Man accused of blasphemy for refusing to join anti-Islam film protest: Report
Pakistani officials said that they have launched an investigation into the accusations, the report said.
Police officer Munir Abbasi told AP that hundreds of protesters in Hyderabad demanded that the shops of the businessman be shut down as action against him.
According to the report, one of businessman’s tenants said that the decision against joining the protest supported the blasphemous film.
The protesters also claimed that the accused insulted the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), City Police Chief Fareed Jan told AP.
He added that there was no evidence against the accused, but the mob forced the police into lodging a blasphemy case against him.
COMMENTS (114)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
1734522560-0/BeFunky-design-(9)1734522560-0-405x300.webp "article")
1734520881-0/BeFunky-design-(8)1734520881-0-165x106.webp "article")
@Peer Bulleh Shah
'Anybody who does not stand up for the Prophet is not a Muslim.'
So you think Prophet can't stand up for himself and need your help to be protected?
@Peer Bulleh Shah: What does this mean? Do you really know what you are saying?
@DarKnight: The word blasphemy is simply a tool for fanatics to get the public to follow them. It is a word that is being use as threat and intimidation. What is blasphemy? Disagreeing with someones point of view? Hard to define and it may be different for different people and different religions.
@Peer Bulleh Shah: Sure. Standing up means destroying property and killing people? This is your brand of Islam.
Please don't mind but Non-muslims are really suffering from severe religious apnea (lack of Oxygen supply) .. causes are chronic I thought I'll be the last one to migrate from my beloved country but now its time...
I am a Pakistani. I feel ashamed. This country is not as bad as these illiterate maulvies make it look. I am an agnostic and i really have to say this is not what islam teaches us. I have been born in a muslim family. These people who came out on the roads and caused so much destruction, even killed, did not give a damn about Islam or the prophet. They robbed and looted and killed senselessly. I am so ashamed.
Fake news.
@Khurram Malik:
Excellent... always find someone else to blame.
@Cautious: And who are you representing the "world".... Lol
@Pakistani Atheist: Ok. Go ahead. We dont care.
@Jpy: Oh really..... Keep dreaming.....
It is sad but this country is not a nation but an uncotrolled Hajoom (Mob).
Newton once said I can calculate the movements of stars, moon and sun but I can not calculate the madness of a Mob. Mob mentality can only be controlled by a leader who has clarity of vision, courage, credibility and commitment. There is no compulsion in Islam. If anybody is not joining the agitation it can not be termed blasphemy under any circumstances. This is the height of misuse of the law.
@Peer Bulleh Shah: there are many muslims in pakistan, but very very few who understand islam. I dont think you understand it too.
if this is what pakistani muslims have become, then I am better off as an Atheist...
@abdul hadi khan: what law are you talking about? Under which law this guy committed a crime.. this poor guy just wanted to feed his family and save his property from vandalism. You are making no sense. First think and then write.
@Beware!: are you telling this is not happening in Pakistan.. isn't the Pakistan society becoming more and more intolerant.. shias, hindus, ahmedis now bohras are being targeted. Instead of telling the truth u want to keep feeding lies (just like your distorted history). Ignorance is bliss.
We can all thank Zia ul Haq for this.
if he is innocent, he never gave any blasphemous remarks then he will be released by the courts.
The Tribune has a tradition of igniting sensationalism in the country by publishing provocative news. Their headlines are full of sectarianist, extremism oriented news that badly reflect upon the country and its people. They also project US anti pakistan propaganda in their headlines painting US as Godfather for Pakistan and Pakistan a slave. Tribune is doing a great job in confusing and dividing people of Pakistan and Islam. Well done :)
test
Express Tribune is a place where Desi Liberals and Desi Islamist always fights just like if you go to chat-rooms in Yahoo in room #20 where Shia & Sunni always fights.
Oil of the middle east/Asia does not belong to the US and nor do they have any right to use it.
The US intereference in the region needs to stop and they should prop up their dollar with their own resources . In other words, middle east oil should stop flowing to the US since this is stealing.
What you all fail to understand is that the anger is not really about the film, but US interference in the region which has been going on long long before 9/11. This US interference for oil which comes in the forms of various wars and support for tyrants is what these “extremists” are saying must end. Anger against the film and now cartoon was just the unifying principle to express this more direct demand. It is therefore a disservice to mischaracterize this anger and display a willing ignorance .
@peer Bulleh Shah Stop being so ridiculous. Maybe the man was sick or elderly. Maybe he didn't want to be involved in the protest because not everyone likes to be fired upon by the police while they are burning innocent peoples buses and cars. If the protesters were peaceful more people would have come with them. But no one who has a family wants to be a part of such violent protests.
Also why are you dragging Pakistan into this? How is burning your own properties, killing your own people, doing hartal which harms your own economy, getting your own students out of universities beneficial to Islam? How would all these actions stop film-makers from making films?
And all those people saying that anyone who refuses to take part in such protests is non-muslim. Really? So because I do not want to burn buses, attack buildings means I am a non-muslim?
@1984: with support from the pakistani media that is full of ignorant anchors who spread hate speech and invite hateful "ulema"
I have to say I feel so sad to see how undeveloped these protesters, tv personalities and majority of muslim politicians/"ulema" are. They literally are living in dark ages behind their eyeballs, while they play with computers, cell phones and guns.
No Islamic leadership.Heads of state of 57 Muslim countries should unanimously and collectively lodge a strong protest to any country that allows disrespect to religion of 1.4 billion people as soon as an issue surfaces like the cartoons or this film now. Then people will support them and not take to streets.
The accusers should now be tried tried and put to death.
Di Vinci Code movie depicting Jesus Christ being married to Mary M and having children offended many catholic. Lot of people went to movie theater paid money and had an opinion whether the Director was right or wrong or whether it made sense or not. Not a single bus was damaged or property was destroyed no body got killed. It was a health debate. PAKISTAN IS NOTHING BUT A DRAMA QUEEN.
@Khurram Malik: Your comments are completeley irrelevant and divisive.......what is happening in Karachi? Where are Hindus fleeing from? There is a lack of tolerance across the country it has to do with a mind set not ethnicity.
there is no mullah in ruling class i mean in govt. so why u blaming them .when govt fail in imposing law then people take law in their hands . don`t blame people blame secular govt. who is trying to make country secular and people want the religious .
pakistan needs to be in ripleys believe it or not (pakistan is a country)
Congratulations Zia, your dream of Pakistan has come true. India should immediately withdraw the liberal visa pact since this will only allow fanatics along with innocent Pakistanis to get access to India. We do not want fanatics from Pakistan to come and brainwash Indian muslims.
Begining of the end of Pakistan as an Islamic state.
these anchors and so called "Ulema" are so concrete, they talk in such absolute terms like have to have a law so this will NEVER happen again. There is a law that mobs are not supposed to kill people but mobs kill all the time, has the law stopped that? I am so disgusted with all the leaders of pakistan (A to Z) and the mainstream media (A to Z). There focus is what they can do to have west impose the laws that they would have imposed on them if they were the superpower, thing to do is to look inwards and wonder how come the mobs are not behind the bar and the so called leaders and ulema not in a mental institution instead of being dominating the mainstream media.
@RK: come out of your hideout...this news is everywhere and pakis getting roundly rediculed for this....
Next stage is anarchy and then great war against sectarianism and afterwards Jinah's Pakistan with full glory.
@ mr. righty rightist - because those folks who issue fatwa are not aware of ET's existence.
@ Peer Bulleh Shah
Do you even know what you are saying?
If anyone is destroying his own land in the name of protest, should we join them?
What have the common people done to be killed by the protests?
Is destroying property the only way to protest? Whoever destroys most will be judged a true muslim? Is this what you want?
Now Anti Islamism will spread even more. People will make more fun of Islam.
Good bye sanity.
@Khurram Malik: You Sir, are no different then the mob. I hope you realize, it was a really stupid thing to say.
In my world blasphemy law is a hate crime against someone's beliefs and should be considered as such rather than as a law . This is incredible that Muslims are like this even when they have the gifts of western civilization like computer and cell phones to expand their minds ! Of they are this violent even when they can be vaporized by one nuclear submarine of the US just imagine how violent they must have been when they were winning wars ?
Prophet must be crying to see what's happening in the name of the person who was a symbol of patience and people got impressed with his character....Now people are killing each other saying that they are serving God and Prophet.
Game Over.
Firstly, I dont even get the level of mentality of Pakistani people, they must be ashamed to call themselves Muslim. Secondly, as a Muslim we need to chose the right track in order to ensure that such acts never ever happen again.Paki Mullas are totally diverting their people away into long-lasting darkness.The point here is, every individual must take the responsibility to struggle to pull the thoughts of Muslims in correct direction the direction which Islam truly guarantees to take us into,i.e. the struggle to unite all Muslims under the banner of Islam...
How come nobody has issued a fatwa on ET?
all those who have a problem with this new are blasphemers too.
How does burning shops in our own country... causing riots .. and killing and torturing people stop people in US from insulting our religion and Prophet (pbuh)? I agree with the guy who probably tried to stop the mob from destroying our own country.....
When TV invites these characters and gives them respect while agreeing with them that there is not even an argument about killing the person who in their opinion has committed blasphemy (like Mohammad Malik said in his show today ) , then what do you expect from the mob ? I do not live in Pakistan but I get suffocated to even read about what is going on there , I do not know how any one with a half way decent mind live there ..?
Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad opposed the partition and this is why: "We must remember that an entity conceived in hatred will last only as long as that hatred lasts."
Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad also predicted the following:
I feel that right from its inception, Pakistan will face some very serious problems:
The incompetent political leadership will pave the way for military dictatorship as it has happened in many Muslim countries.
The heavy burden of foreign debt.
Absence of friendly relationship with neighbours and the possibility of armed conflict.
Internal unrest and regional conflicts.
The loot of national wealth by the neo-rich and industrialists of Pakistan.
The apprehension of class war as a result of exploitation by the neo-rich.
The dissatisfaction and alienation of the youth from religion and the collapse of the theory of Pakistan.
The conspiracies of the international powers to control Pakistan.
In this situation, the stability of Pakistan will be under strain and the Muslim countries will be in no position to provide any worthwhile help. The assistance from other sources will not come without strings and it will force both ideological and territorial compromises.
How very very apropos. Congressmen please take note.
Pakistan was supposed to be a UTOPIA but now it has morphed into a DYSTOPIA. Congratulations!
A French magazine has today published cartoons depicting our Holy Prophet (PBUH).
We must unite and raise a common voice against such heinous acts.
@Vishnu Dutta: So there is still hope :)
The word BLASHPHEMY has lost its meaning the way it is used in Pakistan
@Baba Ji: Don't be too confident. Firstly your name is too common in India which either means an old man or a name given to Indian God-men. Either you change your Hindu name or get ready to be declared as infidel and face blasphemy charges !!!
@Mirza: Yes, sir, I'm afraid some of us would think so ------- and fault is ours, we kept quiet for too long hoping that this malady would heal by itself somehow. Now, this wound has festered too long, turning malignant and needs radical surgery or ultimate destruction of the whole body.
@Abdullah:
That would mean having to stop using F16s, P3Cs and Augusta submarines among others.
@Vishnu Datta, @Mj, ACautious made some very thoughtful points. Though I do not live in Pakistan and am not subject to these crazy mobs, I just feel sick to my stomach thinking of this poor businessman
good thing that I left pakistan when I could
Slow news day eh ET. "Some random Ashraf/Aslam (apologies for the choice of cliche) said something and some other Aslam/Ashraf said it was blasphemy". Everybody is concerned, inside sources disclosed that this was very serious, and anonymous informants have said it was hilarious. Stop putting useless news stories just to hype up the already tense atmosphere!
good work pakistani muallas. you make our job easier.
Wake Up Pakistan... Don't let the things go out of hand..
@1984: Excellent comment. The best I have read so far.
The graph of intolerance in Pakistan is going higher each passing day. Mobs led by fanatics are holding law enforcing machinery to ransom who are too afraid to counter them or take action against the sectarian killers. All Minority communities have now become the open targets of these fanatics and even members of Sunni sect not towing their line are even not spared and accused of blasphemy by framing false charges against them. The country is on the brink and state of lawlessness and anarchy is going to engulf Pakistan soon.
Fate of Pakistan is now visible .
The world has figured out the cheapest way to immobilize Pakistan and other muslim countries. The bonus is, self-destructiveness.
yes ...correct the business man should be hanged......very right.
Anybody who does not stand up for the Prophet is not a Muslim.
lol
Hahahahahahahaha .... oops !!!!
I hope I am not declared an infidel !!!!
Religeon of peace.. , Where is peace in any country where this religion is in mejority ? You are always fighting with somebody and blame other for your pathetic condition and pathetic thinking, logic. Now somebody will come out Quranic verses thatt this is allowed and that is not allowed. Really shame, We are human first then we have our cast.
WOW.. just run people leave take your kids families loved ones and never ever look back.
Won't this all ever stop!!!! If extremist are a minority and moderates are majority in the country, as claimed by the regular Pakistanis , where are these moderates??? where are those people who supposedly are for justice and equality??? If the species of any living being is not spotted adequately (in numerical representation) it is considered as endangered species , and seems that the moderate and progressive species of human beings are really an endangered species in Pakistan, and being in majority is a far cry!!!
It is very unfortunate that after attacking minorities now they are at the throat of their own brethren , if he refuses to follow their ideology...
Black laws enacted by Zia-ul-Haq continue to destroy the very fabric of our society. Black laws should be removed from our statute books. Our Holy Quran and Holy Prophet PBUH do not need them. Their respect and esteem is much above the comprehension of Mullahs and their sons like Zia-ul-Haq. Allama Iqbal rightly said : DIN-I-MULLAH FASAAD FI SABILILLAH.
Guilty for non association. Ripley's As usual believe it or not always first in Pakistan.
boycott USA, France, denmark & Fermany products
There are only few moderate muslims in Pakistan mainly can be found on Internet. Pakistan is a fanatic society admit it guys. Even I was called as kafir anti-muslim for my Facebook comments against this madness by my very close friends. And yes they are not some beare topi looking Muslims but they look very much moderate by appearance. But now I believe they are some potential Talibans. Their views are very orthodox and much fanatical.
In future, if you don't support terrorists, you will be considered anti Islam.
@Latif, @Vishnu Duttu, @1984: Very well said. Totally agree. These fanatics will terrorize, intimidate and eventually kill everyone who disagrees with them. Shameful.
People who falsely accuse MUT be taken to task immediately, welse this menance will keep growing to a level where we will just have to cut our tongues so we do not utter any blasphemous words....
"the mob forced the police into lodging a blasphemy case against him"......whats going on here?....Isn't the same thing happened in Ramsha case?.... is bunch of crazy people are responsible for the security?....This "MOB" shall be tried under terrorisim act for terrorizing police.
I won't protest! Go ahead accuse me of blasphemy. Pakistan is increasingly looking like Spain during the Spanish Inquisition.
It is simply a case of what goes around comes around. The law was framed against minorities only but now we are all caught up in it. For a moment, think how protesters (especially the violent ones) have given the attention to the attention-seeker movie crew? I know I cannot ask the illiterate majority of Muslim masses to argue with reason but then who is responsible for this unruliness? Perhaps those who used the pulpits to spread this news with ill-intentions. www.facebook.com/zaakbaarlaw
and i am afraid from that day that these mullahs will come out on streets and force people to shut down their shops and go to prayers .. wellcome to zia ul haq pakistan
So if a mob of fanatic extremists starts attacking the "others" and if I stay on the sidelines then does that means I am not a Muslim and committing blasphemy?
this video only just confirm my doubts how religiously intolerant Pakistanis have become! no coming back from this now.
Problem with emotional Muslims is that in their secondary sources are found strange stories which they find hard to defend so the easiest thing for them is to try and shut others up. This is a psychological lock that interferes with rational thought.
They need to clean up fabrications from their so called history and hadith books. They must be educated to try and judge that kind of material by the Quran and reject what does not match it. Unfortunately I don’t see that happening anytime soon.
We have scholars who have spoken against such material and the awareness is growing but the progress is slow.
Quite Honestly, It cannot get more ridiculous than this. To me, a silent spectator, it appears that there is a competition in destruction notably in countries like Pakistan, Egypt, Tunisia and Libya as to who indulges in more self destruction. And I am really having a hard time, choosing the winner, and the runners up.... Can some body help me.... Rgds P
What is going on here?can angry mullahs accuse anyone for blasphemy?the shop keeper may have had better things to care of then join a protest when bigger un islamic things are happening happening.a person with a long mustache is unislamic,not joining protests because of personal reasn is unislamic prettyey soon not wearing a shalwar kameez will be unislamic.but you dont see rapist of minorities being called blasphemers or the sectarian killers.
Oh! what a country!
You would think that after falsely accusing a child with Downs syndrome the fanatics would back off a bit -- wrong. Another example of intolerance and why the World smirks when you use the term "religion of peace".
During french revolution same thing happened. first they hanged the monarchy, then they hanged the bigwigs, they they started hanging people who wouldnt join the revolution and eventually they started hanging people who would not get excited about revolution. Eventually revolution killed its own children and french went back to what they were before.
history repeats itself they say, unless u learn from it.
Wah, wah, waah!
"Just a badly edited youtube video can destroy Pakistan" ---- how correct and what a pity.
The mob is the judge, hurry and executioner. They seem to have a logical grasp on jurisprudence as well, by extrapolating blasphemy on the part of this shop keeper who was probably trying to go about his business. Laugh at us world, if that was the intention of the producers of the film. We have not disappointed!
Pakistanis have finally gone over the edge. This was always going to happen looking at how it was governed from the very start.
There is no silent majority of moderates. It's more and more looking like the fanatics may actually be the majority.
Khurram Malik: That's taking Stereotypical to the next level the way you have put it whilst this Mod has taken this law to the whole different and next level too
I was just viewing an U tube clip on Muhammad Hanif who spoke on his piece of writing that headed as "Kafir Factory", That caption could have been stated "blasphemy factory". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2Pi2VLy8s&feature=youtubegdata_player
this begs the question,will normalcy and peace return after 2014?
I know this would happen soon....
First,they targetted people for being Hindus,christians then they targetted for being ahmedis then they targetted for being shias
Now they will target anyone who doesnt like to believe in self-destruction and use brains and common sense...
Hell with Agni,Prithvi,Trishul,Brahmos....Just a badly edited youtube video can destroy Pakistan
Fanaticism needs to be checked RIGHT NOW or Pakistan will crumble in the next few years...