Self-mutilation for Allah: In Pakistan, a 15-year-old boy amputates his own hand after being accused of committing an act of blasphemy.

In a twisted tale of religious devotion gone terribly wrong, a 15-year-old Pakistani boy cut off his own hand believing he had committed blasphemy, only to be celebrated by his parents and neighbors for the act, police told AFP Friday.

Local police chief Nausher Ahmed described how an imam told a gathering at a village mosque that those who love the Prophet Mohammad always say their prayers, then asked who among the crowd had stopped praying. Mohammad Anwar, 15, raised his hand by mistake after apparently mishearing the question. The crowd swiftly accused him of blasphemy so he went to his house and cut off the hand he had raised, put it on a plate, and presented it to the cleric, the police chief said.

According to the report, Police Chief Ahmed said that he has seen a video in which the boy is greeted by villagers in the street as his parents proclaim their pride – proud of the fact that their son mutilated himself in the name of Islam.

However, the chief said no complaint has been made, so no police report has been filed, and there will be no further investigation.

In what is perhaps an attempt to explain the inexplicable, AFP notes:

Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan, an Islamic republic of some 200 million, where even unproven allegations frequently stir mob violence and lynchings.

Bottom line: The whole story is a perverse nightmare. A teen amputates his hand because he made an innocent mistake, and the teen’s parents and neighbors celebrate his grotesque and repulsive act of self-mutilation. Only religious superstition has the power to lead people to such horrific absurdities.