Theresa May’s reported refusal to offer asylum to Asia Bibi in Britain has earned her well-deserved criticism. The case is a straightforward one of offering refuge to a victim of persecution who, despite her acquittal on transparently false blasphemy charges in Pakistan, would certainly be killed by a fanatical mob should she emerge from hiding.
So why then would the Prime Minister refuse to offer asylum? There can only be three reasons.
First, that May calculates that admitting Bibi would anger British Muslims and so there would be a political price to pay. Second, that May fears disruptions – protests, perhaps violent ones – if Bibi were to be admitted, analogous to the demonstrations that greeted her acquittal in Pakistan. Third, that May sincerely believes that Britain is too dangerous a place for a Christian who is a target of fanatical Islamist forces; Britain should not offer asylum because Britain is not actually a refuge.
