Tag: Blasphemy

Asia Bibi lawyers make one last plea

November 26, 2014 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Islamic extremism, Lahore, Pakistan, Prophet Muhammad

Asia Bibi, the Christian woman on death row in Pakistan for blasphemy, has appealed to the only court in the country that can now save her. Bibi’s lawyer, Saiful Malook, filed the appeal to Pakistan’s Supreme Court on 24 November asking that it reconsiders deficiencies in her case. After a previous appearance . . . Read More

Death sentence for Pakistan woman turned on technicality

November 19, 2014 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Pakistan Ulema Council, Sawan Masih, Sheikhupura

The Pakistan court that a month ago said Aasiya Noreen, a Christian, must die for the crime of insulting Islam, based its ruling on a legal technicality that it now wants to eliminate. The Lahore High Court, an appeals court for Pakistan’s largest province, had decided Oct. 16 that it . . . Read More

Pakistani Christian couple brutally killed by mob for alleged ‘blasphemy’

November 5, 2014 Pakistan Blasphemy, Bonded labourers, Gojra, Islamic extremism, Pakistan Muslim League, Punjab, Shahzad Masih, Shama Bibi

A Pakistani mob beat to near-death a Christian and his pregnant wife for her alleged ‘blasphemy’, then threw them both into the large kiln where they both worked as bonded laborers. The incident happened on Tuesday 4th Nov, some 60 kilometers from Lahore, the capital of Punjab in central Pakistan – . . . Read More

Pakistan court upholds death penalty for Asia Bibi despite serious legal loophole in trial

October 17, 2014 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Salmaan Taseer, Shahbaz Bhatti, Sheikhupura, USA

The first Christian woman to be sentenced to death under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws had her appeal rejected by the High Court in Lahore on Thursday. Aasiya Noreen, commonly known as Asia Bibi, received the death penalty in 2010 after she allegedly made derogatory comments about the Prophet Mohammed during an . . . Read More

Death sentence for Asia Bibi confirmed

October 16, 2014 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Islamic extremism, Lahore, Pakistan, Prophet Muhammad, Quran

Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian woman accused of blasphemy and sentenced to death in 2010 has today had her sentence confirmed by the Lahore High Court. She is the first Christian woman to be given the death penalty under Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws, and her case sparked global condemnation. She was accused of . . . Read More

Amidst political turmoil, continuing blasphemy charges for Pakistani Christians

October 2, 2014 Pakistan Blasphemy, Converts, Faisalabad, Islamic extremism, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Punjab, Sweepers, Taliban

Naja Maish his wife and family with TVS TeamCourtesy of The Voice Society Christians have continued to be accused of blasphemy against Islam, in three separate recent cases in Pakistan. In one, a group of 35 was briefly accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammed before the charge was quickly . . . Read More

Pakistan court grants bail to suspect in murder of government minister

July 19, 2014 Pakistan Blasphemy, Faisalabad, Paul Bhatti, Rawalpindi, Shahbaz Bhatti, Taliban

A man charged with killing Pakistan’s former Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian, in March 2011 has been released on bail of about $10,000 by a Pakistani court. Umar Abdullah was released July 11 after being arrested in September 2013. He has been accused of having ties with Al-Qaeda and . . . Read More

Welby concerned by Pakistan’s blasphemy laws

June 3, 2014 Blasphemy, Islamic extremism, Justin Welby, Pakistan, Religion Law

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby expressed his concerns over daily threats Christians face from Islamist militants and the blasphemy laws at the end of a two-day visit in Pakistan. Speaking to Muslim leaders, Welby is determined to improve relations between Christians and Muslims in the West. He was also . . . Read More

Extremist Islamists torch shops in Egypt

June 3, 2014 Egypt Blasphemy, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Luxor

An Islamic extremist mob threw gasoline bombs at shops owned by Coptic Christians in a village near Luxor, Egypt on Monday. Authorities are investigating the attack, which happened hours before the nearby blasphemy trial of Kerolos Ghattas, a Coptic Christian, accused with contempt to Islam over his alleged Internet postings. . . . Read More

Pakistani blasphemy law used against popular TV channel, Jehovah’s Witnesses and more

May 27, 2014 Pakistan Blasphemy, Jehovah's Witnesses, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Multan, Shahbaz Bhatti

Pakistani Christians and supporters protest the use of blasphemy laws in Pakistan. London, December 2009. helen.2006 / Flickr / Creative Commons With several Christians on trial awaiting potential death sentences for allegedly committing blasphemy – tensions are increasingly high across the nation with a record breaking amount of blasphemy . . . Read More

Catching Our Eye