EDHS Contemporary World Affairs

Amber Kennedy · Veteran Member

The Goths: Dozens Arrested in Slaying of Pakistani Couple Accused of Desecrating Quran

Sami_THECREATOR · Veteran Member

I told my Dad about this story last night, he said the town where this happened was the town next to his. He told me that the country use to be way more liberal and progressive than it is now, the country has seemed to move backwards.

Religion dominates peoples lives in Pakistan, but most of the people religious views are not their own, Clerics interpret religion and spread their often unaccepted interpretation to the people living near them. Many clerics are in the pocket of groups wanting to establish Sharia in the country. These attacks remind me of the witch hunts of the middle ages in Europe, where Christianity was dominating people's lives; the only difference in Pakistan is that people use Islam to justify such acts. I thinks that its proof that often times religion often makes you drop reason and logic.

Pakistan's founder Muhammed Ali Jinnah said "You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the state" in a speech in 1947, he died the next year, he was never able to ensure the creation of a secular state.

Abi G · Member

i do not think that there should be laws like this. Religion is a person choice and people can do with it as these please. Yes people do let there religious belies cause them to have cloudy judgment and i think that is wrong on a lot of levels. We all have our personal choices and shouldn't push them down each other throat.

Alexis · Veteran Member

I believe that laws should be created for the protection of the people and to secure their rights. I believe that freedom of religion should be a law in all nations but i can also see why some nations might oppose it. That being said, there is no redeeming qualities to a law that punishes blasphemy with death. Even life in prison is completely ridiculous. This goes for any religion. Law should not be under any religion, rather religion should live freely under law. Religion does cloud peoples judgment but not to all religious people. I find it hard to believe that there isn't some followers of the Quran who see this as being immoral or religiously correct.

kami · Veteran Member

I agree with Abi and Alexis, laws should not be made under any religion and people shouldn't try and force their own religion on anyone else. Religion is a very complex thing and there's so many, while people have their own beliefs they need to be understanding and respectful of other people's beliefs.

aya · Veteran Member

Yes, there should be freedom of religion because it is people's beliefs. People should respect others religion.

Banddude · Senior Member

This is where the U.S. and few other countries differ from the wrest of the world. Secular states are crucial to protecting differences in religion. Unfortunately, like Sami said, a secular state never really formed in Pakistan. Due to this, their government has allowed itself to nurture specific religions, and demonize others. It will take change from within to bring about a new secular state. Push from the outside will only strengthen Pakistan's solid beliefs of a non-secular state.

Zachary Francine · Veteran Member

I agree too. Pakistan has been in the news a lot in the last several weeks for human rights abuses and killings based on religion. Recently, a Christian woman was sentenced to death for her faith. The Middle East and the sub-continent has never been a place known for religious tolerance. Gandhi, a devout Hindu, was killed by Hindu radicals for preaching about religious tolerance. For many, those are their religious beliefs. Unfortunately, its not as simple as telling them "Don't kill that man for breaking your religious law!" In his mind, thats equivalent of telling Christians not to partake in communion. Thats not to say that a hate filled religious world view is acceptable. Its not. At all. What I am saying is that we need to approach issues involving war, the Middle East, and religion with a broader perspective than our (as a nation) narrow, westernized, often liberal, and optimistic (or even overly pessimistic) vantage point.

-- Edited by Zachary Francine on Sunday 9th of November 2014 12:00:28 AM

Kayli Perry · Veteran Member

I don't think any religious laws should result in death because not everyone has the same beliefs. Being a religious Christian, I may not believe in the Quran but I have no right to harm it in any way, as I would take great offense to anyone desecrating the Bible. However, that does not give me the right to kill anyone, despite how may I may be. I realize this may be different for different religious, but I feel like this should only apply to that particular religious group, not any other. I think religion has the ability to cloud judgments, but only those who are extremist and are missing the message that their religion is trying to teach. No religions (or at least VERY FEW) say its okay to harm or kill another. And it would be completely incorrect to say all people of that religion believe the same extremist views. Therefore, while religion can cause clouded judgement for some people. It certainly does not create clouded judgement for all people.