How Pakistan's blasphemy laws stir vigilante violence

Pakistan's notorious blasphemy laws have once again been thrust into the spotlight after an angry Muslim mob burned down several Christian churches and houses in the eastern district of Faisalabad in Punjab last week after accusing two Christians of desecrating the Quran. 

Videos shared on social media showed hundreds of people armed with batons and sticks attacking the Salvation Army Church and the Saint Paul Catholic Church. Both were set on fire. Christians were also attacked in their homes.

The dispute erupted when torn pages of the Holy Quran, the holy book for Muslims, were found near a Christian settlement with allegedly blasphemous content written on the pages. 

Allegations of blasphemy frequently incite violent mobs in Pakistan. In February, a man accused of blasphemy was lynched by a violent group in Punjab, despite being held in police custody at the time.

What are Pakistan's blasphemy laws? 

The laws set out a punishment of death or life imprisonment for those found guilty of making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad.

Critics say the laws, which originated in the British colonial period, are often misused against Pakistan's vulnerable minority groups and even against Muslims to settle personal scores.

Activists point to the history of glorifying vigilante violence in Pakistan.

"For example, in the case of Ghazi Ilm-ud-din, our political and religious leaders, rather than exercising restraint in such matters, find it convenient for them to rile up a crowd and lead a mob so they can establish their personal credentials and influence," Jibran Nasir, a human rights activist, told DW. 

Ilm-ud-din assassinated book publisher Mahashe Rajpal in 1929 over claims of blasphemy years before Pakistan's formation. Ilm-ud-din was executed for his crime but is still hailed as a hero among some circles in Pakistan.

A recent parallel has been drawn with Mumtaz Qadri, the police bodyguard who killed Salman Taseer in 2011. Taseer was the liberal governor of Punjab who had opposed the harsh blasphemy laws.

What's behind the recent mob violence?

Christians, comprising about 2% of Pakistan's 241-million-strong population, have been the primary targets of blasphemy allegations over the years. 

"Religious hatred is deeply intoxicated in the social structures due to lack of education, and for students, it is injected through the curriculum. Masses who may not be aware of their basic rights guaranteed by the constitution are fully acquainted with the use of blasphemy laws to settle their personal vendetta," Ruth Stephen, a minority rights activist, told DW. 

Blasphemy convictions are common, and even though no judicial executions have ever been carried out, at least 85 people have been murdered since 1990 in relation to blasphemy allegations, according to local media.

"Most of the religious minorities form the lower stratum of Pakistani society. With no equal opportunities available to climb the social ladder, they are seen as scum and treated accordingly while working menial jobs such as sanitary workers or cleaners," Stephen said.  

But Tahira Abdullah, a human rights activist, believes the religious bigotry may at times just be a cover for something else.

"There are several reasons for such mob attacks including religious extremism, violent fanaticism, increasing bigotry, intolerance of all minority/non-Muslim communities on the one hand," Abdullah told DW. 

"And on the other, there are various real estate mafias and groups' vested material interests and ulterior motives for exploitation and misuse of military dictator General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's harsh amendments and severe punishments inserted into the blasphemy laws."

How does the state respond to religious violence?

Research has shown that more than 90% of blasphemy accusations are false, but Stephen believes the state responds by siding with the accusers rather than protecting vulnerable minorities.

But police themselves are, in the current situation, unlikely to be able to stop the violence even if they wanted to.

"Low-ranking police officials have no protection," Nasir said.

"If they were to act against the mob and the leaders of the mob, these police officers might later face suspension and transfer when religious parties sit and negotiate a compromise with the government and senior police officials."

"The confusion our establishment and state suffer from [regarding] the role of religion in politics trickles down to every functionary of the State," Nasir added.

Can the mob violence be stopped?

Activists have stressed that policymakers need to start a discussion with stakeholders to design a framework to finally repeal the blasphemy laws.

"The state machinery needs to flex its muscles ensuring the maintenance of law and order through police, paramilitary and even military forces to help the downtrodden minorities feel safe, secure and [like they belong]" Stephen, the minority rights activist, told DW.

"To reform, or even repeal, the blasphemy laws requires courage amid the strong resistance from the Islamists," Stephen said.

But Jibran Nasir thinks the blasphemy laws are not the reason behind such mob attacks on religious minorities. 

"I personally don't think it is the laws that encourage the mobs. In fact, the excuse given for most mob violence is that police were late to act against the accused blasphemer," Nasir stressed.

"If the laws don't exist at all the mob would be more assured that the state has entirely relinquished the responsibility of punishing blasphemers to the clergy and masses so it would only encourage more mobs," he told DW. 

"We often try to compare how mob violence and lynching have grown since the laws got stricter in the '80s but we fail to take into account that country and society as a whole went through Islamisation and religion started playing a key role in politics to sway voters," Nasir added. 

Edited by: Alex Berry