Pastor Karma Patras stated in a sermon that animal sacrifice was unnecessary, citing the Bible. Muslims accused him of blaspheming against Islam and threatened to burn his sons alive if they did not leave town. Patras was arrested.
Robin Masih (son)
In October 2012, Pakistani Christian pastor Karma Patras delivered a speech at a funeral. In it, he explained the Biblical teaching that animal sacrifice was no longer necessary because of Christ’s sacrifice. The speech came only a few days before Eid-al-Adha, an Islamic holiday where ritual animal sacrifice is a common custom. There were some Muslims at the funeral, but there was no immediate sign of any discontent or anger.
Later that day, however, Karma was arrested. A blasphemy complaint had been registered against him. The complainant, who did not attend the funeral where the remarks were made, had apparently walked near it, overheard the comments, and misheard them as something more severe. He claimed he heard Karma say “the meat eaten by the Muslims on Eid-ul-Adha was like that of a dog.” Karma denied this characterization; however, from the day of his arrest, he would not see the outside world for several more months.
“I had come back home when someone informed me on the phone that the Muslims were angry over the sermon. I asked a few Christians to accompany me and we were just about to leave when the police arrived and arrested me.” - Karma Patras
On the eve of his arrest, angry protesters gathered outside the police station, demanding Karma be turned over to them. Police told them this was impossible, because Karma had already been transferred to a different location. Consequently, they turned their ire on Karma’s five sons, who were still in the village, threatening to burn them alive if they did not leave the village. Taking their threats seriously, Karma’s sons did indeed take their families and flee.
Later, however, Karma’s sons—along with others from the community—contacted the complainant to explain the misunderstanding. Evidently, he accepted their account of the comments Karma made and reconciled it with what he had heard; in February 2013, he contacted authorities and testified that his initial complaint had been a mistake. Karma was released on bail and the charges against him were subsequently dropped.
It is fortunate that in this case the complainant was satisfied that Karma did not really commit blasphemy, as he could well have been sentenced to death. It may be the only publicly-reported-upon blasphemy case in Pakistan’s history where the complainant withdrew their claim.
Pastor Accused of Blasphemy Granted Bail in Pakistan - European Centre for Law & Justice
Pakistan court throws out blasphemy charge against pastor - Open Doors USA
Pakistan is one of the most repressive countries in the world with regard to freedom of expression, including and especially religious freedom. Blasphemy (i.e. insults) against religion in general can result in imprisonment, while blasphemy against Islam carries the much harsher punishment of death. Both in terms of the aggressiveness with which the Islamic-conservative government prosecutes such cases, as well as the harshness of punishment, Pakistan remains one of the worst places on the planet to speak out against religion or religious fundamentalism.