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In this mailing:
* Nasir Saeed: Pakistan: 'Eye-for-an-Eye' Repercussions on Christians from Sweden Burning the Quran
* Daniel Greenfield: The Trump Indictment Criminalizes Political Dissent


** Pakistan: 'Eye-for-an-Eye' Repercussions on Christians from Sweden Burning the Quran ([link removed])
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by Nasir Saeed • August 8, 2023 at 5:00 am
* Pakistani Christians find themselves crying silently for peace, understanding, and respect for their religious symbols -- but their cries seem to be falling on deaf ears, both domestically and globally.
* This hostility took a horrifying turn when extremist groups threatened to attack churches and Christians, declaring that no Christians would stay safe in Pakistan. These groups even asked other jihadist groups to direct their attacks towards Christians and their places of worship, despite local Christians having no involvement in the incident, and even when they vociferously condemned the Quran's desecration and cannot be held responsible in any way.
* The authorities seem unable to effectively guarantee the protection of religious minorities or their sacred symbols. This silence -- real or perceived -- often gets interpreted as tacit acceptance, potentially fuelling further acts of hostility.
* This hostility took a horrifying turn when extremist groups threatened to attack churches and Christians, declaring that no Christians would stay safe in Pakistan. These groups even asked other jihadist groups to direct their attacks towards Christians and their places of worship, despite local Christians having no involvement in the incident, and even when they vociferously condemn the desecration of the Quran and cannot be held responsible in any way.
* Indeed, it appears that being Christian instead of Muslim may be the real unforgivable offense in the present time.
* What is worse is the lacklustre response from the Pakistani government towards these threats against its Christian minority.
* The prime minister himself, instead of de-escalating the situation and calming the anger among Muslims, called for a nationwide protest and the observance of "Yume Taqdees" (Sanctity of the Quran).
* The prime minister even failed to issue a statement in support of Christians who were helpfully condemning the desecration of the Holy Quran.
* Christianity has been an integral part of Pakistan's multi-religious society since its inception The Christian leadership supported Muhammad Ali Jinnah's founding of Pakistan in 1947; he promised equal citizenship rights. Nevertheless, they often find themselves treated as second-class citizens, the target of discrimination, hostility, and violence.... there are dozens of such examples.
* Often, discriminatory laws, such as the contentious blasphemy law, have been misused against Christians, further worsening their situation. This law, which mandates harsh penalties, including the death penalty, for offences against religion -- or sometimes even just flimsy, baseless or non-existent accusations of offences -- have frequently been weaponized to target Christians and other religious minorities.
* A comprehensive strategy that includes improved security measures for religious minorities and educational campaigns to foster tolerance and mutual respect is needed urgently.
* The government of Pakistan needs to uphold its commitment to religious freedom and safeguard all its citizens, as enshrined in its constitution and in line with international covenants....
* At this juncture, now is the time for the Pakistani government to reassess its approach toward religious minorities. The first step should be an immediate and unequivocal condemnation of violence and threats against religious minorities, including Christians. This condemnation should not just be a symbolic gesture but should be accompanied by stern legal action against the instigators of such violence. A fundamental component of any democratic country is guaranteeing the safety and security of all citizens, regardless of their religious views.
* At the same time, it is necessary for the government to take deliberate steps to promote peace and religious harmony. This can be achieved through the incorporation of religious tolerance and coexistence in the curricula for school and public awareness campaigns. Furthermore, interfaith dialogues can serve as powerful platforms for fostering mutual respect and understanding between various religious groups in Pakistan.
* The protection of religious minorities and the promotion of social and religious harmony should not be regarded as optional but as fundamental to the social stability and democratic ethos of Pakistan.
* The reverberations of an incident which happened thousands of miles away in Sweden should not disrupt their lives.... The path to lasting peace lies in acknowledging every cry, no matter how silent it may seem.

The discrimination and threats faced by Christians in Pakistan raise serious concerns about religious freedom and tolerance in the country. Pictured: Pakistani Christians mourners push stretchers carrying the dead bodies of relatives who were murdered in a drive-by shooting outside a church, in Quetta on April 15, 2018. (Photo by Banaras Khan/AFP via Getty Images)

In the interconnected, digital world of the 21st-century, an event thousands of miles away can send shockwaves felt in other parts of the world. The recent burning of a Quran in Sweden has had reverberations as far away as Pakistan and a special impact on the already defenceless Christian minority there.

This is not the first time Pakistani Christians have experienced societal prejudice, institutional discrimination, and sporadic violence. These issues are frequently exacerbated whenever similar events take place anywhere in the West. The fallout from the Quran's desecration in Sweden, however, has intensified these conflicts, resulting in an alarming rise in threats and the defilement of Christian symbols, particularly the Cross, symbolising Christianity.

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** The Trump Indictment Criminalizes Political Dissent ([link removed])
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by Daniel Greenfield • August 8, 2023 at 4:00 am
* [T]he Jan 6 indictment by Democrat special counsel Jack Smith criminalizes election challenges. Or at least election challenges against Democrats. And along with that, all political dissent.
* This [indictment] is designed to intimidate any Republicans who might seek to challenge the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.
* Unsatisfied with indicting the leading GOP primary candidate in order to rig the election, Democrats are criminalizing political opposition before and after the upcoming election.
* If contending that a presidential election was stolen is illegal, where is Al Gore's indictment? No Democrats have ever been charged for claiming that George W. Bush was elected by hanging chads, for challenging his election both times in Congress, or for spreading lies and launching investigations for their false claims that Trump had been elected by the Russians....
* Challenging elections has been a traditional practice going back over two centuries to the 1800 presidential election. Free nations with open elections are not afraid of election challenges and the Democrats have spent a fortune on their own election challenge efforts. The Biden campaign spent $20 million on over 60 post-election lawsuits in 2020.
* Describing publicly conducted election challenges as an effort to "defraud" the United States government turns 18 U.S. Code § 371 into an open-ended tool for suppressing a wide range of political dissent. Treating lobbying or any kind of advocacy as the equivalent of witness tampering weaponizes 18 U.S. Code § 1512 against virtually anyone trying to influence a function of government. Which is to say virtually everyone who is interested in politics.
* Smith's indictment will create an unprecedented suppression of the political opposition that will not end with Trump or with the 2024 presidential election. Smith has done nothing less than to take sections of the law and use them to build a criminal infrastructure that can be used to outlaw most political parties and activities on a level with that of Communist China or Russia.
* In a Democrat worldview, Trump was making "false claims" about an election that he lost.... But, like so much of politics, that's an opinion, not a fact.
* You can indict people for what they do, not for what they believe, and yet Smith obsessively hammers away at what Trump believed because without that, there's no crime. And if there's no crime without a belief, then there was never a crime to begin with..
* If lobbying state legislators and searching for alternate electors is a crime, then virtually every single president before 1900 would have been locked up.
* [E]very time Democrats lose an election, they start plotting to eliminate the Electoral College and have been seeking to do it through the back door ....
* Democrats who rejected the conclusions of Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris in 2000, who was then denounced, threatened and parodied, were not put on trial.
* Democrats have spent the last two generations criminalizing political dissent. Environmental activists demand that oil and gas companies face fraud charges because they "deny" global warming.
* If Smith's Jan 6 indictment succeeds, freedom dies and dissent becomes illegal.

The Jan 6 indictment by special counsel Jack Smith, a longtime Democrat crony, criminalizes election challenges. Or at least election challenges against Democrats. And along with that, all political dissent. Smith has done nothing less than to take sections of the law and use them to build a criminal infrastructure that can be used to outlaw most political parties and activities on a level with that of Communist China or Russia. Pictured: Smith prepares to deliver remarks to the media on August 1, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The serial indictments and investigations of former President Donald Trump are meant to rig the 2024 presidential election, but the latest indictment is unique in rigging even its aftermath.

Previous indictments of the former president had broken all sorts of new legal ground by turning misdemeanors into felonies and deciding that the statute of limitations is just a suggestion, but the Jan 6 indictment by Democrat special counsel Jack Smith criminalizes election challenges.

Or at least election challenges against Democrats. And along with that, all political dissent.

The Jan 6 indictment contends that Trump's election challenges were a crime. What does this latest indictment offer that the previous indictments did not? This one is designed to intimidate any Republicans who might seek to challenge the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.

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