A list of Islamic words has been banned from being translated into the English language under a new law that was recently passed by the government in Pakistan. The legislation, which was approved by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on June 4, means that revered Arabic words and names such as Allah, Masjid and Sala’at that mean God, mosque and prayer respectively, cannot be translated into English hereafter.
According to local media reports, the move was initiated by the country’s Islamic leaders, including Muftis Muneebur Rehman and Muhammad Naeem. While Naeem stressed that the legislation be enforced in letter and spirit, Rehman said that some religious terms are best described in Arabic.
The legislation was implemented on June 18, which fell in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
As it has been widely reported, Christians and other minorities in Pakistan are regularly subjected to religious discrimination.
Bearing that fact in mind, Nasir Saeed, director of Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement, which has been trying to improve the state of religious freedom in Pakistan, warned that the new legislation could have a noticeable impact on the country’s minority faith groups.
“Keeping in view the present situation of the country where extremism, fundamentalism and hatred against Christians and other religious minorities is on the rise ... there is a possibility that this policy could have a negative impact, especially on the lives of non-Muslims who are already suffering because of the government's discriminatory policies against them,” Saeed said. “There is also the chance that people will misuse this provision if they consider any translation of any word offensive or insulting to any Islamic word.”
Saeed also implied that it might not be a coincidence that the law was passed only one day before the anniversary of General Muhammad Zia ul Haq’s 1977 military coup that attempted to further Islamize Pakistan and its laws.
“It is not surprising the policy has come from Mian Nawaz Sharif, as he is the prodigy of Zia,” Saeed said.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urged the Obama administration earlier this year to designate Pakistan as a ‘country of particular concern’ while blaming Pakistan’s government for failing to provide necessary protection to minority faith groups.
“Pakistan's legal environment is particularly repressive due to its religiously discriminatory constitutional provisions and legislation, including its blasphemy laws,” the USCIRF's annual report said.
According to various human rights groups, Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are particularly misused by radical Islamists with them frequently lodging false charges against Christians and other minorities in order to settle personal scores or wrongfully seize properties and businesses.
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