Pakistani political leader slams attempt to ban bible for blasphemy

The leader of Pakistan’s Christian political party slammed recently the move by a Muslim political group in to ban the bible in Pakistan because they claim that it is blasphemous.

Nazir Bhatti, head of the Central Council of the Pakistan Christian Congress issued a statement saying that the move by Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi, a leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, to ban the bible on the grounds of blasphemy will not prosper, the Pakistan Christian Post said.

Bhatti also said derided the claims of “an illiterate Muslim cleric” who expressed doubt about the health of the bible in a Lahore press conference. Bhatti said in his statement that only the bible points the way to eternal life, the Pakistan Christian Post said.

Bhatti said in his statement, “Christianity is [the] only religion on [the] globe that has spiritual, scientific and historical evidence to prove [the] health of [the] holy bible,” the Pakistan Christian Post reported.

Bhatti noted that the Islamic World has only one copy of the Qur’an which is displayed in Tashkent Museum [that was] written in [the] Kofi language in 300 years according to Hijra Calendar, the Pakistan Christian Post said.

By contrast, many museums have manuscripts of the holy bible that have been preserved for hundreds of years, and many scholars have translated the bible into different languages, according to the Pakistan Christian Post.

Bhatti said, “It is Islamic history which calls Caliph Omar as “Mujtaba-ul-Qur’an” meaning a title for Hazrat Omar on “Compiling Holy Qur’an.” The Islamic history goes on to state that during rule of Caliph Omar, different Muslim tribes were reciting different editions of holy Qur’an, therefore Caliph Omar ordered every tribe to assemble in with their versions of holy Qur’an,” the Pakistan Christian Post said.

Bhatti said, “The Islamic history further reads that Caliph Omar collected copies of [the] holy Qur’an from every tribe and burnt them. Then Caliph Omar called [those] who were experts in recitation of [the] holy Qur’an and ordered them to recite verse by verse. When one verse was seconded by [an]other Qur’an reciter, It was written and likewise Hazrat Omar compiled [the] holy Qur’an. But [the] Islamic world is unable to present that copy to the world, even,” the Pakistan Christian Post reported.

Bhatti also said that the JUI has an Islamic school in Akhora Khatak which produces “Taliban, not Islamic scholars.” He noted that the students in the school are not taught science or technology, the Pakistan Christian Post said.

Bhatti said that if the JUI tries to file its appeal to the Supreme Court in Pakistan, it will be dismissed because “Judges have studied in [the] 20th century education model, not in Akhora Khatak Maddrassa,” the Pakistan Christian Post reported.

Bhatti said the Pakistan Christian Congress is formulating a plan of action that will be implemented if JUI tries to petition a ban on the bible in Pakistan, the Pakistan Christian Post said.