Will Allama Ashrafi and Archbishop Sebastian Francis Shaw's Condemnations Suffice to Halt the Recurrence of Victims of The Blasphemy Accusations?

By New Age Islam Staff Writer 1 September 2023 The Jaranwala, If Supposed to Be a Clandestine Anti-Muslim Conspiracy, Raises Questions About Why a Crowd of Muslims Easily Devolve into Violence Main Points 1. The leader of the Pakistani Ulama Council, Allama Ashrafi, and Archbishop Sebastian Francis Shaw both strongly condemned blasphemy accusations. 2. By Allah, this is not Islam. The Prophet of Allah, Muhammad (peace be upon him), did not support hurting other people. Islam vehemently rejects oppressing anyone. 3. The Archbishop questions the legality of burning the Holy Qur'an and leaving one's name on it, stating that those who do so are aware of the consequences. 4. Blasphemy accusations lead to condemnation, causing the situation to be stored in cold storage. ----- Maulana Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi ------ The Jaranwala incident is simply one of several instances when it has been demonstrated that the blasphemy accusation was unfounded. A few months earlier, it was revealed that Maulvi Nagar, who had been killed as a result of the same accusation of blasphemy and had been charged with it, was innocent. Rights groups assert that Pakistani blasphemy laws are regularly used for personal advantage. Data from the Centre for Social Justice, a voluntary group that protects the rights of minorities, indicates that more than 2,000 people in Pakistan have been the target of blasphemy accusations since 1987. These allegations have led to the deaths of at least 88 people. However, when untrue accusations are revealed, a few people go to the media and make condemning statements, and the situation then goes away as if nothing had happened. The Jaranwala incident involved a similar situation. Following this occurrence, a number of religious leaders and clergy condemned it, labelling it anti-Islamic and the product of an anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistani agenda, before going entirely mute on the subject. Following the Jaranwala tragedy, Allama Tahir Ashrafi participated in a press conference where he delivered condemnatory words in Urdu. By rendering it into English, we are giving it to our readers and addressing the question of whether it is enough to just condemn such cases and put them in cold storage. The second question is that if this catastrophe was the consequence of a clandestine anti-Muslim conspiracy, how and why did such a large group so easily fall prey to this Muslim plot? ---- The Jaranwala Event Has Caused Harm To Pakistan And Islam: Tahir Ashrafi Report published by Dawn News in Urdu Translated into English by New Age Islam Staff Writer In a press conference with Lahore's Christian community leaders, Maulana Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi stated that Pakistan as a whole is mourning right now. Islam has experienced it, and we are humiliated. Today, we have travelled to this Lahore church to express our regrets to our Christian leaders. Despite the fact that Muslims make up the majority in Pakistan, he said, we should not use this as an excuse to deny Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, or any other local minorities the right to exist. Whom did they do this to please? The Christians of Najran had access to the mosque of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) for worship. According to him, those responsible for this behaviour violated the agreement made with the Christians of Najran in the presence of the Prophet Muhammad and disregarded the provision requiring protection for traditional houses of worship and those fitted with bells. According to Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, Muslims and the government have a duty to defend people's lives, property, honour, and dignity. We are aware that what occurred in Jaranwala yesterday was caused by our disdain for our duties as older brothers. We are ashamed of this and regret it. He said he wants to know who is responsible for these acts every two or three months, as well as who their followers and associates are. By Allah, this is not Islam. The Prophet of Allah, Muhammad (peace be upon him), did not support hurting other people. Islam vehemently rejects oppressing anyone. He said he was sorry to them on behalf of the state of Pakistan, the prime minister, the cabinet, the Ulama, the Sheikhs, and the Muslim population of the nation. We are ashamed of the fact that these Christian girls spent the night in fields and on public streets after fleeing their homes out of fear of harm or vandalism. The Chairman of the Pakistan Ulama Council declared that if the Joseph Colony offenders had received justice, the current situation might not have arisen. "I want to ask this question to our judiciary and to our governments today," he continued. He said that sometimes we grieve for Jaranwala, sometimes for Shanti Nagar, and sometimes for Kasur. The entire country calls on the Chief Justice of Pakistan to set up the court in the same church where a cross was broken and conduct trials within a month. The country intends to punish these offenders. We are exhausted, and we don't want you to drag out this case like the May 9 perpetrators. He asserted that although we had all gathered here to protect the purity of the Holy Quran, the Gospel and the Psalms had been set on fire today. Today, the Torah was burned. My suffering now is equally as severe and excruciating as it was when the Holy Quran was burned. These are also the books of Allah. The Quran and the holy books are both sacred to me. My grief is comparable to the burning of the Holy Quran. I am experiencing the same level of sorrow over the destruction of churches as I did over the destruction of mosques or crosses. According to Allama Tahir Ashrafi, those responsible for this heinous deed have undermined our case. We were grieving over the happenings in Sweden and Denmark, but by doing this in Jaranwala, they have undermined our position. He requested that all destroyed Christian churches, shrines, and residences be rebuilt by the Pakistani government. As the head of the Pakistan Ulema Council, “I demand that the government build these buildings, repair the harm done, and rebuild the destroyed and incinerated homes.” In order to reassure the rest of the world that we had nothing to do with the suffering and terror, he advised that the Prime Minister go there personally. During this particular press conference, Archbishop Sebastian Shah stated that it was a really sad time and that Christians were suffering and concerned about what had happened to them. The sadder sensation is that just two days prior, on August 14, the nation celebrated its birthday and everyone sang the national anthem, "Under the shadow of this flag, we are one," but after this Jaranwala incident, children fled their homes out of fear. According to him, the commotion and the process of departing the homes began at around six in the morning. Who set it all afire? Whoever wrote their names there? I believe that this was accomplished after careful, covert preparation. He claimed that while Christians make up just 2% of the population, we live among 96% Muslim brothers and sisters. There are 5 or 6 Christian families in a village of about 100 Muslim families. As a result, they cohabitate without incident, go to each other's homes to eat, and take part in weddings. Every Christian, according to the archbishop, is aware that the Holy Qur'an mentions Jesus Christ more than 20 times, dedicates an entire chapter to Maryam, and mentions the birth of Jesus in Surah Aal-e-Imran. Therefore, no Christian is permitted to speak against or burn the Holy Qur'an. Given that laws, 295 A, B, and C are in force in the country and that their Muslim brothers have an unwavering love for the Holy Qur'an and are willing to devote their lives and make the ultimate sacrifice for it, he questioned how one of them could burn the Holy Qur'an and leave his name on it. He said, “I believe that everyone who does this is fully aware that they will be eaten alive here.” He claimed that people have personal grievances about a variety of topics, including business dealings and other similar matters. Therefore, whoever did this did so to cause pandemonium. First of all, the burning of the Holy Quran makes me feel extremely guilty, and we both apologise and condemn it. He continued by requesting his Muslim brothers to exercise patience and recognise that the Pakistani government is governed by law. Furthermore, he advocated for an investigation in the event of such an incident rather than its announcement inside mosques, which is what caused the crowd to assemble and rush to assault. Following the announcement in the mosques, more than 20 churches, according to the leader of the Christian community, were set on fire. In this township, there were only 5 or 6 churches, and nearby were a few tiny villages. But the same thing happened there as well. After the church was set on fire, the Torah, Psalms, Gospel, and other holy writings were also burned. Crosses were also broken off of towers. Finally, tombs in a cemetery were largely destroyed. The crowd was so incensed, he claimed, that even the police were unable to assist the victims, demonstrating their incapacity. He asserted that while this attack specifically targeted Christians, it also had an impact on Pakistan as a whole and Pakistan's standing abroad. The archbishop demanded that this act be investigated and that those responsible for it face equal punishment in order to stop such incidents from happening in the future. ------ Source for Urdu report: https://www.dawnnews.tv/news/1209927 URL: https://newageislam.com/the-war-within-islam/ashrafi-archbishop-shaw-victims-blasphemy-accusations/d/130580 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism