Saturday, June 10, 2017 | 5:55 a.m.
MULTAN, Pakistan — A minority Shiite Muslim was sentenced to death in Pakistan for sharing blasphemous content about Islam on social media, a government prosecutor said.
Shafiq Qureshi says Judge Shabbir Ahmed announced the sentence for 30-year-old Taimoor Raza on Saturday in Bahawalpur in the eastern Punjab province. Raza was arrested last year for allegedly posting derogatory content about Sunni Muslim religious leaders and the wives of the Prophet Mohammed on Facebook.
Pakistan is a predominantly Sunni Muslim country and the rivalry between Shiite and Sunni Muslims dates back to the seventh century when they had a disagreement who should be the heir to Islam's Prophet Mohammed.
Under Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws, anyone accused of insulting God, Islam or other religious personalities can be sentenced to death.
