US Islamic organizations decry anti-Christian violence in Pakistan

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Two U.S. Islamic organizations have condemned the recent violence against Christians in Pakistan and said the perpetrators must be brought to justice. In separate statements, the Washington-based Islamic Society of North America and the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago responded to the killing of eight Christians in the eastern Pakistani town of Gojra Aug. 1. The Christians, including four women and a child, were either shot or burned alive when a crowd attacked, setting fire to dozens of Christians' homes. Authorities said tensions were running high in the area, fueled by a false rumor spread by Muslim militants that a Quran, the sacred book of Islam, had been desecrated. The violence in Gojra followed the July 30 destruction of the Christian village of Korian in the Punjab province of Pakistan in a violent raid by thousands of Muslims. "Not only do we express our outrage at this behavior (in Gojra), we deplore those interpreters of Islam and leaders who use rhetoric that promotes a false sense of insecurity and paranoia in Muslim mobs," the Islamic society said in its statement.
(The Georgia Bulletin)