Sometimes polling people by a show of hands can be dangerous thing, at least in Pakistan.  In one mosque, an imam wanted to know which of his congregants did not love the Prophet Mohammad.  He asked for a show of hands.  Unfortunately, a boy in the audience misheard and thought he was asking for a show of hands for people who did love the Prophet Mohammad, so he raised his hand.

The imam called him a blasphemer who was "liable to be killed," and the boy, very upset, decided his own hand should be punished.  So he sawed off his hand and brought it back to the imam.

Nausher Ahmed, a police officer, said an emotional Ali rushed home and returned with his severed hand on a plate, which he presented to the mullah.

The imam was initially arrested for inciting this but was let go because in Pakistan, it seems this isn't a crime.

Don't worry: the boy is doing okay, and his family is happy for him, too.

The boy, said he had no regrets. “What I did was in love for prophet Muhammad,” he said. His father, Muhammad Ghafoor, said he was proud of his son.

What can be learned from this?

1) It is not good to conduct hand polling in Pakistani mosques.

2) When the imam is conducting a poll, it is very important to ask him to speak up if you think you miss a word.

3) Maybe it was more than a little crazy for the imam to ask a question that would get people in trouble if they answered yes.

4) But the absolutely nuttiest part of this story is the kid and his dad talking about how happy they are.

5) See below:

Blasphemy is a capital offence under laws that are routinely condemned by human rights groups who say false accusations are often levelled against religious minorities or by people embroiled in personal disputes.

6) I like Pakistanis the best when they are in Pakistan.  Not America.

This article was written by Ed Straker, senior writer of NewsMachete.com, the conservative news site.