Blasphemy Laws Essay

3. Literature review
The topic of blasphemy laws in Pakistani has been discussed in various studies and books over the years, but most of the times the subject has been analyzed from a constitutional, legal or a human rights perspective. In the last few years, however, the subject has been analyzed also from a social and mass media viewpoint.
The social discourse has been given little importance to evaluate and analyze the sensitivities surrounding the use of blasphemy in Pakistan. In this respect, not many political scientists based in Pakistan have written on this subject, as it could also be a risky affair in terms of the writers' own security.
In this chapter I will present a short review of major academic papers and books written about

The findings show that most of the times the blogs entries underline the importance of amending the laws. But as Eijaz argues, a developing country like Pakistan, where the literacy rate and access to the Internet are not high, we cannot conclude that the average Pakistani citizen follows and agrees with the blasphemy approaches presented in the social media.
The blasphemy laws are also analyzed through a human rights perspective. In this aspect, there are numerous reports developed and published not only by the academia, but also by various non-governmental organizations like the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) , which condemn the rights abuses and violations that target religious minorities.
To understand this approach, I reviewed a comprehensive paper written by Bilal Hayee entitled "Blasphemy laws and Pakistan's human rights obligations" , which provides a critical analysis of the effects that the blasphemy laws have on the human rights established by the international conventions ratified by the Pakistani

I have also reviewed another interesting study on the subject: "Pakistan's blasphemy laws. From Islamic Empires to the Taliban" by Shemeem Burney Abbas. The book explores how the Islamic states have handled the blasphemy laws for their own interests, but at the same time against their own citizens, by promoting the idea that the laws are prescribed by the Koran. Furthermore, the author argues that the blasphemy laws are tools in the "arsenal of extensive militant ideology" instituted in the name if Islam.
Throughout in his study, Abbas examines the evolution of the laws and presents them in a historical perspective, starting with Prophet Muhammad's era and continuing with various regimes that used these types of laws to validate their politics and