Minister of Awqaf and Justice Jamal Shehab...

Minister of Awqaf and Justice Jamal Shehab has reportedly submitted his resignation after the government rejected a law passed by parliament stipulating the death penalty for major religious offenses, MPs said. MP Abdulhameed Dashti told reporters that “we have confirmed that the Awqaf minister has submitted his resignation”. Shehab did not attend the National Assembly session. There was no official comment over the reports.  The government had voted in favour of the law in the two rounds of voting in the Assembly and Shehab himself had vowed that the government will implement the law immediately after it was passed. The law, overwhelmingly passed last month, calls for the death penalty against Muslims who insult Almighty God, prophets and Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) wife Aisha and those who commit grave religious crimes. But the law insisted that the punishment must not be executed before the judge asks the defendants to repent and if they repent, they get a maximum penalty of five years in jail. Non-Muslims however get a maximum of 10 years in jail for the violation.