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Blasphemy

Blasphemy refers to an act that insults or shows disrespect to a religion or deity. Though blasphemy laws have been relaxed in parts of Europe, recent Quran desecrations have brought the issue to the fore once more.

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All Content on this topic

Pakistani Islamists of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) throw stones against police who use teargas against anti-France Islamist protesters during a protest in Lahore, on April 12, 2021

Pakistan's blasphemy law and its economic pitfalls

Pakistan's business community has expressed concern over a possible revocation of the EU's preferential trade status.
SocietyMay 7, 2021
German MEP Reinhard Bütikofer

EU-Pakistan row: 'GSP+ status is not a one-way street'

The EU Parliament has called for a review of Pakistan's GSP+ status due to concerns over the latter's blasphemy laws.
SocietyMay 4, 202103:55 min
Algerien Said Djabelkhir

Algerian scholar handed jail term for 'offending Islam'

Amnesty International has condemned the Algier court's sentence as a "scandalous" violation of academic inquiry.
PoliticsApril 22, 2021
People protesting against France in Pakistan

Pakistan: Parliament to vote on expelling French ambassador

A radical Islamist party has rallied over the publication of cartoons depicting the Muslim Prophet Muhammad.
PoliticsApril 20, 2021
Pakistan Imran Khan

Pakistan PM: Insulting Muhammad like Holocaust denial

Holocaust denial is illegal in several countries. Imran Khan wants "the same standards to penalize" those who blaspheme.
PoliticsApril 17, 2021
Supporters of Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) protest in Islamabad

Why is the Islamist TLP party gaining popularity?

The architect of ongoing anti-French protests in Pakistan is an Islamist party which is now a force to be reckoned with.
PoliticsApril 15, 2021
A policeman throws a stone towards supporters of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan

French Embassy advises citizens to leave Pakistan

The embassy said all French nationals and companies should temporarily leave the country.
PoliticsApril 15, 2021
Activists dance at a Women's Day rally in Islamabad

Pakistan: Women's rights activists accused of blasphemy

Politicians and activists have decried what they say are life-threatening accusations against Women's March organizers.
PoliticsApril 6, 2021
Auschwitz-Birkenau

Head of Auschwitz site fights for Nigerian teen

The director of the Auschwitz memorial expressed solidarity with a Nigerian teenager sentenced to prison for blasphemy.
HistoryDecember 4, 2020
Activists and supporters of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) gather for the funeral prayer of Khadim Hussain Rizvi, founder of TLP, in Lahore on November 21, 2020

Pakistani cleric's funeral flouts coronavirus rules

Cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi was at the forefront of Islamist anti-France protests over Prophet Muhammad cartoons.
SocietyNovember 21, 2020
Auschwitz Memorial head Piotr Cywinski

Auschwitz site head offers to share Nigerian boy's jail term

The head of the Auschwitz Memorial has offered to serve part of a blasphemy sentence handed to 13-year-old Omar Farouq.
Human RightsSeptember 26, 2020
Nigeria Kano Justiz Hisbah

Nigeria: UNICEF criticizes boy's jail sentence for blasphemy

The UN has condemned the sentencing of a minor accused of blasphemy in northeastern Nigeria.
ReligionSeptember 17, 2020
Sunni Muslims march during an anti-Shiite protest in Karachi on September 13, 2020

Hardline Sunni groups on collision course with Shiites

Rights groups in Pakistan say they are alarmed over rising blasphemy cases in the past months, mostly against Shiites.
SocietySeptember 14, 2020
Pakistan court | Peshawar

Pakistan court sentences Christian to death

Factory worker Asif Pervaiz has been sentenced to death after sending "blasphemous" text messages to his supervisor.
ReligionSeptember 8, 2020
Noose on a black background

Sharia court sentences singer to death for blasphemy

A Sharia court in Nigeria has sentenced a singer to death by hanging for blasphemy.
Law and JusticeAugust 11, 2020
Police officers gather at an entry gate of a district court

US 'outraged' at Pakistan blasphemy trial killing

Tahir Naseem, a US citizen, was shot dead in a crowded courtroom in Pakistan. The US wants "immediate action."
CrimeJuly 31, 2020
Police outside the court where a defendant was shot while on trial for blasphemy

Pakistan: Alleged blasphemer shot dead in court

A man accused of committing blasphemy under a controversial Pakistani law has been killed while standing trial.
CrimeJuly 29, 2020
Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai's mausoleum in SIndh, Pakistan

Another Pakistani academic falls victims to blasphemy law

Activists say Soomro's arrest his yet another example of growing religious intolerance in the Muslim-majority country.
SocietyJune 16, 2020
Symbolbild Moschee Minarett

Inside Europe: The French debate over blasphemy

France is in the grip of a bitter and passionate debate about whether we have the right to blaspheme. It's arisen after a 16-year-old girl was forced into hiding for insulting Islam. John Laurenson sent this postcard from Paris.
PoliticsFebruary 7, 202003:55 min
DW-Chefredakteurin Ines Pohl im Exklusivinterview mit Imran Khan

Interview with Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan

Deutsche Welle editor-in-chief Ines Pohl conducts an exclusive interview with the Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan. How can Pakistan face its many challenges, both at home and abroad?
PoliticsJanuary 20, 202026:06 min
Pope Francis

Pope apologizes for slapping woman's hand

Pope Francis described violence against women as "a blasphemy against God."
ReligionJanuary 1, 2020
Junaid Hafeez

Pakistani academic given death sentence for blasphemy

Thirty-three-year-old Junaid Hafeez was accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad on social media.
Law and JusticeDecember 21, 2019
Junaid Hafeez, a Pakistan lecturer in jail on blasphemy charges

Pakistani scholar's blasphemy case receives scant attention

Junaid Hafeez, a Fulbright scholar, has been in jail since 2013. His family said the allegations were fabricated.
SocietyOctober 7, 2019
Pakistani Hindus pray at the Shri Krishna Temple in Mithi, Sindh

Hindus fear for their lives after Pakistan blasphemy riots

Riots have erupted in a southern Pakistani town after a charged mob attacked a school due to blasphemy accusations.
SocietySeptember 16, 2019
Iranian activist-musician Mehdi Rajabian

Iran's 'illegal' musicians risk freedom for songs

Mehdi Rajabian could be sent back to prison at anytime, but he continues to produce music banned under Iranian law.
SocietySeptember 3, 2019
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with US VP Mike Pence in Washington in March 2018

Pence urges Saudi Arabia to free blogger

Washington, which usually refrains from criticizing Saudi rights violations, has called for the release of Raif Badawi.
SocietyJuly 19, 2019
Heinrich Böll Stiftung Logo

Heinrich Böll Foundation leaves Pakistan

The foundation has said it was forced to close because of laws that prevented it from functioning effectively.
SocietyApril 10, 2019
Blasphemy protest in Pakistan

Where is Asia Bibi?

Pakistani-Christian woman Asia Bibi is not a free person, even after her Supreme Court acquittal in a blasphemy case.
SocietyApril 5, 2019
Pakistan Asia Bibi in 2010

Conflicting reports about Asia Bibi's whereabouts

Her lawyer said Bibi and her husband had arrived in Canada but other sources contradict that claim
Human RightsFebruary 1, 2019
Shamil Shams

Pakistan owes Asia Bibi an apology

Shamil Shams
The grave injustice that kept Asia Bibi for almost a decade in prison demands introspection, says DW's Shamil Shams.
SocietyJanuary 29, 2019
Asia Bibi in 2010

Asia Bibi: Pakistani court upholds acquittal decision

The top court's decision has paved the way for Bibi's departure from Pakistan, where Islamists want her dead.
SocietyJanuary 29, 2019
Indonesien Ex-Gouverneur von Jakarta kommt früher aus der Haft

Jakarta ex-governor freed from prison

Ahok's 2017 blasphemy conviction raised concern over the influence of Islamist hardliners on Indonesian politics.
PoliticsJanuary 24, 2019
Pakistan protest against Asia Bibi

Minority rights – between hope and despair

Will 2019 be a better year for Pakistan's religious minorities? Should we keep our hopes high?
SocietyDecember 24, 2018
external

Pakistanis welcome arrest of Asia Bibi protesters

Pakistani liberals are positively surprised by the arrest of hardliners responsible for the recent violent protests.
SocietyNovember 26, 201802:03 min
Khadim Hussain Rizvi

Police arrest cleric behind Asia Bibi protests

The violent nationwide rallies against the acquittal of Christian woman Asia Bibi brought cities to a standstill.
PoliticsNovember 24, 2018
Pakistani Islamists want authorities to hang Asia Bibi

Lawyer: Asia Bibi 'wants to leave for Germany'

The Christian woman cannot leave Pakistan despite the top court's decision to acquit her in a blasphemy case.
SocietyNovember 11, 2018
Shamil Shams

Asia Bibi case exposes a failing state

Shamil Shams
Bibi must leave Pakistan or she'll be killed. This shows the state is being controlled by Islamists, says Shamil Shams.
SocietyNovember 8, 2018
Ashiq Masih, husband of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman facing death sentence for blasphemy, points to a poster bearing an image of his wife Asia at a living area in Lahore.

Asia Bibi released from jail

The Christian woman whose death sentence for blasphemy was reversed last week has been released from jail in Pakistan.
Law and JusticeNovember 7, 2018
Islamist protesters in Lahore

Pakistan and the victims of blasphemy laws

The brother of a slain Pakistani minister says he's worried about the safety of Christians following Bibi's acquittal.
SocietyNovember 7, 2018
A supporter of Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), a hardline religious political party holds a placard during a protest in Rawalpindi on October 12, 2018, demanding for hanging to a blasphemy convict Christian woman Asia Bibi

Bibi's lawyer seeks asylum in the Netherlands

The lawyer for Asia Bibi, a Christian woman convicted of blasphemy, has fled Pakistan in fear of his life.
Law and JusticeNovember 6, 2018
external

Asia Bibi's lawyer: 'The West must support me'

Saif-ul-Mulook, the lawyer of Asia Bibi, the Pakistani-Christian woman who was recently acquitted after spending eight years on death row on blasphemy charges, fled Pakistan to the Netherlands on Saturday due to security reasons. He tells DW that if the international community does not help him now, no lawyer in Pakistan will ever take up a blasphemy case again.
PoliticsNovember 6, 201800:46 min
Islamists protests against Bibi's acquittal

Bibi could be 'barred from leaving Pakistan'

Pakistan's information minister tells DW that Asia Bibi's fate is once again in the hands of the Supreme Court.
SocietyNovember 5, 2018
Ashiq Masih seated with his daughters

Bibi's husband appeals to Donald Trump for asylum

The husband of Christian woman Asia Bibi has appealed to President Trump and PM May to help them leave Pakistan.
SocietyNovember 4, 2018
One of the international calls for Roman Catholic Asia Bibi to be freed

Lawyer flees Pakistan after death threats

With an appeal launched against Asia Bibi's acquittal, her lawyer fled the country after receiving death threats.
ReligionNovember 3, 2018
Supporters of the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), a hardline religious political party, chant slogans during a protest on the blocked Faizabad bridge

Blasphemy agreement: Is Pakistan ruled by Islamists?

A government deal to bar Asia Bibi from leaving Pakistan shows that mullahs overpower the state, say experts.
Law and JusticeNovember 3, 2018
Ashiq Masih

Asia Bibi's husband fears for wife's safety

Ashiq Masih told DW his family must constantly move due to threats of violence, and he fears for her safety in jail.
Law and JusticeNovember 3, 2018
Supporters of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a hard-line religious political party, chant slogans during a protest on the blocked Faizabad bridge

Pakistan strikes deal to end blasphemy protests

Hard-line Islamists have been baying for blood after the Supreme Court overturned a woman's blasphemy conviction.
Law and JusticeNovember 3, 2018
Pakistan protest over Bibi verdict

Roads blocked in Pakistan over blasphemy case

An Islamist leader called for Supreme Court judges to be killed and for army officers to rebel.
ReligionNovember 1, 2018
Religious groups protest against Bibi's acquittal in Pakistan

Opinion: Bibi verdict avoids blasphemy problem

In spite of Asia Bibi's acquittal, Pakistan needs procedural changes to amend controversial laws, writes Anis Haroon.
SocietyOctober 31, 2018
Pakistan Lahore Proteste nach Blasphemie Urteil

Islamists protest across Pakistan

Pakistani Islamists are protesting across the country after a Christian woman was freed from a blasphemy death sentence.
SocietyOctober 31, 2018