FACTBOX - Pakistan's blasphemy law strikes fear in minorities

A man shouts slogans while taking part in a rally with thousands of various religious party members who gathered to show support for Pakistan's blasphemy laws in Karachi January 9, 2011.

REUTERS - Pakistan's anti-blasphemy law has been in the spotlight since November when a court sentenced a Christian mother of four to death, in a case that has exposed deep rifts in the troubled Muslim nation of more than 170 million people.

While liberal Pakistanis and rights groups believe the law to be dangerously discriminatory against the country's tiny minority groups, Aasia Bibi's case has become a lightning rod for the country's religious right.

On Jan. 4 the governor of the most populous province of Punjab, Salman Taseer, who had strongly opposed the law and sought presidential pardon for the 45-year-old Christian farmhand, was gunned down by one of his bodyguards.

Here some facts about the blasphemy law and its fallout.

* The law has its roots in 19th century colonial legislation to protect places of worship, but it was during the military dictatorship of General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq in the 1980s that it acquired teeth as part of a drive to Islamise the state.

* Under the law, anyone who speaks ill of Islam and the Prophet Mohammad commits a crime and faces the death penalty but activists say the vague terminology has led to its misuse. The law stipulates that "derogatory remarks, etc., in respect of the Holy Prophet either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo or insinuation, directly or indirectly shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine".

* Christians who make up about 2 percent of Pakistan's population have been especially concerned about the law saying it offers them no protection. Convictions hinge on witness testimony and often these are linked to personal vendettas, they say.

* Blasphemy convictions are common in Pakistan, although the death sentence has never been carried out. Most convictions are thrown out on appeal, but angry mobs have killed many people accused of blasphemy.

* Last July, two Christian brothers accused of writing a blasphemous letter against the Prophet Mohammad were gunned down outside a court in the eastern city of Faisalabad. Hence a conviction or even an accusation under this law is often a death sentence, activists say.

* In another case in 2005, a Christian accused of blasphemy was killed by his prison guard who repeatedly struck him on the head with a hammer. He was chained to a hospital bed while being treated for a respiratory infection, Christian activists said.

* Some attempts have been made in the past to either repeal the law or try and amend the provisions to prevent their misuse, but each time the government has faced the wrath of religious conservatives. The current administration has ruled out scrapping the law altogether, saying such a move would hand a weapon to religious extremists and fuel militancy at a time when it is struggling to tackle it.

* Islamist parties have warned against any attempt to change the law, seeing it as a dilution of the country's Islamist character under foreign pressure. On Dec. 31, thousands of supporters led a nationwide strike warning any attempt to change the law would only be "over their dead bodies".

* Earlier in December, a pro-Taliban Muslim cleric offered

a $5,800 reward to anyone who killed the Christian woman, Bibi, in prison, angered by attempts, by among others governor Taseer, to save her from the gallows.

(Writing by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Robert Birsel)