Peter, Paul and Joseph walked in silence down the alley, then up a twisting street to another alley that led to the back of the Blue Moon. They knocked once on the door, waited and knocked three more times. It meant, "God, in three persons." The door was soon opened by a young man who spoke with Peter and then led them up a narrow set of stairs to the blue room. Peter knocked once, and then opened the door.

Entering the room, Paul saw on the wall the painting that gave the hotel its name. A full moon was shining brightly over a pastoral scene. Sheep were sleeping in the fields, and shepherds were sitting around a fire. The sky was dark, because the moon was so bright. The light on the shepherds looked white, but the moon shining out of the dark sky seemed blue. The walls, carpet and upholstery of the room were all shades of blue.

Four men stood up as he entered the sitting room. Samuel was closest to the door, so Paul greeted him first. "I’m glad to see that you’re safe, Paul," Samuel said, as he put his hand gently on the younger man’s shoulder.

Javed motioned toward a short, slight man who was immaculately dressed. "Paul, this is Ibrahim Hassan of the Human Rights Commission. He’s going to help us." Paul shook Hassan’s hand, after shaking Javed’s, and then turned to be introduced to the tall stranger standing next to Hassan.

"And this is Henry Blake from the Religious Freedom Association," Javed said. "He was visiting with the Human Rights Commission, so I invited him to talk with us."

Blake was at least six feet tall and had sandy hair that was receding at the temples. He wore wire-rimmed glasses and was clean-shaven. There was a melancholy air about him, but his shoulders were straight and his eyes bright. He looked carefully at Paul, sizing him up.

They sat down, and the young man who had guided them to the room brought a teapot and cups of tea for them all. After he left the room, Javed began the conversation.

"When I heard Henry was in Karachi, I rang him up and shared your idea with him. He’s interested and thinks he can help us find some international funding. He leaves Karachi tomorrow, so I wanted us to talk today to see if we can come to an agreement."
Javed glanced at Hassan, who leaned forward in his chair. Sitting beside Javed, Hassan looked even smaller than he actually was. Paul had heard that Hassan was a fine legal scholar. Javed had obviously wanted to enlist someone with more experience in constitutional law than he had. Hassan cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses before speaking.

"Javed invited me to sketch out the arguments we would include in a petition to the Supreme Court against the blasphemy law. Because Henry may not be familiar with the details, I’ll give a little background and then outline the case." Hassan had a light tenor voice that was as much in contrast to Javed’s deep baritone as his size, but he spoke with considerable self-assurance.

"As you know, in 1986 the government added to the Criminal Code a new section, 295 (c), which stipulates the death penalty for blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad. This section has been used against Christians, Muslims and Ahmadis."

He paused, glanced at Blake, and then continued. "Let me back up a little more. In 1974 Ahmadis were declared in a constitutional amendment to be a non-Muslim minority in Pakistan, because they do not accept that Muhammad is the last prophet of Islam. In 1984 the government inserted Section 298 (c) into the Criminal Code in order to prohibit an Ahmadi from calling himself a Muslim and to ban Ahmadis from using Islamic phrases. This law carries a penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine. It has been used to harass Ahmadis, who do consider themselves to be Muslims."

Paul knew that in some ways Ahmadis had it tougher than Christians. But most of them were wealthy, and so they were able to pay for protection. Most of the Christians couldn’t afford to do that.

"Ahmadis are not allowed to bury their dead in Muslim graveyards," Hassan continued, "and many of their mosques have been taken over by other Muslim sects. In 1995 cases under 298 (c) were filed against at least 20 Ahmadis. In April of that year a mullah in Peshawar issued a fatwa condemning to death an Ahmadi accused of apostasy for converting from Islam. Three Ahmadis who came to post bail for their friend were beaten by a crowd, and one of them died."

Hassan looked again at Blake and then, deciding he had provided enough background information, returned to the main point. "Between 1986 and 1996 more than 100 blasphemy cases have been filed against Ahmadis with no convictions. In that same decade, more than 10 cases were brought against Christians and 9 cases against Muslims. In February 1995 a Lahore court found two Christians, Salamat and Rehmat Masih, guilty of blasphemy and sentenced them to death. Later that month, however, the High Court acquitted them on the grounds that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction. Both of them left the country with the help of the government."

"In January 1995 two Shi’as were convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death for ordering from a local printer a handbill containing, allegedly, a representation of the Prophet Muhammad. Their appeal is pending in the High Court. Muhammad Arshad Javaid, a Muslim who is said to be mentally unsound, was convicted of blasphemy in 1994 and remains in prison pending appeal. Badshah Khan, a Muslim, was accused by relatives of writing blasphemous words on a wall. He petitioned the Lahore High Court, claiming that a property dispute was behind the false charges. The High Court directed the police to investigate, and thus far no case has been filed."

"Anwar Yaqub Masih, who was arrested in 1993, remains in prison awaiting trail. Following the acquittal of Salamat and Rehmat Masih, activists from the radical Muslim group, Sunni Siph-e-Sahaba, threatened to kill Anwar Masih, if he were acquitted. In April 1995 in the Punjab a woman was accused for the first time of blasphemy. Allegedly, she insulted the Prophet Muhammad and was preaching Christianity. An inquiry submitted to the local magistrate concluded that she was the victim of professional animosity and recommended that no charges be filed. But local mullahs are leading a campaign against her, and six persons are said to have taken an oath to kill her."

Hassan stopped for a moment, to finish his tea, as the men waited patiently for him. "As you can see, the law is a danger not only to Ahmadis and Christians but also to Muslims. That means that there is opposition to the law among all three religious communities. Thus, a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the statute might have a chance of succeeding."

Hassan adjusted his glasses, took from his briefcase a legal pad, and began to read from it. "Section 295 (c): ‘Whoever by words, either spoken or written or by visible representation, or by any imputation or innuendo, or by insinuation, directly or indirectly defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him, shall be punished with death and shall also be liable to fine.’"

He looked up. "Notice that the statue doesn’t require any particular mental state on the part of the perpetrator. There is no need to prove intent. The key word is ‘defiles.’ To obtain a conviction under the statute the state only has to prove that an act has defiled the name of the Prophet, Peace Be Upon Him."

He looked down again at his pad. "The relevant constitutional arguments are as follows. First, Article 8 of the constitution requires that all statutes are to be consistent with the fundamental rights set forth in the constitution. Article 9 holds that the security of the person of each citizen of Pakistan is to be protected by law. Section 20 says that ‘Subject to law, public order and morality, (a) every citizen shall have the right to perform, profess, practice and propagate his religion . . ..’ And Section 25 provides that all citizens are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection of the law. In the Jehandera Kishore case thirty years ago, the court held that this meant laws should be just and equitable."

Hassan raised his eyes and glanced around the room. "In favor of our arguments that Section 295 (c), at least in its enforcement if not on its face, violates these constitutional rights of the citizens of Pakistan, we can refer to the minutes of the Law and Justice Committee of the Senate. When the legislation was pending, this Committee recommended that the Section be considered very carefully in consultation with Islamic experts from Pakistan and other Muslim countries, because the draft legislation was very vague. The government ignored this advice, however, and simply pushed the bill through the National Assembly, discouraging any debate on its merits."

Hassan put his pad on the table and looked up at Javed. Shifting his great weight forward slightly, Javed took out a pack of cigarettes, tapped one out, and handed the pack to Hassan, who took a cigarette and then handed the pack on. Javed took out a match and struck it in his characteristic way, shaking his hand to extinguish the flame, as Paul had watched him do many times, before dropping the match into an ashtray on the table in front of him. Javed inhaled slowly, while others lit their cigarettes, and then he leaned back in his chair.

"Once the petition is filed with the Supreme Court, the government will have time to respond. Then there will be a preliminary hearing to see if it is accepted for a regular hearing on its merits. If we can get to a regular hearing, we have a decent chance, depending on the political situation and the justices who are on the bench."

Javed took another drag on his cigarette and let the smoke out slowly through his flared nostrils. "We’ll apply for an injunction against prosecutions under the statute during the period the petition is pending. The injunction will give us some protection while we sponsor public forums to discuss ways of protecting people against a misuse of the blasphemy law by persons with grudges against Christians, Ahmadis or Muslims. Leaders of Jamat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam, Jamiat Ulma-e-Pakistan, Sunni Tehreek, and Pakistan Awami Tehreek have pledged to participate in these public seminars along with several Christian political leaders."

Javed looked for a moment at Blake. "Obviously, Ahmadis cannot be included in any public seminar, as no Muslim politician would share a platform with an Ahmadi. But the Ahmadis will be supportive behind the scenes." Javed coughed into his hand. "Hassan and I will be the lawyers of record. Paul has agreed to be the petitioner."

Paul felt all the eyes in the room turn toward him and lowered his gaze to the table. Then he quickly looked up. "When do we file?"

"It will take a day or two to write the petition," Hassan answered. "When it’s ready, I’ll let you know."

"How do we pay for this?" Paul asked.

"The Council of Elders has raised some money in the colonies," Samuel said.

"Hassan and I are asking other members of the Human Rights Commission to contribute to the fund," Javed responded. "We hope that Henry can raise the rest."

Paul looked at Blake, who leaned forward in his seat and cleared his throat. "The Religious Freedom Association would very much like to help in this case. We’re an association of religious groups from many traditions that support religious freedom. I expect most of our funds for the support of this petition will come from non-Christian members of the Association. That way, if the opposition finds out about the foreign funds, they can’t claim the petition is simply an attack by Christians against Islam."

Blake cleared his throat again and glared at the smokers in the room. "We are particularly intrigued by the idea of public discussion of the blasphemy law by Muslim and Christian leaders together. That approach fits very well with our commitment to interfaith cooperation in support of religious freedom and other fundamental human rights."

Paul felt himself flush, as the reality of what they were about to do sank in. They were really going to go ahead. He was going to petition the Supreme Court, and they were starting to plan a series of public discussions. He felt his heart race. It was frightening but also exhilarating to think about it. He sensed in Blake’s quiet voice a deep commitment to justice but also a hint of fatigue and even despair.

The meeting was breaking up now. Javed and Hassan were going to remain a little longer to talk about coordination with Blake. Paul felt surrounded by the strength and friendship of the men in the room, as he shook their hands and turned to leave. Joseph was waiting by the door, and Michael and David were in the hall. So, they had all escaped the firefight unharmed. It was a good sign. Paul silently gave thanks to God, crossed himself, and moved down the hall toward the back stairs, with Joseph in front of him and Michael and David behind him.