Asia Bibi: He Defended Her For Blasphemy. Then He Fled For His Life
NB: Saif ul Malook is the kind of person who keeps alive our faith in humanity; and strengthens our resolve to confront all kinds of fanaticism. Salaam Janaab. Your courage is an inspiration to all decent people, of all countries and of whichever faith. May God protect you and Asia Bibi. Dilip
Saif ul
Malook fought to keep Pakistan from hanging a Christian woman accused of
insulting the Prophet Mohammed. He won. But now she - and he - are in fear for
their lives.
'Asia Bibi was a poor, helpless woman. No lawyer in Pakistan is likely to indulge in such cases,
because this means you have to leave the life and liberties you have known behind you and putting your life in fear. But they are helpless and powerless and somebody has to stand for them. So I stood for them.'
For almost nine years, the name of an illiterate peasant woman in Pakistan came to symbolize the brutal intolerance that exists in a nation where blasphemy is a capital crime. Asia Bibi, also known as Assia Bibi or Aasya Noreen, was sentenced to death by hanging in 2010 after she squabbled with some of her Muslim neighbors while picking berries and they accused her of insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Year after year, human rights organizations, presidents, prime ministers, even Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis tried to intercede on her behalf. The governor of Pakistan’s Punjab province visited here in jail as part of a campaign against the country’s blasphemy law. But to no avail. The courts upheld her conviction. The governor was murdered.
'Asia Bibi was a poor, helpless woman. No lawyer in Pakistan is likely to indulge in such cases,
because this means you have to leave the life and liberties you have known behind you and putting your life in fear. But they are helpless and powerless and somebody has to stand for them. So I stood for them.'
For almost nine years, the name of an illiterate peasant woman in Pakistan came to symbolize the brutal intolerance that exists in a nation where blasphemy is a capital crime. Asia Bibi, also known as Assia Bibi or Aasya Noreen, was sentenced to death by hanging in 2010 after she squabbled with some of her Muslim neighbors while picking berries and they accused her of insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Year after year, human rights organizations, presidents, prime ministers, even Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis tried to intercede on her behalf. The governor of Pakistan’s Punjab province visited here in jail as part of a campaign against the country’s blasphemy law. But to no avail. The courts upheld her conviction. The governor was murdered.
More posts on Asia Bibi
Despite mounting
threats on his own life, Bibi’s attorney Saif ul Malook continued to represent
her until, finally, Pakistan’s Supreme Court acquitted her in October. She was
freed but went into hiding under heavy government protection. Malook left the
country and is now keeping a low profile in the Netherlands, where he may be
granted political asylum. “I'm happy to die
rather than keeping my mouth shut,” Malook told The Daily Beast over the phone
in an exclusive interview.
Malook's involvement
actually began with the case of the murdered governor, Salmaan Taseer, a
businessman and liberal politician struggling against the currents of religious
fanaticism that run very strong in Pakistan. Taseer believed the blasphemy laws
were used to intimidate and persecute religious minorities, and visited Bibi in
prison to underscore the injustice of her situation. One of his bodyguards, who
belonged to an police unit, decided that was reason enough for Taseer to die,
and gunned him down.
Malik Mumtaz Qadri
shot Taseer in the back with at least 27 rounds from his police weapon, then
put it down and allowed himself to be arrested by the other bodyguards. When he
claimed that he murdered the governor because of Taseer’s opposition to the blasphemy
law and visit with Bibi, Qadri was hailed as a hero by many of the country’s
zealots, and initially treated with lenience by the courts. Malook took the job of
prosecuting Qadri and was able to win a conviction. When Qadri was hanged in
2016, an estimated 100,000 sympathizers turned out for his funeral… read more:
