Taseer murder: Sunni Ittehad warns against protests

PAKISTAN Punjab

Taseer murder: Sunni Ittehad warns against protests

Rana Tanveer
January 10, 2010

Children protesting in front of Lahore Press Club against any change in blasphemy law. PHOTO: RIAZ AHMAD/ EXPRESS

LAHORE: A Tahaffuz Namoos-i-Risalat conference held in the city on Sunday warned against public rallies and demonstrations praising Governor Salmaan Taseer or protesting his killing. A Mumtaz Qadri, speakers threatened, would be at every corner of the country to stop such displays of solidarity, a reference to the police guard who has confessed to killing the governor.

Maulana Nawaz Kharal, a spokesperson for the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), led the chorus while addressing the conference held at Aiwan-i-Iqbal. Kharal also said there should be no protest against Qadri and added, “Don’t associate Mumtaz with any terrorist group. He is a true lover of the Holy Prophet (pbuh).” He said his Sunni followers protect Qadri and his family with their lives.

SIC chairman Fazle Karim too condemned protests in favour of Salmaan Taseer. Karim said the NGOs protesting the governors’ death had never held any protest against the killings at Sunni gatherings after the attacks at Jamia Naeemia, Nishtar Park in Karachi, Data Darbar, shrines of Abdullah Shah Ghazi and Farid Ganj Shakar. He said they had not even raised a voice against the ban on the veil imposed in France. He said his followers would continue “the mission of Ghazi Ilamudin Shaheed.” He said the Sunni Tehrik would provide legal assistance to Qadri.

Dr Muhammad Ashraf Asif Jalali, founder of Idara Sirat-i-Mustaqeem Pakistan, announced the Ghazi Ilmudin Award for Qadri. He said that his group would lay a wreath on Ilmudin’s grave on Qadri’s behalf on January 15. He also said that it would hold a rally on January 19 from Lahore to Qadri’s residence in Rawalpindi.

Jalali then demanded that the government release Qadri as soon as possible and exonerate him from the charge of murder. He said the punishment for a blasphemer against the Holy Prophet (pbuh) was death. He claimed that the inclusion of Section 295-C in the Pakistan Penal Code had brought good luck for the country. He went on to say that all participants in Taseer’s funeral had jeopardised their Islamic faith. He said their participation in the prayers had put a question mark on their commitment to the community of the faithful.

The participants of the conference included Justice (retd) Nazeer Akhtar, former judge Nazeer Ghazi, Pir Sayed Karamat Ali and Dr Raghib Naeemi. After the conference ended, a group of SIC activists headed to the Governor’s House gate on The Mall on a van and chanted slogans in support of Qadri.Earlier, nearly 300 Sunni Tehrik activists had held a protest rally in front of the Lahore Press Club demanding Qadri’s immediate release. Participants of the rally also chanted slogans against the protestors in favour of Taseer.

In the only civil society rally after Taseer’s assassination on January 4, the participants had condemned the murder which they said was a result of religious extremism.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 10th, 2011.

URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/101580/taseer...against-protests/

Ulema warn against any change in blasphemy law

	Thursday, January 6, 2011, Safar 01, 1432 A.H.
Karachi
Ulema warn against any change in blasphemy law

Thursday, January 6, 2011

By Shamim Bano
Karachi

Ulema belonging to different sects warned the government on Wednesday that any change in the blasphemy law would be opposed, and demanded immediate release of the assassin of Governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer, Mumtaz Qadri.

Taseer’s murder was a case of divine retribution and the assassin, Mumtaz Qadri, has just demonstrated his steadfast faith, the Ulema said while addressing an All-Parties Conference (APC) organised by the Jamaat-e-Islami at the Idara-i-Noor-i-Haq in connection with Tahfuz-i-Namoos-i-Risalat and responsibilities of the Muslims.

They also asked both the president and the prime minister to dissolve the committee formed to review the blasphemy law, and vowed that the January 9 public meeting would show the strength of the followers of Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa(PBUH) and their love for Allah.

Over a dozen Ulema attended the APC held under the chairmanship of Asadullah Bhutto, Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Sindh.

Addressing the APC, Bhutto said that Taseer was killed due his statements “against Namoos-i-Risalat”. He added that this was not the first murder in history as John F Kennedy and Indira Ghandhi also met the same fate when they issued controversial statements. In his strongly worded speech, Bhutto said such incidents would happen in future if the blasphemy law was not implemented.

He said the blasphemy law was promulgated with the consent of all the Ulema. This is the law of the holy Quran and Sunnah and Muslims have faith in it and no assembly can change the Islamic edicts, he said.

No injustice t the family members of Mumtaz Qadri would be tolerated, the JI leader said and demanded that all his family members be immediately released.

He also paid tribute to prayer leaders who refused to lead the Namaz-e-Janaza of Salman Taseer, adding that people by distributing sweets had proved that any change in the blasphemy law would not be tolerated.

He also called upon the president and the prime minister to ensure that no amendment was be made to the law and the private bill submitted by PPP MNA Sherry Rehman was withdrawn.

Mir Nawaz Khan said that Taseer had adopted an “anti-Islami stance” for which he was assassinated.

Addressing the APC, Qazi Ahmed Noorani said that the government should have taken notice of the Taseer’s statement about the law.

The Ulema emphatically stated that any amendment to the law would never be tolerated and anyone who dared change it would meet the same fate as Taseer.

Other speakers included Syed Zia Abbas, Siddique Rathore, Khan, Qari Mohammed Usman, Maulana Abdul Rauf, and Maulana Jaffer Ali Subhani.

URL: www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=24078&Cat=4&dt=1/6/2011

Hardline Stance: Religious bloc condones murder

PAKISTAN

Hardline Stance: Religious bloc condones murder

Salman Siddiqui
January 5, 2011

Arrested Qadri sits in a police van at the site of a fatal attack on Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab, by his bodyguard in Islamabad on January 4, 2011. PHOTO: AFP

KARACHI: More than 500 religious scholars belonging to the Barelvi school of thought paid rich tributes to the assassin of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer on Tuesday and urged ‘Muslims across the country’ to boycott the funeral ceremony.

While the Deoband and Barelvi leaders appear to be on the same page when it comes to condemning the slain Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader for terming the blasphemy law as a black law, the Barelvi scholars, who claim to be the ‘true lovers of the Holy Prophet (pbuh)’, have taken a more hardline stance.

The largest body of the Barelvi group, the Jamaate Ahle Sunnat Pakistan (JASP), whose directions are considered binding on every other organisation that follows the same school of thought, issued a statement saying that “No Muslim should attend the funeral or even try to pray for Salmaan Taseer or even express any kind of regret or sympathy over the incident.”

The statement which has been endorsed by senior Barelvi leaders such as Professor Saeed Shah Kazmi, Allama Syed Riaz Hussain Shah, Syed Shah Turabul Haq Qadri and Hajji Mohammad Tayyab calls the assassin Mumtaz Hussain Qadri ‘Ashiqe Rasool Ghaziye Mulk (Lover of the Prophet, Commander of the Country)’.

“We pay rich tributes and salute the bravery, valour and faith of Mumtaz Qadri,” the statement said, adding that the ministers, politicians, ‘so-called’ intellectuals and anchor persons should learn lessons from the governor’s death. The scholars said that those who insult the Holy Prophet (pbuh), even if they did not intend to, were liable for death.

Hajji Mohammad Tayyab, who is also the secretary general of the Sunni Ittehad Council, told The Express Tribune that scholars had “repeatedly urged the president, prime minister and Governor Taseer himself that if their knowledge about the blasphemy law are limited, they should consult them and avoid debating over the issue as it would inflame the people and then anything could happen.”

Shah Turabul Haq Qadri’s son Siraj, also a senior member of the JASP, endorsed the statement and said it was now binding on every Muslim.

Jamiat Ulemae Pakistan (JUP) central executive committee member Maulana Shabbir went as far as saying that in his opinion Salmaan Taseer was ‘Wajubul Qatil’ (must be killed according to divine law). “He had called the divine law of God, a black law and tried to protect a condemned blasphemer,” he said.

Senior Sunni Tehrik leader Shahid Ghauri said although his party was yet to issue any formal statement about the matter, he would support the call of JASP because the people who gave the edict were his elders.

Senior Jamaate Islami leader Farid Paracha distanced his organisation from the JASP statement, but condemned the governor for calling the blasphemy law, a black law. “I believe that this call for changing the law was being done at the behest of the US and other western powers.”

Senior cleric of the Deoband school of thought and Jamia Binoria chief Mufti Naeem said he could not understand why the slain PPP leader invited trouble for himself, especially given that the blasphemy law was passed in 1985 by the parliament unanimously. “He kept on taking Aasia’s name, but I ask why didn’t he ever make a similar plea for Aafia (Siddiqui).” Naeem said although Islam says that anyone who commits blasphemy is liable to death punishment, what the killer Mumtaz Qadri did was totally wrong as he took the law into his hand.

“The blasphemy law was made exactly to prevent such incidents. Else there will be chaos in the country and everyone would kill everyone,” he said. Maulana Asad Thanvi too supported Naeem’s stance and said although what governor Taseer did was condemnable in the strongest words, he should have been tried in the courts.

Allama Abbas Kumaili of the Shia school of thought said the blasphemy law can be misused and there was no doubt about it. “But the way Salmaan Taseer took up the matter was blunt which inflamed the more emotional and ignorant people of our country.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5th, 2011

URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/99313/hardline-stance-religious-bloc-condones-murder/

Blasphemy laws: Religious right flexes its muscles

Pakistan

Blasphemy laws: Religious right flexes its muscles

January 01, 2011

Activists of Fundemental Rights Commission chant slogans against amendment in blasphemy laws during a protest demonstration at Hyder Chowk in Hyderabad on Friday December 31, 2010. PHOTO: PPI

KARACHI: A crippling strike shut down businesses and schools and derailed transport services across the country on Friday as religious parties offered their stoutest defence yet of the blasphemy laws. Despite the government’s firm assurances that the law would remain unchanged, leaders of the religious parties were determined to show just how much they opposed such a change.

On Thursday, the State Minister for Information Samsam Bokhari ruled out the possibility of any change in the law. “We will start a civil disobedience movement if the government makes any amendment to the law,” said Sunni Ittehad Council chairman Sahibzada Fazal Karim.

Analysts say the strike has more to do with politics than religion. “The government right now is in crisis and these religious parties are pressurising the government by playing with public sentiments,” political analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi told Reuters. Critics say the law is used to persecute religious minorities, fan religious extremism and settle personal scores.

In Karachi shopping centres, colleges and universities were closed and examinations scheduled for Friday were postponed.

President of the local transport association in Karachi, Irshad Bokhari, said public transport would remain off the road in response to the strike call. Chairman of Karachi Traders Unity, Atiq Mir said: “All markets and business centres are closed because the protection of Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) honour is supreme to us.” A joint press conference was also held by more than 30 religious parties belonging to different sects at Idara-e-Noor-e-Haq here.

Speaking at the occasion, Tahfuz-e Namoos-e-Risalat convenor Abdul Khair Muhammad Zubair said Pakistan came into being in the name of Islam and no one would be allowed to amend the law. Zubair said the government, its ministers and parliamentarians should avoid talking on the issue. He called for hanging those who commit blasphemy and demanded action to be taken against the Punjab governor, who had called the blasphemy law a smear on the constitution.

Zubair said that a phased plan had been devised as part of their struggle. The first phase was launched on December 24. “The second event is the strike, but the third event, which is the most important, will be a large public gathering in Karachi on January 9 at MA Jinnah Road. “Thousands of people will gather to express their love for Islam and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh),” he said.

A strike was also observed in other parts of the province including Sukkur, Rohri, Pano Aqil, Ghotki, Mirpur Mathelo, Daharki and Jacobabad among others.

In Islamabad, hundreds of supporters of Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Namoos-i-Risalat (TTNS) rallied amid a complete shutter down in the twin cities to demonstrate their ‘pledge’ against attempts to amend blasphemy laws. Leading a rally held in Rawalpindi, General Secretary of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam – Fazl Maulana Ghafoor Haideri threatened of more protests and even a ‘long march and civil disobedience if the government attempted any amendments in the blasphemy laws’.

Protesters demanded an end to foreign intervention in the country’s internal affairs at rallies in Lahore. Protests were taken out from offices of trade associations after Friday prayers. Two of the major rallies were held at The Mall and Ichhra Chowk on Ferozepur Road. The rally at The Mall totalled close to 500 people, while the one on Ferozepur Road brought out about 200 people.

A complete shutter down was observed in many areas of Balochistan. The Jamiat-Ulema Islam (Ideology) organised a rally and held a demonstration in Mezan Chowk in Quetta, criticising the government’s intention to amend the blasphemy law.

WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AGENCIES

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1st, 2011.

URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/97652/blasphemy-laws-religious-right-flexes-its-muscles/

City shuts in protest at bid to change blasphemy law

	Saturday, January 1, 2011, Muharram 25, 1432 A.H.
Karachi
City shuts in protest at bid to change blasphemy law

Saturday, January 1, 2011

By Shamim Bano
Karachi

The busy life of the metropolis took a pause on Friday when thousands of supporters and activists of various religious parties and groups marched and shouted a warning to the government – don’t change the blasphemy law or face more protests, including a civil disobedience movement.

The shutter-down strike – the call for which was given by the Tehreek-e-Namoos-e-Risalat (TNR) in protest against proposed amendments to the country’s contentious blasphemy law – also seemed a wheel-jam strike as public transport stayed off the road.

All trader organisations backed the strike and kept their businesses shut. All shopping centres of the city also closed. The Sunni Ittehad Council staged a massive rally led by Sahibzada Fazal Karim. The rally started from Shamzai Chowk and ended at the Tibet Centre on MA Jinnah Road amid tight security. Rangers and other law enforcers were deployed on the rooftops of several buildings along the route of the rally as part of the security measures. Roads and lanes leading towards the site of the rally were closed to all vehicular traffic.

The rally adopted several resolutions, one of which demanded of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to give a policy statement in the parliament or address the nation to satisfy the citizens of the country over the issue.

The resolutions demanded removal of Salman Taseer as the governor of Punjab for trying to get the blasphemy law amended. They also demanded that the private bill presented to a committee of the National Assembly by PPP MNA Sherry Rehman should be withdrawn or the parliamentary committee should reject it.

The participants of the rally urged that Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti, who is also the head of a committee formed to review the proposed changes in the law, should either voluntarily resign or be replaced.

The rally was attended by Sarwat Ejaz Qadri of the Sunni Tehreek, Haji Hanif Tayyub, Shahid Ghauri and others. Later, the Tehreek-e-Namoos-e-Risalat (TNR) threatened a million-man march on Islamabad if the government considered proposed amendments to the blasphemy law.

The TNR also gave the government a nine-day ultimatum to clear its stance, otherwise people would lay a siege to the Parliament House. The ultimatum was given by TNR chief Sahibzada Abul Khair at a joint press conference addressed by about 35 religious and political leaders at the Idara-i-Noor-i-Haq.

The leaders said the strike conveyed a message to the government and the entire western world that any change in the blasphemy law would be resisted and people would take to the streets in protest.

They demanded immediate dissolution of the committee headed by Shahbaz Bhatti . The demand came a day after a federal minister made it clear that the government was not considering changing the law.

The religious and political leaders also called for immediate removal of Sherry Rehman as MNA. They said the government should denounce the bill presented by the MNA. They also demanded immediate sacking of Governor Punjab Salman Taseer, and vowed that their struggle would continue till his removal from office.

Shaibzada Zubair said a public meeting was scheduled to be held in the city on January 9 and “we have given nine days to the government to remove all ambiguities in this regard or be ready to face the consequences”.

The chief of Alami Khatam-i-Nabuwat, Maulana Tauseef, said anyone using derogatory remarks against the president of Pakistan is charged with treason under the Constitution, so any person who uses sacrilegious remarks against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) should also be punished and given the death sentence under the Islamic law.

Maulana Afzal Sardar of Jamiat-i-Ahle Hadith said that though there were different sects in the country, they were united at one platform on the issue of Namoos-i-Risalat as they had taken oath to safeguard the sanctity of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Professor Ghafoor Ahmed of the Jamaat-i-Islami said that Muslims could be impractical but would never tolerate any derogatory remarks against the Holy Prophet (PBUH) or any change in the blasphemy law.

AFP adds: Violence flared in an area of the city on Friday as police and protesters clashed during a mass protest strike that closed businesses over a bid to change the blasphemy law. Police said protesters near the Bilawal House pelted stones as they shouted slogans, including “we’ll sacrifice our lives — we’ll save the sanctity of the Prophet” (PBUH). Teargas shells were fired to disperse them, AFP reporters said.

URL: www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=23255&Cat=4