Illiterate girl unknowingly burns Koran pages, imprisoned

[Nulono]

Girl held in Pakistan, accused of burning Quran pages
(CNN) -- An 11-year-old Christian girl has been arrested after being accused of blasphemy by burning pages of the Quran in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.

According to a statement released by the president's office Sunday, the girl, identified as Ramsha, was accused by a local resident of burning pages of the Muslim holy text after she gathered paper as fuel for cooking.

Local media reports said the girl has Down syndrome. CNN was unable to confirm these reports, and a local police official said they are not true.

Qasim Niazi, the police officer in charge of the station near where the incident took place, said the girl does not have a mental disorder but is illiterate and has not attended school.

The accused girl had told him she had no idea there were pages of the Quran inside the documents she burned, he added.

Niazi said that 150 people had gathered on Friday where the neighborhood's Christian population lives and threatened to burn down their houses.

"The mob wanted to burn the girl to give her a lesson," he told CNN.

Other Christian families living in the area have fled fearing a backlash, he added.

The statement from President Asif Ali Zardari said he has called for an urgent report on the incident and added that vulnerable sections of society must be protected "from any misuse of the blasphemy law."

"Blasphemy by anyone cannot be condoned but no one will be allowed to misuse blasphemy law for settling personal scores," said the president's spokesman, Farhatullah Babar.

Critics of the controversial law say it is being used to persecute religious minorities.

Politician and former international cricketer Imran Khan tweeted: "Shameful! Sending an 11yr old girl to prison is against the very spirit of Islam which is all about being Just and Compassionate.

"Poor child is already suffering from Down Syndrome. State should care for its children not torment them. We demand her immed release," said Khan, who now leads the political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

The legislation makes it a crime punishable by death to insult Islam, the Quran or the Prophet Mohammed.

Pakistan is home to about 2 million Christians, who make up more than 1% of Islamic nation's population, according to government statistics.

--
CNN's Reza Sayah in Islamabad contributed to this report.

http://www.ketknbc.com/news/girl-held-i ... uran-pages

Seriously, Pakistan? I want to slap whomever thought this was a good thing to do.

[Aryavartha]

Give more billions.

[EnragedMaldivians]

Pakistan's having a spectacular week aren't they.

General Zia Al Haqq should be proud of what he did to this country.

[Raeyh]

Poor little down syndrome girl.

She shouldn't even be legally culpable for anything.

[Wamitoria]

Pakistan's having a spectacular week aren't they.

General Zia Al Haqq should be proud of what he did to this country.

Hope the bastard rots in hell.

[Ostroeuropa]

Not news really. Oh so the muslim nations are acting like barbarians? Huh. Wonder why. Could it be imperialism?
Well, they were independent for ages and made no real advancement ...
...
but sure, it's imperialism, lets go with that.
Couldn't be the religion and the culture it promotes, that'd be racist.

[Mavorpen]

Poor little down syndrome girl.

She shouldn't even be legally culpable for anything.

Whut.

[Mesoland]

Oh Pakistan.

[Raeyh]

Poor little down syndrome girl.

She shouldn't even be legally culpable for anything.

Whut.

Well, they claimed that she had down syndrome and then it turned out to be false.

[Samuraikoku]

Down syndrome?

Can't and shouldn't be imprisoned. They should know better.

[EnragedMaldivians]

Poor little down syndrome girl.

She shouldn't even be legally culpable for anything.

Admittedly speculating but it is possible that they could have arrested her for her own protection and if they did, it was probably a good idea. She doesn't seem to have very nice or understanding neighbours.

We've arrested a few irreverent people in my country (i.e one Hilath Rasheed) which turned out to be for their own protection, from raging mobs (most of whom, incidentally, were educated or influenced by people educated in Pakistani theological schools).

[The Joseon Dynasty]

I'm sure Allah wouldn't be that cheesed off if it was an accident.

[Luziyca]

In my opinion, it was the wrong thing to partition India into a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan. If they remained a sovereign state, united, this definitely would not happen, and there will be stability (tsk tsk, war over East Pakistan and the ongoing conflict in Jammu and Kashmir). Is Pakistan trying to make itself a target so that the USA can make it a colony, just like its neighbor, Afghanistan? Because if so, it is succeeding.

-sigh-

She needs to be released, because while burning pages of the Quran is bad, if one is illiterate, that means that the education system in Pakistan has failed to provide mandatory education for all citizens of Pakistan. And when she is released, I want that charge to be dropped because all that does is make Pakistan look like a puppet state of Iran. It absolutely is not a good thing, and ruins the credibility of a nation. Here in the Dominion of Canada, we have freedom of speech. You could in theory burn a Quran, but expect criticism. But, the mob who wants to burn this girl, needs to realize that it is better to leave them alone.

The Muslims should stop threatening her just for not knowing they were burning a Quran, because at the end of the day, they follow the same God, just worship different parts of him.

[Nadkor]

The BBC article makes from the other day it seem slightly different:

Pakistani police have arrested a mentally disabled 11-year-old girl after a mob accused her of desecrating pages of the Koran.

The mob demanded the Christian girl's arrest and threatened to burn down Christian homes outside the capital Islamabad, local media say.

Officials said the girl could not properly answer police questions.

Her parents have been taken into protective custody following threats and other Christian families have fled.

It is thought that the girl has Down's syndrome.

Paul Bhatti, Pakistan's minister for National Harmony, told the BBC that the girl was known to have a mental disorder and that it seemed "unlikely she purposefully desecrated the Koran".

"From the reports I have seen, she was found carrying a waste bag which also had pages of the Koran," he said.

"This infuriated some local people and a large crowd gathered to demand action against her. The police were initially reluctant to arrest her, but they came under a lot of pressure from a very large crowd, who were threatening to burn down Christian homes."

He said more than 600 people have fled from the Christian neighbourhood.

Rights activists have urged Pakistan to reform its controversial blasphemy laws, under which a person can be jailed for life for desecrating the Koran.

Many of those accused of blasphemy have been killed by violent mobs, while politicians who advocate a change in legislation have also been targeted.

Last year, Shahbaz Bhatti, the minister for minority affairs, was killed after calling for the repeal of the blasphemy law.

His death came just two months after the murder of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, who also spoke out about the issue

And a BBC article from yesterday says that

Police said they had no choice but to intervene, saying the angry crowd was threatening to set the girl alight.

It seems that it's not so much that she was arrested for burning the Koran as that she was arrested because the other option was large-scale sectarian attacks on Christian homes and the mob attacking her.

Not that either is exactly a good thing, but let's at least get the story straight.

[Ostroeuropa]

So once again i'll level the hitchens charge against all moderate muslims.
This is your fault.
It's also the fault of all the moderate christians.
If you hadn't made faith a virtue instead of something to be sneered at, if you hadn't bolstered census numbers to make these maniacs think they had legitimacy, stuff like this would not happen.
Every time you clasp your hands in prayer, they drip with blood.

[Vakolic]

Nobody should go to prison for burning a religious book anyway. It just shows how extremest Pakistan and many other islamic countries are about there beliefs.

And they wonder why islam has generated a bad name? Shame on Pakistan.

[Person012345]

I'm not sure why anyone is shocked by this. Hell, it's not even that outrageous in regards to "things Islamic country's do". Although not just Islamic I'll make clear. I would expect her to have been stoned to death tbh. And from what I can see from the article she hasn't been convicted of anything or sentenced yet, she's just being held (which all things considered is probably to her benefit).

[The Joseon Dynasty]

So once again i'll level the hitchens charge against all moderate muslims.
This is your fault.
It's also the fault of all the moderate christians.
If you hadn't made faith a virtue instead of something to be sneered at, if you hadn't bolstered census numbers to make these maniacs think they had legitimacy, stuff like this would not happen.
Every time you clasp your hands in prayer, they drip with blood.

Take a deep breath and count to ten, mate.
What's your point, even?

[Ostroeuropa]

So once again i'll level the hitchens charge against all moderate muslims.
This is your fault.
It's also the fault of all the moderate christians.
If you hadn't made faith a virtue instead of something to be sneered at, if you hadn't bolstered census numbers to make these maniacs think they had legitimacy, stuff like this would not happen.
Every time you clasp your hands in prayer, they drip with blood.

Take a deep breath and count to ten, mate.
What's your point, even?

Pakistan isn't culpable.
They are insane. You cant hold the insane accountable. It's the moderates who are allowing this to happen, without them we could safely lock these crazies where they belong.

[The Emerald Dawn]

I'm sure Allah wouldn't be that cheesed off if it was an accident.

I'm sure you've heard the "wrathful god" arguments, so I'll just point that out.

[Person012345]

So once again i'll level the hitchens charge against all moderate muslims.
This is your fault.
It's also the fault of all the moderate christians.
If you hadn't made faith a virtue instead of something to be sneered at, if you hadn't bolstered census numbers to make these maniacs think they had legitimacy, stuff like this would not happen.
Every time you clasp your hands in prayer, they drip with blood.

Take a deep breath and count to ten, mate.
What's your point, even?

His point is that religion is poison and if we continue to hold faith on a pedestal then things like this will continue to happen. I don't really agree with him though, I prefer moderates to extremists.

[Azrael]

So once again i'll level the hitchens charge against all moderate muslims.
This is your fault.
It's also the fault of all the moderate christians.
If you hadn't made faith a virtue instead of something to be sneered at, if you hadn't bolstered census numbers to make these maniacs think they had legitimacy, stuff like this would not happen.
Every time you clasp your hands in prayer, they drip with blood.

wut

[Vakolic]

I'm not sure why anyone is shocked by this. Hell, it's not even that outrageous in regards to "things Islamic country's do". Although not just Islamic I'll make clear. I would expect her to have been stoned to death tbh. And from what I can see from the article she hasn't been convicted of anything or sentenced yet, she's just being held (which all things considered is probably to her benefit).

Then surely that is where the problem lies? Pakistan shouldn't be trying to control this girl's 'blasphemy,' they should be controlling their own population's anger issues.

[Ostroeuropa]

Take a deep breath and count to ten, mate.
What's your point, even?

His point is that religion is poison and if we continue to hold faith on a pedestal then things like this will continue to happen. I don't really agree with him though, I prefer moderates to extremists.

Basically this. You can bet actually secular people will look at this and go "Well, fuck trading with those guys." but the moderates will blather about cultural circumstance and faith.

[Samuraikoku]

The BBC article makes from the other day it seem slightly different:

Pakistani police have arrested a mentally disabled 11-year-old girl after a mob accused her of desecrating pages of the Koran.

The mob demanded the Christian girl's arrest and threatened to burn down Christian homes outside the capital Islamabad, local media say.

Officials said the girl could not properly answer police questions.

Her parents have been taken into protective custody following threats and other Christian families have fled.

It is thought that the girl has Down's syndrome.

Paul Bhatti, Pakistan's minister for National Harmony, told the BBC that the girl was known to have a mental disorder and that it seemed "unlikely she purposefully desecrated the Koran".

"From the reports I have seen, she was found carrying a waste bag which also had pages of the Koran," he said.

"This infuriated some local people and a large crowd gathered to demand action against her. The police were initially reluctant to arrest her, but they came under a lot of pressure from a very large crowd, who were threatening to burn down Christian homes."

He said more than 600 people have fled from the Christian neighbourhood.

Rights activists have urged Pakistan to reform its controversial blasphemy laws, under which a person can be jailed for life for desecrating the Koran.

Many of those accused of blasphemy have been killed by violent mobs, while politicians who advocate a change in legislation have also been targeted.

Last year, Shahbaz Bhatti, the minister for minority affairs, was killed after calling for the repeal of the blasphemy law.

His death came just two months after the murder of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, who also spoke out about the issue

And a BBC article from yesterday says that

Police said they had no choice but to intervene, saying the angry crowd was threatening to set the girl alight.

It seems that it's not so much that she was arrested for burning the Koran as that she was arrested because the other option was large-scale sectarian attacks on Christian homes and the mob attacking her.

Not that either is exactly a good thing, but let's at least get the story straight.

It's like saying a stab wound is better than a gunshot.