[Episcopal News Service]
Christian leaders in Pakistan are pointed to a death sentence imposed on a Christian man as an example of the country's arbitrary blasphemy laws. Abdullah (Augustine) Ashiq Kingri Masih was convicted by a district court for slandering the prophet Muhammad, an offense that carries a mandatory death sentence according to Pakistan's penal code. He is appealing to the High Court, supported by the Human Rights Commission.
The real reason the case was brought against Masih was that he converted to Islam but continued to meet his Christian family members and relatives, bringing objections from those instrumental in his conversion.
Churches have been reluctant to get directly involved in the defense because feelings among Muslim fundamentalists against minorities was running very strong, according to Victor Azariah, general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Pakistan. Christians account for about 3 million in Pakistan's population of 138 million.
Churches have made repeated protests against the blasphemy law which, in its current form, dates to 1986. In 1998 Roman Catholic bishop, John Joseph, shot himself dead in a courthouse to protest a death sentence imposed on a Pakistani Christian who is still being held in solitary confinement. While no one has yet been put to death under the law, two Christians were murdered after their convictions for blasphemy were overturned by the courts.
In 2000 President Pervez Musharraf proposed amending the blasphemy law but he dropped plans after protests from Muslim groups.
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