Mohammed Younus Shaikh ( Punjabi, ur, , born 30 May 1952) is a Pakistani medical doctor,

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

activist and

freethinker Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...

. When he was a teacher at a medical college in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

, Shaikh was an active member of the South Asia Peace Movement and of the

International Humanist and Ethical Union Humanists International (known as the International Humanist and Ethical Union, or IHEU, from 1952–2019) is an international non-governmental organisation championing secularism and human rights, motivated by secular humanist values. Found ...

(IHEU). He took part in the Pakistan-India Forum for Peace and Democracy, and was a member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. A

free-thinker Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...

, he founded Enlightenment, an organization associated with the IHEU. In October 2000, Pakistani authorities charged Shaikh with

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

. A judge ordered that he pay a fine of 100,000 rupees, and sentenced him to death by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

. On appeal, on 20 November 2003, a court acquitted Shaikh, who fled Pakistan for Europe soon thereafter.

Background

Younes M. Shaikh is a qualified medical doctor who was arrested under,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

i Blasphemy Law 295/C merely on the accusation of being an Ahmadi and yet talking about

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

and the Prophet of Islam, which the Ahmadis are not allowed to; although he was a born Muslim and not an Ahmadi only that he strongly felt that the Ahmadis were wrongfully persecuted, and so he wrote letters about this to authorities in Pakistan, the foreign embassies in

; to members of the United Nations and to human rights organizations all over the world; he was a member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Islamabad. Dr. Younes M SHEIKH was born on 30 May 1952 in

Chishtian Chishtian ( ur, ) is a city in Bahawalnagar district in Punjab Province, Pakistan. For administrative purposes, it is a part of the similarly named Chishtian Tehsil. It is the 59th largest city of Pakistan by population. Education * Daani ...

, Pakistan. He studied and qualified as a medical doctor in

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the List ...

. In Dublin and London, he did post-graduate studies and worked as a trainee surgeon there from 1981 to 1988. After graduation as a doctor, he worked in Lahore, Pakistan for a few years. He also took membership of Human Rights organisations like

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

and SCCL, NCCL. On his return to Pakistan, he worked at

Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) in Karachi, established in 1985, is the primary teaching site of the Aga Khan University's (AKU) Faculty of Health Sciences. Founded by the Aga Khan, the hospital provides a broad range of secondary and t ...

, practised as a general medical practitioner, then taught at Capital Medical College, G/9 Markaz Islamabad

. Shaikh studied Journalism in his free time and attained a diploma in Journalism from Islamabad. He was active in intellectual, literary and social circles and he regularly attended the meetings of the Halqa Arbab i Zoaq in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

and later in Rawalpindi and

. He was an active member of the

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan ( ur, ) (HRCP) is an independent, democratic non-profit organisation. Founded in 1987, it is one of the oldest human rights organisations in the country. HRCP is committed to monitoring, protecting a ...

in Islamabad. Shaikh attracted the attention of

Islamic fundamentalists Islamic fundamentalism has been defined as a puritanical, revivalist, and reform movement of Muslims who aim to return to the founding scriptures of Islam. Islamic fundamentalists are of the view that Muslim-majority countries should return t ...

because he had protested against the abuse of loudspeakers from mosques which caused pain and discomfort to babies, children, and his clinic patients. He often spoke out against extremist Islamic mullahs and their atrocities; particularly against one of his Ahmadi medical friends whose clinics and houses in

Burewala Burewala (Punjabi and ur, ), is a city of Vehari District in Punjab, Pakistan. The city of Burewala is the headquarters of Burewala Tehsil, an administrative subdivision of the district.

Alleged blasphemy

Shaikh's blasphemy was alleged to have occurred at a lecture he gave on 2 October 2000 at Capital Medical College. The accusation was that he was an Ahmadi and talked about Islam and recited the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

. That, during the lecture, Shaikh talked about Prophet Muhammad which was not allowed to Ahmadis. Shaikh denied that this lecture even took place, and denied that he had said what was alleged. In a letter to Babu Gogineni of the IHEU, Shaikh offered an explanation of why a charge was made against him; he claimed (albeit without corroborating evidence against the people he accused): :1. On 1 October 2000 I attended a meeting of South Asian Union addressed by an ISI (

Inter-Services Intelligence The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...

) Brigadier

Shaukat Qadir Shaukat Qadir is an independent Risk and Security Analyst who works generally in South Asia, particularly in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He started his career as a pilot in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and then moved to the Pakistan Army. He reti ...

(retired) also running a religious-political association of Jamait – I – Islami. I asked a couple of questions about South Asian peace and Kashmir which offended him and he returned a threat. There were foreign office policy makers and newsmen sitting there. :2. Within 48 hours, a foreign office employee who was also my student at the medical college where I used to lecture at the morning time, prepared an application against me, alleging blasphemous remarks in their class and gave it to a cleric, who improving upon the complaint, accused me of a specific instance of 2-10-2000 in the class of 11 2nd year male students and registered the case with the Police. Shaukat Qadir denied that he had threatened Shaikh at the meeting. According to press reports, eleven students, all the students in Shaikh's class, signed a letter attesting to Shaikh's blasphemy. The cleric who received the letter was a member of an organisation known to harass and to attack non-orthodox Muslims. The reports call the organisation

Aalmi Majlis Tahaffuz Khatm-e-Nubuwwat Aalmi Majlis Tahaffuz Khatm-e-Nubuwwat ( ur, عالمی مجلس تحفظ ختمِ نبوت) is an international Islamic organization. Founded by Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari in 1954 in Multan when Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam was banned due to Khat ...

, which the press translates as the Committee for the Protection of the Finality of the Prophethood, or the Movement for the Finality of the Prophet, or the Organisation of the Finality of the Prophet. Pakistan said that Shaikh's accuser was the head of Majlis-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwwat. That organisation dispatched a mob to the medical school and to the police station, and threatened to burn them down if action was not urgently taken against Shaikh. Capital Homeopathic College, without explanation, suspended Shaikh on 3 October 2000.

Trial

Section 295C of Pakistan's Penal Code says "whoever by the words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad shall be punished with the death sentence or imprisonment for life and shall be liable to fine." A charge under Section 295C requires that the accused be kept in custody. Pursuant to Section 295C, the police arrested Shaikh on 4 October 2000. He was held in Adyala Gaol,

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

. In August 2001, defended by a lawyer, Shaikh went to trial. The judgement was rendered at Adyala Jail, which was under vigil by armed Islamic zealots. On 18 August, the trial judge, Safdar Hussain, ordered the death penalty as well as a 100,000 rupee fine. The judge declared, "He deserves to be hanged for making derogatory remarks against the Prophet." Shaikh is the third Muslim to be sentenced to death under Pakistan's blasphemy laws. The

, Mukto-Mona and Sea of Faith launched a campaign to win Shaikh's release. Demonstrations on his behalf occurred outside the Pakistani Embassies in London, Washington, and several other western capitals. Shaikh appealed to the High Court. There the two presiding judges differed on whether the judgement should stand. On 15 July 2002, the case went to a senior judge. On 9 October 2003, the senior judge announced that the original judgement was unsound. He ordered a retrial. The retrial was held over three sessions in November 2003. Shaikh did not use a lawyer to defend him because of threats to his lawyers by the extremist mullahs and the Pakistani Taliban. He defended himself after secretly studying law during his 3 years incarceration. On 21 November 2003, the trial judge acquitted Shaikh on legal grounds, and ordered that he be released. Commenting on the judgement, Shaikh explained: "The judge accepted my legal arguments and found the charges against me to be baseless. My accusers, two mullahs and some Islamist students, had lied while under the oath on the Holy Koran." He described his ordeal as: "Islamic terrorism through the abuse of law and of the state apparatus" No case was registered against the mullahs and Islamic witnesses who made false accusations and gave false evidence. He was not compensated for millions of dollars he lost in the trial either.

References

External links

"Islam and women"
by Younus Shaikh

* ttp://www.rationalistinternational.net/Shaikh/blasphemy_laws_in_pakistan.htm Blasphemy Laws in Pakistan {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaikh, Younus 1952 births Former Muslims turned agnostics or atheists Pakistani humanists Pakistani agnostics Living people Pakistani former Muslims Pakistani expatriates in Switzerland Pakistani general practitioners Pakistani dissidents People prosecuted for blasphemy People convicted of blasphemy in Pakistan People persecuted by Muslims

Background

Alleged blasphemy

Trial

See also

References

External links