Jhelum's leading social media figure accused of blasphemy

Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza, a prominent figure on social media, has been accused of blasphemy by his fellow citizens in his hometown of Jehlum. The accusations against him include mocking the Prophet Muhammad صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم and belittling the non-Muslim status of Qadyanis.

Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza, a 19th-grade mechanical engineer in a government department, gives online lectures on various religious topics and runs a research academy where he provides religious education based on his own interpretation of Quran and Sunnat.

According to the FIR, a case of blasphemy has been registered against Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza under section 295C. His critics claim that he uses derogatory language when referring to Islamic saints and presents clips from his lectures out of context to support his arguments.

During one of his lectures, he reportedly expressed his opinion that present-day Ahmadis are better than Jews and Christians (the people of the book). However, he still declared them non-Muslims, and he claims that the video clips presented against him were taken out of context.

In May 2020, he was arrested on suspicion of spreading hate speech towards religious scholars.

In the meantime, a religious cleric named Pir Afzal Qadri has announced a reward of Rs. 500,000 for anyone who kills Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza, stating that Mirza deserves to be killed.

It is important to note that Engineer Muhammad Ali is not an Islamic scholar but makes videos on Islamic topics on YouTube.

The accusations of blasphemy are considered serious in Pakistan, and the laws surrounding blasphemy are stringent, with harsh punishments for those found guilty. The situation is still developing, and further updates are awaited.