Religious extremism is dangerously notorious and can cause more harm to society when it seeps into legal frameworks. While the law is an instrument to resolve conflict within societies, it could equally give rise to resentment and result in revolt against the law. This paper deals with two countries in the SAARC region that reflect extremist intonations in their laws on free speech. Pakistan's blasphemy laws and Maldives's laws against dissent exemplify the intricate problem posed by religious extremism and radicalism finding a way through legal frameworks. This presents an important question for the adequacy of liberal interpretation in toning down the fundamentalist undertones in such laws.