Geneva, Sept. 18 (ANI): After an anti-Islam film released in YouTube prompted Muslim leaders in many countries to call for a global law against blasphemy, a major Christian group warned that such a law in Pakistan was used to persecute other religions.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) said the abuse of Pakistan's blasphemy law put the Islamic country's Christian, Hindu and Ahmadi Muslims in "a state of fear and terror", reports the Daily Times.
"In Pakistan, we are fighting against the blasphemy law and its abuse," said Muhammad Tahseen of campaign group the South Asia Partnership. The recent arrest of a Christian girl who faced a possible death penalty for what later appeared to be false charges of burning a booklet carrying Quranic verses was just one of many such cases, he said.
However, Pakistani Muslim representatives told the gathering that not only should the law stay but another was needed covering the whole world. Their stance echoed calls from key Islamic religious leaders across the Muslim world for an enforceable international pact through the United Nations criminalising insult to Islamic and other religious symbols.
The U.S. Government has criticised the anti-Islam film but made clear that it stands by the constitutional provision for free speech.
The 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has been pushing for years for some kind of global law against defamation of religion at the UN Human Rights Council, currently meeting in Geneva.
"It certainly looks as though they (the OIC) might use this furore over a video that everyone recognises is stupid and pathetic to try to relaunch the 'defamation' campaign," said a Western diplomat. (ANI)
|
|
Comments:
