Oriana Robertson
24 November 2010
10:44pm
The tragic sentence of a local Pakistani woman, Asia Bibi, has stunned many people worldwide, including herself. She has been sentenced to execution in the form of a hanging for charges of blasphemy. After she supposedly denounced Islam and the prophet Mohammad, the Christian woman was hastily arrested and has been imprisoned for fifteen months. Recently, she has finally received her sentence. Pakistan has never sentenced a person to death on charges of blasphemy and Asia would be the first.
Although the majority of Pakistani citizens who are aware of the case are pleased, a huge portion of outsiders and human rights groups do not support this hasty, discriminatory decision. Human rights groups have been steadily and persistently protesting against this decision calling it a “source of violence and persecution against religious minorities.”
Asia has appealed to the higher courts and as of the 23rd of November, the President, Asif Ali Zardari has pardoned her despite the court’s decision. Zardari has been threatened with proposed acts of nationwide protests if he were to make his decision in favor of Asia. The two main leaders call this would-be decision a “criminal negligence” that would cause “inter-religious tension”. Many have questioned the Presidents role in the matter and are reexamining the fact that he has the last say; however, Zardari says Pakistan is committed to securing the rights of religious minorities. Although they believe in this, the Presidents party lacks the numbers to change the law on blasphemy. The President’s final decision came from further examination of the accusations and the determining that Asia’s charges were baseless and that she was falsely accused.
The fact that Zardari is such a liberal and open President, it is ironic that there is so much opposition. The outrage is the fruit of the, once again, growing pains of traditionally conservative nations. Ideally, Pakistan wanted a modern President who was open to change and the betterment of Pakistan; however, the strong religious conviction and traditional nature of this culture has a stronghold on the general public. The open acceptance of religious minorities is definitely a challenge for some groups. All people should have the right to their religious freedom, nonetheless.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/24/pakistan.christian/index.html?iref=allsearch
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/23/pakistan.christian/index.html?iref=allsearch
2 comments:
It is amazing how much we take for granted our freedom of religion in this country. I can think of several people who believe their religion is the right one and anyone who believes differently is going to Hell, but I can't imagine our government sentencing a person to death for claiming he or she is a Christian. I know that all countries do things different but this seems pretty insane!
I definitely agree with Corinne. Although I am a Christian, I am not being biased. No one should be sentenced to death because of their religion. We, here in America, take advantage of the freedom of religion.
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