'Other clerics of the Red Mosque argued that since Ms Hassan was teaching the Koran to her students in the mosque, any attempt to belittle her was blasphemous.'

That's quite a stretch. But it underscores how conveniently blasphemy laws and other provisions of sharia lend themselves to being used to settle scores and elevate those in power beyond insult or challenge. 'Death threat for editor Najam Sethi over Islamic cartoon,' by Zahid Hussain for the Times Online, July 26: ...