Kaleem Washington, Crime
Blog #7
Source: The Washington Post
Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan's sole Christian minister, is assassinated in Islamabad
Have you ever been punished by the law for speaking your mind? Most people in the United States would answer no to this question because this would violate the U.S. Constitutional law of “freedom of speech.” However, in Islamabad, Pakistan, the cost for speaking your mind could result in severe consequences with the law, such as imprisonment or even death. In the news, Pakistan's federal minorities minister, Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian, was gunned down by suspected Islamist militants in this capital city Wednesday March 2, 2011. This crime marks what reporters believe is the second killing this year involving a senior government official “who had spoken out against the country's stringent anti-blasphemy laws.” According to Webster’s Dictionary blasphemy is defined as “irreverence toward holy personages, religious artifacts, customs, and beliefs.” In some countries they have laws to punish blasphemy. Pakistan is a country that believes highly in the punishing of blasphemy because of their religious importance to their culture. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan uses its “Penal Code” to prohibit and punish blasphemy against Islam, in which their criminal code provides penalties for blasphemy ranging from a fine to death.
The anti-blasphemy law in Pakistan is a social issue that has been debated by many for years, however; it has been condemned through criminal actions, such as the assassination of Bhatti by what many believe to be militant Islamist groups Punjabi Taliban and al-Qaeda. The government is currently not doing anything to stop such attacks because they are being “silenced by Muslim hard-liners [who are] willing to use violence against those who do not share their harsh views.” President Obama spoke about this tragic death saying that Bhatti’s assassination was an overall sacrifice of his life “for the universal values that Pakistanis, Americans and people around the world hold dear, including freedom of speech and religion.”
I believe that everyone should have the right to speak freely without any form of punishment. Humans are rational people, which means that not every person will share the same views or ideas which is why I agree with those leaders that openly advocate for the reform of laws that make insulting Islam a capital crime. The government should take action in re-examining this “anti-blasphemy law” because it takes away a portion of human’s rights and is causing criminal activity, which needs to be outlawed in the process. In the world we see crimes occurring because one group believes in a mindset that another group does not, which is wrong because everyone should be entitled to their own opinion.
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