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The book embarks on a journey into the intricate landscape of blasphemy in Pakistan amid a rising tide of blasphemy accusations, public lynchings, and contentious blasphemy laws. Challenging conventional perspectives, this book delves beyond legal and religious confines, offering an ethnography of the mundane as a secular reading and a grand existential scheme to highlight how blasphemy laws and religious prisms often fail to capture the essence of the blasphemy dilemma in Pakistan. The author offers an insightful re-evaluation of the blasphemy issue, addressing its multifaceted definition, the motivations driving intentional blasphemous acts and frivolous accusations, the authority to punish alleged offenders, the paradox of religious violence, and the emergence of mediated expressions and virtual negotiation of blasphemy. Through meticulous grassroots analysis of ordinary Pakistanis' perspectives, the book offers pragmatic policy solutions for blasphemy issues, presenting unorthodox insights into Pakistan, its diverse populace, and the ever-evolving sensibilities of Islam and societal dynamics in both local and global contexts.
List of contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction.- Chapter 2 - Finding Religion in Everyday Life - How Lifeworlds Work in Pakistan.- Chapter 3 - What is Blasphemy? Perspectives of Ordinary Pakistani Muslims.- Chapter 4 - Mob Vigilantism? Outlooks on Religious Violence, Torture, and Killings.- Chapter 5 - Virtual Negotiation of Sacredness and Rise of Digital Blasphemy.- Chapter 6. Epilogue: Is There a Solution to Blasphemy Problem: Answers Beyond the Law.
About the author
Muhammad Bilal is Professor of Anthropology and Chairperson of the Department of Anthropology at Fatima Jinnah Women University, Pakistan.
