Blasphemy: A Memoir
Blasphemy: A Memoir: Sentenced to Death over a Cup of Water is a book by French journalist Anne-Isabelle Tollet and Aasiya Noreen better known as Asia Bibi. It is about the real life story of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman who was sentenced to death after being convicted of blasphemy by a Pakistani court, in 2010 and is in jail in solitary confinement. She was tried after a dispute over drinking water with her Muslim neighbours after she drank water from the same cup as her Muslim neighbours in a rural village in the Sheikhupura District of Punjab, Pakistan in which she was accused of allegedly insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad, a charge she has denied. The book was dictated by Asia Bibi, an illiterate and mother of five, to her husband from jail.[1] In her book Bibi describes that judge who gave a death sentence received a standing ovation and she had refused convert to Islam stating "I will not convert. I believe in my religion and Jesus Christ."[2][3][4][5]
Author | Anne-Isabelle Tollet ,Asia Bibi |
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Language | English |
Published | 2011 |
Pages | 160 |
ISBN | 9781613748893 |
Reception
Kirkus Reviews found it to be "a passionate plea for help from a desperate woman who stands behind her pledge of innocence."[6] U.S. Catholic found the book "moving", and called it "an up-close account of the ugly effects of religious intolerance, vicious discrimination, and unjust blasphemy laws."[7]
References
- "Sentenced to death for a sip of water". New York Post. 25 August 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
- "Rita Panahi: We can't let Asia Bibi die for her Christianity in Pakistan". Rita Panahi. Herald Sun. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
- ""Please Don't Abandon Me"". Ashiq Masih. New York Times. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
- "Christian Mother Asia Bibi Sentenced To Hang In Pakistan For 'Insulting Prophet'". Huffington Post. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
- "Blasphemy in Pakistan: The case of Aasia Bibi". Zehra Abid. AL Jazeera America. 28 June 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
- "BLASPHEMY". Kirkus Reviews. No. July 15, 2013. July 1, 2013.
- Scherer-Emunds, Meinrad (February 2014). "USC Book Club: Blasphemy". U.S. Catholic.