Blasphemy is and has always been, a grievous sin as decreed not only in the holiest of holy books the Quran but also in other major occidental and oriental religions.
The Old Testament, in the Third Commandment, lays down “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain” (King James Bible).
In Buddhism, the Cula kammavibhangam Sutta postulates: “Here, student, some woman or man is obdurate and haughty; he does not pay homage to whom he should pay homage, or rise up for whom he should rise up, or give a seat to whom he should give a seat, or make way for whom he should make way, or worship him who should be worshipped, or respect him who should be respected, or revere him who should be revered, or honor him who should be honored.
Due to having performed and completed such kammas, on the dissolution of the body, after death, he reappears in a state of deprivation... If instead he comes to the human state, he is low-born wherever he is reborn.” In Hinduism, the daityas and the asuras who challenged the authority and the power of divinity met with telling punishment at the hands of a divine avatar.
Notwithstanding the universal opprobrium and punishment that a contemner of the divine universally attracts by hurting the faith and sentiments of the believer, it is unfortunate that the Sharia law is often criticized, by the ill informed, of being illiberal and uncharitable. This is mostly because the critics are either biased against Muslims or know very little of theology. As they say, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
It is true that Islam decrees death for the blasphemer and the apostate but such a provision has not been limited to blaspheming the Holy Prophet (PBUH) alone but extends uniformly to anyone who reviles any messenger of God prior to the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
“And do not insult those they invoke other than Allah, lest they insult Allah in enmity without knowledge. Thus We have made pleasing to every community their deeds. Then to their Lord is their return, and He will inform them about what they used to do” (Surah Al-An’am: verse 108)
“Beware! Whoever is cruel or hard on a non-Muslim minority, or curtails their rights, or burdens them with more that they can bear, or takes anything from them against their free will; I [Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)] will complain against the person on the Day of Judgment.” (Abu Dawood).
The Holy Quran mentions 25 Prophets (peace be upon them all) prior to Muhammad (PBUH) who were sent as the messengers of Allah (SWT) to various nations and declares:
“And for every nation is a messenger. So when their messenger comes, it will be judged between them in justice, and they will not be wronged”. (Holy Quran 10:47)
Some Islamic traditions maintain that the number of prophets who preceded Muhammad (PBUH) were 124000. Therefore, the blaspheming the prophets of various religion would be as much of an outrage and as deserving of condign punishment as blasphemy or disrespect against Allah (SWT) and his Holy Prophet (PBUH).
Another charge levelled against Islamic traditions, by the unknowing, is that the prescription of the death penalty alone as the punishment for blasphemy does not jell with evolved ideas of a liberal jurisprudence. Islam does not entirely exclude the secular in adjudication of criminal matters. “Tazeer” envisages trial and punishment for such crimes where factors like mens rea, contributory negligence, heat of the moment actions etc. can mitigate or shape the punishment of a crime. However, there is a class of offences, the Hadd, which do not permit secular courts to reflect on the nuances of intention or to preside over the kind or quantum of punishment for such offences but prescribe only the penalty enjoined in the Islamic Sharia. Blasphemy is one such offence. This is because the right to pardon an offence of blasphemy (be it inadvertent or intentional) does not reside in the Ummah but lapsed with the Prophet (PBUH) himself.
Capital punishment (whether compulsory or not for a crime) is squarely within the judicial domain of legislation in societies but for such punishments that are rooted in revelation and unshakeable faith, there can be no latitude or margin for construction in regard thereto. Freedom of religion and tolerance is enshrined in Islam:
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| Freedom of religion and tolerance is enshrined in Islam. |
“There should be no compulsion in religion. Surely, the right way has become distinct from error” (Al-Baqara; 2:256)
However, tolerance cannot and does not entail a licence to ridicule Allah (SWT) or his Holy Prophet (PBUH). Respect and veneration of and love for the Holy Prophet (PBUH) is the very foundation of Islam and for anyone to undermine that foundation would inevitably invite the retribution enshrined in the Sharia. Similarly, respect for the faith and the almighty are intrinsic to all religions and those who are faithful would be truly and grievously hurt if their faith and beliefs were to be slandered or abased,
Recently, the Punjab Assembly unanimously passed The Indian Penal Code (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2018 to add Section 295AA to the Indian Penal Code which states that:
“Whoever causes injury, damage or sacrilege to Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Srimad Bhagwad Geeta, Holy Quran and Holy Bible with the intention to hurt the religious feelings of the people, shall be punished with imprisonment for life.”
The passage of the amendment has got embroiled in controversy with opponents saying that protection against sacrilege was already available under the existing Section 295A. Nonetheless, it is worth recalling the background to this development. This amendment is the outcome of continuing Sikh anger over the nearly 200 incidents of 'sacrilege' involving the Guru Granth Sahib; the most severe incident being the one at Bargari village in Faridkot district where several torn pages of the Holy Guru Granth Sahib were found scattered on October 12, 2015. Outraged Sikhs, who make up close to 60 per cent of Punjab's population and revere the Holy Guru Granth Sahib as a living Guru, came out on the streets to protest. Init¬ially peaceful, the protests turned int-ensely violent after October 14, when police killed two protesters in Faridkot's Behbal Kalan village.
It is interesting that the outcry against Section 295AA also includes the argument that restricting the amendment only to four religious scriptures is against the secular polity of the country and hence, should be extended to the scriptures of all faiths. Clearly, therefore, love veneration, respect for one’s faith is the cornerstone of civilization, culture and the legislative ethos of a nation and insulting the faith of a people can and does cause upheavals in society. Thus the need for exemplary and the strongest punishment for those who would injure entire communities and societies by acts of blasphemy and sacrilege.
Does this mean that the Sharia mandates the highest punishment for an alleged offender the moment he or she is accused by someone of blasphemy without extending, to the accused, the benefit of defence under law? Most certainly not. The law lays down the requirements of a fair trial and places the onus of proof on the prosecution. So, if simply because two people fight over, say, a property issue and then one of them maliciously and falsely accuses the other of blasphemy, such an accusation, by itself, shall not suffice to convict the accused of the offence of blasphemy. The majesty of the Criminal Procedure Code and the Evidence Act would come into play with the accuser running the risk of being charged with malicious prosecution if he/ she has made a false accusation.
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| True followers of Islam would never try to impose their faith on brethren of other religions. |
Suffice it to say, those who rail against the Muslims and their faith probably do either due to a lack of knowledge or half-baked knowledge of Islam. The Holy Quran has specific verses pertaining to tolerance of all religions, among them:
“Say Oh, you who disbelieve! I do not worship that which you worship. Nor do you worship That Which I worship. Nor will I worship that which you have been worshipping. Neither will you worship That Which I worship. To you your religion and to me mine." (Surah Al-Kafirun).
True followers of Islam would never try to impose their faith on brethren of other religions and would be happy to explain and clear to the unknowing or the misguided any misconceptions or misbegotten notions that interested quarters may spread regarding the religion and practice of Islam.
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