The ACLJ continues to work with organizations to protect the rights of Christians globally. The recent deadly attack on Christians in Pakistan is attracting the world's attention. Christianity Today reports on the impact this deadly violence may have on the country's blasphemy laws. You can read that story here.
At the same time, the ACLJ continues to partner with a Pakistani-based Christian organization, the Community Development Initiative (CDI). Images of the destruction can be found here.
CDI Executive Director, Asif Aqeel, provided this exclusive report to the ACLJ, providing details surrounding the recent murder of Christians in Pakistan:
On July 30, 2009, more than 500 Muslim Extremists attacked and burned more than 45 Christian houses - killing at least seven Christians. They also desecrated two churches in Korian village, Gojra. Community Development Initiative (“CDI”) - which partners with the ACLJ - dispatched a fact-finding team after hearing the news.
The incident was triggered by an announcement in the local mosque that Christians desecrated Qur’an during a wedding ceremony on July 25. One day before the incident, a Muslim family went to the bride’s house and accused them of desecrating the Qur’an. The Christians denied the false allegation, but the Muslim family began beating them.The local mullah then gave the Christian “infidels” a choice: leave the village or they would die. “Let’s teach the infidels’ an exemplary lesson,” the mullah announced from his mosque. Hundreds of Muslims answered the call. They attacked Christian houses, first looting all valuables, then setting the houses on fire. The Christians fled, leaving everything behind.
CDI saw the wreckage. Entire roofs had collapsed. Only an elderly couple remained there because Sharif Masih (80) was paralyzed. His wife, Hanifa Bibi (73), begged the mobsters to spare their lives. The mobsters then left them. A reporter from a private TV channel told CDI that banned Muslim religious groups like Jammat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Sunni Tehreek (ST) were involved in the attack. He also informed CDI that after the houses were set on fire, firefighters could not reach the scene because the assailants blocked the highway.
On August 1, Muslims organized a demonstration to protest the alleged desecration of Qur’an. The angry mobsters were demanding the arrest of the people responsible for profaning the Qur’an in Korian village.
CDI’s Napolean Qayyum watched as the mob became violent and started firing into the air. The angry protesters also blocked railway lines, stranding the train in the station. Quyyum then watched as Provincial Minister of Minorities, Kamran Michael, and former Chief Minister, Dost Muhammad Khosa arrived at the scene, trying to calm down the attackers. But they did not listen; instead, they beat several prominent figures. The police fired tear gas to disperse the mob, but it did not work. The attackers ran toward the Christian town to wreak havoc. They attacked the Christian Town, in Gojra, Toba Tek Singh district.
The Muslims looted more than 100 houses and torched 40 more. At least seven charred bodies of men, women, and children were found in the rubble. The villagers also found a dead body of a three-year-old girl in the fields. They told CDI members that the mobsters brutally raped her, resulting in her death.
The assailants involved members of the banned outfit Sipah-e-Suhaba. They were fully equipped with automatic weapons and highly flammable materials. This was later confirmed by the Federal Minister of Minorities Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti. The banned group looted houses and then used the flammable materials to burn them. There were women, children, and men inside.
The CDI’s Qayyum was inside the Catholic Church’s compound when people began pouring in, fearing for their lives. They were also mourning for their missing family members. Pakistani TV channels showed visuals of charred bodies being removed from beneath the rubble.
Communication with the Authorities
CDI’s Qayyum informed the President’s office of the atrocities. The presidential spokesperson and former senator, Farhatullah Babar, said that the President had taken strict notice of the incident. He said that the President had asked the provincial government to launch an inquiry into the matter. But the committee did not include any member from the Christian community, and no police complaint was registered against the attackers.
The CDI team also called Farahnaz Ispahani, member of the National Assembly, and the wife of Mr. Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States. She told the team that President Asif Ali Zardari had taken a strict note of the incident and had directed Federal Minister of Minorities Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti, to visit the area and express sympathy for the victims.
Sensing the gravity of the situation, Qayyum called the Interior Minister, Rehman Malik’s, secretary. Qayyum suggested that Rangers (paramilitary troopers deployed along the border) should be deployed, or curfew should be imposed, to deal with the situation. Qayyum also told him that the police were not cooperating with the Christians. Malik responded that the Interior Ministry had taken note of the incident. A day earlier, CDI called the District Police Officer (“DPO”), who told us that no church or Christian colony fell into the rally’s route, which was a blatant lie. The DPO also said that he and his police officials knew very well how to deal with the situation, but later said that the mob of several thousand men was too big for the police to control. After calling the interior minister the CDI also called the President’s office, requesting that Rangers be deployed to the area; however, no help was sent until it was too late.
The CDI also called the firefighters’ office. After several attempts, we finally were able to talk to them. However, an official at the firefighters’ office told us that all firefighters were busy in extinguishing fire at a gas station. He said that he did not know about the incident, but that a team would be dispatched. The firefighters and rescue teams arrived only after the attackers were gone. The police remained a silent spectator, lulled the angry protestors for a while, and then fled from the scene. The unrestricted ransacking took place for two to three hours.
Efforts to File Police Complaint Against Mobsters
The bodies of the seven Christians were kept in the mortuary of Civil Hospital, Gojra, where CDI’s Qayyum helped the families of the deceased to receive the bodies in the morning. He also gave final bathing to the bodies in the mortuary, which is a custom in Pakistan.
After the bodies were brought to the Christian Town, the administration forced Christians to conduct funerals quickly. When the Christians saw that the government was using delay tactics, refusing to file any charges against the attackers, the Christians took all seven bodies to the railway track and told the administration that they would not leave until their demands were met.
Prominent Christians told the crowd that a First Information Report (“FIR”) had been registered and that the protest should be called off. The people, however, would not stop the protest until they saw a copy of the FIR containing the names of the mobsters and the negligent police officials. Finally, the FIR was registered against 20 named and 800 unidentified people.
Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah announced that, after investigation, no desecration of Qur’an had taken place.
Actions taken by the Authorities
The President, the Prime Minister, the Interior Minister, and the Chief Minister of the Punjab all took notice of the incident. They asked the local authorities to submit reports of the incident. The Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court took suo moto notice. Further, the President also issued an order to deploy Rangers, but only after the incident was over.
In an attempt to compensate the victims, President Asif Ali Zardari has announced 0.5 million rupees ($6,250) will be given to each martyr’s family, and 300,000 rupees to the people whose houses were burned. The report submitted by the Minorities Minister, Shahbaz Bhatti, says that the Punjab government and local administration failed to stem the violence. It adds that additional troops were not sent to help the local authorities in Gojra, despite the advice of the Minorities Minister.
Humanitarian and Legal Assistance by CDI
The CDI, with the assistance of Operation Blessing, is stepping in to care for those whom the Pakistani Government has neglected. These two organizations are providing food and electric fans to the effected community. Humanitarian assistance in these cases strengthens faith of people and our ability to help them.
After the government initiated a judicial inquiry, CDI retained an attorney to facilitate the witnesses for the inquiry. CDI remains thankful to the ACLJ for enabling us to provide legal assistance to the persecuted Christian community.
(ACLJ)
Saturday, August 15, 2009
The ACLJ continues to work with organizations to protect the rights of Christians globally. The recent deadly attack on Christians in Pakistan is attracting the world's attention. Christianity Today reports on the impact this deadly violence may have on the country's blasphemy laws. You can read that story here.
At the same time, the ACLJ continues to partner with a Pakistani-based Christian organization, the Community Development Initiative (CDI). Images of the destruction can be found here.
CDI Executive Director, Asif Aqeel, provided this exclusive report to the ACLJ, providing details surrounding the recent murder of Christians in Pakistan:
On July 30, 2009, more than 500 Muslim Extremists attacked and burned more than 45 Christian houses - killing at least seven Christians. They also desecrated two churches in Korian village, Gojra. Community Development Initiative (“CDI”) - which partners with the ACLJ - dispatched a fact-finding team after hearing the news.
The incident was triggered by an announcement in the local mosque that Christians desecrated Qur’an during a wedding ceremony on July 25. One day before the incident, a Muslim family went to the bride’s house and accused them of desecrating the Qur’an. The Christians denied the false allegation, but the Muslim family began beating them.The local mullah then gave the Christian “infidels” a choice: leave the village or they would die. “Let’s teach the infidels’ an exemplary lesson,” the mullah announced from his mosque. Hundreds of Muslims answered the call. They attacked Christian houses, first looting all valuables, then setting the houses on fire. The Christians fled, leaving everything behind.
CDI saw the wreckage. Entire roofs had collapsed. Only an elderly couple remained there because Sharif Masih (80) was paralyzed. His wife, Hanifa Bibi (73), begged the mobsters to spare their lives. The mobsters then left them. A reporter from a private TV channel told CDI that banned Muslim religious groups like Jammat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Sunni Tehreek (ST) were involved in the attack. He also informed CDI that after the houses were set on fire, firefighters could not reach the scene because the assailants blocked the highway.
On August 1, Muslims organized a demonstration to protest the alleged desecration of Qur’an. The angry mobsters were demanding the arrest of the people responsible for profaning the Qur’an in Korian village.
CDI’s Napolean Qayyum watched as the mob became violent and started firing into the air. The angry protesters also blocked railway lines, stranding the train in the station. Quyyum then watched as Provincial Minister of Minorities, Kamran Michael, and former Chief Minister, Dost Muhammad Khosa arrived at the scene, trying to calm down the attackers. But they did not listen; instead, they beat several prominent figures. The police fired tear gas to disperse the mob, but it did not work. The attackers ran toward the Christian town to wreak havoc. They attacked the Christian Town, in Gojra, Toba Tek Singh district.
The Muslims looted more than 100 houses and torched 40 more. At least seven charred bodies of men, women, and children were found in the rubble. The villagers also found a dead body of a three-year-old girl in the fields. They told CDI members that the mobsters brutally raped her, resulting in her death.
The assailants involved members of the banned outfit Sipah-e-Suhaba. They were fully equipped with automatic weapons and highly flammable materials. This was later confirmed by the Federal Minister of Minorities Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti. The banned group looted houses and then used the flammable materials to burn them. There were women, children, and men inside.
The CDI’s Qayyum was inside the Catholic Church’s compound when people began pouring in, fearing for their lives. They were also mourning for their missing family members. Pakistani TV channels showed visuals of charred bodies being removed from beneath the rubble.
Communication with the Authorities
CDI’s Qayyum informed the President’s office of the atrocities. The presidential spokesperson and former senator, Farhatullah Babar, said that the President had taken strict notice of the incident. He said that the President had asked the provincial government to launch an inquiry into the matter. But the committee did not include any member from the Christian community, and no police complaint was registered against the attackers.
The CDI team also called Farahnaz Ispahani, member of the National Assembly, and the wife of Mr. Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States. She told the team that President Asif Ali Zardari had taken a strict note of the incident and had directed Federal Minister of Minorities Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti, to visit the area and express sympathy for the victims.
Sensing the gravity of the situation, Qayyum called the Interior Minister, Rehman Malik’s, secretary. Qayyum suggested that Rangers (paramilitary troopers deployed along the border) should be deployed, or curfew should be imposed, to deal with the situation. Qayyum also told him that the police were not cooperating with the Christians. Malik responded that the Interior Ministry had taken note of the incident. A day earlier, CDI called the District Police Officer (“DPO”), who told us that no church or Christian colony fell into the rally’s route, which was a blatant lie. The DPO also said that he and his police officials knew very well how to deal with the situation, but later said that the mob of several thousand men was too big for the police to control. After calling the interior minister the CDI also called the President’s office, requesting that Rangers be deployed to the area; however, no help was sent until it was too late.
The CDI also called the firefighters’ office. After several attempts, we finally were able to talk to them. However, an official at the firefighters’ office told us that all firefighters were busy in extinguishing fire at a gas station. He said that he did not know about the incident, but that a team would be dispatched. The firefighters and rescue teams arrived only after the attackers were gone. The police remained a silent spectator, lulled the angry protestors for a while, and then fled from the scene. The unrestricted ransacking took place for two to three hours.
Efforts to File Police Complaint Against Mobsters
The bodies of the seven Christians were kept in the mortuary of Civil Hospital, Gojra, where CDI’s Qayyum helped the families of the deceased to receive the bodies in the morning. He also gave final bathing to the bodies in the mortuary, which is a custom in Pakistan.
After the bodies were brought to the Christian Town, the administration forced Christians to conduct funerals quickly. When the Christians saw that the government was using delay tactics, refusing to file any charges against the attackers, the Christians took all seven bodies to the railway track and told the administration that they would not leave until their demands were met.
Prominent Christians told the crowd that a First Information Report (“FIR”) had been registered and that the protest should be called off. The people, however, would not stop the protest until they saw a copy of the FIR containing the names of the mobsters and the negligent police officials. Finally, the FIR was registered against 20 named and 800 unidentified people.
Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah announced that, after investigation, no desecration of Qur’an had taken place.
Actions taken by the Authorities
The President, the Prime Minister, the Interior Minister, and the Chief Minister of the Punjab all took notice of the incident. They asked the local authorities to submit reports of the incident. The Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court took suo moto notice. Further, the President also issued an order to deploy Rangers, but only after the incident was over.
In an attempt to compensate the victims, President Asif Ali Zardari has announced 0.5 million rupees ($6,250) will be given to each martyr’s family, and 300,000 rupees to the people whose houses were burned. The report submitted by the Minorities Minister, Shahbaz Bhatti, says that the Punjab government and local administration failed to stem the violence. It adds that additional troops were not sent to help the local authorities in Gojra, despite the advice of the Minorities Minister.
Humanitarian and Legal Assistance by CDI
The CDI, with the assistance of Operation Blessing, is stepping in to care for those whom the Pakistani Government has neglected. These two organizations are providing food and electric fans to the effected community. Humanitarian assistance in these cases strengthens faith of people and our ability to help them.
After the government initiated a judicial inquiry, CDI retained an attorney to facilitate the witnesses for the inquiry. CDI remains thankful to the ACLJ for enabling us to provide legal assistance to the persecuted Christian community.
(ACLJ)
At the same time, the ACLJ continues to partner with a Pakistani-based Christian organization, the Community Development Initiative (CDI). Images of the destruction can be found here.
CDI Executive Director, Asif Aqeel, provided this exclusive report to the ACLJ, providing details surrounding the recent murder of Christians in Pakistan:
On July 30, 2009, more than 500 Muslim Extremists attacked and burned more than 45 Christian houses - killing at least seven Christians. They also desecrated two churches in Korian village, Gojra. Community Development Initiative (“CDI”) - which partners with the ACLJ - dispatched a fact-finding team after hearing the news.
The incident was triggered by an announcement in the local mosque that Christians desecrated Qur’an during a wedding ceremony on July 25. One day before the incident, a Muslim family went to the bride’s house and accused them of desecrating the Qur’an. The Christians denied the false allegation, but the Muslim family began beating them.The local mullah then gave the Christian “infidels” a choice: leave the village or they would die. “Let’s teach the infidels’ an exemplary lesson,” the mullah announced from his mosque. Hundreds of Muslims answered the call. They attacked Christian houses, first looting all valuables, then setting the houses on fire. The Christians fled, leaving everything behind.
CDI saw the wreckage. Entire roofs had collapsed. Only an elderly couple remained there because Sharif Masih (80) was paralyzed. His wife, Hanifa Bibi (73), begged the mobsters to spare their lives. The mobsters then left them. A reporter from a private TV channel told CDI that banned Muslim religious groups like Jammat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Sunni Tehreek (ST) were involved in the attack. He also informed CDI that after the houses were set on fire, firefighters could not reach the scene because the assailants blocked the highway.
On August 1, Muslims organized a demonstration to protest the alleged desecration of Qur’an. The angry mobsters were demanding the arrest of the people responsible for profaning the Qur’an in Korian village.
CDI’s Napolean Qayyum watched as the mob became violent and started firing into the air. The angry protesters also blocked railway lines, stranding the train in the station. Quyyum then watched as Provincial Minister of Minorities, Kamran Michael, and former Chief Minister, Dost Muhammad Khosa arrived at the scene, trying to calm down the attackers. But they did not listen; instead, they beat several prominent figures. The police fired tear gas to disperse the mob, but it did not work. The attackers ran toward the Christian town to wreak havoc. They attacked the Christian Town, in Gojra, Toba Tek Singh district.
The Muslims looted more than 100 houses and torched 40 more. At least seven charred bodies of men, women, and children were found in the rubble. The villagers also found a dead body of a three-year-old girl in the fields. They told CDI members that the mobsters brutally raped her, resulting in her death.
The assailants involved members of the banned outfit Sipah-e-Suhaba. They were fully equipped with automatic weapons and highly flammable materials. This was later confirmed by the Federal Minister of Minorities Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti. The banned group looted houses and then used the flammable materials to burn them. There were women, children, and men inside.
The CDI’s Qayyum was inside the Catholic Church’s compound when people began pouring in, fearing for their lives. They were also mourning for their missing family members. Pakistani TV channels showed visuals of charred bodies being removed from beneath the rubble.
Communication with the Authorities
CDI’s Qayyum informed the President’s office of the atrocities. The presidential spokesperson and former senator, Farhatullah Babar, said that the President had taken strict notice of the incident. He said that the President had asked the provincial government to launch an inquiry into the matter. But the committee did not include any member from the Christian community, and no police complaint was registered against the attackers.
The CDI team also called Farahnaz Ispahani, member of the National Assembly, and the wife of Mr. Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States. She told the team that President Asif Ali Zardari had taken a strict note of the incident and had directed Federal Minister of Minorities Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti, to visit the area and express sympathy for the victims.
Sensing the gravity of the situation, Qayyum called the Interior Minister, Rehman Malik’s, secretary. Qayyum suggested that Rangers (paramilitary troopers deployed along the border) should be deployed, or curfew should be imposed, to deal with the situation. Qayyum also told him that the police were not cooperating with the Christians. Malik responded that the Interior Ministry had taken note of the incident. A day earlier, CDI called the District Police Officer (“DPO”), who told us that no church or Christian colony fell into the rally’s route, which was a blatant lie. The DPO also said that he and his police officials knew very well how to deal with the situation, but later said that the mob of several thousand men was too big for the police to control. After calling the interior minister the CDI also called the President’s office, requesting that Rangers be deployed to the area; however, no help was sent until it was too late.
The CDI also called the firefighters’ office. After several attempts, we finally were able to talk to them. However, an official at the firefighters’ office told us that all firefighters were busy in extinguishing fire at a gas station. He said that he did not know about the incident, but that a team would be dispatched. The firefighters and rescue teams arrived only after the attackers were gone. The police remained a silent spectator, lulled the angry protestors for a while, and then fled from the scene. The unrestricted ransacking took place for two to three hours.
Efforts to File Police Complaint Against Mobsters
The bodies of the seven Christians were kept in the mortuary of Civil Hospital, Gojra, where CDI’s Qayyum helped the families of the deceased to receive the bodies in the morning. He also gave final bathing to the bodies in the mortuary, which is a custom in Pakistan.
After the bodies were brought to the Christian Town, the administration forced Christians to conduct funerals quickly. When the Christians saw that the government was using delay tactics, refusing to file any charges against the attackers, the Christians took all seven bodies to the railway track and told the administration that they would not leave until their demands were met.
Prominent Christians told the crowd that a First Information Report (“FIR”) had been registered and that the protest should be called off. The people, however, would not stop the protest until they saw a copy of the FIR containing the names of the mobsters and the negligent police officials. Finally, the FIR was registered against 20 named and 800 unidentified people.
Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah announced that, after investigation, no desecration of Qur’an had taken place.
Actions taken by the Authorities
The President, the Prime Minister, the Interior Minister, and the Chief Minister of the Punjab all took notice of the incident. They asked the local authorities to submit reports of the incident. The Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court took suo moto notice. Further, the President also issued an order to deploy Rangers, but only after the incident was over.
In an attempt to compensate the victims, President Asif Ali Zardari has announced 0.5 million rupees ($6,250) will be given to each martyr’s family, and 300,000 rupees to the people whose houses were burned. The report submitted by the Minorities Minister, Shahbaz Bhatti, says that the Punjab government and local administration failed to stem the violence. It adds that additional troops were not sent to help the local authorities in Gojra, despite the advice of the Minorities Minister.
Humanitarian and Legal Assistance by CDI
The CDI, with the assistance of Operation Blessing, is stepping in to care for those whom the Pakistani Government has neglected. These two organizations are providing food and electric fans to the effected community. Humanitarian assistance in these cases strengthens faith of people and our ability to help them.
After the government initiated a judicial inquiry, CDI retained an attorney to facilitate the witnesses for the inquiry. CDI remains thankful to the ACLJ for enabling us to provide legal assistance to the persecuted Christian community.
(ACLJ)
Were Pakistan's Deadly Gojra Riots Enough to Provoke Change?
Six masked gunmen spray bullets into a Church of Pakistan Sunday service.Jeremy Weber
As the prime minister of Pakistan visited the scene of the Muslim nation's worst Christian persecution in recent memory Thursday, observers wondered if the violence will finally prompt the repeal of the country's notorious blasphemy laws.
Rumors of a Qur'an desecration at a Christian wedding in the eastern village of Kurian led to violent demonstrations that culminated August 1 in the destruction of more than 100 Christian houses in nearby Gojra. Eight Christians were killed in the mob violence, including six family members burned alive in their home. Pakistani authorities said the Qur'an desecration allegations were unfounded and that banned Sunni extremist groups in the area had incited the attacks.
The violence in Gojra, a town of 150,000 that has long been a headquarters of the Anglican Church of Pakistan, was one of the worst attacks ever against the religious minority. Christians and human rights groups protested the killings in major cities as Christian schools nationwide closed for three days in symbolic protest.
Old violence, new response
Violence against Christians in the Punjab is sadly nothing new: observers mark over 30 group incidents against Christians since September 11, 2001. And the province was the location of two of Pakistan's most dramatic incidents of persecution: the October 2001 church attack in Bahawalpur that left 16 Christians dead and the February 1997 destruction of the Christian village of Shantinagar.
Punjab is the center of Pakistan's small Christian community—an estimated 3 million in the Muslim nation of 175 million—and home to an estimated 40 militant Islamist groups.
Still, response to this attack was unique. For the first time, TV and online media spread the news widely enough to spark national outrage. Pakistan's Parliament issued a unanimous condemnation of the violence. And Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani pledged to review laws "detrimental to religious harmony," the Associated Press reported this week.
"This is the first time that persecution against the Christians of Pakistan has been highlighted so intensively and widely," said Ashar Dean, assistant director of development and relief programs for the Peshawar diocese of the Church of Pakistan. "People were shocked to see the brutality committed by a handful of people … [and] surprised to see the inability of the local government to provide protection."
Christian protests have been unusually strong as well. Gojra's Christians refused to bury the dead quickly. Instead they used coffins containing the burned bodies to block the town's railway track until police filed a report against the local residents and officials involved in the attack.
"For the first time, the Christian side has taken a bold stance, saying, 'Enough is enough,'" said Asif Aqeel, executive director of the Community Development Initiative, a Lahore-based Christian development group. "In previous incidents, Christian politicians and clergy played a role as pacifiers. … They did not seek justice."
Incidents such as Gojra will happen again unless changes are made to existing laws and their enforcement, said Asma Jahangir, chairperson of the Lahore-based Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
"The [blasphemy] law has to be repealed. It is clearly a tool in the hands of those who want to exploit religion to their advantage," said Jahangir. "The government needs to send a message that those who create violence in the name of religion are not above the law."
Observers believe a sizable number of Pakistan's Muslims agree that existing blasphemy laws should be repealed or at least amended. However, past government attempts to do so have been blocked by religious conservatives.
"This is an extremely shocking incident even for Pakistani society, and the Muslim community is responding as well," said Peter Jacob, executive secretary of the Roman Catholic-affiliated National Commission for Justice and Peace. "There seems to be a growing consensus that society at large must fight this abuse of religion. … On the other hand, I'm ready to admit the extremist groups are many, armed, and widespread."
Many are skeptical that Gojra will shock enough Muslim Pakistanis into advocating for reform. "There is very little chance that the political parties would be willing to touch the blasphemy law," said Aqeel. "It is a sacred cow. Touching it is equated with tempering with the ordinances of Allah. … No political party would jeopardize its future for the sake of minorities whose vote carries no significance to them."
Other targets for reform
Aqeel believes a more realistic goal for Christians is pushing for a procedural change where false complaints of blasphemy are punished. Others say that that unless extremists' views of Christians change, such attacks will continue whether the blasphemy law is in place or not.
"All these incidents show that it's not just the law, but the local people and their violent attitude towards incidents of blasphemy," said Shaheryar Gill, attorney with the D.C-based American Center for Law and Justice, who has tracked 33 attacks on Pakistani Christian church and villages since September 11. "Society is going to come after these [Christians] regardless if there is a law. The government must prosecute the perpetrators in order to stop such incidents."
But after 22 years of advocacy on human rights in Pakistan, including the successful removal in 2002 of a "separate elections" system based on religion, Jacob sees some hope.
"This is the time," he said. "I think things have started already. … The local Christian community has to be at center of this campaign, and they are prepared to do so."
Dean agrees. "At present both the Christians and the Muslims are shocked at the diabolical acts of Gojra," he said. "We need to build upon this momentum."
Apart from repealing the blasphemy law, Christian advocates in Pakistan point to other achievable reforms that could make Christians less vulnerable to attacks. For example, said Sohail Johnson, chief coordinator for Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan, the government should restrict mosque public address systems to calls to prayer and ban their use for calls to militant action. In addition, he said, the government should register and monitor madrassas and ban the anti-Christian literature that is widely available in markets.
Advocates also plea for support from churches in the U.S. and elsewhere. "It is high time that U.S. supporters see that they need to fund education and social change along with evangelization in this part of the world," said Aqeel. Hundreds of girls leave Christianity each year because Muslim men in Pakistan can provide a better economic life, he said. "With the increase in economic indicators, Christianity will flourish here."
Christians in Pakistan are viewed by many local Muslims as agents of American military action in the region, and thus become targets of revenge because they are accessible and vulnerable while the U.S. is not, observers said.
"They think, 'Christians are killing our brothers, so let's go kill their brothers,'" said Gill.
Preliminary promises
Past incidents of violence have led to financial compensation from the government, but not convictions of perpetrators or significant legal reforms. Islamabad has already pledged $2.5 million towards rebuilding the lives of Christian families in Gojra, and will observe August 11 as Minority Day. And police have arrested over 100 people in connection to the Gojra attacks.
Yet observers say it's too early to predict the outcome of Gojra. The government may be pledging to compensate and protect Christians while the world is watching, but may retract the promises when elections come, said Johnson. He is unsure whether the government is stable and strong enough to enact meaningful legal reforms against the opposition of strong militant groups.
Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan's minister of minority affairs, told Christianity Today that the Pakistani government will hold a consultation with Muslim and Christian leaders about repealing or amending the blasphemy laws. And the high court in Lahore, Punjab's capital and Pakistan's second-largest city, is conducting a judicial inquiry into the violence. It is expected to give a report next week. Over 400 people, mostly Muslims, have registered to give statements to the investigating tribunal.
"Change does not come in days," said Dean. "The situation will improve for Christians but will require time, patience, education, and the eradication of poverty."
(Christianity Today)
GOJRA, Pakistan - After an outbreak of violence against a Christian community in Gojra in the Toba Tek Singh district of northern Pakistan earlier this month, Operation Blessing is partnering with the American Center of Law and Justice (ACLJ) to provide emergency relief to 60 families displaced by the attacks.
14 people were killed and more than 300 people have been left homeless after their homes were set on fire by Muslim extremists in what many are calling the worst case of violence against Christians in Pakistan’s history. The raid came days after a similar attack in a Korianwala village 4 miles away, where 45 homes were looted and burned.
During the attack on Gojra, families were forced to flee as their homes were ransacked and then set on fire.
“Women were without their dupattas [head coverings] and without shoes. They were wailing [over] their missing ones. They were saying their men had been killed in the fire,” one witness said.
More than 300 people have been left homeless and are sheltering in a nearby church compoound. OBI is providing two warm meals a day for the families for one week, as well as electric fans to keep cool.
Many have sought shelter in a nearby church compound, but a few are still living in their destroyed homes—bereft of any personal belongings and without food.
OBI is providing two warm meals a day for the families for one week as the situation stabilizes and the Pakistani government responds. Electric fans have also been purchased for each family to help them cope with the intense heat. The ACLJ’s in-country partner organization, the Community Development Initiative, will help distribute the relief.
“OBI is glad to partner with the ACLJ,” said David Darg, OBI’s director of international disaster relief. “Together, we can offer an amazing service of relief and advocacy for [these] suffering communities.”
14 people were killed and more than 300 people have been left homeless after their homes were set on fire by Muslim extremists in what many are calling the worst case of violence against Christians in Pakistan’s history. The raid came days after a similar attack in a Korianwala village 4 miles away, where 45 homes were looted and burned.
During the attack on Gojra, families were forced to flee as their homes were ransacked and then set on fire.
“Women were without their dupattas [head coverings] and without shoes. They were wailing [over] their missing ones. They were saying their men had been killed in the fire,” one witness said.
More than 300 people have been left homeless and are sheltering in a nearby church compoound. OBI is providing two warm meals a day for the families for one week, as well as electric fans to keep cool.
Many have sought shelter in a nearby church compound, but a few are still living in their destroyed homes—bereft of any personal belongings and without food.
OBI is providing two warm meals a day for the families for one week as the situation stabilizes and the Pakistani government responds. Electric fans have also been purchased for each family to help them cope with the intense heat. The ACLJ’s in-country partner organization, the Community Development Initiative, will help distribute the relief.
“OBI is glad to partner with the ACLJ,” said David Darg, OBI’s director of international disaster relief. “Together, we can offer an amazing service of relief and advocacy for [these] suffering communities.”
(Operation Blessing)
Behind the scenes: A refugee camp for Pakistani Christians
In our Behind the Scenes series, CNN correspondents share their experiences in covering news and analyze the stories behind the events. CNN's Cal Perry reports on a refugee camp in Islamabad, Pakistan.ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- They are not war refugees, not displaced by violence; rather they believe they're here because they are Christian.
A mother of two sobs as she tells us, "I have no money. No money for books or uniforms to send my children to school." It's around 110 degrees Fahrenheit in this squalid camp in downtown Islamabad, where 2,000 Christians have settled, literally in the middle of the road.
The Christian population of Pakistan is only 5 percent of the overall population. Overwhelmed by a Muslim majority, at times they face violent attacks. Other times, they believe they're expelled from their lands -- faced with a distant and dark future.
This group has ended up living in tents for the past 3 months.
They say the government kicked them off their land without warning: only because they are Christian. The government tells a different story, saying that they were given plenty of warning. Further than that, they say they will take care of this problem, a problem they are well aware of.
The minister of minority affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti, says, "We are constitutionally bound to protect the life and property of the minorities and to look after the interests of the minorities in this country. Because they played a role in the founding, they are equal citizens of the country. Yes, there is a problem, but we are trying to solve those problems."
The truth is, regardless of any religious strife, people are dying of poverty in this camp. Two have died since the group settled here, and children lay in the sun, totally exposed to the sun, suffering slowly. We brought a doctor to the camp; he seemed stunned, both at its location and the conditions.
"I think there's a danger here, especially with some of the younger children, that they could just die from dehydration or from all kinds of infections," says Dr. Rixwan Taj. "I am very surprised, really because this is the center of Islamabad, just right in the center. And every facility is not but 10 minutes from here."
The water the camp is using to survive on is a broken pipe that runs underneath the road and out one side. At the camp, the water is used for drinking and washing. It happens to run over a pile of trash and directly down into the makeshift toilets, which are two holes in the ground. Taj tells us the obvious: Typhoid will come to this camp -- the conditions are ripe.
Other countries of course deal with religious strife; minorities all over the world face an uphill struggle. But here, with the addition of poverty, in the oppressive heat -- in an over-crowed camp on the side of the road in downtown Islamabad -- it seems that much worse.
A little girl stares into our camera and rhythmically says, "Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah." Her religion teaches her that "the poor" will inherit "the kingdom of heaven."
(CNN)
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Pakistan cannot afford Christian controversy
KARACHI (AFP) - Pakistan should immediately move to abolish controversial blasphemy laws after the killing of seven Christians to prevent copycat riots from opening a new front of religious unrest, activists say.
Blasphemy carries the death penalty in Pakistan and although no one has been sent to the gallows for the crime, the legislation is too arbitrary analysts say, and is often exploited for personal enmity and encourages Islamist extremism.
When an angry mob of Muslims torched 40 houses and a church in the remote village of Gojra in Pakistan's heartland province of Punjab recently, two children, their parents and 75-year-old grandfather were burnt to death.
Three days later, two people were killed in another Punjab town in what was a private employee dispute against a Muslim factory boss, but coloured by unfounded allegations that the businessman desecrated the Koran.
"It's an arbitrary law, which has been badly misused by extremists and influentials and should be abolished," said Iqbal Haider, co-chairman of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).
"There is no option but to abolish this law. More than that, the government should revive the secular nature of the state as our founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah envisaged, otherwise it will aggravate religious unrest," he said.
Almost from inception, Pakistani spies and soldiers have actively armed, sponsored, encouraged or turned a blind eye as Islamist-inspired militant outfits turned their guns on India to the east and Afghanistan to the west.
The country is battling Taliban radicals in the northwest. Islamist bomb attacks across the country have killed around 2,000 people in two years, having a detrimental effect on the economy and national image.
HRCP said the Gojra attacks were "planned in advance" and that mosque announcements urged local Muslims to "make mincemeat of the Christians".
"A police contingent present in the neighbourhood did not try to stop the mob... The attackers seemed to be trained for carrying out such activities."
The rights group quoted witnesses as saying that a number of attackers were from the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and other militant organisations.
Pakistan's blasphemy law was introduced by former military ruler Zia ul-Haq, who passed tough Islamic legislation, whose 1977-1988 rule was seen as a critical point in the development of extremist Islam in parts of Pakistan.
The civilian administration in Pakistan moved quickly to try to limit the fallout of the anti-Christian killings, offering compensation but cabinet ministers have stopped short of pledging to scrap the blasphemy laws.
"A committee will see the laws which are detrimental to religious harmony to sort out how they could be made better," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told Christians during a solidarity visit to Gojra.
Just one witness is enough to incriminate a "heretic". Anyone accused of blasphemy is immediately arrested and charged, before an investigation begins.
In many cases, people take the law in their own hands and go for killing the alleged blasphemer and rights groups say this trend is increasing.
But religious affairs minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi said the government could not risk a "full-fledged review" inciting an Islamist backlash.
"Any move for a major amendment in the law will generate another controversy that will benefit militants and harm the cause of our Christian brothers."
Hindus, Christians and other minorities make up less than five percent of Pakistan's 167 million population, generally impoverished and marginalised.
Evarist Pinto, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Karachi, said the law means religious minorities live in constant danger.
"Militant groups constantly threaten religious minorities with false allegations of blasphemy and often use these laws against them, said Pinto.
But a top cleric who heads the board running about 12,000 Islamic seminaries in the country defended the laws as vital in Pakistan, a Muslim republic.
"The laws have been misused, mostly by the Muslims against the Muslims, but it does not mean that the laws should be abolished. Instead the authorities should take steps to stop its misuse," said Qari Hanif Jalandhari. (By HASAN MANSOOR)
Blasphemy carries the death penalty in Pakistan and although no one has been sent to the gallows for the crime, the legislation is too arbitrary analysts say, and is often exploited for personal enmity and encourages Islamist extremism.
When an angry mob of Muslims torched 40 houses and a church in the remote village of Gojra in Pakistan's heartland province of Punjab recently, two children, their parents and 75-year-old grandfather were burnt to death.
Three days later, two people were killed in another Punjab town in what was a private employee dispute against a Muslim factory boss, but coloured by unfounded allegations that the businessman desecrated the Koran.
"It's an arbitrary law, which has been badly misused by extremists and influentials and should be abolished," said Iqbal Haider, co-chairman of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).
"There is no option but to abolish this law. More than that, the government should revive the secular nature of the state as our founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah envisaged, otherwise it will aggravate religious unrest," he said.
Almost from inception, Pakistani spies and soldiers have actively armed, sponsored, encouraged or turned a blind eye as Islamist-inspired militant outfits turned their guns on India to the east and Afghanistan to the west.
The country is battling Taliban radicals in the northwest. Islamist bomb attacks across the country have killed around 2,000 people in two years, having a detrimental effect on the economy and national image.
HRCP said the Gojra attacks were "planned in advance" and that mosque announcements urged local Muslims to "make mincemeat of the Christians".
"A police contingent present in the neighbourhood did not try to stop the mob... The attackers seemed to be trained for carrying out such activities."
The rights group quoted witnesses as saying that a number of attackers were from the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and other militant organisations.
Pakistan's blasphemy law was introduced by former military ruler Zia ul-Haq, who passed tough Islamic legislation, whose 1977-1988 rule was seen as a critical point in the development of extremist Islam in parts of Pakistan.
The civilian administration in Pakistan moved quickly to try to limit the fallout of the anti-Christian killings, offering compensation but cabinet ministers have stopped short of pledging to scrap the blasphemy laws.
"A committee will see the laws which are detrimental to religious harmony to sort out how they could be made better," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told Christians during a solidarity visit to Gojra.
Just one witness is enough to incriminate a "heretic". Anyone accused of blasphemy is immediately arrested and charged, before an investigation begins.
In many cases, people take the law in their own hands and go for killing the alleged blasphemer and rights groups say this trend is increasing.
But religious affairs minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi said the government could not risk a "full-fledged review" inciting an Islamist backlash.
"Any move for a major amendment in the law will generate another controversy that will benefit militants and harm the cause of our Christian brothers."
Hindus, Christians and other minorities make up less than five percent of Pakistan's 167 million population, generally impoverished and marginalised.
Evarist Pinto, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Karachi, said the law means religious minorities live in constant danger.
"Militant groups constantly threaten religious minorities with false allegations of blasphemy and often use these laws against them, said Pinto.
But a top cleric who heads the board running about 12,000 Islamic seminaries in the country defended the laws as vital in Pakistan, a Muslim republic.
"The laws have been misused, mostly by the Muslims against the Muslims, but it does not mean that the laws should be abolished. Instead the authorities should take steps to stop its misuse," said Qari Hanif Jalandhari. (By HASAN MANSOOR)
ANALYSIS: Remembering John Joseph —Rafia Zakaria
Pakistanis seem to have settled for the myth that any law in their books calling itself “Islamic” is automatically worthy of the title. In this instance, the Blasphemy law contained in the PPC accomplishes the most salacious ruse on our self-image as a piteous nation
On May 6, 1998 Bishop John Joseph, the first Punjabi Roman Catholic priest and bishop, shot himself to death in front of the Sessions Court in Sahiwal. His death was a protest against the infamous blasphemy laws included in the Pakistan Penal Code that have made life miserable and precarious for religious minorities in the country.A few years earlier, at the funeral of Manzur Masih, Bishop John Joseph had kissed the feet of the poor labourer’s corpse and vowed that he would be the next person to die at the hands of the draconian blasphemy law. Manzur Masih was already dead, having been shot by those who had accused him of blasphemy.
In the days prior to his suicide, Bishop John Joseph was helping put together an appeal for yet another poor Christian who was being persecuted under the Blasphemy law. Ayub Masih, an illiterate Christian, was accused of praising Salman Rushdie’s book The Satanic Verses and sentenced to death. Bishop John Joseph was appealing his death sentence before the Lahore Sessions Court when he chose to end his life to bring attention to the ignominy of Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code.And yet, despite the dramatic death of a promising Christian leader and the persecution of hundreds of Christians and Muslims at the behest of a vague and crudely-written law, nothing has been done by parliaments present and past to repeal it.
The brutal killings in Gojra and the avalanche of barbarity and hatred with which a mob watched as innocent children as young as two years old died in their beds is yet another episode in the ignored plight of Pakistan’s minorities.
In the past year alone, scores of Pakistanis, including an eye doctor and his wife among others, have had to either flee the country or face charges of blasphemy at the hands of those who choose to avenge a vendetta by amassing a mob and drawing on misguided religious fervour. Accuse anyone of blasphemy, it seems, and one is guaranteed a supportive crowd of bloodthirsty avengers willing to kill even small children in the supposed name of faith.
The slew of Blasphemy laws contained in the Pakistan Penal Code is despicable not because the intent to protect the sanctity of our holy books and our faith is wrong. Indeed, blasphemy laws have existed since early medieval times in both eastern and Western societies. The perfidy of these particular blasphemy laws is that their poor construction essentially gives a blank cheque to the state and religious zealots.
Take for instance the fact that unlike any other crime, the construction of these laws removed any requirement that necessitates that the prosecution prove “intent” to commit the crime of blasphemy. The dismal result is that even “insinuation” of anything desecrating the Holy Prophet (PBUH) or the Holy Quran is punishable by death; the fact is that even an unintentional insinuation can lead to a death sentence. If this is not terrifying enough, the established precedent of cases tried under 295-C has allowed such convictions even when only a single witness is presented to corroborate the story. In other words, one man’s lie can legally take another man’s life.
If the Pakistani public was truly able to read the Holy Quran and understand it, it would also note another tragic inadequacy of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. Nearly all the verses in the Holy Quran that address the crime of blasphemy treat the issue as a spiritual matter requiring existential repentance by the individual believer. In its status as our Divine spiritual text the Holy Quran also promises punishment in the afterlife and on the Day of Judgment for those that commit such crimes against the Oneness of God. There is however no correlation between the Quranic treatment of blasphemy and the positioning of blasphemy in the PPC as a crime that has no requirements of proof of intent and places all discretion in a state-appointed judge who arbitrarily decides the fate of the accused.
Bishop John Joseph died nearly eleven years ago. His memory and the memory of hundreds of others killed by similar mobs and under dubious circumstances make only transient marks on the memory of the Pakistani public. Unable to truly grapple with the role of religion in state functions, Pakistanis seem to have settled for the myth that any law in their books calling itself “Islamic” is automatically worthy of the title. In this instance, the blasphemy law contained in the PPC accomplishes the most salacious ruse on our self-image as a piteous nation.How could a law aiming to protect the sanctity of that which is most dear to us possibly be wrong? This question has and continues to stump Pakistanis and forces them into a trance that allows dictators and power-drunk rulers to force supposedly “Islamic” laws down the throats of an anaesthetised public.
The task becomes even easier when those persecuted under these laws are already the poorest and, unfortunately, most reviled members of our society. There is no Muslim in the world who would question that the core principles of Islam comprise mercy and justice. Yet, we forget both of these when evaluating our laws. It is true that discrimination exists everywhere in the world, but when it is given the legitimacy and support of a legal system it becomes the shame not of a few but of an entire society that allows it to exist.Empathy is rare in today’s Pakistan and it is difficult to find anyone who will shed a tear for a Bishop who died trying to draw attention to the hapless condition of a group of people who stand to be persecuted at the behest of those who are prepared to lie and kill in the name of religion. Entrapped in the circuitous logic that anything affixed with the label of faith must indeed be deserving of it, our moral and spiritual paralysis has led to yet another cataclysm which we, in our seemingly infinite apathy, will undoubtedly forget very soon. Rafia Zakaria is an attorney living in the United States where she teaches courses on Constitutional Law and Political Philosophy. She can be contacted at rafia.zakaria@gmail.com
(Daily Times)
On May 6, 1998 Bishop John Joseph, the first Punjabi Roman Catholic priest and bishop, shot himself to death in front of the Sessions Court in Sahiwal. His death was a protest against the infamous blasphemy laws included in the Pakistan Penal Code that have made life miserable and precarious for religious minorities in the country.A few years earlier, at the funeral of Manzur Masih, Bishop John Joseph had kissed the feet of the poor labourer’s corpse and vowed that he would be the next person to die at the hands of the draconian blasphemy law. Manzur Masih was already dead, having been shot by those who had accused him of blasphemy.
In the days prior to his suicide, Bishop John Joseph was helping put together an appeal for yet another poor Christian who was being persecuted under the Blasphemy law. Ayub Masih, an illiterate Christian, was accused of praising Salman Rushdie’s book The Satanic Verses and sentenced to death. Bishop John Joseph was appealing his death sentence before the Lahore Sessions Court when he chose to end his life to bring attention to the ignominy of Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code.And yet, despite the dramatic death of a promising Christian leader and the persecution of hundreds of Christians and Muslims at the behest of a vague and crudely-written law, nothing has been done by parliaments present and past to repeal it.
The brutal killings in Gojra and the avalanche of barbarity and hatred with which a mob watched as innocent children as young as two years old died in their beds is yet another episode in the ignored plight of Pakistan’s minorities.
In the past year alone, scores of Pakistanis, including an eye doctor and his wife among others, have had to either flee the country or face charges of blasphemy at the hands of those who choose to avenge a vendetta by amassing a mob and drawing on misguided religious fervour. Accuse anyone of blasphemy, it seems, and one is guaranteed a supportive crowd of bloodthirsty avengers willing to kill even small children in the supposed name of faith.
The slew of Blasphemy laws contained in the Pakistan Penal Code is despicable not because the intent to protect the sanctity of our holy books and our faith is wrong. Indeed, blasphemy laws have existed since early medieval times in both eastern and Western societies. The perfidy of these particular blasphemy laws is that their poor construction essentially gives a blank cheque to the state and religious zealots.
Take for instance the fact that unlike any other crime, the construction of these laws removed any requirement that necessitates that the prosecution prove “intent” to commit the crime of blasphemy. The dismal result is that even “insinuation” of anything desecrating the Holy Prophet (PBUH) or the Holy Quran is punishable by death; the fact is that even an unintentional insinuation can lead to a death sentence. If this is not terrifying enough, the established precedent of cases tried under 295-C has allowed such convictions even when only a single witness is presented to corroborate the story. In other words, one man’s lie can legally take another man’s life.
If the Pakistani public was truly able to read the Holy Quran and understand it, it would also note another tragic inadequacy of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. Nearly all the verses in the Holy Quran that address the crime of blasphemy treat the issue as a spiritual matter requiring existential repentance by the individual believer. In its status as our Divine spiritual text the Holy Quran also promises punishment in the afterlife and on the Day of Judgment for those that commit such crimes against the Oneness of God. There is however no correlation between the Quranic treatment of blasphemy and the positioning of blasphemy in the PPC as a crime that has no requirements of proof of intent and places all discretion in a state-appointed judge who arbitrarily decides the fate of the accused.
Bishop John Joseph died nearly eleven years ago. His memory and the memory of hundreds of others killed by similar mobs and under dubious circumstances make only transient marks on the memory of the Pakistani public. Unable to truly grapple with the role of religion in state functions, Pakistanis seem to have settled for the myth that any law in their books calling itself “Islamic” is automatically worthy of the title. In this instance, the blasphemy law contained in the PPC accomplishes the most salacious ruse on our self-image as a piteous nation.How could a law aiming to protect the sanctity of that which is most dear to us possibly be wrong? This question has and continues to stump Pakistanis and forces them into a trance that allows dictators and power-drunk rulers to force supposedly “Islamic” laws down the throats of an anaesthetised public.
The task becomes even easier when those persecuted under these laws are already the poorest and, unfortunately, most reviled members of our society. There is no Muslim in the world who would question that the core principles of Islam comprise mercy and justice. Yet, we forget both of these when evaluating our laws. It is true that discrimination exists everywhere in the world, but when it is given the legitimacy and support of a legal system it becomes the shame not of a few but of an entire society that allows it to exist.Empathy is rare in today’s Pakistan and it is difficult to find anyone who will shed a tear for a Bishop who died trying to draw attention to the hapless condition of a group of people who stand to be persecuted at the behest of those who are prepared to lie and kill in the name of religion. Entrapped in the circuitous logic that anything affixed with the label of faith must indeed be deserving of it, our moral and spiritual paralysis has led to yet another cataclysm which we, in our seemingly infinite apathy, will undoubtedly forget very soon. Rafia Zakaria is an attorney living in the United States where she teaches courses on Constitutional Law and Political Philosophy. She can be contacted at rafia.zakaria@gmail.com
(Daily Times)
Gojra gangsters’ attack on Pakistani Christians backfires
By Gul Jammas Hussain
I’ve been to that village in Pakistan many a time, but things were different on Saturday. On that day, dozens of Christian homes were set alight and eight people were burnt to death after villagers received reports that the local Christians had desecrated the Holy Quran.
The village of Korian, near Gojra town in Punjab Province, is full of rogues and is notorious for its many different criminal gangs and their never-ending infighting and clashes with outsiders. But over the past few years, there has been an upsurge in militant organizations in the area and a number of vigilante groups, like the so-called Green Turbans, have sprung up out of the sinister world of crime of gangsterism.
Many reports say that banned extremist sectarian outfits like Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi played a significant role in the conflagration, but it was actually the petty criminal gangs who torched the homes.
Most of the country’s Christians -- who make up a little less than five percent of the total population -- are extremely poor and downtrodden people who work in other people’s houses or clean toilets, drainages, and city and village streets as municipal workers in order to make a living. Their income is so low that sometimes they spend a lifetime to earn the money to build a rickety hovel. In the weekend attack, over 40 of these homes were set on fire by street criminals who were incited by religious fanatics.
A Christian woman from the area told one of my relatives in a nearby city that the Holy Quran was not deliberately desecrated. She said what really happened was that a Christian recycler was collecting paper from houses when some Muslim family mistakenly handed over some chapters of the Holy Quran and that man’s illiterate children, not knowing that they were playing with pages of the holy book, made paper boats out of them and floated the boats in a pond beside their house. The vigilantes witnessed this and rushed to the mosque, saying that the Holy Quran had been desecrated and called on the local Muslims to punish the entire Christian community of the village.
The violent incidents shocked the nation and Pakistanis from all walks of life have condemned the barbaric acts and declared that they stand in solidarity with the country’s Christian minority. And Pakistan’s vibrant electronic media played a key role in disseminating the news about the tragedy, which caused high-ranking officials to rush to the area in droves, including Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who promised on Tuesday that the government would cover the cost of rebuilding the charred houses and pledged to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice. “There couldn’t be any cruelty more harsh than this,” he said in an address to Christians. If there is any silver lining to this incident, it is the fact that it seems to have encouraged Pakistanis to become more tolerant and to work to enhance national cohesion.
I’ve been to that village in Pakistan many a time, but things were different on Saturday. On that day, dozens of Christian homes were set alight and eight people were burnt to death after villagers received reports that the local Christians had desecrated the Holy Quran.
The village of Korian, near Gojra town in Punjab Province, is full of rogues and is notorious for its many different criminal gangs and their never-ending infighting and clashes with outsiders. But over the past few years, there has been an upsurge in militant organizations in the area and a number of vigilante groups, like the so-called Green Turbans, have sprung up out of the sinister world of crime of gangsterism.
Many reports say that banned extremist sectarian outfits like Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi played a significant role in the conflagration, but it was actually the petty criminal gangs who torched the homes.
Most of the country’s Christians -- who make up a little less than five percent of the total population -- are extremely poor and downtrodden people who work in other people’s houses or clean toilets, drainages, and city and village streets as municipal workers in order to make a living. Their income is so low that sometimes they spend a lifetime to earn the money to build a rickety hovel. In the weekend attack, over 40 of these homes were set on fire by street criminals who were incited by religious fanatics.
A Christian woman from the area told one of my relatives in a nearby city that the Holy Quran was not deliberately desecrated. She said what really happened was that a Christian recycler was collecting paper from houses when some Muslim family mistakenly handed over some chapters of the Holy Quran and that man’s illiterate children, not knowing that they were playing with pages of the holy book, made paper boats out of them and floated the boats in a pond beside their house. The vigilantes witnessed this and rushed to the mosque, saying that the Holy Quran had been desecrated and called on the local Muslims to punish the entire Christian community of the village.
The violent incidents shocked the nation and Pakistanis from all walks of life have condemned the barbaric acts and declared that they stand in solidarity with the country’s Christian minority. And Pakistan’s vibrant electronic media played a key role in disseminating the news about the tragedy, which caused high-ranking officials to rush to the area in droves, including Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who promised on Tuesday that the government would cover the cost of rebuilding the charred houses and pledged to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice. “There couldn’t be any cruelty more harsh than this,” he said in an address to Christians. If there is any silver lining to this incident, it is the fact that it seems to have encouraged Pakistanis to become more tolerant and to work to enhance national cohesion.
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