Victory for Christian Man: Forced Conversion Reversed
A Pakistan judge has overruled a judgement that refused a Christian man’s effort to correct his name and religion on his national identity card, as he was a victim of fake conversion to Islam, as stated by his attorney.
The Christian attorney, Sumera Shafique, stated that Ahmad Saeed, additional district judge of Pattoki Tehsil, Kasur District, Punjab Province, on Nov. 16 cancelled the verdict of Pattoki Civil Judge Mian Usman Tariq, who had ruled that 24-year-old Sufyan Masih could not revert to Christianity after “converting” to Islam.
Attorney Shafique said the civil judge did not bother to go through the merits of her client’s case for fear of harassment from Islamists.
Shafique told Christian Daily International Morning Star News, saying, “The civil judge’s order was surprising, given the fact that none of the witnesses, including the cleric, Hafiz Abdul Waheed, who allegedly prepared the fake Islamic conversion certificate, and the two Muslim men who proclaimed to have witnessed the alleged conversion, appeared in court to record their statements despite repeated notices.”
She added that Masih had obviously confirmed his Christian faith and had repeated that declaration in his statement to the district judge. She told the judge that Asif Ali, the brick kiln owner where Masih worked, had purposely registered his name in the NADRA record as Muhammad Sufyan and his religion as Islam in a bid to enslave him.
Shafique emphasised that it was due to his ignorance that he made him sign the form. She also added, “Being an illiterate person, Masih failed to read the form filled out by the data entry operator on the directives of his employer.”
According to the May 18 ruling that has now been cancelled, Judge Tariq explained, saying, “Islam teaches that everyone is Muslim at birth, but [that] the parents and society cause one to deviate from the straight path. Therefore, when someone accepts Islam, he is considered to revert to his original condition.”
He added that, at the same time, Islam forbids the use of force to convert anyone.
Shafique said the verdict overturning the May 18 ruling would be helpful in similar suits in civil courts.
She went further, saying, “There are several cases in which the religion of Christians has been intentionally or mistakenly registered as Muslim in the national database.“ A large number of the Christian population in Pakistan is unable to read or write, which is why they often tend to overlook the religion section in the form.”
She, however, blamed the NADRA officials for the plight of impoverished petitioners, as they do not follow the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in such matters. NADRA data operators are bound to obtain an undertaking from applicants at the time of registering their alleged conversion, but they are not implementing the procedure.
NADRA’s CNIC (Computerised National Identity Card) registration policy also states that any mistake made by applicants in stating their religion correctly due to illiteracy “may be handled in the office fault category.” In Masih’s case, NADRA asserted that his name and religion could not be changed because, at the time of registration, he had verified his religion as Islam on the official form.
NADRA also explained their official policy, saying that a Muslim cannot change his religious designation in the CNIC to any other religion, whereas people who convert to Islam from other faiths can get their CNICs amended.
Director of Advocacy for Asia of the legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, Tehmina Arora said the lower court’s failure to recognise Sufyan’s religious identity was a violation of both national and international laws.
Arora said this in an interview, saying, “We welcome the Pattoki District Court’s decision to protect Sufyan Masih’s right to live out his faith as a Christian. “This case highlights how Christians in Pakistan face discrimination at various levels.”
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ADF International has shown support for Masih’s counsel in representing impoverished Christians as well as raising awareness on this issue at global forums.
She explained further the situations Christians face due to incorrect identity cards. Arora stated that a simple typographical error in the religion category on the identity cards can be used to prevent Christians from freely practicing their faith.
She said, “It also hinders their ability to apply for employment due to a lack of valid identification documents.”
Article 20 of Pakistan’s constitution allows citizens the right to profess, practice, and propagate their religion. This freedom is also attested in Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which establishes that “in those states in which ethnic, religious, or linguistic minorities exist, people belonging to such minorities have the right in community with other members of their group to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion, or to use their own language.”
In addition, the 1992 United Nations declaration further establishes that persons belonging to minorities have the right to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion, and to use their own language in private and in public freely, without any interference or any form of discrimination, and provides for the effective participation of minorities in cultural, religious, social, economic, and public life, as well as in decision-making processes on matters affecting them.
Apostasy is considered a sin punishable by death under most schools of Islamic jurisprudence. Although there is no specific law in Pakistan to deny Muslims their right to change religion, apostasy may be punished under Section 295-A of the country’s blasphemy statutes, which imposes up to two years of prison for “outraging the religious feelings of any class of citizens.”
Pakistan is ranked seventh on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian.
Content Credit| Igbakuma Rita Doom
Picture Credit | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Justice_of_Pakistan
