Marshall said the incident highlights the need for “responsible use” of social media in Pakistan.
“Christians especially need to be more careful in sharing content, because any faith-based post could be used to instigate violence against the community,” he said. “We need to understand that Islamic religious sentiments run high in our country, therefore it’s important to carefully analyze the content before posting it online.”
Church leaders have sought the intervention of the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Religious Harmony, Allama Tahir Ashrafi. In a country where an increasingly Islamist majority makes free speech and any legitimate critique of religion dangerous, Ashrafi also called for “responsible use” of social media.
“When illiterate persons are accused of blasphemy, we give them the benefit of the doubt, because they have no idea of what they have done, but when some educated person posts something that is religiously offensive, then how can any person justify that action?” Ashrafi told Morning Star News. “Although the post shared by Warris, intentionally or unintentionally, was very offensive, I’d say that the law has still been very lenient on him.”
Ashrafi urged church leaders to raise awareness in their congregations about using social media responsibly so that the lives and property of people do not come under threat.
In Pakistan, false accusations of blasphemy are common and often motivated by personal vendettas or religious hatred. Accusations are highly inflammatory and have the potential to spark mob lynchings, vigilante murders and mass protests.
There are 24 Christians imprisoned on blasphemy charges in Pakistan, according to rights activists.
Although successive governments have acknowledged that the blasphemy laws are blatantly misused, little effort has been made to stop the abuses.
On Dec. 7, the U.S. State Department re-designated Pakistan among nine other “Countries of Particular Concern” for severe violations of religious freedom. Previously Pakistan had been added to the list on Nov. 28, 2018.
The other countries on the list are Burma, China, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Sudan and Uzbekistan were removed from the department’s Special Watch List due to improvements in their religious rights records.
Pakistan ranked fifth on Christian support organization Open Doors 2020 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
This article originally appeared on MorningStarNews.org.
If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit MorningStarNews.org for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.
