“Pakistan’s blasphemy laws persecute the weakest of the weak” By Farahnaz Ispahani

To quote a 2016 Amnesty International report, “As Good as Dead: The impact of blasphemy laws in Pakistan,” once an individual is accused of blasphemy, “they become ensnared in a system that offers them few protections, presumes them guilty, and fails to safeguard them against people willing to use violence.” On Saturday, Rome’s Colosseum was lit in red in support …

Asma Jahangir – The voice of Pakistan’s voiceless by Farahnaz Ispahani & Husain Haqqani

Asma Jahangir will be remembered for her conviction and courage  Asma Jahangir will be remembered as a fearless advocate for the rule of law and human rights. She challenged the notion that religion or national security were sufficient grounds to ignore the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At the time of her death on February 11, …

Persecution in the Land of the Pure by FARAHNAZ ISPAHANI

After years of neglect, the State Department is finally responding to Pakistan’s dismal record on religious freedom. The time is ripe for more serious action. This past Monday, a student in Pakistan shot his high school principal dead after being reprimanded for skipping school to attend a sit-in organized by one of Pakistan’s Islamist parties. The killer argued that the …

Muslims Must Ostracize Anti-Semitic Imams by Farahnaz Ispahani

American Muslims, justifiably worried about increasing attacks on our community, must react strongly to the anti-Semitic sermons by two California Imams. Although one of them has since apologized, his call to “annihilate” Jews cannot be ignored just because of a statement of contrition.If Muslims want wider support for their concerns about threats to their community, they must also ostracize the …

  Farahnaz Ispahani is a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, DC and the author of the book Purifying The Land of The Pure: The History of Pakistan’s Religious Minorities (Oxford University Press, 2017). In 2015, she was a Reagan-Fascell Scholar at the National Endowment for Democracy, in Washington, DC.  Ispahani was a Public …

Religious Fanaticism Prevails Over Pakistan’s Court by By FARAHNAZ ISPAHANI & NINA SHEA

The country’s Supreme Court dodges a decision by adjourning a high-profile blasphemy case. The fate of an illiterate berry picker on death row for blasphemy has gripped Pakistan in a furor of religious fanaticism. Few examples better illustrate the misplaced priorities of the Pakistani government and the country’s Islamist ideologues. Asia Bibi was scheduled to appear before Pakistan’s Supreme Court …

“Reviving Jinnah’s Legacy of Religious Freedom in Pakistan” Farahnaz Ispahani

In establishing a homeland for Muslims, Pakistan’s founding father, Muhammed Ali Jinnah, also supported the idea of Islam serving as a unifying force and believed Pakistanis had a responsibility to uphold the principles of religious freedom and to protect the rights of religious minorities. As religious intolerance and violence against religious minorities grows, it is clear that Pakistan has failed …

Interview with Farahnaz Ispahani on “Religious strife in the Middle East and the destruction caused by military dictatorships”

Aaron talks with former Pakistani Assembly Member and current Pakistani Presidential Media Advisor and Spokeswoman Farahnaz Ispahani. They discuss religious strife in the Middle East and the destruction caused by military dictatorships, why, in Ispahani’s words, current events really can’t be called an “Arab Spring,” the struggle for women in the region, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also …

Persecution Without Prosecution: The Fate of Minorities in Pakistan- By Farahnaz Ispahani

The South Asia Channel Persecution Without Prosecution: The Fate of Minorities in Pakistan With religious persecution in Pakistan going unchecked, it is time for the United States to designate Pakistan a Country of Particular Concern. By  Farahnaz Ispahani – A former member of the Pakistani parliament and author of the forthcoming book: Purifying The Land of the Pure: Pakistan’s Religious Minorities. …