ISTANBUL — A young Christian man who had converted to Islam in order to marry a Muslim girl was jailed last week in Pakistan, charged with blasphemy after he tried to return to his Christian faith.
It was the first blasphemy case reported against a Christian since Pakistan Chief Executive Gen. Pervez Musharraf announced a judicial curb two weeks ago against “misuse” of the country’s severe laws against religious blasphemy.
According to brief new reports appearing May 4 in the Daily Jang, Khabrain and Dawn newspapers, Kingri Masih of Sherabad was charged under Pakistan Penal Code Section 295-C. The law carries a mandatory death sentence for defiling the name of Mohammed, the prophet of Islam.
Police at Sherabad’s Ghulam Mohammed Abad police station registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Masih based on a complaint filed by Rana Mohammed Shahid, the media reports said. Both the defendant and his accuser are residents of Sherabad, near the Punjabi city of Faisalabad.
According to the Urdu-language Daily Jang, Masih was charged with “blaspheming the Prophet (Mohammed) and his honor and speaking against Islam.” Masih was described by his accuser as a Christian who had converted to Islam and married a Muslim girl, but then reversed his decision and adopted Christianity again.
Share with others: