Ayaz Nizami Explained

Ayaz Nizami is a blogger and political prisoner in Pakistan known for his arrest on 24 March 2017 for alleged blasphemy,[1] with a possible death penalty for such charges.[2]

He was given the death sentence in January 2021.[3]

Biography

Early life

Ayaz Nizami is a pseudonem for Abdul Waheed. Waheed is a religious scholar,[4] who primarily specialises in Islamic law such as "tafsir, Hadiths, Fiqh and their principles"; besides this, he is an expert in Arabic language, grammar, terminology, philosophy and rational thinking. He received his religious education after completing the standard education and was admitted to a religious school.[5]

Activism

Before his arrest, he allegedly translated materials critical of Islam in English to Urdu for publishing, and was first exposed by Alyan Khan, a Pakistani political author. Nizami founded the website realisticapproach.org, a website in Urdu about irreligion,[6] and allegedly served as the vice president of the Atheist & Agnostic Alliance Pakistan.[7]

Arrest

On 24 March 2017, Nizami was arrested for alleged blasphemy by the FIA, and agencies in Pakistan. Two other bloggers were arrested along with Nizami in a crackdown on social media content deemed blasphemous by the Pakistani government.[8] After his arrest, the hashtag #hangayaznizami and #FreeAyazNizami was trending on Twitter in Pakistan,[9] and authorities shut down his social media account over material deemed controversial.[10]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Who is Ayaz Nizami? Triggering The Blasphemous Spark, Again!. 2017-03-29. Muhammad Usman Awan - Social Activist from Pakistan. 2017-06-01. en-US.
  2. News: Blasphemy crackdown: FIA arrests 2 suspects from Karachi. The Nation. 2017-06-01. en-US.
  3. https://www.dawn.com/news/1600504 Dawn News website, In a first, three get death for ‘cyberspace blasphemy’, by Malik Asad, January 9, 2021
  4. Web site: My Recent Correspondence with 'Ayaz Nizami' – #FreeAyazNizami. 2017-03-27. CONATUS NEWS. en-GB. 2020-02-27.
  5. Web site: 'Ayaz Nizami' Needs Far More Attention, as a Human Rights Case Study. 2019-11-14. News Intervention. en-US. 2020-02-27.
  6. Web site: جراتِ تحقیق - ہمتِ کفر ملے جراتِ تحقیق ملے . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150829141838/http://realisticapproach.org/ . 2015-08-29 .
  7. News: When Atheism becomes Terrorism in Pakistan – Extra Newsfeed. 2017-04-04. Extra Newsfeed. 2017-06-01.
  8. News: Pakistan Detains Three Bloggers On Blasphemy Charges. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 25 March 2017 . 2017-06-01.
  9. Web site: Dangerous situation for Freethinkers and Humanists in Pakistan.
  10. News: 42 Christians told 'to convert to Islam or face death penalty'. 2017-03-31. The Independent. 2017-06-03. en-GB.