Authorities arrested a Muslim woman in Pakistan on April 14th after claiming to be a prophet of Islam. Pakistani police accused her of blasphemy, a charge that could carry the death penalty under the country’s expanded blasphemy laws.
Pakistan: Police arrest woman on charges of blasphemy for claiming to be Islam’s prophet #Pakistan #PakistanNews #Faisalabad https://t.co/pfR9SzNcEn
— Republic (@republic) April 16, 2023
Authorities apprehended the woman, identified as Sana Ullah, from her home in the eastern city of Faisalabad. Senior police official Nasir Ali Rizvi said the arrest was made shortly after an angry mob gathered and demanded she is lynched after hearing the news of her alleged prophethood.
Police arrested a woman in City Housing Society, #Faisalabad, #Punjab for allegedly declaring herself the Prophet of #islam and her son the Imam al-Mahdi. #Blasphemy
Religious minorities are not safe in #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/pCv7sXJ8X9— Faraz Pervaiz (@FarazPervaiz3) April 14, 2023
Rizvi also said two other people were arrested, and Ullah would be brought before a judge to face the accusations against her. Sources report that the two arrested were Hina Anjum and her husband Ahmed Nawaz, relatives of Ullah, accused of believing in Ullah’s prophethood.
#Barelvi #TLP activists in #Faisalabad, #Punjab Registered #blasphemy case, under Section 295C that mandates death penalty, against Hina Anjum and her husband Ahmad Nawaz for allegedly believing that Hina's sister Sana is the prophet.
The self-declared prophet Sana is still at… pic.twitter.com/3zHveKI472— Faraz Pervaiz (@FarazPervaiz3) April 14, 2023
Video footage of Ullah wearing a hijab, a sign of piousness and modesty in Islam, became viral on Pakistani social media.
Some more scenes in front of the house of the woman who claimed to be a Islamic prophet, Angry Muslim Woman’s pelted stones and broke the vehicle of the accused #Faisalabad #blasphemy #abolishblasphemylaw pic.twitter.com/bFEgXEuFB8
— Faraz Pervaiz (@FarazPervaiz3) April 14, 2023
Her case comes as Pakistan’s blasphemy laws continue to expand. The country’s parliament recently passed a series of statutes expanding upon Pakistan’s strict laws against blasphemy, including amendments to the country’s Penal Code.
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws state that any suspect found guilty of insulting the Prophet Muhammad or Islam can be sentenced to life imprisonment or even death. However, the country is yet to impose the death sentence for blasphemy charges.
Ullah’s arrest also came after reports of the country allegedly preparing to crack down on ex-Muslims and atheists surfaced recently.
Last March, a regional bar association in Pakistan claimed there were around 400,000 “blasphemers” in Pakistan, mentioning a report by the Cybercrime Wing of the country’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The association also urged the government to take action against these supposed “blasphemers” and even urged Pakistanis to observe April 7th as the “National Awareness Day for Prevention of Indecent Content on Social Media.”
Even though Pakistan is yet to carry out the death penalty for those accused of blasphemy, mere allegations and rumors are frequently enough to spark mob outrage and violence against the suspects, causing lynchings and other deadly attacks.
Last February, a man accused of blasphemy was dragged and lynched by an angry mob in the eastern province of Punjab. The suspect was already in custody when the lynching happened.
