Your mother has been deceased for as long as you've been alive. For sentimental value, let's say she died during childbirth. Although you never met her, you feel very connected to your mother and you honor her in a very loving and respectful fashion. From what you know of her, it seems that she was the perfect person and someone who deserved nothing but the best; her death was an utmost tragedy.
Now, let's say you are at work one day. A co-worker, whose parents were not on friendly terms with yours, criticizes that your mother was not as perfect as everyone says she was. You defend your mother and end up debating her virtues with this co-worker. One of his parting remarks is that your mother was a liar and died as one.
What do you do? Do you report this abuse to your boss, or do you simply ignore this person? Do you physically assault him/her in outrage? Do you go home and talk this over with your father? Do you complain to other co-workers? Or do you kill this person? According to a Pakistani court, execution may not be unreasonable.
My theoretical scenario is under a slightly different pretense than a situation in Pakistan, but the differences are indeed slight. In the village of Itan Wali, a woman is on trial for crudely saying that Muhammad was a liar. Apparently, this was enough to invoke the wrath of her co-workers, neighbors, and the law. She is now on trial for blasphemy and, if convicted, will be hanged.
The town cleric responded to her death sentence, saying,
"Tears of joy poured from my eyes."Let me contextualize that: this man is crying tears of joy over the thought of a woman being killed for insulting his religion. He is overjoyed at the thought of someone being murdered for insulting his belief system.
Of everything I could say in response to this, I just want to revisit my original example. In my scenario, we have someone badmouthing your mother. It's insulting, inconsiderate, and likely (according to other sources) untrue. Your response depends upon your own values, but to call for the murder of this person would not only be overreacting - it would be ludicrous. No matter how rude or libelous a person is to you, killing them in return is not justice; it is psychotic.
So, returning to the story's actual context, we have a town who is prepared to kill a woman for insulting not them, not their families, not even a human being, but an abstract idea that they subscribe to. Even from their point of view--even from the perspective of someone who wholeheartedly worships a deity--murder is not an acceptable answer to a rude, off-handed comment. And if your god is the sort of deity who prefers non-believers to be slaughtered, then this is not a deity to be worshiped.
Let's ponder on that for a moment because I think it's a classic paradox in the whole "benevolent God" thing:
- How can we claim that God (at least the Jehova/Allah god) is benevolent, forgiving, and loving, while assuming he wants murderous revenge on non-believers?
- How can we claim that a religion preaches tolerance, acceptance, and forgiveness, while seeking murderous revenge on those that speak against it?
- How can we claim spiritual and moral superiority over non-believers, while said non-believers resort to words and we resort to executions?
