Pakistan’s Islamist party is now using their blasphemy law to try to get the Bible banned. This is a country that legally follows the rules in the Qu’ran, a book that recognizes Christians as “people of the book” a status that should free them and Jews from persecution. Of course this is far from the case.
So what’s their justification for banning the bible?
According to JUI leader Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi, the Bible contains passages that show biblical figures whom Muslims regard as prophets (such as Abraham and Solomon) to be engaging in “a variety of moral crimes.” As such, the JUI has called on Pakistan’s supreme court to have the entire Book banned from the country if the offending passages are not removed.
While the JUI acknowledged its petition was partially in response to the Koran burning organized by Florida pastor Terry Jones in March 2011, it also dismissed the notion that banning the Christian Bible would cause additional trouble between Muslims and Christians.
Saying that “prophets” weren’t prefect is blasphemy? You’ve got to be kidding me. Most people only consider blasphemy to be the slandering of their god. Muslims, of course, take this a bit futher. If they extend that to their “prophets,” then how long until clergy and even all of the “faithful” are included. Could you imagine getting to the point where saying that a living person did something wrong was blasphemy? It would be a blank slate for wrong doing. Accuse the wrong person of a crime and go to jail. Fortunately they’re only extending that ridiculous principle to dead people.
The concept of demanding that a religion give up part or all of its scripture is just horrific. There have been plenty of cases throughout history (and even currently) where the Bible has been banned (even by Christians). It doesn’t go away, it just goes underground. Just like with the prohibition of anything else, all it does is turn otherwise good citizens into criminals.
Let’s keep in mind that the US gives Pakistan hundreds of millions of dollars each year. It’s time to start making aid contingent on human rights and personal freedom.
Any regime that doesn’t allow such basic rights is not worth of US support or my tax dollars.