Ijaz Kakakhel Islamabad
Members of the Upper House of parliament on Tuesday called for strict action against those leveling false allegations of blasphemy and decried “ignorance” after a young woman wearing a shirt with Arabic calligraphy was saved from a mob attack in Lahore.
The House echoed with criticism of the incident. PPP Senator Rubina Khalid said that it was “utter ignorance” that some people could not differentiate between Quranic verses and Arabic letters. “If the police had not reached on time the mob would have done something worse,” she said. “We need to think about where we are heading. There should be a debate on this,” she demanded.
The senator also took exception to the woman’s “forceful apology”. The same day the incident was reported, a video had emerged of the young woman apologizing for her outfit. “Why was she made to record a public apology for something she didn’t do?” the senator asked.
Rubina added that the shirt the woman was wearing belonged to a brand based in Saudi Arabia. “It is fine there, but here women are harassed in the name of religion. “We are all Muslims and are proud of it but there is a huge difference between an ignorant and a Muslim,” the senator said.
Meanwhile, MQM-P Senator Faisal Subzwari said: “What kind of a Muslim is someone who cannot identify between a Quranic verse and a simple Arabic word? And what kind of a Muslim is someone who, despite knowing how to read Arabic, makes false accusations against someone?”
He stressed that using religion to level false allegations was the worst form of disrespect. “This is a huge problem, I wish the House could have completed legislation over the misuse of blasphemy laws,” said Subzwari. “Who is at fault here? Who is defaming the religion? Is it that woman or is it the people who despite reading the letters on her shirt falsely accused her?” he asked.
