Blasphemy for a Spelling Mistake

A mere misplaced dot in an exam led to the accusations of Blasphemy against a Christian eighth grade student in Havelian near Abbotabad, Pakistan.

Faryal Bhatti the daughter of Sarafeen Bhatti a nurse was a student at the POF ( Pakistan Ordnance Factories) High School located in POF Havelian colony. According to the school authorities in a school exam on Thursday, Faryal Bhatti misspelled a word in Urdu language by wrongly placing a dot in a poem written in praise of the Prophet Muhammad, the word was "Naat" ( poem of praise), it was mis-spelled by a dot as "Laanat" (a curse), it is a common error by a child this age as the in written form both the words are quite similar.

The Urdu teacher Mrs. Fareeda while checking the papers, located the mistake and called on Faryal Bhatti. The teacher in front of the whole class spoke harshly to the child and questioned why she did so, Bhatti said it was a mistake, but Mrs. Fareeda in her fury assaulted the child, the class fellows learning of the act also became furious. The teacher took the matter to the principal. The news about the mistake spread through the school and the POF Havelian colony. The teachers and the school management created a hype over a mere misplaced dot and made the matter serious and accused a child of Blasphemy, her misery didnt end here.

The school authorities called on the religious leaders who think this was a grave mistake and the child must face the consequences for the serious mistake. The religious clerics along with the colony residents took to the streets demanding a FIR ( First Information Report) for blasphemy against the 8th grader, expulsion from the school and throwing out the whole family from the colony to set an explanatory punishment of a blasphemer. They chanted slogans against the child, her family and Christianity. In the Friday sermons in the mosques the clerics also condemned the child and called it "a conspiracy against Islam" and this conspiracy must be crushed.

The ten years old Faryal Bhatti is going through a trauma, she is still not aware what she has done, why she is made to go through all this. It was a merely a misplaced dot by the innocent child, but she is made to go through a living hell as this dot is considered a grave and intentional mistake, a derogatory remark and a conspiracy. MD (Managing Director) POF School Asif Siddiqui on Saturday summoned a meeting of the religious clerics, school staff, scholars along with Sarafeen Bhatti and Faryal Bhatti. The accused in tears explained that it was a human error as both the words have resemblance, she clarified that she had no ill intention. The child and her mother apologized for the mistake.

Maulana Syed Ejaz Ali a cleric from the Jamia Masjid (Mosque) who was present at the meeting, saw the examination paper, he talked with the girl and her mother and concluded that " I am still unclear of Faryal Bhatti`s intentions, the eyes filled with tears show her innocence, but her dot made the word derogatory and this is a good enough reason for a consequence and she should never in her life dare to think anything against Islam."

The school administration to please the clerics and other religious elements expelled Faryal Bhatti from the school, but the clerics demanded a punishment for her mother as well and forced the POF administration to terminate her from her services and vacate the colony residence immediately. The POF administration under the pressure transferred Sarafeen Bhatti to the POF Wah Cantonment Hospital and asked her to vacate the house without delay. Still the clerics demanded that a FIR to fulfill the legal formalities.

The devastated mother and daughter moved to Wah Cantonment just hours after the decision was given by the administration. Pastor Tahiq Emmanuel on behalf of the Masihi Foundation a humanitarian and legal aid organization contacted the family and assured them of his support of the foundation. Masihi Foundation has been providing aid to Asia Bibi as well. Monday morning two religious scholars from Islamabad Maulana Mehfooz Ali Khan and Hussain Ahmed Malik on the request of Masihi Foundation had a meeting with the POF authorities in Wah Cantonment to discuss the matter. Maulana Mehfooz Ali Khan said, “This is merely an innocent mistake by a child due to the similarity in the two words and should have been treated as one. Many Muslim students in the madrassas wrongly pronounce the Arabic words, that changes the whole meaning, these are human errors by innocent children, you can’t punish a child for an unintentional mistake. The girl is only ten years old; she is going through a trauma, just because of people think that a dot was such a huge mistake that should ruin her life. The teacher should have handled the matter herself instead of creating a hype. This shows the incapability of the teacher to handle the situation. Teaching is a sacred profession, only capable and competent people should be hired as teachers. I am 100% sure if I ask any of her own children to read the Quran in Arabic, he/she will make a mistake then she along with her child should also be expelled. Such people are portraying a negative picture about Islam. Faryal Bhatti was made to go through hell only because she is a Christian, I protest against the decision of expelling the child and transferring the mother. This action by the committee has printed a very negative image about Islam on the child’s mind, we want the people to learn about Islam, not to make them hate it."

The scholar Hussain Ahmed Malik said, “I totally agree with Maulana Mehfooz Khan; this incident has shown the narrow mindedness of the school administration. I don’t know why a teacher would make an issue of an error of a small child. What does she know about blasphemy? So much for the religious tolerance and pluralism. Calling religious ulemas for the routine school matters is narrow-mindedness and incapability of the school management. A ten-year-old doesn’t even know the meaning of Blasphemy, but thanks to all this hype she will fear Islam for the rest of her life. The reaction of the teacher and the school administration clearly shows their in acceptance and hatred towards other religions, a petty matter which could have been ignored by the teacher was given so much attention as if the child has committed an unforgivable crime. Our religion teaches us the lesson of forgiving. She is immature and innocent girl and she did so by just a spelling mistake. Instead of sadistic pleasure from humiliating the innocent child, the administration should have acted wisely. A person not belonging to the Islamic faith should not be living in fear, checking and rechecking their actions to ensure that they don’t make an error which would shake the very fibers of their existence and shun them out of society. The administration should understand that the two words are similar in written form. Masihi Foundation brought the case to us, I have talked to Faryal and her Mother, she made this mistake unintentionally. Masihi Foundation is an excellent example of bridging gaps between the communities and promoting religious tolerance in the society. "

Bishop of Rawalpindi / Islamabad Rufin Anthony said, “I condemn the incident, now even the Christian students are being victimized and accused of Blasphemy. The society has become so intolerant, that merely a petty mistake was given so much attention and even the religious ulemas, clerics were called to decide the punishment for the innocent child, who didn’t even know what she has done. The misdeed, if it actually was such, should have been explained to the child, gaining her confidence and thereby doing religion a service in the process. What now has happened is exactly the opposite. Children make mistakes; assuming that this was deliberate, would you burn an 8th grader at the stake instead of teaching her the difference between right and wrong? A xenophobe doesn’t need much of an excuse to punish someone different; a country which was born because it did not want to be a minority apparently has trouble tolerating minorities."

Urdu of Laanat –

ENDS

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