would be suicidal or insane on the part of anyone in the prevailing hyper-religious climate, to do anything “blasphemous” intentionally. That is why the law has been used against poor people and against vulnerable minorities, for revenge or for dispossessing them of their land.
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