"Any attempt to change them is met with just fierce resistance by radicals and extremist groups. [And] any court hearing for any of these individuals [charged with violating the blasphemy laws] ... is packed full of imams and mullahs who are demanding the death penalty."
Source/Credit: OneNewsNow.com
By Bill Bumpas | April 14, 2015
A human rights organization reports that those who publicly stand against the misuse of alleged "blasphemy laws" in Pakistan are putting their lives at risk.
International Christian Concern logoReligious persecution in Pakistan was the topic of a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, earlier today. International Christian Concern hosted the event to highlight the rising incidence of violence and discrimination against religious minorities in Pakistan.
The news conference also addressed the abuse of Pakistan's so-called "blasphemy laws," which ICC advocacy director Isaac Six says are consistently misapplied to suppress religious minority groups.
"Any attempt to change them is met with just fierce resistance by radicals and extremist groups," he tells OneNewsNow. "[And] any court hearing for any of these individuals [charged with violating the blasphemy laws] ... is packed full of imams and mullahs who are demanding the death penalty."
That response, he says, has created a treacherous environment for those who stand against the blasphemy laws.
"So it's gotten misplaced in the Pakistani culture and in society where it's this untouchable law – and it's almost viewed as a divine law even though it's so badly abused," the group spokesman continues. "And it's become dangerous – anyone who tries to revise it or touch it is under threat of death."
According to Six, the perilous situation in Pakistan isn't going to go away anytime soon. "If we don't continue to look at it, if we don't continue to address it, if we don't continue to take steps to push for its revision, it's not going to get any better. So we cannot stand silent," he offers. "By doing so, we ignore what's happening and more people will suffer because of it."
Six says four Christians, including Asia Bibi – a mother of five – have been convicted of blasphemy, despite little evidence, and sentenced to death by hanging.
Read original post here: Pakistan: A perilous place to oppose blasphemy laws
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