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Paper short abstract:

My paper deals with the legality of extra-legal killings of alleged blasphemers in Pakistan, according to those who support both legal and extra-legal punishment of the blasphemers simultaneously. The paper highlights transcendental legality of extra-legal violence drawn from religious passion.

Paper long abstract:

My paper deals with legal and extra-legal punishment of alleged blasphemers in Pakistan. While death penalty to those accused of blasphemy is sanctioned by the state, there have also been several incidents of extra-legal violence against the accused. This paper is based on ethnographic study of Khatm-e-Nabuwwat Lawyers' Forum, a group of over eight hundred lawyers who provide free legal services for their dual mission: 1) To prosecute all cases of blasphemy in Pakistan and 2) Defend the murderers of alleged blasphemers, who took the "law" in their hands, in the courts. I investigate how these lawyers justify and support both the need for the anti-blasphemy laws (inherited from the British rulers and amended by military dictator Zia-ul-Haq), and the extra-legal killings of the blasphemers simultaneously. I contend that despite apparent contradiction, the supporters of strict anti-blasphemy laws in Pakistan do not see these two ways (legal and extra-legal) of dealing with alleged/perceived blasphemy as inherently contradictory or mutually exclusive; nor do they see extra-legal killings as simply the last resort due to their frustration with ineffectiveness of the legal system. Rather, they are driven by a different (more fluid and dispersed) understanding of legality, legitimacy, and sovereignty. They draw their sense of transcendental legality from religious passion, built upon the concepts of intuitive judgment (Maarifa) and devotional love (Ishq) for the Prophet Muhammad and Islam. Consequently, they see the punishment of a blasphemer outside the "law of the land" as supplementary rather than contradictory mechanism of delivering "justice".