From ABC News via Yahoo News:
Girl 11, could face death in Pakistan for 'blasphemy'
To some, she's an innocent victim, an apparently mentally challenged
Christian girl swept up by a rising tide of irrational Islamic
extremism. To others, she's God's enemy, guilty of a crime so vile the
only suitable punishment is death.
On Monday, Pakistani police arrested the girl, known only by her first
name, Ramsha, after accusations that she burned pages of the Koran,
Islam's holy book. In Pakistan, it is a crime to utter derogatory
statements or insult the Prophet Muhammad or the Koran in any way.
Blasphemy convictions carry an automatic death sentence.
Uh-oh. I wonder how the non-moderate mohammedans reacted to those allegations...
The accusations, made by the girl's neighbors in a mixed
Christian-Muslim neighborhood, sent area Muslims into a fury, with some
police reports suggesting an angry mob of hundreds of men descended on
her home demanding authorities arrest her and charge her with blasphemy.
They then allegedly went on a rampage, attacking the girl's family and
setting Christian houses on fire. The girl's parents are now in
protective custody and, according to reports, several Christian families
have left the neighborhood, an impoverished district in the country's
capital, Islamabad.
Wow. Mohammedism sucks.
Police officials put the girl in jail for 14 days, but suggested the
charges might be dropped for a lack of evidence. When she was brought to
jail, she reportedly had a shopping bag filled with religious and
Arabic-language papers, but it was unclear whether the papers were pages
of the Koran.
If only she had been carrying copies of "Paul Ryan's budget", she'd be ok.
Some have said the girl is mentally challenged and suffers from Down's syndrome.
The case is drawing worldwide condemnation, including from senior
officials in the United States, a key military and political ally that
gives billions in annual aid to Pakistan.
On Monday, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland referred to the case as "deeply disturbing."
"We urge the government of Pakistan to protect not just its religious minority citizens, but also women and girls," she said.
Critics say Pakistan's blasphemy laws are often misused and applied vindictively, often as a way to target minorities.
"It has been exploited by individuals to settle personal scores, to grab
land, to violate the rights of non-Muslims, to basically harass them,"
said the head of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Zora Yusuf.
Pakistan's blasphemy laws have met with controversy in the past. Last
year, a prominent Pakistani politician who advocated reforming the law
was gunned down and killed by his own bodyguard while leaving an upscale
Islamabad cafe frequented by westerners.
Pakistan's president, Asif Ali Zardari, has ordered an investigation into Monday's incident.
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