LAHORE, Pakistan — Muslims in Pakistan have filed a blasphemy charge against a Christian in retaliation for refusing their demand that he and others cede church land to them, sources said.
In a First Information Report at Nishtar Police Station in Lahore, Haji Nadeem on Dec. 30, 2016, accused Babu Shahbaz of desecrating the pages of the Koran to “hurt the religious sentiments of the Islamic world.” Shahbaz was taken into custody that day.
Shahbaz, 41, was arrested along with his wife and daughter after the police report was filed.
Nadeem stated he and other Muslims were going to a mosque to offer early morning prayers when they saw Koranic pages strewn on the road.
Shahbaz’s brother, George Masih, said the allegations were baseless and aimed at “teaching a lesson” to the local Christian community for refusing to allow a water treatment plant on church land some months ago.
According to the England-based Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS-UK), Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are often used by Muslims to settle scores with non-Muslims. In a CLAAS-UK press release, the human rights organization stated that the accuser was a rival shopkeeper envious of the successful store owned by Shahbaz’s brother. That shopkeeper said he and his friends found at least 100 pages ripped from a Quran with Shahbaz’s name written on them, the Post reported.
“That [allegation] is made up,” said Nasir Saeed, director of CLAAS-UK. “This is not the first case of this kind.”
He added that Christians know that writing your own name on Koranic pages and throwing them into the street is a “suicide mission,” he added. (TAB, MS)
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