The word ‘Halwa’, Arabic for beautiful, is printed on the dress. — © Instagram Shalik Riyadh
A woman was attacked by an angry mob in Lahore, Pakistan, last weekend because she wore a dress with Arabic calligraphy on it. The police had to rescue the woman.
The incident took place shortly after 1 p.m. (local time) on Sunday in Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s Punjab province. The woman, who was in Lahore for shopping, was in a restaurant when she was suddenly attacked because of her dress. It contained Arabic calligraphy, which is considered blasphemy in the strictly Islamic country. The word ‘halwa’, Arabic for beautiful, was written on it.
The longer the commotion lasted, the more people gathered around the woman and the more angry the crowd became. Video footage circulating on social media shows the woman looking anxious and trying to keep her hand protectively in front of her face. In other videos, the crowd can be heard shouting for the woman to take off her dress and for blasphemers to be beheaded.
“Accidentally”
“When we arrived, there were already approximately 300 people at the restaurant,” said Assistant Superintendent Syeda Shehrbano. “Few actually knew what was written on the dress, but we still had every effort in the world to rescue the woman and ensure she was safe. We had to tell those present that we were going to take her away and that she would have to answer for whatever crime she committed, according to the laws of our country.”
The woman has since publicly apologized and said that she did not know it was Arabic calligraphy, but that she had confused the characters with Koranic verses. “It happened by accident, but I still apologize for everything that happened. I will make sure it never happens again. I am a devout Muslim, I would never commit blasphemy.”
