Swat blasphemy lynching; ‘Whoever kills is a murderer’ says religious scholar Assim Alhakeem

Religious extremism and mob vigilantism across the country are on the rise. With the recent instance of the mob lynching of a man accused of blasphemy in Swat, a Twitter user asked renowned Saudi cleric Assim Alhakeem whether killing a person who has committed blasphemy is allowed in Islam.

The religious scholar replied, “This is prohibited and whoever does this is a murderer and must be executed by the Muslim ruler if the heirs of the victim demands a life for a life.”

On Thursday night, a violent mob invaded the police station in Swat where the suspect had been taken into custody, assaulting him till he died, then burned his body in the Madyan area of Swat district.