Law students and law graduates in Pakistan are reporting for JURIST on events in that country impacting its legal system. Abu Bakar Khan is a final year law student at University Law College, University of the Punjab. He files this dispatch from Lahore. Lahore hosted the 5th Asma Jahangir Conference, titled ‘People’s Mandate: Safeguarding Civil [...]
Search Results for: blasphemy law
Malaysia urges TikTok and Meta to monitor harmful social media content
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) published a joint statement with the Royal Malaysian Police on Tuesday stating that the government has required online media platforms such as TikTok and Meta to tighten their harmful content policy. In the statement, the MCMC stressed that they are working with other government departments and enforcement agencies [...]
How Democratic Sharia May Help Curb the Influence of Corrupted Interpretations of Islamic Law
What makes someone qualified to rule? One way to answer this question might be to approach it from the Islamic perspective, that is, by considering the criteria required for someone to become a mujāthid, a person accepted as an authority in Islamic law. The criteria include knowledge of the Shārīe‘ā essential objectives – ‘religion, life, [...]
Explainer: Why is Scotland's New Hate Crime Legislation So Controversial?
This week in Scotland, a hate crime law that ranks among the world’s strictest entered into force. The Hate Crime and Public Order Act 2021 (Hate Crime Act) aims to modernize and consolidate protections while broadening the scope of recognized hate crimes to encompass a wider range of individuals and circumstances. In other words, the [...]
Scotland's controversial new hate crime law comes into effect
Scotland’s controversial Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 came into force on Monday. The law intends to unite existing hate crime laws, along with creating several new offenses, most notably criminalizing “threatening or abusive behaviour which is intended to stir up hatred.” Stirring up racial hatred has been an offense since 1986. However, [...]
The Associated Press (AP) reported that a Pakistani court sentenced a 22-year-old student to death and gave a teenager life in prison on Monday under the country’s blasphemy laws. The 22-year-old student’s lawyer, Aslam Gujar, told the AP that Junaid Munir had been sentenced to death last week. The charges come as a result of [...]
Malaysia charges filmmakers with blasphemy, drawing condemnation from human rights groups
Two filmmakers of a film banned in Malaysia were charged on Wednesday with “hurting religious feelings” due to the contents of their film. Nine human rights organizations have condemned the criminal charges as breaches of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. The film, Mentega Terbang, debuted at a film festival in 2021. It [...]
Pakistan rejects US State Department inclusion in religious freedom concern list
Pakistan rejected Monday its designation as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) by the United States State Department over religious freedom concerns in the South Asian country. The US State Department designated Pakistan as a CPC on January 4 following a recommendation from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). The Pakistan Ministry of [...]
Pakistan dispatch: Jaranwala vandalism attacks spotlight controversial blasphemy laws
Law students and law graduates in Pakistan are reporting for JURIST on events in that country impacting its legal system. Izhar Ahmed Khan is a 2022 LL.B. graduate of the Pakistan College of Law (University of London International Program). He files this from Lahore. Last week Pakistan witnessed yet another tragic incident in which an [...]
Pakistan arrests two Christians on blasphemy charges following religious unrest
A Pakistan spokesperson announced the arrest of two Christian brothers for blasphemy Friday, according to Reuters. The two were accused of ripping pages from the Quran. Chapter XV of Pakistan’s Penal Code outlines several different forms of blasphemy against Islam. These criminalize conduct such as making derogatory remarks about Muhammad or the desecration of the [...]