Home Latest News Police Open Blasphemy Investigation Against Junaid Jamshed

Police Open Blasphemy Investigation Against Junaid Jamshed

by AFP and Staff Report
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Sunni Tehreek leader says his organization will file blasphemy cases against anyone regardless of their status.

Police on Tuesday opened a blasphemy investigation against pop star turned evangelical Muslim Junaid Jamshed after he was caught on camera making allegedly disparaging remarks about one of the wives of Islam’s Prophet.

Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan. The law is often used to target minorities and the poor by those wishing to settle personal scores, according to rights groups. Jamshed, by contrast, is a wealthy high-profile member of the Tableeghi Jamaat—a Sunni Muslim evangelical organization known for its rigidly conservative views.

In the video featuring the former lead singer of pop band Vital Signs, he appears to make negative remarks about Ayesha, the youngest wife of Islam’s Prophet, to make a broader point about women’s alleged inherent flaw of seeking attention. The video quickly went viral over the weekend and led to the police case.

“We have filed a blasphemy case against Junaid Jamshed in Rasala police station on the orders of Justice Ahmed Saba of the district court,” said Faheem-ud-Din Sheikh, spokesman for the Sunni Tehreek religious organization. Muhammad Shafique, a police official at the Rasala police station in Karachi, confirmed the incident. Another police officer told Newsweek that Jamshed was currently out of the country on a speaking tour, but would be placed under arrest once he returns.

Jamshed, 50, had earlier released a video on Facebook in which he admitted he had erred and pleaded emotionally for forgiveness. “This is my mistake and it happened because of my ignorance and lack of knowledge and I seek forgiveness from the Muslim world,” he said. “I request my brothers to forgive me and I am thankful to them for pointing out my mistake, it happened unintentionally and I seek forgiveness from Allah.”

The case was registered on the complaint of Mohammad Mobin Qadri, a Sunni Tehreek leader. “We will register blasphemy cases against anyone found involved in blasphemy regardless of their stature,” Qadri told Newsweek. He said Jamshed’s apology was irrelevant. “How can we pardon a person who has committed blasphemy? Junaid’s apology must be examined by prominent religious scholars, who will then determine how the issue can be sorted within the parameters of Islam.”

Before joining the Tableeghi Jamaat, Jamshed was one of Pakistan’s best loved pop singers, famous for hits in the 1980s such as “Dil Dil Pakistan.” Now bearded and seen in traditional attire, he often appears on TV adverts to give products a religious endorsement, and also runs a chain of fashion boutiques. He frequently makes appearances on television, and has previously said women should not drive nor venture out of the home without a male guardian.

The number of blasphemy cases being lodged with police in Pakistan has been steadily rising in recent years and even unproven allegations often prompt mob retribution. On Nov. 4 a Christian bonded laborer and his pregnant wife were beaten by a mob of 1,500 people then thrown on top of a lit furnace in a crazed reaction to rumors they had thrown pages of the Quran into the garbage. Aasia Bibi, sentenced to death for blasphemy, has been languishing on death row for four years following a trial that activists say was deeply flawed.

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42 comments

Safia December 3, 2014 - 1:57 pm

Mr Junaid Jamshed: please stop this nonsense
if he can be forgiven, then why are others punished?
we must accept his apology because he made a hatred comment against the women???
please ladies…. bycott JJ outlets.

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Ali December 3, 2014 - 11:14 pm

Wrong… He shud b forgiven… There should b some start of forgiveness… ALLAH forgive those who are sincere in seeking apology from HIM….Please avoid such conservative remarks

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Earthcitizen December 4, 2014 - 12:58 pm

All blasphemy cases should be stopped. Pakistanis need to wise up and stop acting so ignorant. They make themselves look to be fools time and time again.

As for JJ he should apologise to all women.

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Mansoor December 5, 2014 - 1:56 am

What he did was not deliberate, you will have to see if majority of those accused had done it deliberately or not. we definitely need procedural amendments in Blasphemy Law.

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Anti_Satanic December 5, 2014 - 11:31 am Reply
Matt Edn December 3, 2014 - 2:10 pm

I am against the blasphemy laws. But if they exist then they should exist for everyone..a beard and religious backing should not be the reason for the protection of an accused blasphemer. if JJ can be forgiven then why not Asia Bibi! Why salmaan taseer and shahbaz Bhatti become the target of mullah mentality! Why a bearded murderer- mumtaz qadri- is safe n not hanged! How long r we going to discriminate against the non-bearded? If JJ has to be forgiven then amend the laws and include a ‘forgiveness’ clause as well. So that if a Christian, Qadiani, Shia commits blasphemy, they can be forgiven as well. Otherwise, go for it..JJ has to face the law..

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Earthcitizen December 4, 2014 - 1:00 pm

Two wrongs don’t make a right. Non Muslims cannot be accused of blasphemy. They should all be released.

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Jamal Shah December 3, 2014 - 2:27 pm

What the hell? 90 percent of Pakistani Muslims do not even know what they read in namaz. They do not even know what it means what they read in namaz. They do not even practice basics of religion. Yet they are so pumped up to destroy and abolish anything that goes slightly goes against prophet or his companions. If Allah can forgive who the hell are they to give fatwa.

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Aamir Shahzad December 3, 2014 - 8:22 pm

I know it and a number of people know it, if you don’t know it don’t type in the %ages here. Jamal shah g u i am having doubt on your emaan as like you putting statements if Alllah can forgive then murder should not have any punishment and this thing is way higher than our life. Either you are jahil moron or other sact may be qadiyani.

Check your words next time ok.

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Earthcitizen December 4, 2014 - 1:06 pm

Aamir Shahzad, you show yourself to be the Jahil Moron here like the 99% of others screaming for the blood of anyone who “blasphemes”. Jamal Shah is right. Pakistan is a sick country with a sick society that gets worked up over trivial issues. And no this is not “higher than life itself”.

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adnan December 3, 2014 - 2:42 pm

Dear Website Management.

Alhamdulillah aap muslman hain. Yaar aap loog copy paste karnay say pehlay contents ko thora sa daikh lia karian k yeh Islam ya musalmanoon k khalaf tu nahin.

You have copied this contents from UK newspaper website and pasted without any editing. You MUST you PBUH with the name of our beloved Prophet (PBUH).

Other thing, they have criticised Islamic Law in there own way. Please try not to copy and past such posts.

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sarwat December 4, 2014 - 1:24 am

yes.

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FM December 4, 2014 - 2:26 am

My goodness, everybody is ready to teach islam to others and issue fatwas. May be this news site is blasphemous too. Should be killed just like minorities in our sweet country.

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human December 3, 2014 - 2:56 pm

No punishment for him . why ???
only he can be forgiven but what about asia bibi & the couple who were burnt without an investigation

Not Justice

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ashraf December 5, 2014 - 9:04 am

yes

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Imran Ahmed December 3, 2014 - 2:59 pm

Goodness lies in kindness, compassion and in helping others; not in anger, hatred and cruelty. This man is a misogynist who made the error of extending his contempt for women show towards a revered female religious figure. Those who err should be given an opportunity to repent and reform, whether they be mullah, secular, Muslim, Hindu or Christian. All the prophets in Islam preached this, the Last Prophet (s.a.w.) is described a blessing to the universe, Allah is Merciful and Compassionate.
The only people deserving of censure and punishment are those that incite anger, hate or violence contrary to the spirit of Islam and contrary to Pakistan’s laws.

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Earthcitizen December 4, 2014 - 1:09 pm

Such wise words but sadly lost on the ignorance of Pakistanis.

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Yolo December 3, 2014 - 3:07 pm

Its not about issuing a fatwa – its about selective application of WHO to forgive in a blasphemy law. If JJ can be forgiven on issuing a tear stricken apology, why not the other minorities, and why not the countless “so called blasphemists” who have already been killed by mobs?

lets see how they treat his case – let me put it this way. If it was a poor Christian guy, or lets say a rural laborer from Toba Tek Singh who had done the same – addressed a group of community people, passing the exact same remarks on Hazrat Aisha, and in the same manner WORD for WORD, I for one have NO doubt that he would be now been killed alive by the mobs. Seriously. So, yes, why selective application – the problem is two fold:

1) What gives JJ the right to be such a blatant misogynist? This is not the first time he’s passing such inane remarks – earlier he said women shouldn’t be allowed to drive alone. God knows what world he’s living in, where he’s forcing women to be 100% dependent. Has he forgotten Hazrat Khadija was a prospering business woman? The same goes with people like Alim Online…with his “Kaisa Diya” remarks. Sick. Completely sick, how they view women as sex symbols and nothing else.

and:
2) The biggest problem is with Pakistan’s blasphemy law – how it continues to be used and misued at whim, to settle disputes, to get even with enemies and to cast reputations aside. This is no easy issue – heck the issues are just worsening day by day.

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Yasir December 3, 2014 - 5:35 pm

Junaid Jamshed must be punished as per law.

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Zainab Ansari December 3, 2014 - 5:39 pm

As a rule I don’t agree with the blasphemy law of this country which I feel is against the basic tenet of Islam, however I feel the judgment serves him right for being a self proclaimed religious ” guru ” and his verbal diarrhea

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Mohammad Abdul Wahab December 3, 2014 - 7:29 pm

When semi literate and half educated public assume the role of gods on earth, such things are bound to happen. Blasphemy laws need to be abolished or modified. They are doing more damage than any good. Its extremely strange that we damn care to the teachings of the holy prophet Muhammad (pbuh) but we start killing people on the least doubt or allegation of blasphemy. We are such hypocrites.. Blasphemy should be clearly defined. No muslim can even dream of uttering bad of the holy prophet. Even a non muslim won’t but its sheer madness to start punishing or killing people on doubt. We have infact fallen habitual of killing people on any pretext..

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Saba Aftab December 3, 2014 - 8:22 pm

God. Our nation is sick beyond disgusting level. Reading hate remarks make my blood boil. JJ committed a mistake and he apologized for it. Now i think the matter is b/w him & Allah. I dont say that killing others in the name of blasphemy was right. Infact it was barbaric. Our Prophet PBUH himself showed compassion to the people, who even hurt him. And because of his compassion and kindness those ppl converted to Islam. What sort of mentality we have. Aap saray khud dood kay dulay huay hein. Din mein kitna kufar or shirak hum baktay or kertay hein. Tab kabhi kisi nay soucha hai ya dua key hai kay Allah mujay badtareen azab day. Nahi na. hum baray say bara gunah kerkay mafi chatay hein. But kis insan say koi ghalti ho jahay tuh hum aus kay jaan ka dushman ho jatay hein. Khuda ban jatay hein. Khuda key lannat ho aasi souch per.

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Abdul khaliq. December 3, 2014 - 8:23 pm

Unintentional horrible mistake.

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mariam December 3, 2014 - 9:22 pm

if a christian can be punished for blasphemy even after apologizing, then why shouldn’t a MUSLIM!? law should be same for everyone

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Jilani Chaudhari December 3, 2014 - 10:55 pm

Throw him in the kiln. Burn him, He is a blasphemous rat.

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Imran Ahmed December 4, 2014 - 10:55 am

You would be correct if the law was universally applied. Just finish with this law if you cannot apply it fairly. Just ban mullahs as they cannot stop spreading hate and misguiding people. My heart weeps for the victims of hate crimes.

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muslim December 4, 2014 - 12:40 pm

Please get rid of these Blasphemy laws. Pakistani are the biggest Aashiq e Rasool, right?
The most corrupt, rishwat khor, mullahs that Se xually molest kids and girls, mullahs that torture wives and stare women. Please, and call themselves Aashiq e Rasool, my foot.
All of them are sick b as tards. You put your poor minority people in jail for blasphemy laws without any evidence. Shame on u.

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Earthcitizen December 4, 2014 - 12:53 pm

These idiotic blasphemy laws should be repealed. There is a school yard expression: “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can’t hurt me”. Are Pakistanis too stupid to realise this and that Islam is not afraid of debate. The people charged with blasphemy should be released. Allah is all forgiving and Allah knows best.

Now that JJ has had a dose of his own medicine he should now recant his misogynistic words and apologise to all Muslim women for the offence he caused.

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Saeed Khan December 4, 2014 - 4:06 pm

Hi all, I request everyone to cool down and let Ulamas decide what is right and what is wrong. I respect ur sentiments and concerns, but since it’s a religious and sensitive issue, pls dont decide things by ur own. We have best Ulamas in Pakistan and out, so let’s put forward this issue to them and follow their decision.

Any blasphemy(God forbid) done by any one whether Muslim or Non-Muslim(I strongly condemn), we people must not decide what to do with that particular person; rather, let Ulamas and Shariat Laws decide the best……

Thanks and Pls be careful in such issues before commenting…

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SRB December 4, 2014 - 4:16 pm

The matter should be solved by Islamic Sharia’t court.As the blasphemy is very sensitive issue in Pakistan.Either He did it intentionally or unintentionally he should be punished so that in future no one can redo same.

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naz December 4, 2014 - 9:52 pm

Only Allah can give the punishment and this blasphemy law only made by some mullahs( may Allah give them haadiat ) in Quran there is no law of blasphemy, don’t make bad picture of Islam. Allah knows better.

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SYED December 5, 2014 - 2:57 am

it was a ignorant of using words, i believe he has same respect forall azdawajul mohatrat. including her.
the sahaba who was responsible for false allegation about her, was forgiven, and they were the best people. we exist in a very corrupt world we make mistakes and are going to make
in our future life. what is matter that we acknoledge it repent it and ask for forginess. and Allah can forgive any thing andevery thing but shirk,. because he is a creater and he loves us 70 times more than our mothers.

just think. and leave him alone. this is him and ALLAH(ST) MOAMLA

MAY BE WE ARE MORE SINNER THAN HIM

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Ghiasul Haq December 5, 2014 - 10:31 am

There must be a way to find if some one is doing “IT” intentionally or because of ignorance.An act of ignorance should be treated differently.but with full details and justification with at least strong warning to be VERY VERY CAREFUL in future.And such forgiveness should be allowed to any one only Once In his Life.

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Haider December 5, 2014 - 6:00 pm

A bad mistake, although with immediate apology, But the Mullahs should now be made to realize that they are not the ones to interpret Islam according to their whim and limited experience and thinking. No Blasphemy law should not be repealed or we will have salman rushdies and naseema’ cropping up on daily basis. We are not talking about some ordinary person here, the Prophet of God, was the reason for the creation of mankind, and his people used to say on his face” May my mother and Father be scrificed for you” Meray maa baap aap par qurban. So let this not be an isolated incidence, I know its sad but it seems the chicken have come home to roost, what they did in the past is here to haunt them, and JJ may have to spend his life outside Pakistan as his apology would not be taken without a pinch of salt.

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Hasan Z December 6, 2014 - 8:02 pm

Killing for blasphemy is against teaching of our Profit He said “An Madina tul Ilm” he faced many times insulting words but eliminate such behaviour through Ilm & Daleel. He gave concept of “Toheed” Allah Subhanahu.
Agar ham Mohammad o Aalae Mohammad kay martabay ko samaj lain to is Jahalat kay andhairon say nikal saktay hain

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Saeed Khan December 8, 2014 - 5:45 am

If Tableeghi Jamat want that he should not be punished then they should stand together to abolish this law , so this is the only way to save their Disco Mullah from punishment ,and this is not the first time he did ,Once I was watching Liaqat Amir show in which JJ stated a qissa that he burried a dog on the road side because no one was picking the dog from the middle of the road and then I asked the dog look I did this to you and now Roz e Qayamat tum Ullah Taala k samney mery shifaat karna .So my brothers and sisters jo khabees Hazoor [PBUH]k bajay kutey say shifaat karway uss say orr kya umeed ki ja sakti hy ,orr Amir Liaqat ney iss ki bohat wa wa ki thi , agar uss waqt Amir Liaqat iss kay sehar say nikal kar hosh mein aa kar iss nam nehad khud sakhta molana ko tok detey to aaj inhey jj ko Fahisha ki olad kehney ki nobat na ati.

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Imran Ahmed December 8, 2014 - 1:01 pm

Sir! The logic behind your condemnation of a good story is incomprehensible if not non existent. Our view of religion is transactional. The man expected repayment for actually doing a good deed which is reasonable.

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Barry Richard December 9, 2014 - 11:15 am

These Jahil and iliterate Moulvis have nothing else to do except to level allegations on somebody and to extract attention and money from Media because nobody likes them.They are always present to create Nuisense which should be stopped in the interest of Pakistan.

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Hameed Sheikh December 9, 2014 - 11:19 am

We are living in stone ages and this is the reason Pakistan is not progressing.In my views these Moulvis should not be allowed to dictate whatever they want and should be in fact kicked out of their postions of issuing such Fatwaas.

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Lubna December 10, 2014 - 5:31 am

The understanding of Islam is deep and so is the knowledge of the sacred wives of the Prophet (PBUH). In my view we should change this law of blasphemy in the assembly and try to understand that we cannot punish people because of our own personal baggage or in belief that we are right! It is a huge responsibility to hurt Allah SWTs creation even when they are incorrect in their actions. Allah SWT has always given us an opportunity for correction first and not for punishment. Mr. Jamshed is wrong to even consider his knowledge is worthy of giving lectures unless he has enough backing and correct proof of his research. He is wrong but he should be corrected because he is only a human being. The people who have filed the case against him should not look into the past but only present and future of what correction can bring in this transient world. I think education and knowledge should be applied and Islaam is a way of life where teachings should not be viewed under the umbrella of negativity but only and only with positive reflection. Learning our sacred religion correctly and to the best of our ability is every muslim s responsibility including the ones who consider themselves as Islamic leaders, the ones who volunteered to file this case and the ones who will try to bring justice to this incident.If we think we are right – that indicates that we are speaking with our Nafs. Is that permitted in Islaam- Jihad of Nafs is the most important Jihad! Mr. Jamshed needs to be educated correctly and not punished. He is a seeker and his opponents should try to share their knowledge so that in the future no such mistakes are made and Islaam is considered a fair religion of chances and forgiveness and most importantly peace. Allah s SWT s mercy is earned through the path of light and new hope. I hope my thoughts will have some weight on all the BELIEVERS of the world. I am only sharing what I see from the eyes of a learner and heart of a Muslim.

Thanks.

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zubair December 11, 2014 - 5:54 pm

Ignorant people and so called mullahs have demaged and harmed the spirit of Islam and its message so much that makes a sincere Muslim teary. Just because of ignorance, jealoysy and just to settle personal scores many people who are mentally insolovent also, use blasphemy allegation. I am myself die hard Muslim but not mentally bankrupt. Islam is not a house of clay that can be jeopardised with the stones. Islam is a concrete house and pebbles cannot demage it.
People should know the context of speech of Jamshed. It is clear that he is a faithful and sincere Muslim who cannot even entertain an idea of blasphemy. He sacrificed his glamorous and luxurious life to please Allah and His messanger. How can anyone expect that he can talk irrelevant on Islam. There is possiblity that either he talked anything inadvertantly or some people misunderstood him. We must see the context in which he made his speech. He was making a point on the instinctive behavior of a woman and wanted to tell that the nature of a woman cannot be changed and God ha made her delicate so we must not try to mend her with hard hand but try to convince her humbly. In this connection he just cite an event of hazrat sidiqah.
We even cite the example of Eve at times as how she seduced Adam. That is no blasphemy. If hazrat Ayesha is our mother, Eve is the mother if Ayesha.
Muslims should not be so narrow minded that they use blasphemy word for every minor thing. This way we make mockery of our religion. We must not demoralizee the spirits of Jamshed but instead should extend our helping hand to him in his “tabligee efforts”.

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livingapostate December 30, 2014 - 10:56 am

These blasphemy laws are as ridiculous as the people who use them to justify their own stupidity. ANYONE who thinks blasphemy is just cause for punishing somebody needs to have their heads read. You are all slaves to your religion(s) and you must surely be called ill-educated, indoctrinated fools. For goodness sake, people of Pakistan, wake up! Get an education … and NOT from your pathetic madrassas which are full of hate preachers all intent on destroying anything or anyone with even an inkling of freedom. The backward nature of your politics and the fact that so many of your people live in abject poverty – both cultural and actual – says a lot about a whole nation of superstitious believers in a non-existent being that doesn’t care about you at all – want to know why? Because he doesn’t exist! There you go – I just blasphemed. There is no god, Mohammed was just an ordinary guy with some delusions and his wives were just ordinary women – there nothing to be reverred here. Try living your lives and learn to HELP each other not kills each other over some outdated religious tomfoolery. Grow up!

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