One Aneela Ehsan, presumably from Pakistan, committed blasphemy as per Islamic law when she ‘blasphemed’ against the religion by questioning the conduct of prophet Muhammad. Now, Pakistanis are trending a hashtag on Twitter calling for her arrest and execution.
خدیجہ کے علاوہ حضور نے اٹھارہ عورتوں سے شادی کی، لونڈیاں اس کے علاوہ تھیں، کسی ایک سے اولاد کے نام پر چوہے کا بچہ بھی پیدا نہیں ہوا. کیوں؟؟؟
— Aneela Ehsan (@AneelaEhsan) December 27, 2019
In a couple of tweets, Aneela had questioned the conduct of the Prophet and asked why had he married 18 women apart from Khadija. In response, Pakistanis are tagging their Prime Minister Imran Khan in their tweets and demanding that she be put to death.
Hey @ImranKhanPTI arrest #ArrestAneela and hang her in front of a massive crowd
Lanat ho is maloona pr— AbdeVilliers17 (@Ab17Mr360) December 28, 2019
#ArrestAneela and kill her by Islamic Law and severely punish whoever defends her @dawn_com @MJibranNasir @ImranKhanPTI @PTIofficial @muftitaqiusmani @Mufti_Kakakhail @tanzeemorg
— عبد المهيمن العابد (@abdulMuhaymin78) December 29, 2019
#ArrestAneela
I lost my words after reading her tweets. @pid_gov @PTAofficialpk @SHABAZGIL @OfficialDGISPR @UsmanAKBuzdar @ImranKhanPTI
Sir, arrest her and hang her in D-Chowk to make an example for others even thinking about blasphemy. We love Muhammad PBUH & we r hurt. pic.twitter.com/Ox8sTvQWU6— Usama Tahir (@usamatahir717) December 29, 2019
Some people, however, want her to be put to death after a trial. The punishment for blasphemy in any Islamic state is death. And insults to the prophet are considered one of the worst forms of blasphemy.
We request @PakPMO @ImranKhanPTI to detail concerned authorities so as to arrest a blasphemer @AneelaEhsan, and put her up for trial.
Her twitter timeline is loaded with blasphemous content against Islam and our Prophet Mohammadﷺ#ArrestAneela#محبت_مافیا pic.twitter.com/pwlkRjShqg— ?? Sohail Ejaz Mirza ?? (@S_E_Mirza) December 28, 2019
Some are saying that Aneela seems to be an ‘anti-Islamist and extremist’ because of her tweets. They want the authorities to investigate why she was ‘working on such an extremist agenda’.
The user @AneelaEhsan seems to be an anti islamist and extremist. In common interest it is suggested to arrest her and investigate why she is working on such extremist agenda.#ArrestAneela pic.twitter.com/F25IqSDmQg
— Prof Muhammad Naeem Shehzad (@MNaeemShehzad) December 28, 2019
Others accused Aneela of “spreading hate” and said that they couldn’t read more than a few of her tweets because, apparently, it was “open blasphemy”.
After reading few of her tweets, I couldn’t read more. The tweets tweeted from the account @AneelaEhsan are insulting & is open blasphemy. FIA cybercrime cell should immediately launch inquiry and arrest the person who is spreading hate!#ArrestAneela
— Mohammad Bakhsh khan (@MBkhaNodho) December 28, 2019
Blasphemy attracts great punishment in Pakistan, even death. Not merely that, even people who are seen supporting the ‘blasphemers’ often face threats to their life. It is impossible to get rid of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan and the authorities do take blasphemy very seriously as failure to do so could lead to a law and order crisis. If authorities do not take any action, then Maulanas would whip up the crowd into a frenzy that has the potential to destabilize the Military’s hold over the country.
It is also pertinent to remember that Salman Taseer, a former governor, was assassinated by a Radical Muslim for calling for the abolition of blasphemy laws in Pakistan. The murderer was hailed as a hero by the significant majority of Pakistani society.
