Across Pakistan, Islamic fundamentalists organized demonstrations and strikes in protest of Qadri's prosecution for murder. Qadri was proclaimed a hero of Islam.
Although Qadri was convicted of murder, and sentenced to death, the judge who passed sentence on him, Syed Pervaiz Ali Shah, was whisked away by the Pakistani Government to Saudi Arabia in October of 2011, for his own safety.
Two months after the Taseer assassination, in March of 2011, the car of Shahbaz Bhatti, the Pakistani Minister of Minority Affairs, was sprayed with bullets, killing him. Bhatti was the only Christian member of the Paskitani cabinet, and an outspoken critic of Pakistan's blasphemy law. Bhatti had also condemned violence perpetrated against Christians in the Pakistani city of Gorja in 2009.
Religious Minorities in Pakistan are Vulnerable
Religious minorities in Pakistan are in a precarious situation. Approximately 95% of Pakistan's population is Muslim. Pakistan is officially an Islamic state, where the Sharia, or Islamic law, controls over secular law.
Pakistan's religious minorities, including Christians and Hindus, increasingly find themselves the victims of violence and persecution at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists.
Blasphemy is Punishable by Life Imprisonment or Death
One tool used in this persecution is Pakistan's blasphemy law. Under the law, it is illegal to desecrate the name of Allah or Mohammad. Those who commit blasphemy face life imprisonment or even death.
Using this law, fundamentalists will accuse religious minorities of blasphemy, either insisting on a trial, or taking matters into their own hands by inciting fellow true believers to murder those accused of desecrating the name of the Prophet.
Once in court, based on the Sharia, the testimony of two Muslims is enough to secure a conviction. Critics believe that this creates an opportunity for abuse. One such example is the case of Asia Bibi, a Christian mother. Bibi was charged with blasphemy after she fetched water for some Muslim workers. According to some, the Muslim workers considered Bibi unclean, and refused to take the water from her. An argument ensued, and Bibi was charged with blasphemy. Bibi was convicted, and sentenced to death by hanging.
The Definition of Blasphemy is Broad
What's worse is that the definition of blasphemy under Islamic law is expansive. It includes not only actively desecrating the names of Allah and Mohammad, but also mistreating any piece of paper that happen to have the names of Allah and the Prophet written on them. Because newspapers routinely print verses of the Koran, this means that newspapers must be treated properly, and not carelessly thrown away.
Take the story of Rimsha, a young Christian girl with Down's Syndrome in Islamabad. Rimsha is accused of collecting papers to burn in her family's kitchen, which happened to have the names of Allah and Mohammad printed on them. She has been arrested, and faces possible execution for her crime.
Charges of Blasphemy Have Resulted in Street Justice
In addition, Islamic fundamentalists are known to take matters into their own hands, using street protests to intimidate judges, or even engaging in vigilante justice. Amnesty International reports that in July of 2012, a mentally unstable man was snatched from a police station by a mob for allegedly burning pages from the Koran, and beaten to death.
Religious Minorities Are Targeted for Crime and Violence
Sadly, the blasphemy law is but one tool used by Islamic fundamentalists in their persecution of religious minorities. Religious minorities are disproportionately targeted for street crime. In fact, there is some indication that fundamentalists time their street protests to happen on Sundays, so they can follow Christians after worship service, rob them, and use stolen identification papers to target the Christians for further persecution.
Religious minorities face constant harassment. Christian women have been known to be harassed in public by Islamic clerics for not wearing traditional Muslim clothing. Islamic clerics have been known to follow and stalk single Christian women in their effort to force them to marry a Muslim man, and convert to Islam.
Violence against Christians in Pakistan is endemic.
- In April of 2009, anti-Christian violence in Karachi resulted in the wounding of 15 people, and the destruction of the houses of 15 Christian families.
- In August of 2009, mob violence against Christians erupted in the Punjab province, and most notably in the city of Gorja where Christian houses were burned.
- On November 15, 2010, the King of Kings Church in Wasan Pura, Lahore was demolished by attackers armed with guns, a crane and a bulldozer.
- In February of 2011, a group of 150 Muslim men attacked Christian churches, shops, and homes in the area of Pahar Ganj, a pre-dominantly Christian neighborhood of Karachi.
- On March 22, 2011, two Christians were killed and two were wounded by armed Muslim youths outside a Salvation Army Church building near Hyderabad.
- In May of 2011, it was reported that a Christian woman was gang-raped in Faisalabad.
Even those who Christians try to help Islamic communities are not safe from persecution. In December of 2008, Dr. Reginald Zhairuddin, a Christian doctor serving in a missionary hospital in Bannu, was kidnapped by the very people he was helping and held for ransom. His captors, who kept him in a small, dirty room, pressed him to convert to Islam. He was released in January of 2009, after convincing his captors that his family did not have the money to pay the ransom.
The Pakistani Government is Powerless to Help
The Pakistani Government appears to be unable or unwilling to protect religious minorities from the violence and persecution perpetrated by Islamic fundamentalists. It has been reported that the police do nothing to help Christian victims of violence. In fact, it has been said that the police act as informants, pointing out Christians who report crimes against themselves to the Islamic fundamentalists so they can be targeted for further persecution. In some cases, such as that of Mumtaz Qadri, the police themselves are the perpetrators of the violence.
Many Religious Minorities Seel Protection Elsewhere
As this situation persists, Pakistan is simply not a safe place for Christians and other religious minorities. Pakistani Christians have no choice except either to accept persecution as a regular way of life, or to escape to another country, like the United States, in the hopes that they can find protection there.