‘Son Of A Kaafir Threw Verses Of Quran In Dustbin’. Fanatics In Pakistan Kill And Burn Sri Lankan National Over ‘Blasphemy’

In a bone-chilling case of barbarity, a fanatic crowd in Pakistan killed and burnt a factory manager accusing him of disrespecting Quran on Friday (3 December).

The victim has been identified as Priyantha Kumara, a Sri Lankan national, as per various reports.

Several mobile-shot videos emerged on social media on Friday, showing gruesome visuals of the crime.

In one of the videos, a man is heard saying, “Kaafir ke bachche ne Quran ki aayatein dustbin mein fainki hain (son of a kaafir has thrown verses of Quran in dustbin.”

In another video, the victim has been set on fire while a crowd of thousands gathered around is raising slogans of “Gustaakh-e-Nabi ki ek saza, sar tan se juda sar tan se juda (There is only one punishment for speaking against the Prophet and that is beheading).”

Swarajya reported some months ago how similar slogans were raised by fanatic crowds in various cities of India demanding death for Ghaziabad-based temple priest Yati Narsinghanand after he was accused of making remarks against Mohammed in a closed meeting.

As per a report by Pakistani daily The Dawn, the incident took place on Wazirabad Road in Sialkot district. The victim was attacked by workers of private factories in the area.

Killings over blasphemy are not uncommon in Pakistan, a country that saw murderer Ilm-ul-Din hailed as a ‘Ghazi’ in the initial years of its formation in 1947.

Ilm-ul-Din, a 19-year-old carpenter, killed Arya Samaji Mahashay Rajpal in the 1920s for writing a book titled ‘Rangila Rasool’. Ilm-ud-Din has structures and roads named after him in Pakistan, and at least three films celebrating his life.

The fanatic obsession with Prophet’s ‘honour’ has only grown in Pakistan over the years, especially in the 1980s when General Zia-ul-Haq introduced laws against disrespect of Mohammed and Quran.

In no time, the laws were amended to include mandatory death penalty for blaspheming Mohammed.

While thousands have been booked and convicted under various blasphemy laws since the 1980s, the execution of death penalty has been repeatedly stayed by higher courts in Pakistan.

As religious and political leaders continue to flare passions in the name of Islam and its icons, fanatics often lynch blasphemy-accused to death.