Women’s Magazine Editor Convicted of “Blasphemy”
Douglas J. Hagmann, Director
24 October 2005; Kabul, Afghanistan: On Saturday, a women’s magazine editor was sentenced to two years in jail after being convicted of blasphemy by Kabul’s Primary Court for publishing anti-Islamic articles, including one that challenged the belief that Muslims who convert to other religions should be stoned to death..
Ali Mohaqiq Nasab was arrested on October 1 after his magazine Haqooq-i-Zan (translation: Women’s Rights) argued that converting from Islam is not a crime that should be punished by death, as called for under Islamic Shariah law.
Presiding judge Ansarullah Malawizada stated that “the Ulama Council (Afghanistan’s clergy) sent us a letter saying that he should be punished, so I sentenced him to two years [in] jail.
Other articles identified as blasphemous included the criticism of the harsh punishment of 100 lashes for adultery, and calling for women to be equal to men under Islamic law According to Islamic law, for example, the value of a female witness is only considered to have half the value of a male. Mohaqiq has three weeks to appeal the verdict.
