AP/ July 4, 2012, 1:46 PM

Angry mob kills Pakistani man accused of insulting Quran

A Pakistani girl reads verses from the Quran.

A Pakistani girl reads verses from the Quran. / AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen

(AP) ISLAMABAD - Thousands of people dragged a Pakistani man accused of desecrating Islam's holy book from a police station in central Pakistan, beat him to death and then set his body on fire, a police official said Wednesday.

The incident highlighted the highly charged nature of Pakistan's blasphemy laws, under which anyone found guilty of insulting Islam's Prophet or the Quran can be sentenced to death.

Sometimes, however, people take the matter into their own hands.

A senior police officer, Mohammed Azhar Gujar, said in the incident Tuesday in Bahawalpur, a city in a deeply conservative part of central Pakistan, attackers stormed a police station where the man was being interrogated.

Gujar said the victim seemed to be mentally unstable. He was arrested after residents said he threw pages of the Quran into the street.

Discipline recommended in troop Koran burning

While the man was being questioned, some people started making announcements over mosque loudspeakers, urging residents to go to the police station and punish him.

Within hours, thousands gathered outside and demanded the man be handed over to them. Gujar said police tried to protect him, but the mob turned violent.

They burned several police vehicles and wounded seven officers before grabbing the man and dragging him into the street, where he was beaten to death and his body set on fire.

Gujar said the mob also attacked the house of an area police chief and burned his furniture and possessions.

It was unclear whether the man was Muslim, a member of Pakistan's Christian minority or belonged to another religion. His name was not released.

Pakistani Christians live in fear of being arrested under the blasphemy laws, which critics say are often misused to settle personal scores or family feuds.

Efforts to change the laws have made little headway. Last year, two prominent Pakistani political figures who spoke out against the blasphemy laws were killed in attacks that raised concerns about the rise of religious extremism in Pakistan.

During a visit to Pakistan in May, Gabriela Knaul, the U.N.'s Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, said lawyers are often reluctant to defend clients accused under the blasphemy laws because of intimidation, and judges are often pressured to convict.

© 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
28 Comments Add a Comment
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lyra76 says:
This is not loving your enemies. This is evil.
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BillRom says:
@Solarrays247, here is the secret you are missing, find me one verse in the Bible that Jesus says to attack, kill, hurt, rape, or do anything that Crusaders did? Find me one and I will declare Islam the truth...

Now, you see the difference your Koran, your Allah, this is what your goal is... military fight to dominate the world, you can kill and take revenge, this is encouraged by Mr. Mohammed and your Allah.

So, my friend, stop manipulating, your book calls to kill us infidels, but the Bible says that we should "Love our enemies."

Crusades did these things for money and power, not commands from Jesus God. Sorry you have been checkmated.
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honest_pols says:
HAD ENOUGH RELIGION YET, EVERYONE?

Religion and the "God-inspired, God-rewarding delusional thinking" that invariably go together with such mentality, continues to be an extremely divisive, destructive and deadly force ...

... keeping mankind backward, limited, and paralyzed, thereby preventing progress and betterment of our world, in innumerable ways.
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ludvig1-2009 says:
Wow their even crazier than the extremist conservatives in America.
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DC_Clark says:
We should just let these barbarians all kill themselves and the world would be a better place. I have had enough reading about those animals
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rheola-2009 says:
by Adamantius1 July 4, 2012 4:25 PM EDT

"Oh, please. If you have the critical thinking capacity to understand a syllogism, consider this one:

Countless atrocities have been committed by Religous dictators.
Religous dictators don't practice communism.
________________________________________________________________
Therefore, countless atrocities have been committed by people who don't practice communism.

Only someone ignorant of history would claim that communism is the root of all (or even most) evil and wars."

Just as true as your original, in fact probably more so when looked at within context of the Bible.
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Rynedrop says:
U.S. is no different! ONLY those in power and with $$$$$ kill you SLOWLY and make money too.

FARM THEM ALL... AND BECOME MILLIONAIRES only HERE IN AMERICA!
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smittyc says:
Surprised this act was leaked to the western press. This is everyday behavior in some parts of the world. We even read about it happening in the U.S. in the form of honor killings and beheadings.Folks these people are practicing their faith and no legislated law is going to stop them. The difference in the cultures is one culture is neither concerned nor alarmed that they would be held accountable under legislated law. Dying for their belief in their eyes assures them eternal salvation.
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technocoffee replies:
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yeah, Solarrays247--those Salem Witch trials just happened this year-right? Keep trying to say Islam is progressive & moderate as other religions who don't kill those who don't follow it strictly; keep on trying!!
technocoffee replies:
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Solarrays247 you need some fresh material...trolling with the same words again & again. Bush got the boot. Islamists are getting MORE violent on their own people AND their threats to the west. I'm sure they'll try another blood bath at the Olympics a la the 1972 PLO attack
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rwd001 says:
Why didn't the police call higher authority - armed military in the next door barracks - why wasn't called through some higher authority. When average people take law in their hands, govt. is to step in and take control. I guess all the Muslim forces just sided with the people who took the law in their hands. Shame on police and all other Enforcement bodies. It can now only encourage - and not the first time, others to follow the suit.
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jdbynum3 says:
**** the Koran and **** Mohammed. As far as I'm concerned, they whole place would look better as a glass dome.
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