Salaam Dear Friends.
How would you respond to a question like this:
"....There is no doubt that misusing or misapplication of any law is wrong whether the law pertains to blasphemy or some other issue. However, the question is should we simply reject the blasphemy law(s) on the grounds that Quran does not include Blasphemy among other punishable crimes.
Was it absolutely necessary that the punishment for blasphemy be prescribed in Quran ''explicitly'' before Islamic states could penalize blasphemous people? Does an earthly punishment for any crime necessarily have to be prescribed in Quran explicitly? In logic, there is something called '' Drawing Inference'' from a set of given statements. Is it possible that some things are implicitly stated in Quran rather than stated in explicit words?
There is a verse in Quran which talks about punishing those who spread ''Fisaad" or corruption on earth. What if an Islamic government infers based on the aforesaid verse a punishment for blasphemy arguing that the act is tantamount to causing disruption or fisaad on earth. After all, no matter what religion, when an act of insult is committed against anything sacred in any religion, it is a gross misconduct that has the power to cause disruption in society by hurting people's religious feelings and emotions. Pragmatically speaking, the act of blasphemy causes rash and anger among a huge number of people in a country where the act is committed. Shouldn't the perpetrator be punished for disturbing the peace in a country especially when the perpetrator commits this act knowingly and willfully? Yet, this is not to say that blasphemy should be punished by death.
Pragmatism is an approach that is becoming prevalent in legal systems across the world. Based on this approach, some acts are punished just based on the consequences which may result after the commission of the act. ...."
Thanks in advance !!
Please kindly share your thoughts if and when you have time.
Mubashir