Pakistan: Islamic supremacists rally for blasphemy law, demand Pope's apology
Middle poster: should've made that "end" a little clearer, eh?
One cleric goes so far as to say Christians aren't following "Jesus Christ's teachings" here, but in doing so, he knows his listeners believe in the revisionist, Islamic narrative about Jesus. The main purposes of Jesus' portrayal in the Qur'an are to claim him as a messenger of Islam and deny and denounce Christian beliefs about him, with Allah saying anyone who says otherwise faces "a penalty such as I have not inflicted on any one among all the peoples" (Qur'an 5:110-118). To defend any other position would be, well, blasphemous. And you know where that leads.
More on this story. "Rallies seek Pope's apology," from The News, January 15:
LAHORE: Despite Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's categorical rejection of a demand by Pope Benedict to repeal the blasphemy laws, religious parties and groups continued their campaign to protect the laws and refused to stop it till Pope's unconditional apology and dissolution of the parliamentary committee to review the laws.
On Friday, religious parties observed a countrywide protest day against what they called the west-backed conspiracies to amend the blasphemy laws. They held rallies and demonstrated while prayer leaders warned that Pope Benedict's blatant and outrageous demand had exposed the hands pulling the strings behind the organised conspiracy to ignite religious clashes in Pakistan under the cover of a change in the blasphemy laws.
The Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) staged a demonstration outside the Lahore Press Club, led by Pir Ajmal Gilani and others who warned that Pope Benedict had challenged the very pillars of Islam and his outrageous act could endanger the security of Christians living in Pakistan and other Muslim countries. Ajmal Gilani said the Pope had in fact exposed the hands pulling strings of the organised campaign against the blasphemy laws in Pakistan. He said it also explained why the Pope did not utter any single word of condemnation against the organised blasphemy by the European press through the desecration of Holy Quran and sketches of the Prophet (SAW) of Islam.
Other leaders, including Pir Atharul Qadri, Raza-e-Mustafa Naqshbandi, Mohammad Ali Naqshbandi, Nawaz Kharal, Mujahid Abdul Rasool, Naeem Arif Noori, Ziaul Mustafa Haqqani, Mukhtar Siddiqi, Khurran Riaz, Mufti Imran Hanfi, Ziaul Haq Naqshbandi, Moeenul Haq Alvi, and Chaudhry Usman said Islam provided the best security and rights to religious minorities, which was evident from the fact that religious liberties and identity of Muslim minorities were brutally suppressed in liberal Europe and the US.
Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Syed Munawwar Hasan, while delivering the Friday sermon at Mansoorah mosque, warned that the nation won't forgive the people who wanted to amend the blasphemy law of the Holy Prophet (SAW).
He said the so-called secular lobby in Pakistan must correct itself and refrain from challenging the religious belief of Muslim majority. He said instead of following Jesus Christ's teachings, the Christians had placed themselves at the disposal of the Pope and illiterate pastors who were out to destroy the world peace....
Photo from AsiaNews.
Posted by Marisol on January 15, 2011 9:31 AM
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