Rein in religious extremism

There was widespread shock and sorrow last week about the brutal murder of a Sri Lankan at the hands of an extremist mob in Pakistan. Priyantha Diyawadana, who worked as a general manager of a factory in Sialkot, Punjab, was set upon by a violent crowd that tortured, killed and then set his body on fire after accusing him of blasphemy over posters he had allegedly taken down.

Prime Minister Imran Khan was quick to condemn the brutal killing, promising swift justice against the perpetrators. In a Twitter message, he said: “I am overseeing the investigations and let there be no mistake all those responsible will be punished with full severity of the law. Arrests are in progress.” 

In the wake of such senseless violence, this is indeed welcome. It is hoped that for the sake of Priyantha Diyawadana, his young family and all his loved ones that there would be justice delivered as promised. However, the root causes of the violence that took away an innocent life last week is more deeply entrenched not only in Pakistan but throughout South Asia, including Sri Lanka. While the murderers of Diyawadana are directly responsible for this heinous crime, there is also no doubt that decades of weaponising religion by political elites and using religion as a source of political expediency has now unleashed uncontrollable violent elements that are causing havoc throughout the region. 

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws have their origins in the 19th century, when offences relating to religion were first codified by India’s British rulers. These were inherited by Pakistan after the partition of India in 1947. The original British laws made it a crime to disturb a religious assembly, trespass on burial grounds, insult religious beliefs or intentionally destroy or defile a place or an object of worship. The maximum punishment under these laws ranged from one to 10 years in jail, with or without a fine.

However, during the 1980s the blasphemy laws were created and expanded by the military rulers of Pakistan who used religion to gain legitimacy for their autocratic rule. According to these new laws, making derogatory remarks against Islamic personages was made an offence, carrying a maximum punishment of three years in jail. In 1982, the law prescribed life imprisonment for “wilful” desecration of the Koran and later a separate provision was added to punish blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad. The penalty for the latter crime was either death or imprisonment for life. 

One of Pakistan’s most infamous blasphemy cases is that of the Christian woman Asia Bibi, who was sentenced to death in 2010 after being accused of blasphemy by her co-workers. Almost a decade later she was acquitted after heavy international pressure. Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, a prominent critic of the blasphemy laws was assassinated by his own bodyguard in 2011. It must be noted that while there have been some efforts to abolish or in the very least amend these laws which are specifically discriminatory towards religious minorities, Prime Minister Imran Khan vowed to defend the country’s strict blasphemy laws in the run-up to his General Election win.

Therefore it is incumbent upon Prime Minister Khan not only to address the recent killing of the Sri Lankan national but to also revisit his own populist policies towards blasphemy laws that have normalised heinous crimes in the name of religion. He only needs to look at Sri Lanka to see the dire consequences of weaponising religion and empowering religious extremists in the guise of protecting religion. 

The current administration of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has now for many years nurtured extremist groups such as the Bodu Bala Sena which orchestrated violence that also led to several deaths in Aluthgama, Ampara, Dambulla, Digana and Kurunegala. These anti-minority elements have used the flimsiest of excuses to unleash their pogroms against other religious communities. As Sri Lankans are now discovering, these mad dogs of extremism are not easily contained once unleashed. While politicians benefit from the hatred, division and suspicion created within communities, such politically expedient endeavours will eventually destroy a country from within and make it ungovernable. Eventually, there are no winners in this game.

As we all mourn the demise of Priyantha Diyawadana may his tragic end at least be a wake-up call to all of us to rein in religious extremism which has caused enormous pain and suffering in both Pakistan and Sri Lanka.