Inhuman Blasphemy Law: Whose legacy the world is carrying?
Of late I had a chat with myself. It’s as follows:
My Conscience (MC): There is a place in this world where you would be sentenced to death if you dare to exercise right of freedom of expression, a basic and universal human right (endorsed by Universal Declaration of Human rights by UN Article-19, i.e. "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion & expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference & to seek, receive & impart information & ideas through any media & regardless of frontiers")
I: Come on, this is absurd! We are in 21st century! Ours is a civilized world. See, how much progress we have made in terms of science, technology, arts etc!
MC: What kind of progress is that when in the same world every day innocent people are being made scapegoat to gain political advantage by few mighty and mediocre minds? Of many, I will cite just one of the most recent examples.
I: Go ahead please-
MC: A person has been sentenced to death.
I: He must have committed some grave crimes.
MC: (Ironically) Indeed!! His crime (?) was-
· He answered honestly to his student’s query
· He was a supporter of democracy
· He educated people about how superstitions/prejudices have been hindering human progress through out centuries.
I: And that led him to death sentence?
MC: Yes!
I: Why the rest of the world is not protesting?
MC: Authorities (not common people) of that VERY country do what they want. None/nothing can stop them!
I: What about United States (US)?
MC: A big donor (financially and through other means) of that country indeed!
I: But people of US may not be aware of this. I believe had they known the truth, it’s likely they would protest, as it has been the case with one of my American friends who, after hearing this story, said, “ I for one don't feel good about my tax money going to support a country where things like this happen”.
MC: Whether we know or don’t, whether most of us are good or not, a very unfortunate truth is within few days that innocent person is loosing his life UNLESS we all raise our voices!
I: I’m ashamed FOR I’m living in such a world! Hey, whose legacy the world is carrying?
MC: The question needs a thorough search! Remember answer may be masked BUT not impossible to find! But right now let’s act fast to save this benevolent person.
I: Yes, I will do that, if not collectively, at least personally, because I remember following:
“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."
-Edward Everett Hale
OK, tell me which is that country and the victim?
MC: PAKISTAN and Younus Shaikh respectively.
I: Any resources to justify authenticity of what you’re saying?
MC: Of many respected, one URL is-
To learn more about ‘blasphemy law’, you may also visit
http://www.rationalistinternational.net/Shaikh/blasphemy_laws_in_pakistan.htm
(The End)
Acknowledgements:
2. www.iheu.org
3.Avijit Roy
4.Freeperson Smith (FP)
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"Great spirits have always encountered violent oppositions from mediocre minds"
-Albert Einstein
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