My client, "Rahim", has proclaimed his disavowal of Islam and applied for asylum in the United States on a theory that if Islamic fundamentalists in Pakistan got word of his apostasy, they would certainly murder him as an apostate and blasphemer. The murderer would go unpunished and would be admired for having done Allah's work.
Sworn Statement
I am Md. Rahim. I was born on 01/01/1989, in the UAE, the son of a devout Pakistani Muslim family belonging to the Sunni sect of Islam. I am a citizen of an officially Islamic country, Pakistan. Every year during Ramadan, I fasted faithfully. During school one of my subjects was always Islamiyat (the religion of Islam and the rules of life). My teachers glorified Islam and taught the good deeds of the Prophet of Islam. I was taught that the Quran (recitation) is the perfect and final word of God, as revealed by God to the Prophet Muhammad, and that Islam should be dominant and supersede all the other religions of the world. I unquestioningly accepted the Islamic teachings that I received. I hated anyone who had criticized the Prophet or Islam. I was taught to believe that the Quran was inerrant, that Muhammad’s words were to be believed and respected without question and that any form of defiance or criticism deserved to be met with severe reprisals. Thusly, I did not choose Islam; it was inflicted on me. I was forced to grow in it, cleave to it and never dare question it.
As I grew up, I frequently listened to BBC and VOA and, noticing the disconnect between what I was hearing and what I was taught, I began to harbor doubts. After I came to the United States to study, my doubts and many questions started bothering me. I secretly started questioning my faith and the beliefs that I had grown up with and which constituted who I was; a set of beliefs that were a great part of my identity. I remember being taught to hate (not directly so, of course) by instilling fear in me of “those evil Jews and Christians.” Yet every day as I came into contact with Jews and Christians, I found no evil in them.
So I started to-re examine Islam with a fresh and newly opened mind, I did not even have to delve very deep. First I looked at the Christian scriptures and discovered that the Quran is fundamentally a diminished pastiche on the Bible. Likewise, I discovered also that the Hadith (the Sayings of the Prophet) were largely derived from the Jewish Talmud. The truth about Islam was very clear and, after a few months of study, I became increasingly skeptical about Islam’s claims. Then I started reading Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Ibn-Warraq, and Ayan Hirsi Ali. These people’s excellent works, along with Dr. Ali Sina’s online publications, brought me to conclude that there is no reliable evidence supporting Islam or any other religion. I came to not believe in god altogether. I have come to consider myself a Secular Humanist. How can a religion be true whose founder, basically an illiterate seventh century warlord, actively took part in dozens of wars, ordered assassinations, maintained sex slaves, and had nearly a dozen wives (including Aisha, a six-year-old child, and Zeinab, the wife of his foster son)? So, after much study I set aside this set of beliefs which had shackled my mind for years. I have left this dark part of my past behind. It will never make a comeback. Ever.
I have always deplored violence in any form. I was always taught from the time of my childhood that Islam was a religion of peace, but when I re-read the Quran I was shocked to see that so many of the verses specifically preach violence against non-Muslims, especially Jews and Christians, which serves to spread the message of Allah. For example, Quran 8:12 states, “Remember your Lord inspired the angels with this message Verily, I am with you; give firmness to the Believers. I will cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers, smite them above their necks, and smite all their fingertips off them.” “Even worse,” Quran 8:67 states, “it is not fitting for a Prophet that he should have prisoners of war until he has thoroughly subdued the land.” In other words, take no prisoners; not a prescription for mercy and peace. We are even forbidden to take Jews and Christians as friends (Quran 5:51), on pain of Hell (Quran 5:80). Muslims are, however, allowed to feign friendship with unbelievers if it is of benefit (Quran 3:28).
I have also come to believe that Pakistan’s chronic regressive political chaos is due more to Islam than any other cause. Our neighbors, the Indians, people very much like ourselves, live more or less at peace, with each other, while we are at each others throats. Social conditions in Pakistan are explosive. There is no rule of law. The rich and powerful do as they please and no court will say no to them. The imams in many Sunni Mosques are so busy with politics that they have no time for religion. They brainwash us to believe things that are manifestly false. They teach, for example, that Osama bin Laden is a good and holy man and that Jihad is our duty. These are, in fact, both lies. Osama bin Laden is a bloody-handed murderer and the only Jihad that is ever worthwhile is the inner jihad to become a better person. They teach us to despise Christians, Jews, Sikhs, Qadianis, Zikris, Baha’is, Hindus, Sikhs, etc whose beliefs, they allege, are un-Islamic. In truth, these people are all, except the Sikhs and Hindus, “Children of Abraham” who share many of their basic beliefs with Sunni Islam. The Hindus and Sikhs are also good and decent people, very much like ourselves.
All of these peoples routinely suffer discrimination in Pakistan and are often persecuted. Their neighborhoods have been invaded and trashed by mobs of zealous Muslims; their places of worship are frequently invaded and destroyed; their adherents are not infrequently prosecuted under the Blasphemy law (Pakistani Penal Code Section 295©) on the thinnest of evidence. Bombs have exploded in Shia Mosques and Christian Churches, killing hundreds of people.
They teach us that Israel and America are our evil enemies who are persecuting Palestinians, Iraqis, and Afghans and are planning to destroy Islam and that Jews, are behind every evil in this world. This is entirely false. The Palestinian Arabs, for example are, and always have been, free to extend a hand of friendship to Israel and negotiate towards a just and lasting peace.
They told us that the destruction of the World Trade Center was plotted by Mossad and the CIA and that all the Jews who worked there called in sick on 09/11/2001. All of this is fabrication and lies. I know for a fact that hundreds of Jews, including many policemen and firemen, were killed in the attack.
What disgusts and worries me most is that I was taught that apostasy from Islam is punishable by death. So according to Islamic Law my life is now forfeit.
I was taught to love Muhammad the Prophet above anything else in the world. He was the best of creation, and a Mercy sent to the earth by Allah. Muslims believe that Muhammad was faultless, sinless, and perfect but I have learned that Muhammad showed no mercy to non-believers, but tortured, raped, serially killed, assassinated and committed genocide against them. All Muslims have to say, “Peace Be Unto Him,” whenever they mention the Prophet’s name, but I find it anathema to say peace be unto such an inhuman person.
Muslims are taught that to criticize the Prophet Muhammad, Islam, or the Quran is Blasphemy. Islamic countries have enacted blasphemy laws and torture, imprison and kill innocent persons and minorities over trivial matters. In Pakistan, hundreds are arrested every year on spurious Blasphemy charges. They are kept in jail under appalling conditions for years. Beating and torture are their lot and many have been murdered by “righteous” Muslims who believe that a Blasphemer deserves only death. Salman Taseer, the Governor of the Punjab, was recently murdered because he had inveighed against Section 295 © and proposed to pardon Asiya Bibi, a Christian woman who was recently sentenced to death on false Blasphemy charges. The general approval of Pakistan’s Muslims of this horrific event is illustrative. If Governor of the Punjab cannot be safe, what might my fate be?
I am now at peace with myself after leaving Islam, but I fear for my future. I am a Pakistani citizen and my life will be in clear and present danger in my own country. I could remain silent and hide my disbelief behind a curtain, but I am an idealist, and I feel that I must proclaim my beliefs openly. For how long, I don’t know. But I know that eventually I will be made to suffer persecution. That is the fate that awaits people like me, who are unfortunate enough to be nationals of a country where blasphemy is punishable by death.
According to the Blasphemy laws in Pakistan, any criticism of Islam, The Quran, or the Prophet Muhammad is punishable by death. Article 295© clearly says; “Use of derogatory remarks, etc; in respect of the Holy Prophet. Whoever by 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 Muhammed (PBUH) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to a fine.”
I have been an active blogger against my former religion and have been openly speaking truth abut the real nature of Muhammad and Islam. I have also actively debated with Muslims and have tried to reason with them, and, to my surprise, I was able to convince at least one friend to rethink his Islamic beliefs. But I have frequently been reminded that inveighing against Islam or Muhammad is considered blasphemy and would subject me to the death penalty. One can be a hypocrite, for one day or one week, not for one’s whole life. We must speak out freely. It’s our sovereign right. We must speak out no matter what. If my family comes to know about my disbelief, I will be considered to have dishonored the family. As was taught by Muhammad himself, my Muslim family loves Muhammad and Islam more than they love me. It is not unlikely that I’d be murdered for my belief by my own family for having dishonored them. Even if they stayed their hand, I would suffer under threat of persecution and death just because I cannot believe in what they want me to believe. I am convinced that I would soon be prosecuted and punished as an apostate and Blasphemer. Therefore I am applying for asylum in United States
Md Rahim