Keep on pushing against the blasphemy law

The Council of Islamic Ideology's response to Sherry Rehman's bill can also be seen as a major success for Rehman.

On November 25, 2010, former minister Sherry Rehman submitted a bill to the National Assembly seeking amendments to the blasphemy law. Since then, the religious parties of Pakistan have been in a tizzy. Aside from the announcement of two major rallies — one on December 31 and the other on January 8 — we see that the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), or the ‘top Islamic body’ of Pakistan as it is known, has a response to Rehman’s bill.

I admit that I am wary of the Council. My scepticism stems from their reaction to what could have been a great achievement, the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill. Many claim that the legislature has not been implemented primarily because the Council labelled the bill as ‘discriminatory’ and argued that it would allow police to violate the ‘sanctity of the home,’ and lead to higher divorce rates. However, among other positive changes, it would have broadened the definition of abuse and created protection committees providing legal care and medical facilities to victims of abuse.

Interestingly, in October 2009 when the bill was moved in the Senate, it was a senior member of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (F), who raised the most vociferous objection to the Domestic Violence Bill. In November 2009, the same senior member of the JUI-F, Maulana Mohammed Khan Sheerani, was given the valued and influential position of the chairman of the CII.

I bring up all this to return to the matter of the blasphemy law and point out that while the CII’s watered down changes can be viewed as a counterproposal, they can also be seen as a major success for Rehman. For it seems that those interested in maintaining the controversial laws sense a momentum for change that they cannot stop. To ensure a large turnout at the two rallies that I mentioned in the opening paragraph, the names of all their major players are being pushed. This includes all the leaders of ‘outlawed’ parties. Hafiz Saeed and his likes are ominously gathering in a show of strength under one banner. They could also find in this an opportunity to recover from the damage caused by the WikiLeaks cable that revealed Maulana Fazlur Rehman to have kowtowed to former US Ambassador Anne Patterson for power in government.

It may be true that most opponents of the blasphemy law, and I include myself in this, believe that the law should be repealed, scratched altogether. However, an amendment, specifically Sherry Rehman’s proposed amendments, can be a good start. At the very least, they will bring some change, some initiative, where there has been none for decades. As activist Beena Sarwar said to me, “politics is about compromise, dialogue and negotiation too.”

Rehman has also stated that she hopes this will be only the beginning. In this very newspaper, she wrote in moving words: “This is the time to push for repeal of the blasphemy law in the legislature. If that does not work, just like the Hudood repeal bills did not when we moved them, we need to build positions and craft laws that amend these laws so they become toothless...”

I say let us be roused by Rehman’s appeal to stand together to make things better in whatever way we each can. This could be that glimmer of hope for which we are constantly clamouring.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23^rd, 2010.