Ayaz Nizami
![]() | This article needs to be updated.(November 2018) |
Ayaz Nizami is a blogger and political prisoner in Pakistan known for his arrest on 24 March 2017 for alleged blasphemy,[1] and is currently facing the death penalty on such charges.[2][3][4]
Biography
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Atheist_%26_Agnostic_Alliance_Pakistan.png/220px-Atheist_%26_Agnostic_Alliance_Pakistan.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Fauzia_Ilyas_-_free_Ayaz_Nizami.png/220px-Fauzia_Ilyas_-_free_Ayaz_Nizami.png)
Early life
Nizami is a religious scholar,[5] who primarily specialises in Islamic law such as "tafsir, Hadiths, Fiqh and their principles";[5] besides this, he is an expert in Arabic language, grammar, terminology, philosophy and rational thinking.[5] He received his religious education after completing the standard education and was admitted to a religious school.[5][6]
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.[4] Nizami founded the website realisticapproach.org, a website in Urdu about irreligion,[7] and allegedly served as the vice president of the Atheist & Agnostic Alliance Pakistan.[8]
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.[9] After his arrest, the hashtag #hangayaznizami and #FreeAyazNizami was trending on Twitter in Pakistan,[10] and authorities shut down his social media account over material deemed controversial.[8][11]
See also
References
- ^ "Who is Ayaz Nizami? Triggering The Blasphemous Spark, Again!". Muhammad Usman Awan - Social Activist from Pakistan. 2017-03-29. Retrieved 2017-06-01.
- ^ "Blasphemy crackdown: FIA arrests 2 suspects from Karachi". The Nation. Retrieved 2017-06-01.
- ^ www.ummat.net. "ummat.net/2017/03/25/news.php?p=story1.gif". ummat.net. Retrieved 2017-06-01.
- ^ a b "Details on the cases of Ayaz Nizami and Rana Noman". Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain. 2017-03-28. Archived from the original on 2018-11-04. Retrieved 2017-06-01.
- ^ a b c d "My Recent Correspondence with 'Ayaz Nizami' – #FreeAyazNizami". CONATUS NEWS. 2017-03-27. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
- ^ "'Ayaz Nizami' Needs Far More Attention, as a Human Rights Case Study". News Intervention. 2019-11-14. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
- ^ "جراتِ تحقیق - ہمتِ کفر ملے جراتِ تحقیق ملے". Archived from the original on 2015-08-29.
- ^ a b "When Atheism becomes Terrorism in Pakistan – Extra Newsfeed". Extra Newsfeed. 2017-04-04. Retrieved 2017-06-01.
- ^ "Pakistan Detains Three Bloggers On Blasphemy Charges". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 2017-06-01.
- ^ "Dangerous situation for Freethinkers and Humanists in Pakistan" (PDF).
- ^ "42 Christians told 'to convert to Islam or face death penalty'". The Independent. 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2017-06-03.