Pakistan will not repeal blasphemy law - minister

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Pakistan will not repeal its controversial blasphemy law but may amend it to prevent abuse because scrapping the legislation could fuel Islamist militancy, a government minister said on Tuesday.

The law, which carries the death penalty for insulting Islam or its Prophet Mohammad, has come under the spotlight this month after a court sentenced a Christian mother of four, Asia Bibi, to death in a case stemming from a village dispute...

The law enjoys widespread support in Pakistan, which is more than 95 percent Muslim, and politicians are loathe to be seen as soft on the defense of the religion.

Blasphemy convictions are common although the death sentence has never been carried out. Most convictions are thrown out on appeal, but angry mobs have killed many people accused of blasphemy...



Read more: http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-53101520101123

friend, but how many of these horror stories must we endure?

we may have similar laws on the books defending Christianity. I doubt I'll survive the initial purge.

We have never had that kind of blasphemy law (death to Serrano!) in the US, nor has any Christian country for several hundred years.

Islam has a long way to go. Just consider Biblical criticism (google things like "Documentary Hypothesis" "Book of Q" "Book of J" "Jesus Seminar" - makes for great reading). Anything even approximating that kind of scholarship focusing on the Koran in an Islamic country would get you quickly separated from your head. It has been >300 years since that has happened in the West.

it goes along with the general European nation's prediliction for adopting hate speech laws. These are not limited to Islamic extremist nations.

Granted, none of these laws have a death penalty.

A) Not Muslim, or
B) No Muslim enough.