Table of Contents

Preface. The Ethnography of a Military State Chapter 1. Pakistan's Military State and Civil Society Chapter 2. Muhammad, the Messenger Chapter 3. Blasphemy Laws' Evolution Chapter 4. Colonial Origins, Ambiguities, and Execution of the Blasphemy Laws Chapter 5. Risky Knowledge, Perilous Times: History's Martyr Mansur Hallaj Chapter 6. Blasphemy Cultures and Islamic Empires Conclusion. The Affiliates: Where To? Appendices 1. Fieldwork 2. Text of Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws 3. A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission 4. The Hudood Ordinance Qanun-e Shahadat, the Law of Evidence 5. Fate of a Teacher Accused of Blasphemy to Be Decided Today Notes Bibliography Index

Promotional Information

A pioneering study of the evolution of blasphemy laws from the early Islamic empires to the present-day Taliban uncovering the history and questionable motives behind Pakistan's blasphemy laws and calls for a return to the prophet Muhammad's peaceful vision of social justice

About the Author

Shemeem Burney Abbas is currently Associate Professor of Political Science and Gender Studies at the State University of New York at Purchase College. She was Professor of English Language and Applied Linguistics at the Open University in Islamabad, Pakistan, and worked there from 1981 to 2000. Abbas is the author of The Female Voice in Sufi Ritual: Devotional Practices of Pakistan and India.

Reviews

"This is a remarkable contribution to our understanding of this controversial legislation both historically and today." - Middle East Journal "This timely, thoughtful counterpoint to the appropriation of the Islamist discourse by extremist groups discusses Islam and Shari'a law from within reasonable and humanistic perspectives." - Choice