Muneeb says blasphemy accused should be tried by FSC

The Newspaper's Staff Reporter Published March 18, 2013

Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee Chairman Mufti Muneeb. — File Photo.

LAHORE: Religious scholars belonging to the Sunni school of thought have proposed that accused in blasphemy cases should be tried by the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) and the changes introduced by former president Gen (retd) Musharraf’s regime in the registration of such cases be done away with.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee Chairman Mufti Muneebur Rehman condemned the incident in Lahore in which over 150 houses belonging to Christians were burnt down and said the changes made in the FIR had made registration of blasphemy cases difficult, leading to unrest among Muslims.

Allama Ragheb Naeemi and other religious leaders and scholars were present on the occasion.

Mufti Muneeb said the accused in blasphemy cases should be tried directly by the Federal Shariat Court and the cases should be adjudicated within three months.

He opposed imposition of penalty for the accuser(s) in such cases, arguing that no punishment existed for falsehood in other cases.

Mufti Muneeb warned that no amendment in the blasphemy law would be tolerated by the Muslims and urged the electronic media personnel to refrain from behaving like judges in their talk shows.

Mufti Muneeb said that defamation of sacred religious personalities should be declared a crime under international law.

Mufti Muneeb said a proposal in this regard had been forwarded to some Western diplomats during a dialogue at the Governor House in Karachi.

He suggested that people belonging to religious minorities should be called “non-Muslim Pakistanis” as the term “minority” gave a negative impression. He condemned the bombing at Karachi’s Abbas Town and criticised the television channels for terming it an attack on Shias even though many Sunnis also died in it.

aabdul

Mar 18, 2013 03:28am

Well, here we go again. The country is falling apart for the very reasons these Mullahs are fighting for, and these heroes of Pakistan want more of it. Who can save Pakistan?

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Falcon

Mar 18, 2013 03:29am

I have no idea why the respected scholar will drag himself into the debate and make it more controversial than it needs to be.

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Muhammad Farooq

Mar 18, 2013 03:32am

It is obvious that Blasphemy laws has some loopholes and on many occasions it has used to settle pesonal scores. Therefore, we need to remove those flaws from the law. There is no short cut to it. We all are Pakistanis regardless of caste and creed. It would be futile to divide Pakistanis on the basis of religion or on any other basis.

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Kamal

Mar 18, 2013 03:37am

The accuser should NOT be punished if one has wrongly accused some one? That happens at this time any way. No wonder any one can accuse any one of blasphemy and street justice is triggered right away. This law has made a joke out of Islam and our great Prophet. The damage done due to carelessness by accusers, Police and Judiciary is simply unbelievable. I'd stronly suggest all non-muslim Pakistanis to NOT discuss any religious matter with any Muslim. That's the least you can do to protect yourself. You never know when a Pakistani Muslim may accuse you.

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Parvez Mahmood

Mar 18, 2013 03:45am

We need to get rid of this law. It has caused too many injustices. It is primarily used to settle scores. Think, it has never been invoked by non Muslims of the country, whereas there are more Muslims causing blasphemy against the non Muslim deities than the other way around. Lets stop playing in the hands of these political mullahs and abolish these laws.

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Mar 18, 2013 05:02am

its because of people like him that Pakistan has a bad name.

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Moby

Mar 18, 2013 05:10am

That is precisely why we do not need religious "leaders" or "scholars". They have done enough for us already, one wishes they would stop bestowing their wisdom on our downtrodden masses.

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another-muneeb

Mar 18, 2013 05:35am

is it too much to call them simply pakistani? And mufti muneeb is wrong, pakistan does have libel laws where those who falsely accused can be punished. I think blasphemy should have something more strict given how people's lives get destroyed over false accusations. For all the people reading this, I hope you know that christian bibles were also burned in this recent carnage. Don''t blasphemy laws cover non-islamic texts? Further, how can any one have a fair trail when he is being tried by a "shariat" court. More importantly whose shariat is this? Sunni? Wahabi? Shia? Why doen't mufti muneeb issue a fatwa against those who burned christian homes. Khuda ka kauf karo mufti sahib, qiyamat kay din kis tarah khuda ko munh dikhao gay?

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Abdur Razzaque

Mar 18, 2013 05:44am

Blasphemy cases should be tried by the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) and the changes introduced by former president Gen (retd) Musharraf

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Bikkar S BRAR

Mar 18, 2013 08:02am

The law should be equally applied on all. Why a person making false allegation should be spared. A person making false allegation must be punished with the same severity as the alleged person would have punished if proved true. Neither the religion nor the constitution make double standard while dealing with the human being irrespective of the faith they are following. People from majority community misinterpret the law and this is how the injustice is done.

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akhter husain

Mar 18, 2013 08:20am

Religious scholar Mr Muneeb surprises me when when he floats a term like "Non Muslim Pakistani"A national of Pakistan is only Pakistani and it must be recognized as such,or tomorrow we will be called Barailvi-Pakistani,Sunni-Pakistani,Pukhtoon Pakistani,,shia-Pakistani etc.As a layman I would prefer to be known as Pakistani without any prefix.This is my nationality and I am thankful to Allah for it.Initiating false cases is punishable under law.All the losses incurred by the victims must be recovered from the culprits.

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muhammad

Mar 18, 2013 09:17am

Use of blasphemy law to settle personal feud is becoming a greater blasphemy from Islam

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Practical

Mar 18, 2013 10:50am

Will Mufti Muneeb accept a proposal which states " Non-Christian Americans or Non-Christian British etc for Muslims who live in these countries?

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Ahmed Jumma

Mar 18, 2013 11:43am

Please do not comment negatively on Blasphemy Law. This is very important law for saving our belief (Eemaan), however, those who are responsible for implementation, must be honest, true Muslims with sufficient knowledge of Quran and Hadith i.e. Police, Judges, Advocates, Rulers, Bureacracy. The Allama and Ulema all are very respectable people and can guide for improvement in the Law. Blasphemy Law is for protecting respect of all the prophets Peace be upon them all. A Muslim can not even think to disrespect Jesus Christ, Moses or any other prophet or religion identity while the non Muslims do not care for.

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AHA

Mar 19, 2013 11:24am

Another Islamic leader - another disgrace to humanity.

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hyderphd74

Mar 19, 2013 04:25pm

Blasphemy Law is the biggest menace. If Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) did not need such a law then how come we need it. If the prophet had enacted and used this kind of law then half the Mecca would have been killed. Do you know of the woman who used to throw garbage upon him every time he would pass by her house? How many times did he punish her? What did he do to her? He went to her funeral. This was his attitude that converted people to the faith. Not the actions of our Mullahs (example Muftee Muneeb) which drift people away from the religion. We do not need Blasphemy Law. Make your actions so good that people would respect you and and are automatically attracted to your religion. Let the Blasphemy Law go the way its founder Zia went, into pieces, to--- every one knows where.

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