A Pakistani YouTuber, known for his Islamic lectures in his videos, has been nabbed by the authorities is blasphemous remarks. The YouTuber named Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza was arrested by the Jhelum police on Tuesday (August 26) for alleged remarks against the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Mirza, who has around 3.1 million subscribers on the platform, was detained for 30 days under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance and later transferred to jail. The arrest came after a religious group complained against him for saying the words that “went viral.”
In the purported video, Mirza was talking about a certain group on their perspective of the Prophet and repeated the exact words that landed him in trouble.
Under the Pakistani constitution, Section 3 of the MPO gives power to the authorities to arrest and detain a person to prevent "any person from acting in any manner prejudicial to public safety."
"The MPO is a weapon more than a legal instrument, for governments to use at their will, against anyone who opposes the status quo," Pakistani barrister Mohammad Shakir Raza Rizvi said in a piece in the Lahore-based The Friday Times.
This is not the first time Mirza has been in the limelight for a controversial remark. Mirza's views on Mu'awiya I, the first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, previously landed him in trouble. Moreover, in April 2023, a blasphemy case was registered against Ali Mirza under Section 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code. During Muharram in 2024, Mirza was also among 17 clerics whose speeches were banned by then-Jhelum DC.