March 21, 2013: Punishing abuse and exploitation linked to the controversial blasphemy
law is an urgent need for the respect of law and the rule of law in Pakistan: this
was said by Muslim leaders who met in past days, within the Council for Interreligious
Dialogue in Lahore. The leaders expressed solidarity with the Christians, victims
of the attack on Joseph Colony on 9 March, 2013. The attack had as a pretext a
case of alleged blasphemy, accusation launched towards the Christian Sawan Masih but
turned out to be completely false. As reported to Fides, the meeting of the Council,
strongly backed by the Muslim leaders, brought together leaders of different religious
communities, civil society and politics as Fr. Francis Nadeem OFM Cap, Coordinator
of the Council, Akram Masih Gill, Minister of State for Inter-religious Harmony, as
well as many ulemas and Muslim leaders. The latter firmly condemned the "barbaric
episode", solidarity with the whole Christian community in Pakistan "at a time of
great persecution and sorrow."
Mr. Mujeeb ur Rehman Shami, Director of "Daily
Pakistan " called the attack "a disgrace to all Muslims of Pakistan," stating that
"the criminals use violence in the name of Islam. A study committee has to be formed
immediately, made up of Muslim and Christian leaders to find the way to a proper use
of the blasphemy law. " If the accusation is false - he continued - "the accuser should
be punished in the same way as the alleged offender: this is the only way to prevent
cases of abuse in the future."
Prof. Aqeel Ullah reiterated: "By attacking
Joseph Colony the Muslims forgot the teachings of Islam," while Mufti Abdul Naqi remarked
that "it is our duty to respect national and religious humanity without any discrimination."
The
Christian Akram Masih Gill, Minister of State for Harmony, also appreciated the gesture
of goodwill on behalf of Islamic leaders recalling the principle of legality: "Even
if a person were guilty, he/she deserves the punishment prescribed by law, but for
the mistake of one man, one cannot insult and attack an entire community. We Christians
are citizens of Pakistan, like the others "
Fr. Francis Nadeem, in conclusion,
thanked all the Muslim members of the Council for organizing the meeting in defense
of Pakistani Christians, hoping that "concrete steps to stop this kind of violence
that could still happen in the future are taken." At the end of the meeting, all participants
recited together the prayer, "God make me an instrument of your peace", attributed
to St. Francis of Assisi.