The Evolution of Legislation on Religious Offences , livre ebook

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197 pages

English

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The laws and legislation in Pakistan related to religious offences are intended to protect all religious communities, but have also become a significant threat to communities of religious minorities who are vulnerable to false accusation, violent retribution outside of the judicial system, and erroneous convictions that sometimes even lead to the death penalty. What is not well known is how these laws came about; from originally being designed in Chapter XV of the Pakistan Penal Code, to safeguard all religions of British India. Dr F. A. Nazir places the discussion of offences relating to religion in the historical context of the south Asian subcontinent, the institution of penal codes in British India during the colonial period, and developments in legislation after 1947 independence and the creation of the state of Pakistan and in postcolonialism. Dr Nazir’s historical and legal analysis demonstrates how these laws affect indigenous Christian communities and other religious minorities, including Muslim groups. Nazir’s thorough and rigorous historical research brings important understanding and reflection to contemporary religious laws, religious rights and multi-faith society in Pakistan.

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Publié par	Langham Creative Projects
Date de parution	14 mars 2019
Nombre de lectures	1
EAN13	9781783685721
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0045€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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In this powerful book F. A. Nazir deploys a wealth of historical and legal scholarship to show how legislation originally drafted with the utilitarian purpose of protecting India’s various religious communities from words and actions calculated to bring offence has, in the very different context of an Islamic theocratic state, become an instrument of oppression against all religious minorities. Nazir raises issues of fundamental importance for Christians, Muslims, and all those concerned with religious freedom and stability in the contemporary world.
Brian Stanley, PhD
Professor of World Christianity,
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

The Evolution of Legislation on Religious Offences
A Study of British India and the Implications for Contemporary Pakistan
F. A. Nazir

© 2019 F. A. Nazir
Published 2019 by Langham Monographs
An imprint of Langham Publishing
www.langhampublishing.org
Langham Publishing and its imprints are a ministry of Langham Partnership
Langham Partnership
PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 9WZ, UK
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ISBNs:
978-1-78368-542-4 Print
978-1-78368-572-1 ePub
978-1-78368-573-8 Mobi
978-1-78368-574-5 PDF
F. A. Nazir has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-78368-542-4
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and an author’s right to publish but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth here or in works referenced within this publication, nor can we guarantee technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use or interpretation of its published content.

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Contents

Cover

Introduction

Religious Conflicts in Pakistan

The Aims of the Research and Current Literature on the Issue

The Research Approach and Time Scope

Approaches and Methodology of the Research

The Structure of the Thesis

The Division of Chapters

Part I

Chapter 1 The Legislation on Religious Offences of the Indian Penal Code

1.1 The Primary Amendments in Chapter XV in British India

1.2 Chapter XV of 1860

1.3 Section 295 to Protect the Places and Objects of Worship

1.4 Section 296 of IPC to Protect Religious Assemblies

1.5 Section 297 of IPC: Protecting Funeral Rights and the Human Corpse

1.6 Section 298 of the IPC to Protect Against Acts Wounding Another Religion

1.7 Conclusion

Chapter 2 The Issue of Offensive Writing and Publication and Amendments to Religious Offences Laws in British India

2.1. Offensive Publications and the Historical Setting of Amending Chapter XV in 1920s

2.2. Section 295-A of the IPC

2.3. The Application of Section 295-A after 1927

2.4. The Controversial Application of Section 295-A to Ban Angare

2.5. Conclusion

Part II

Chapter 3 The Legacy of British Law in Independent India and Pakistan

3.1 The Application of Chapter XV of Religious Offences in India post-1947

3.2 The Application of Chapter XV: Of Offences Relating to Religion in East Pakistan post-1947

3.3 Chapter XV in Bangladesh

Chapter 4 The Application of Chapter XV: Of Offences Relating to Religion in West Pakistan from 1947 to 1979

4.1 Religious Communities of West Pakistan

4.2 Ahmadi-Muslim Controversies and Religious Offences from 1947–1954

4.3 The Application of Chapter XV from 1956 to 1979

4.4 The Anti-Ahmadi Riots and Religious Offences from 1974

4.5 Conclusion

Part III

Chapter 5 The Legislation on Offences Relating to Religion and Islamization of Pakistan (1979–1988)

5.1 The Political Power of Zia-ul-Haq and Religious Offences

5.2 Islamization, Law and Order and the Creation of Federal Shariat Court

5.3 Amendments in Chapter XV of Pakistan Penal Code from 1980 to 1986

5.4 Section 295-B

5.5 Section 295-C

5.6 Conclusion

Chapter 6 The Blasphemy Law and the Question of the Protection of Religious Communities and Their Religious Rights

6.1 The Protest of Religious Communities for their Protection

6.2 Judicial Concern over the Misuse of the Blasphemy Law and the Safety of Religious Communities

6.3 Political Efforts to Bring Changes in the Legal Procedure of Blasphemy Accusations

6.4 Critical Implications of Blasphemy and Proposal for the Amendment Bill of Blasphemy from 2007–2012

6.5 Amendments to the Blasphemy Laws Act 2010

6.6. Reaction to the Amendment Bill

6.7 Conclusion

Bibliography

About Langham Partnership

Endnotes
Introduction

We have to see the reasons behind the incident [in Joseph Colony, Lahore]. If anyone has committed an offence, the law is there [but] what about the riot and arson. Where is your [Punjab government’s] writ? Nothing has been produced to establish causes of the incident . . . Whose responsibility is it to protect life, property and dignity of the citizens?
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry ( The Nation , 11 March 2013)
On 11 March 2013, the Supreme Court of Pakistan took note of an incident which occurred in Joseph Colony in Badami Bagh, Lahore, on 9 March, in which over 175 houses, a church containing religious books, and all the belongings of the Christian community were burnt and torched by a mob over a blasphemy accusation, defiling the Prophet Muhammad, which had not yet been prosecuted. The Supreme Court rejected the Punjab provincial government and police authorities’ reports on the accusation, and declared that the blank reports and totally unsubstantiated stories about the incident could not be accepted and, moreover, that the Christian community of the colony was damaged despite having nothing to do with the incident. The Court also raised another important concern: no one had the right to take the law into his hands. The disastrous consequences could have been controlled but why, asked the court, did officials stay inactive, unable or uninterested in protecting the Christians of Joseph Colony?
This is just one example of many where Christians are prosecuted under what is commonly known as the blasphemy law. The offence of blasphemy and its application to all religious communities such as Ahmadis, Christians and Hindus, and including some Muslims, is one of the most critical issues in Pakistan today. Various reasons behind the cases such as insult or personal advantage or animosity, which are readily labelled as religious conflict, have become a matter of life and death in Pakistan. The nature of religious conflict and legal efforts to avoid or reduce it in Pakistan is not a sudden or very modern religious problem glossed as “blasphemy,” as contemporary news and media imply today. The issue is rooted in the history of Pakistan.
Religious conflicts historically occurred between religious communities or within one religious community. For example Hindu-Muslim communalism regarding religious practices and religious differences was critically appraised in the Indian Subcontinent ruled by the British. In post 1947 Pakistan, animosity between Hindus and Muslims comparatively dropped but religious conflicts remain, yet in different modes and with different outcomes. Before approaching the contemporary pattern of religious conflicts it is important to see what the geopolitical context of Pakistan is in South Asia.
In 1947 Pakistan became an independent and Islamic nation of South Asia, but its known history actually began in the third millennium BCE with the Indus Valley civilisation and its cities Mohenjo-doro and Harapa. [1] The Indus Valley was first settled by Aryans in the north-west of the Indian subcontinent from 1500 to 1200 BCE. [2] The development of Hinduism, and significantly the caste tradition, started with the Aryans. In 712 Arab Islam entered through Sindh. Mehmud Ghazni invaded in the year 1001 and later conquered Punjab after having a vision of Islamic dominance. Some regions were almost completely Islamized by Hindu converts to Islam, helping Islam become a major religion in India. [3] By 1707 many Muslims, particularly under the Mughal Empire, ruled over north India but their power declined after the death of the sixth Emperor, Aurangzeb. [4] The British came as merchants “for trade, but the constitution of the [East Ind