Right to Change of Religion in Pakistan
Freedom of religion is a well-established right in international law. It involves the liberty to practice one’s religion, professes it, and change it or disregard it. Being a human right recognized in international law via various human rights treaties, it does not entail any form of penalty for its implementation.
There are, however, countries with hostile attitudes towards the expression of this human right including Pakistan. The malevolence in Pakistan does not necessarily stem from the laws of the country but from the social structure there. The pressure exerted by Pakistani society on an individual exercising his right to change of religion makes it impractical to state that the freedom of religion exists in it.
This paper discusses one of the aspects of freedom of religion i.e., the right to change one’s religion in Pakistan. Firstly, the position of the proposed aspect is dealt with in international law and then a connection of it is made with the law in Pakistan. Afterward, the paper explores the right’s manifestation in Pakistan by dividing the conversions of religion occurring there into two wide groups.
I. Recognition of the Right to Change Religion in International Law
Freedom of religion or belief is recognized by numerous human rights instruments. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights declares freedom of religion for everyone and elaborates it to inculcate the freedom to change it along with the right to practice it either publically or privately.
The International Convention on Civil and Political Rights was ratified by Pakistan on June 23, 2010. Article 18 of ICCPR includes the aspects of freedom of reiterates the right expounded in UDHR. It also adds that coercion can not be used to prevent an individual from adhering to the religion or faith of his choice.
It incorporates the concept of legal limitations on the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion put in order to safeguard public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
Similarly, the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief also incorporates the freedom of religion or belief. The work of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief is also in alliance with the aforementioned international human rights treaties in addition to the relevant regional treaties. 1
II. Pakistani Law and Freedom of Religion
Islam is the state religion of Pakistan as enshrined in its Constitution. The population of Pakistan comprises several religious groups. According to the latest available data, 96.47% are Muslims, followed by 2.14% Hindus, 1.27% Christians, 0.09% Ahmadis, and 0.02% others. Therefore, the Constitution of Pakistan adequately incorporates religions other than Islam as well. Article 20 of the Constitution is presented below:
Subject to law, public order, and morality:-
(a) every citizen shall have the right to profess, practice, and propagate his religion; and (b) every religious denomination and every sect thereof shall have the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions.
The constitution of Pakistan is seemingly by its international obligations relating to freedom of religion.
Pakistan is essentially a Muslim state as reflected by its constitution and demographics. The effect of such a setting will be seen in the discussion below.
The presence of diverse religious groups makes it expedient that they are discussed separately in two groups for the understanding of approaches{what kinda} towards their change of religion.
III. Change of Religion by Non-Muslims to Islam
The entry of people into Islam is a celebrated event. The same can be attributed to other religions in the world when new followers undertake them. Muslims connect it with the struggle of the Prophet (PBUH) in attracting Arabs towards Islam throughout his life as his core aim. Quran also supports this idea:
Invite (people) to the way of your lord with wisdom and good counsel. (Verse: 16:125)
Such religious endorsement affects the behavior of people in society- mainly Muslims themselves- toward acceptance of Islam by non-Muslim individuals. As there is no law in the state to prohibit the latter from happening, the overall legal and societal consequences are positive.
However, recent reports of forced conversions of people belonging to religious minorities have tainted this positive phenomenon.
The girls of the Hindu community that reside in Sindh are the most vulnerable to forced conversions by extremist Muslim men with subsequent marriages to the perpetrators. 2 A teenage girl in southeast Sindh was killed on her refusal to an attempted abduction for forced marriage3.
Such reports are rampant but the reasons that may lead to such conversions need a separate paper to be discussed.
However, for the sake of argument, if non-Muslims in Pakistan decide to adhere to Islam, their decision is supported and lauded by their community men.
IV. Affiliation of Muslims with Other Religions
The conversion of Muslims from Islam to other religions is referred to as apostasy in Islam. Apostasy is considered a sin punishable by death under most schools of Islamic jurisprudence. Although there is no law in Pakistan to deny Muslims their right to change religion in Pakistan specifically, it may be punished under section 295A of the Pakistan Penal Code which imposes up to two years imprisonment for outraging the religious feelings of any class of citizens.
The effects of a change of religion for Muslims are, then, rather societal than legal as the law does not explicitly criminalize it.
As may be noted, the Express Tribune reported in 2012 that a Christian couple who had converted to Islam and later reconverted to Christianity had to relocate several times over six years after receiving threats and being pursued by Muslim neighbors because of their conversion.
Similarly, two Christian couples with Muslim-to-Christian convert wives were compelled to flee when their neighbors found out about the previous religion of the women. 4
However, certain occurrences give qualified hope in respect of the right in question. For instance, Fishel Benkhald, in 2017 was successful in changing his religion to Judaism from Islam. He was registered as a Muslim in the national database, being the son of a Muslim father and a Jewish mother.
However, Fishel claimed that he never really practiced Islam and wished to be recorded as Jew in the database. His request was endorsed by the Ministry of Interior. A religious scholar is reported to have supported the correspondence as the claimant never really was an adherent of Islam which rendered the aim of punishment of apostasy futile .5
V. Concluding Thoughts
The preceding analysis suggests that although the consensual transition of the prior non-Muslims contra Islam as a part of freedom to change one’s religion is in the social and legal context protected, the same can not be said about the Muslim population especially socially.
Therefore, it is suggested that Pakistan legislates such laws and policies that ensure the protection of the right to change religion for Muslims too, and punish the miscreants who may be offended by the exercise of such right by Muslims.
- https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-religion-or-belief/international-standards
- https://www.voanews.com/a/un-to-pakistan-curb-forced-conversions-marriages-of-religious-minority-girls
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/31/pakistan-hindu-girls-killing-reignites-forced-conversion-fears
- Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Pakistan: Religious conversion, including treatment of converts and forced conversions (2009-2012),
- https://tribune.com.pk/story/1366268/pakistani-man-wins-right-to-correction-of-religion-from-islam-to-juda is
