Blind Faith - documentary on blasphemy in Pakistan

[Meesna]

YouTube - Blind Faith part 1(documentary about blasphemy in Pakistan)

YouTube - Blind Faith part 2(documentary about blasphemy in Pakistan)

 

[muse]

Thank you Meesna - very timely -- to any who may think that opposition is based on unworthy ideas - nothing could be further from the truth -- these laws are distinguished by their abuse, the victims are overwhelmingly rural, poor, as well as members of religious minorities.

Just imagine victimizing a woman, and a 70 year old woman - the shame of it makes you wish the earth would open up and swallow you. Just the accusation can lead to violence - we must not be in the position of utopians, we must examine why these laws are prone to the kinds of abuse they are so obviously prone to.

 

[MKI]

Hope this documentary provide enough strength to change or remove the law and make Secular pakistan a reality.

 

[khanz]

nice documentary they explained things quite nicely .Absolutely no good or improved law and order situation has ever come from this law only the opposite how can any pakistani support this stupid law being implemented upon their own people ? only a tool used to rile up the illiterate masses,abuse minorities and a weapon for personal/land disputes.I really hate this mob mentality in pakistan and hope they find the courage to scrap this law one day.

 

[TruthSeeker]

I really hate this mob mentality in pakistan and hope they find the courage to scrap this law one day.

How are we to understand/explain the many posters on this Forum who love and support the blasphemy law? Aren't they also representative of Pakistani opinion? As an outsider it seems to me that many Pakistanis on this Forum cannot accept any criticism of the political practice of Islam. It is as if they cannot separate personal Islam from political Islam. Are they mostly very young and immature in their adult thinking? Do they not have enough experience yet in the world to see political manipulation for what it is? Please explain, if you can, why so many here (at PDF) seem to want to support such things as the blasphemy law for fear that to do otherwise is unpatriotic, or will lessen their chance of achieving heaven on judgment day.

 

[Spitfighter]

nice documentary they explained things quite nicely .Absolutely no good or improved law and order situation has ever come from this law only the opposite how can any pakistani support this stupid law being implemented upon their own people ? only a tool used to rile up the illiterate masses,abuse minorities and a weapon for personal/land disputes.I really hate this mob mentality in pakistan and hope they find the courage to scrap this law one day.

Well its quite simple if you think about it, Pakistan is an Islamic country so its only natural for religion to dominate the political sphere. People believe the state was created as a haven for Islam in any case, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that their religious sentiments are being exploited for political gains. What better way for a mullah to consolidate his hold then religious hysteria?

I doubt any party would be foolish enough to try and challenge the mullahs over this. The blasphemy laws are here to stay.

 

[Gabbar]

Is this law widely supported in Pakistan?

 

[Spitfighter]

^^ If the mullahs didn't enjoy the kind of support they do, don't you think the law would've been repealed ages ago?

Most of the guys on here are educated moderates, don't go by what they say. There were mass protests against amending the law in all their major cities just yesterday. The truth is out there for the world to see.

Thank you Mr.Mullah, you never disappoint.

 

[flameboard]

Education, Education, Education, its the only way

 

[Meesna]

An interesting read;

Blasphemy Law: the Shape of Things to Come

The second, and perhaps more potent reason the law will not be repealed is because the law was consciously meant to promote the Islamist project that the deep state (or a powerful section of the deep state) continues to desire in Pakistan. The blasphemy law is a ready-made weapon against all secular opposition to the military-mullah alliance (though some sections of the military now seem to have abandoned that alliance, hence the qualification “section of the deep state&#8221. Secular parties are suspected of being soft on India and are considered a danger to the Kashmir Jihad and other projects dear to the heart of the deep state. At the same time, Islamist parties provide ideological support and manpower for those beloved causes. In this way, the officers of the deep state, even when they are not personally religious, recognize the need for an alliance with religious parties and against secular political forces (Musharraf was a good example). They have been forced into an uneasy (temporary?) compromise with secular parties by circumstances beyond their control (aka America) but with American withdrawal a real possibility, the deep state does not wish to alienate its mullah constituency too much. They will be needed again once the Yankees are gone. Hence, no repeal at this time.

Source: 3quarksdaily

 

[Meesna]

The real blasphemers
Khalid Zaheer

The issue of Aasiya Bibi’s alleged blasphemy became one of the hottest topics for debate in 2010. At a very basic level, the question that everyone sought to answer is this: How are we, as Muslims, meant to deal with blasphemy?

This question has a simple answer: we should ignore people who are accused of blasphemy and tell them that the great man whom they are supposedly targeting in their acts of blasphemy was the one who taught us to ignore their actions and focus on more positive things in life.

The real blasphemers – The Express Tribune

 

[T-Faz]

Well its quite simple if you think about it, Pakistan is an Islamic country so its only natural for religion to dominate the political sphere. People believe the state was created as a haven for Islam in any case, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that their religious sentiments are being exploited for political gains. What better way for a mullah to consolidate his hold then religious hysteria?

I doubt any party would be foolish enough to try and challenge the mullahs over this. The blasphemy laws are here to stay.

Pakistan did not have religion dominate its political life until the mid to late 70's when Bhutto, to consolidate his waning power, appeased the Mullahs by giving into their demands.

Mullahs opposed Pakistan, the three biggest religious parties of India, Jamaat-e-Ulema Hind, Jamaat-e-Islami and Majlis-e-Ahrar were aggressively opposed to the creation of Pakistan.

The worst mistake Liaqat Ali Khan made was that he let these people in Pakistan when in reality they should be sitting in Deoband, India giving fatwa after fatwa.

Religion is a tool in the hands of these people, the common man does not want to oppose them because his/her life is in danger because of it.

Last time Ahmadi's tried to take them head on in the 70's, they ended up as Non Muslims.

Though you are correct in stating that mullahs use hysteria and these laws currently seem to be here forever.

But things can change very quickly, there will always be people working for betterment while the loonies want to establish an Afghanistan style emirate.

 

[Jigs]

This documentary illustrates things very nicely and puts everything into perspective. I hope everyone watches it.

 

[Spitfighter]

An interesting read;



Source: 3quarksdaily

Interesting indeed.

The US plans on maintaining a presence in Afghanistan for a long time to come, even after they scale down their combat operations in 2014. Pakistan and the states are on a collision course and we can already see some of that friction today. I wonder how Zia would react if he could see how beneficial his policies have been for India.

 

[v9s]

Look at them, they're glorifying prophet Muhammad against his will.