Editing Sharia (section)

==== Blasphemy ====
{{Main|Islam and blasphemy}}
[[File:Blasphemy laws worldwide.svg|thumb|[[Blasphemy law]]s worldwide:
{{legend|#f9dc36|Subnational restrictions}}
{{legend|#ec8028|Fines and restrictions}}
{{legend|#e73e21|Prison sentences}}
{{legend|#800000|Death sentences}}]]
In classical fiqh, [[Islam and blasphemy|blasphemy]] refers to any form of cursing, questioning or annoying God, Muhammad or anything considered sacred in Islam,<ref name=khan>Siraj Khan, Blasphemy against the Prophet, in Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture (Editors: Coeli Fitzpatrick and Adam Hani Walker), {{ISBN|978-1610691772}}, pp. 59–67</ref><ref>R Ibrahim (2013), Crucified Again, {{ISBN|978-1621570257}}, pp. 100–01</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wiederhold |first1=Lutz |title=Blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad and his companions (sabb al-rasul, sabb al-sahabah): The introduction of the topic into shafi'i legal literature and its relevance for legal practice under Mamluk rule |journal=Journal of Semitic Studies |volume=42 |issue=1 |year=1997 |pages=39–70 |doi=10.1093/jss/XLII.1.39}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Saeed |first=Abdullah |author2=Hassan Saeed |title=Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam |publisher=Ashgate Publishing Company |year=2004 |location=Burlington VT |pages=38–39 |isbn=978-0754630838}}</ref> including denying one of the [[Prophets in Islam|Islamic prophets]] or scriptures, insulting an [[angels in Islam|angel]] or refusing to accept a religious commandment.<ref>Lorenz Langer (2014). ''Religious Offence and Human Rights: The Implications of Defamation of Religions'' Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-1107039575}} p. 332</ref> Jurists of different schools prescribed different punishments for blasphemy against Islam by Muslims and non-Muslims, ranging from imprisonment or fines to the death penalty.<ref name=khan/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Blasphemy: Islamic Concept |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Religion |volume=2 |pages=974–76 |publisher=Thomson Gale |location=Farmington Hills, MI |year=2005}}</ref><ref>[[Ibn Taymiyyah]] (a [[Salafi]], related to Hanbali school), ''[[As-Sarim al-Maslul 'ala Shatim ar-Rasul|al-Sārim al-Maslūl 'ala Shātim al-Rasūl]]'' (or, A ready sword against those who insult the Messenger), Published in 1297 AD in Arabic, Reprinted in 1975 and 2003 by Dar-ibn Hazm (Beirut), the book is on blasphemy/insulting Muhammad and the punishment per sharia</ref><ref>Jerusha Lamptey (2014), Never Wholly Other: A Muslima Theology of Religious Pluralism, Oxford University Press, Chapter 1 with footnotes 28, 29 p. 258</ref> In some cases, Sharia allows non-Muslims to escape death by converting and becoming a devout follower of Islam.<ref>Carl Ernst (2005), "Blasphemy: Islamic Concept", Encyclopedia of Religion (Editor: Lindsay Jones), Vol 2, Macmillan Reference, {{ISBN|0028657357}}</ref>  In the modern [[Muslim world]], the laws pertaining to blasphemy [[Blasphemy law|vary by country]], and some countries prescribe punishments consisting of fines, imprisonment, [[flogging]], [[hanging]], or [[Beheading in Islam|beheading]].<ref name=psns>P Smith (2003). "Speak No Evil: Apostasy, Blasphemy and Heresy in Malaysian Syariah Law". ''UC Davis Journal Int'l Law & Policy''. 10, pp. 357–73.
* N Swazo (2014). "The Case of Hamza Kashgari: Examining Apostasy, Heresy, and Blasphemy Under Sharia". ''The Review of Faith & International Affairs'' '''12'''(4). pp.&nbsp;16–26.</ref>

Blasphemy laws were rarely enforced in pre-modern Islamic societies, but in the modern era, some states and radical groups have used charges of blasphemy to burnish their religious credentials and gain popular support at the expense of liberal Muslim intellectuals and religious minorities.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Islam|title=Blasphemy|editor= Juan Eduardo Campo|publisher=Infobase Publishing|year=2009}}</ref>

Blasphemy, as interpreted under Sharia, is controversial.<ref>Harun Omer, [http://thesharia.com/the-invented-islam-punishment-for-blasphemy/ "The Invented Islam – 'Punishment for Blasphemy'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222092312/http://thesharia.com/the-invented-islam-punishment-for-blasphemy/ |date=22 December 2015 }}, ''TheSharia.com'', 2015</ref> Representatives of the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]] have petitioned the United Nations to condemn "defamation of religions" because "Unrestricted and disrespectful freedom of opinion creates hatred and is contrary to the spirit of peaceful dialogue".<ref>[http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/263450/anti-blasphemy-measure-laid-rest-nina-shea An Anti-Blasphemy Measure Laid to Rest] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119065732/http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/263450/anti-blasphemy-measure-laid-rest-nina-shea |date=19 January 2015 }} Nina Shea, National Review (31 March 2011)</ref> The [[Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam]] subjects free speech to unspecified Sharia restrictions: Article 22(a) of the Declaration states that "Everyone shall have the right to express his opinion freely in such manner as would not be contrary to the principles of the Shariah."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/instree/cairodeclaration.html |title=University of Minnesota Human Rights Library |access-date=13 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103121418/http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/instree/cairodeclaration.html |archive-date=3 November 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Others, in contrast, consider blasphemy laws to violate freedom of speech,<ref>Brian Winston (2014), The Rushdie Fatwa and After: A Lesson to the Circumspect, Palgrave Macmillan, {{ISBN|978-1137388599}}, p. 74, Quote: "(In the case of blasphemy and Salman Rushdie) the death sentence it pronounced was grounded in a jurisprudential gloss on the Surah al-Ahzab (33:57)"</ref> stating that freedom of expression is essential to empowering both Muslims and non-Muslims, and point to the abuse of blasphemy laws in prosecuting members of religious minorities, political opponents, and settling personal scores.<ref>[https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21635070-pakistans-blasphemy-laws-legitimise-intolerance-bad-mouthing Bad-mouthing: Pakistan's blasphemy laws legitimise intolerance] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910235624/https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21635070-pakistans-blasphemy-laws-legitimise-intolerance-bad-mouthing |date=10 September 2017 }} The Economist (29 November 2014)</ref><ref>[https://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2015/01/johnson-blasphemy Blasphemy: Dangerous words] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707161612/https://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2015/01/johnson-blasphemy |date=7 July 2017 }} The Economist (7 January 2015)</ref><ref name=bbc-blasphemy>{{cite web|title=What are Pakistan's blasphemy laws?|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12621225|website=BBC News|access-date=18 April 2019|date=6 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405093821/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12621225|archive-date=5 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Blasphemy law in Pakistan|In Pakistan, blasphemy laws]] have been used to convict more than a thousand people, about half of them [[Ahmadi]]s and [[Christians]].<ref name="Böwering">{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=q1I0pcrFFSUC&pg=PA72 |page= 72 |title= The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought |editor= Gerhard Böwering |editor2= Patricia Crone |editor3= Mahan Mirza |publisher= Princeton University Press |year= 2013 |isbn= 978-0691134840 |access-date= 18 April 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190406141758/https://books.google.com/books?id=q1I0pcrFFSUC&pg=PA72 |archive-date= 6 April 2019 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref name=bbc-blasphemy/> While none have been legally executed,<ref name="Böwering"/> two Pakistani politicians, [[Shahbaz Bhatti]] and [[Salmaan Taseer]], have been assassinated over their criticism of the blasphemy laws. The Pakistani blasphemy laws are based upon [[Indian Penal Code|colonial-era legislation]], which made it a "crime to disturb a religious assembly, trespass on burial grounds, insult religious beliefs or intentionally destroy or defile a place or an object of worship", with these laws being modified between 1980 and 1986 by the [[Government of Pakistan|military government]] of General [[Zia-ul Haq]] to make them more severe. A number of clauses were added by the government in order to [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq#'Sharization' of Pakistan|"Islamicise" the laws]] and deny the Muslim character of the [[Ahmadi]] minority.<ref name=bbc-blasphemy/>