Christians arrested for receiving 'blasphemous' Muhammad image

Two Christian teens were arrested in Pakistan under the nation’s notorious blasphemy law for receiving an image of Muhammad on their smartphones through the WhatsApp software program.

But the teen who sent the image – a Muslim – has not been arrested or charged, according to International Christian Concern.

On June 29, Sunny Mushtaq, 19, and Noman Asghar, 17, left home in the evening to play cricket and never returned, ICC said. The family eventually learned through friends that police had arrested the pair “under some allegation.”

ICC’s local sources said the teens in Pakistan’s Punjab province received a “blasphemous image” on their smartphones, but it was sent by Bilal Ahmad, a Muslim.

Police so far have taken no action against Ahmad.

“Sunny is very popular in the locality because of his outstanding performances playing cricket,” Raza Mushtaq, Sunny Mushtaq’s brother, told ICC. “However, he often complained of being mistreated by Muslim players. Because of this, we used to suggest that he quit playing cricket. I even had to quit playing cricket with Muslims years back because I was experiencing the same.”

Yousaf Gill, director of Umeed Partnership Pakistan, told ICC it’s “another example of misuse of the blasphemy laws to settle personal scores against Christians.”

“For many years, human right defenders have been highlighting the misuse of blasphemy laws. However, authorities have not paid any attention and therefore Christians are suffering,” he said.

William Stark, ICC’s regional manager, said false allegations of blasphemy “are tragically common in Pakistan, especially against the country’s vulnerable Christian population.”

“Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws are frequently abused by individuals seeking to settle personal scores or incite religious hatred against minority communities,” he said.

“We here at ICC express grave concern for both Sunny and Noman as they are now in a life and death struggle to prove their innocence. Christians are too often forced to pay a high price for such accusations.”

Stark said Pakistan “must take steps to curb the widespread abuse of these deadly laws.”

“Until then, we will continue to see Pakistani Christians facing deadly blasphemy charges for petty reasons,” he said.

‘Vicious bias’

Jihad Watch director Robert Spencer commented on the case.

“The vicious bias against the Christians here is plain, but since there is no ‘Islamophobia’ involved, the international ‘human rights community’ will take no notice,” he wrote.

WND reported the blasphemy case against Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi.

She was sentenced to death after a conflict with her Muslim co-workers a decade ago. Last October, the Pakistani Supreme Court overturned her conviction. But she was forced to remain in the country when the government signed an agreement with a radical Muslim political party, which was leading protests demanding her death. Bibi eventually fled to Canada in May.

Her case began when her Muslim co-workers refused to drink water from a cup from which she had taken a sip. They demanded she convert to Islam and her refusal prompted the mob to allege she had insulted Muhammad.

The Supreme Court ruled the story was “concocted.”

The post Christians arrested for receiving 'blasphemous' Muhammad image appeared first on WND.