Home Journal List Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan Volume 57 Article Details

PAKISTAN’S BLASPHEMY LAWS: A CONCERN FOR MCCARTHYISM

Abstract

The tension between the right of freedom of expression and the desire among many Muslim majority countries to prohibit blasphemous speech has become a focal point of conflict between Western and Muslim worlds. The proponents of blasphemy laws advocate that such laws maintain social and religious cohesiveness in a society, while the opponents highlight the underlying cause of dissent; the breach of human rights by suppressing religious minorities and hindering freedom of speech. There are three reasons that keep unassailable blasphemy laws a powerful charge in Pakistan. First and foremost, is the close relationship between Islam and State so that any religious offence will easily be construed as a state offence as evident in Article 2 and Article 31 of Islamic Republic Of Pakistan’s Constitution. Secondly, the extreme reverence Muslims possess for their religious beliefs and rightly so. Lastly, how such beliefs are often exploited for political gains. Blasphemy laws not only exist in Pakistan but also are present in majority of the Muslim countries including Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria having the same death penalty. This treatise will explore the historical context of blasphemy laws in Pakistan, its potential abuse targeted at individuals for personal enmity and the theoretical perspectives on the issue of human rights in context of blasphemy laws. It must be acknowledged that blasphemy laws in Pakistan are here to stay due to the country’s religious environment. Hence, the only viable solution is to discourage the laws being used as a potent tool for malicious abuse and punish the true culprits of the crime.

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