FYI: We received the following response from the Department of State:
_________________________________
Thank you for your recent expression of concern in the case of Dr. Younus
Shaikh, founder-President of "Enlightenment," a Pakistan-based organization
affiliated with the International Humanist and Ethical Union. Please pardon
the fact that this is a standardized reply, but I have received so many
telephone calls, e-mails, and faxes over the last few days that this is the
only way I can reply.
The U.S. Department of State, including the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan and our
office, the Office of International Religious Freedom in the Department's
Bureau of Human Rights, has long been aware of the threat to religious
freedom posed by Pakistan's "blasphemy laws" under which Dr. Shaikh has
apparently been charged. Unfortunately, this is only the latest among many
similar cases filed under those laws.
Officials of the State Department have on many occasions raised the issue of
the blasphemy law at the highest levels with Pakistani government officials.
We have impressed on them the need to repeal the blasphemy law so as to
conform to international standards of religious liberty and freedom of
expression. As an intermediate step, we have urged that the government
change procedures for filing complaints under the law so as to limit the
abuse of the law.
In April 2000, Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf (who took power in a
military coup on October 12, 1999) announced a proposal to make an
administrative change to the blasphemy laws, which was aimed at reducing the
number of persons who are accused wrongly under the laws. However,
Musharraf failed to implement these proposed changes due to significant
opposition and pressure from some religious groups. Our Embassy in
Islamabad is closely following these developments. We will continue to
weigh in as appropriate on the need to protect the freedom of religion and
expression of all of Pakistan's people.
I have forwarded information on Dr. Shaikh's case to the State Department's
Pakistan desk, and to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad. I have asked them to
look into the case and to express our concern. However, I stress that there
are many such cases currently being prosecuted in Pakistani courts. During
our discussions with Pakistani officials, they often assure us that no one
has ever been put to death under the blasphemy laws. I am sorry that at
this time, I have nothing more positive to report on Dr. Shaikh's case,
except to assure you that we will continue to monitor the case and to
express our concern.
Further information on Pakistan's blasphemy law, and on some of the cases
filed under its provisions, are available in the chapter on Pakistan in the
State Department's latest annual International Religious Freedom Report,
which is available at the State Department's web site - www.state.gov .
Thanks again for your expression of interest.
Sincerely,
Paul J. Martin
Office of International Religious Freedom
U.S. Department of State
Main State, Room 4829, 2201 C Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20520
USA
* Tel. (202) 647-4359; Fax (202) 647-3209
* Office e-mail: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
-----Original Message-----
From: ScipolicyNews [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Sunday, October 22, 2000 8:13 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Intervention requested on behalf of Dr. Younus Shaikh
Scipolicy(tm)
The Journal of Science and Health Policy (ISSN 1527-7879)
Box 504, Haverford, PA 19041-0504, Voice and fax 610-658-2332,
www.Scipolicy.net <http://www.Scipolicy.net>
Stephen Miles Sacks, Ph.D., Editor and Publisher
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
--------------------------------------------------
Mr. P.J. Martin
Officer in charge of Pakistan
Office of International Religious Freedom
(DRL/IRF), Room 4829,
U.S. Department of State
Washington, DC 20520
Intervention and assistance are requested on behalf of Dr. Younus Shaikh. He
is founder-President of Enlightenment, a Pakistan-based organization which
is a member of the International Humanist and Ethical
Union ( www.iheu.org <http://www.iheu.org> ).
One possibility is to Invoke the provisions of the International Freedom of
Religion Act, 1998. The law obliges them to take up the case with the US
Ambassador in Islamabad, and to follow it up.
Dr. Shaikh is a doctor and a teacher at a medical college in Islamabad. He
lived and worked in the UK before returning
to Pakistan. On October 4 2000, Dr. Shaikh was arrested by the Islamabad
police and booked under the Section 295-C (Blasphemy) of the Pakistan Penal
Code. The police First Information Report was not readily available, but in
it he
is alleged to have defiled Mohammad, the Prophet of Islam, by pointing out
that the Prophet did not become a Muslim till the age of 40 (i.e. until he
received the first message of God), and that the Prophet's parents were
non-Muslims because they died before Islam was proposed by the Prophet. It
is for stating these facts that Dr. Shaikh will be killed by the State,
if he is found guilty.
45 year-old Dr. Shaikh lives alone, has no family, and has been sacked from
his job following his arrest. To build popular pressure, an Islamabad-based
Urdu language newspaper, Khabrain, is carrying a campaign demanding the
death
penalty for him. On October 19 2000, Dr. Shaikh was presented before the
court, but he had no lawyer. Frequently lawyers are intimidated by the mob,
so they do not take up blasphemy cases. Even judges are afraid of trying
them. A group of 20 clerics - - menacing and aggressive - came to the court,
to pursue their case against Dr. Shaikh. They represent the
Majlis-I-Khatam-I-Nabuwat (Organization on the Finality of the Prophet) one
of the groups responsible for Pakistan's descent into lawlessness. Dr.
Shaikh's reading glasses were broken when he came to court, he was unable to
read well, and was not allowed to speak to anyone. Fortunately he has not
been tortured by the police during 2 weeks of custody.
The main concern of Pakistan's Human Rights activists are the Blasphemy
laws. Blasphemy of Islam is punished differently and much more severely than
Blasphemy of other religions. There is no Freedom of Religion or Belief in
Pakistan. Bishop John Joseph, Roman Catholic Bishop of Faizalabad even
killed himself in protest in front of the sessions court of Sahiwal, on May
5, 1998. But even this ultimate sacrifice did not move the administration or
the legislature.
Thank you for considering this matter that is important to the academic
community.
Sincerely,
Stephen Miles Sacks, MPA, Ph.D., Editor and Publisher
SCIPOLICY-The Journal of Science and Health Policy
Box 504, Haverford, PA 19041
Voice and Fax: 610-658-2332 (24 hours)
Website: http://www.Scipolicy.net <http://www.Scipolicy.net>
E-mail: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
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