The blasphemy laws are not religious laws, they are man-made.
ISLAMABAD: Following Muhammad Faizan’s logic of accusing an Ismaili doctor, if a child who happens to be named Muhammad is teased at school, or abused by his parents, or insulted at any time in his life by anyone, the ‘perpetrator’ could be accused of blasphemy. We should be more concerned that someone with the name of Muhammad thinks that he is in any way comparable to the Prophet (pbuh) and that insulting him is in any way the same as someone insulting our beloved Prophet (pbuh). Can anyone else see how ridiculous this is getting? What happens if people with Muhammad in their name actually insult someone else or commit a crime? Can we say that they are insulting the Holy Prophet (pbuh), whose name they are carrying? Perhaps it would be better to ban people from naming their children in this manner so that, in future, there would be no confusion. The blasphemy laws are not religious laws. They are man-made and are being used by one person to take revenge on another, or, in some cases, by the police to extort money. It is the easiest thing to do — blame someone for insulting Islam, the Quran, or the Holy Prophet (pbuh). Who could argue with that! But surely, falsely accusing someone of such a thing is a far worse crime.
Hasan Nadeem
Published in The Express Tribune December 15th, 2010.
