Aasia Bibi: A Christian Martyr Under the Heel of Islam

Let me be clear, I'm Jewish. And, while I am most familiar with Jewish martyrs, I do recognize that the term "martyr" applies to a person of any faith who dies for that faith. Aasia Bibi is a Pakistani Catholic ordered to die for blasphemy towards Islam.

It seems that this poor mother worked in fields and brought water to farm workers; workers who were Muslims. They were needling her to drop her Christianity and become a Muslim. Finally, she replied that Christ had died for her sins and those of all humanity. What had Mohamed done?

And, words such as that, dear reader, define blasphemy under the official Pakistani criminal code. The Vatican (not an institution I'm overly fond of) attempted to intercede, but to no avail. I would further remind the reader that Pakistan is presumably an ally of the U.S., one on which we spend considerable amounts of taxpayer money.

I would further note, that this edict is supported not by some wacky, backwater mullah. It is the official edict of a nation with an atomic bomb.

If this lady is to suffer martyrdom, then at the very least we should be hearing the cries of anguish of the many moderate Muslims throughout the world decrying this barbaric interpretation of their noble faith. But, I hear nothing. There is only a vast silence. And, that silence tells us more about "moderate" Islam than the vast collection of books and pamphlets describing the lovely faith known as Islam.