Reviewing blasphemy laws

What should be done

It is interesting that Council of Islamic Ideology head Maulana Sherani, of all people, has touched the debate regarding blasphemy laws, offering a review to judge whether they are fine as they are, or need to be further hardened or softened. That he is often about as removed from reality as some of the Council’s rulings are from the real spirit of Islam is not new. But including blasphemy in his long list of dubious and controversial rulings, especially in the current climate, will have graver consequences than usual.

For one thing, the Maulana does not seem to understand that the Council’s provocative positions have stripped it of all relevance and legitimacy. Lately, after Sherani’s infamous scuffle with Tahir Ashrafi, many have openly questioned the Council’s significance especially if people like Sherani and the like are going to fill and head it. But the government, typically, remains absent from the scene; neither reining in the Council’s offensive mullahs nor hinting at saner minds advising the government. That is why Sherani goes on unchecked with spreading an offensive narrative that has been rejected by the people and the government alike, while criticising the PML-N for ignoring Islamic teachings and following western policies.

If the blasphemy laws should be debated, which they must, then CII is not the relevant platform. The debate should take place in parliament, with lawmakers dissecting the pros and cons of the present arrangement and proposed improvements. Religious scholars must, of course, be consulted, but not the like that represent an offensive interpretation of religion meant only to brainwash people and provoke confrontation between different representations. So far no government has had the teeth to confront this problem. And the odd person that does indulge to a small extent is made a horrible example out of. The government must put its foot down before another avoidable controversy is created.