Officials Awaken to Forced Marriage, Conversion of Pakistani Girls

Aidan Clay

International Christian Concern

September 15, 2010

LAHORE, PAKISTAN (ANS) -- Shah Taj, a fourteen-year-old Christian girl from Lahore, Pakistan, was on her way to school last year when a vehicle occupied by three men pulled up beside her. Grabbing her, they threw her in and sped off. As frightening as this may seem, the ordeal of the victim had just begun.

In her own words, she described what happened: "I was standing at the bus stop waiting. Three Muslims came up to me in a car. They were armed with deadly weapons. They pushed me into the car and took me to a hotel. While there, one of them raped me. Afterwards, at gunpoint they took my thumb impression and my signature, placing them on blank papers." (1)

"I tried to make noise; but they pointed their guns at me and threatened to kill my father and my younger brother if I make a noise." Later, Taj was forced to marry a Muslim man and required by law to convert to Islam. They had used her signature and thumbprint to create a document saying she had converted to Islam.

Like Shah Taj, Christian girls throughout the Islamic world are being abducted and trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and coerced into domestic servitude. Equally shocking is that Muslim men are offered financial incentives when they marry a Christian girl - a technique designed by Islamic fundamentalists to convert young girls to Islam forcefully.

Recent investigations have revealed frightening information exposing the criminal phenomenon of forced Islamization of Christian girls which is occurring on an alarming scale. On April 16, 2010, eighteen members of the United States Congress wrote to the State Department's Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Office, concerning continued "reports of abductions, forced marriages, and exploitation of Coptic women and girls in Egypt." (2)

However, prior to recent reports, Christian abductions have been essentially undocumented. The Egyptian government and state security have routinely denied the problem's existence, refusing to sanction cases that have been commissioned to court - a maneuver to avoid attracting public attention.

International Christian Concern (www.persecution.org) recently visited Egypt to investigate. Meeting with top human rights lawyers and activists who have defended Egypt's Christian minority, we have uncovered valuable sources and obtained names, birth certificates, and conducted personal interviews with the parents of victimized Christian girls. Source after source exposed astonishingly similar cases, all of which told the same story:

Planned Seduction

Forced marriages are systematically orchestrated. What appears to a girl to be a natural and inconsequential friendship with a young man may on the contrary be a deceptive plot to lure the girl into a forced marriage. A Muslim man or his accomplice exploits the girl's trust by convincing her of the man's friendship. "They are planning and organizing a plot to fool this person… it may seem like friendship or falling in love, but in actuality, it is a planned seduction," Bishop Thomas of the El-Quosia Diocese in Upper Egypt told ICC.

Let's look at the case of Hana (a fictional name used to conceal the girl's identity). She was seventeen when Christina, a Muslim girl in her neighborhood, befriended her. Soon after, Hana was introduced to Amir, Christina's brother; and they began to court. One day, on the way home from shopping with Christina, Hana was drugged, beaten, and abducted. She awoke to find herself locked in Amir's house. Again drugged and convinced that she had shamed her family, Hana was married to Amir and converted to Islam. Her name was changed to Fatima. When she refused to have sex with her new husband, "the family held her down while he raped her. She began bleeding profusely." (3)

As in Hana's case, most forced marriages are accompanied by physical abuse and sexual violence. Ingy Adel was kidnapped at the age of twelve on her way to school. She said, "I was taken into a room by a man called Sultan, who tied my hands behind my back; and raped me." Four others followed, each raping her. "I felt as each one of them raped me, that I was their enemy. They had beaten me ferociously." (4) These rapes continued for two months until she was found by her father.

After fourteen-year-old Shah Taj escaped from the three men who abducted and raped her, a legal investigation discovered a marriage certificate and a document validating Taj's conversion to Islam. In both Pakistan and Egypt, once a marriage certificate is official, the girl's complete identity is changed. She is given an Islamic name, and her Christian religious status is removed from her identification card. A bribe is offered and a deal is bartered between the abductor and the police officers, guaranteeing that the girl's location and condition are permanently concealed.

Once the paperwork is finalized, it is as if the Christian girl never existed. The town she grew up in, the names of her parents, and the date she was born become mere memories, known only by those closest to her. All documents revealing the girl's childhood or family history are burned or tucked away in bureaucratic files where there is no likelihood the girl's whereabouts will ever be discovered. She becomes a ghost, with no past, but only an uncertain future, but only an uncertain future which will likely be lived-out as a resented wife to a detached husband.

The girl is then kept captive in her husband's home. As is commonly the case, the Muslim husband may take a second, third or fourth wife, using the "Christian" girl as nothing more than a household servant. If the girl is bold and fortunate, she may escape. However, according to a report by Christian Solidarity International, girls who are able to escape "usually remain so heavily burdened with social and legal problems… that anything like a normal life is impossible… While they may be successful in obtaining a divorce from their Muslim husband, they are rarely able to obtain a reversal of their religious status." (5)

In Cairo, Mamdouh Nakhla, a Coptic lawyer and the Chairman of the Al-Kalema Organization of Human Rights, said he has reported hundreds of cases of abduction to the police, and their response is always the same. "The police say the girl is happy with her marriage and happy to be a Muslim and they demand that I stop looking for her. The police know where she is, but they choose not to tell me. There is an ‘unsaid contract' between the police and the kidnappers."

Mr. Nakhla then takes the case to the District Attorney, who orders the man and the girl to appear in court. However, the man is the lone representative to testify, having prevented the girl from attending the hearing. Before the judge, the man either denies the accusations, or professes that the girl willingly chose to marry him and that she is happy in her present circumstance. The District Attorney then refers back to the police to verify the man's statement. The police, honoring their agreement with the man, return with a positive report confirming the kidnapper's testimony. With that, the District Attorney closes the case.

According to Mr. Nakhla, since January 2006, there have been more than 2,000 cases of girls who have appealed to return to Christianity, but have been denied their right to testify in court. Human Rights Watch reported, "They [abducted girls] typically face no difficulties converting to Islam and acquiring identity documents recognizing their conversions, but those who subsequently wish to return to Christianity meet with refusal and harassment from the Civil Status Department (CSD) of the Ministry of Interior." (6)

A Marginalized Minority

Regrettably, the three men who abducted Shah Taj will likely never be punished for their crime. "I hate what has happened to me," explained Taj. "They kidnapped me and raped me, that's why they must go to prison and be punished." (7) Yet, Christians throughout the Islamic world are unable to justly punish those who have violated their daughters by deliberate assaults of planned seductions and kidnappings.

Wagih Yacoub, a Coptic human rights activist, told ICC that in Egypt, the rights of Christians are not equal to those of Muslims. "The only way you can protect yourself and protect your people is by the law; but if the law is not on your side, then you have no assurance of protection. We are the minority in this country. The Muslims have the support of the Egyptian government; they have the support of their religion; they have the support of the police security. The Christians cannot stand against an entire government."

In Egypt, Christians makeup roughly ten percent of the population, yet they remain a marginalized religious minority on account of being governed by Islamic Shariah law, a principle source of Egypt's legislation (Article 2 of the Constitution). Even though it is stated in the Egyptian Constitution that, "The State shall guarantee the freedom of belief and the freedom of practice of religious rites (Article 46)," (8) in practice, it severely violates religious freedom. As of 2008, Christians held less than two percent of parliament seats in Egypt's People's Assembly and Shura Council. With little political power, the Christian community is left vulnerable to discrimination and oppression, incapable of defending themselves against even the most apparent and fundamental human rights abuses.

Copyright 2010 ASSIST News Service. Used by permission.

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1) "A Christian Prisoner's Underage Daughter Kidnapped, Raped and Forcibly Converted to Islam". Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan . April 21 2010 .

2) "US Lawmakers Urge State Department to Address Forced Marriage, Conversion of Coptic Girls". Assyrian International News Agency. April 21 2010 .

3) Christian Solidarity International & Coptic Foundation for Human Rights. "The Disappearance, Forced Conversions, and Forced Marriages of Coptic Christian Women in Egypt". November 2009, p. 29

4 Al-Hayat TV on YouTube. "Coptic Girls Forced to be Muslim". 2009.

5) Christian Solidarity International & Coptic Foundation for Human Rights. "The Disappearance, Forced Conversions, and Forced Marriages of Coptic Christian Women in Egypt". November 2009, p. 7

6) Human Rights Watch. "Prohibited Identities: State Interference with Religious Freedom". November 2007 Volume 19, No. 7(E) p. 66

7) "A Christian Prisoner's Underage Daughter Kidnapped, Raped and Forcibly Converted to Islam". Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan . April 21 2010 .

8) Egyptian Constitution, Chapter 3: Public Freedoms, Rights and Duties. Article 46. Sept 1971.

ICC (www.persecution.org) is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.

Crosswalk

Minister blames 'terrorists' for Christian attacks in Pakistan

(Source: Adnkronos International)By Adnkronos International, Rome

Sept. 14--''Terrorist movements" like the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are at least partly to blame for recent violent attacks that have claimed the lives of Christians in Pakistan, Shahbaz Bhatti, the country's minister of minority rights, who is a Catholic, told reporters in Rome on Tuesday.

"The responsibility for violence against ethnic and religious minorities is connected to independence movements and foreign terrorist groups like the Taliban," Bhatti said.

"These are groups that are trying to destroy the domestic balance" of Pakistan.

Two Christian brothers accused of writing a blasphemous pamphlet critical of the Prophet Mohammed were shot dead in July outside a court in eastern Pakistan.

In August 2009, eight Christians were burned alive after being accused of blasphemy, while two people, including a policeman, were injured late Sunday in a bomb blast at a Christian church near Mardan in the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkh.

Sectarian assaults have especially targeted Pakistan's minority Shia Muslims. Earlier this month, more than 70 people were killed during a suicide bombing in the western city of Quetta at a Shia rally.

Of the 95 percent of Pakistanis that are Muslim, 75 percent are Sunni and 20 percent Shia, according to the Central Intelligence Agency World Fact Book.

The remaining 5 percent are mainly Christians and Hindus.

Bhatti has been in Rome meeting with Italian government officials about aid to Pakistan in the wake of devastating floods that killed around 1,800 people and affected another 21 million.

Following a meeting with Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini on Monday, Frattini announced that his government would present a resolution to the United Nations that protects the rights of Pakistan's religious minorities.

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Tuesday, September 14, 2010 5:57 PM IStockAnalysis

Minister blames 'terrorists' for Christian attacks in Pakistan

(Source: Adnkronos International)By Adnkronos International, Rome

Sept. 14--''Terrorist movements" like the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are at least partly to blame for recent violent attacks that have claimed the lives of Christians in Pakistan, Shahbaz Bhatti, the country's minister of minority rights, who is a Catholic, told reporters in Rome on Tuesday.

"The responsibility for violence against ethnic and religious minorities is connected to independence movements and foreign terrorist groups like the Taliban," Bhatti said.

"These are groups that are trying to destroy the domestic balance" of Pakistan.

Two Christian brothers accused of writing a blasphemous pamphlet critical of the Prophet Mohammed were shot dead in July outside a court in eastern Pakistan.

In August 2009, eight Christians were burned alive after being accused of blasphemy, while two people, including a policeman, were injured late Sunday in a bomb blast at a Christian church near Mardan in the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkh.

Sectarian assaults have especially targeted Pakistan's minority Shia Muslims. Earlier this month, more than 70 people were killed during a suicide bombing in the western city of Quetta at a Shia rally.

Of the 95 percent of Pakistanis that are Muslim, 75 percent are Sunni and 20 percent Shia, according to the Central Intelligence Agency World Fact Book.

The remaining 5 percent are mainly Christians and Hindus.

Bhatti has been in Rome meeting with Italian government officials about aid to Pakistan in the wake of devastating floods that killed around 1,800 people and affected another 21 million.

Following a meeting with Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini on Monday, Frattini announced that his government would present a resolution to the United Nations that protects the rights of Pakistan's religious minorities.

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Tuesday, September 14, 2010 5:57 PM IStockAnalysis

Christian graveyard grounds for mosque

A cleric of hard-line Muslims has constructed a mosque on a Christian cemetery in Pakistan.

Muslims in Sargodha, Pakistan, were led by a hard-line cleric to construct the mosque at that particular location. It was originally believed the workers were building an addition to the already existing mosque, but the group has been desecrating Christians' graves. According to the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA), the government issued an order to halt construction, but building resumed in spite of that.

Jonathan Racho of International Christian Concern (ICC) does not deem this news surprising.

"We know that the Islamic faith is very much aggressive, and Islam expanded over a large part of the world through the use of jihad and the use of force, and they have been using this in many countries, including Pakistan," he points out.

He adds that Muslims use force to expel or otherwise subdue Christians, which can be carried out by placing a mosque on a Christian cemetery. But even if the Christians were able to go to court and prove wrongdoing, Racho explains that "in this particular case, according to Pakistani laws, no religious place could be demolished."

So the mosque is there to stay. In addition to this desecration, Muslims have threatened to take action if the Christians challenge them. Meanwhile, Pakistan recently suffered extensive flooding, and ICC has learned of cases where Christians were refused aid unless they agreed to convert to Islam.

OneNewsNow - 9/14/2010

Blast At Pakistan Christian Church Critically Injures Two

AHN News Staff

Mardan, Pakistan (NewsBahn) - A blast at a Christian church here Sunday night critically injured two people and damaged the building.

An explosive device went off about midnight in front of a Lutheran church, injuring a police head constable, Fazal Rabi, and a church security guard, Ali Rahman. They were taken to a local hospital.

The church was one of the oldest in Mardan, a city about 40 miles northeast of Peshawar in the Peshawar Valley.

While no one has yet been arrested, the blast could be a reaction to an announcement by a Florida minister that he planned to burn copies of the Koran this past Saturday. After worldwide protests and meetings with Christian and Muslim ministers, the Rev. Terry Jones canceled the event.

Christian School in Kashmir Attacked Over Reported Quran Desecrations

Hundreds of Muslims in the divided region of Kashmir took to the streets Monday night in violent protest over the reported desecration of Qurans in the United States.

Over a dozen people have reportedly died in the clash that ensued between police and protesters, and a Christian private school was set ablaze in the volatile Himalayan region.

While violence and protests in Kashmir have been ongoing since June, Monday’s protests shifted from India’s rule over the disputed region to anti-Quran actions in the United States, where footage was taken of demonstrators tearing out pages from Islam's sacred text over the weekend.

While U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of India Timothy J. Roemer said he “strongly condemn[s]” the actions in America as “disrespectful, intolerant, divisive, and unrepresentative of American values,” he also expressed “dismay” over reports of attacks on a church and school in Kashmir and nearby Punjab.

“We strongly support local authorities’ appeal for calm and an end to this violence,” he added.

Prior to Monday, at least 73 people have died as a result of separatist protests that began sweeping through the disputed region three months ago.

Since June, Kashmir has seen almost daily Muslim demonstrations, with angry crowds defying strict government curfews to throw stones at government buildings or to voice their anger.

According to reports, protesters range from separatists who want an independent Kashmir state to others who demand that India’s central government remove thousands of Indian paramilitary troops, release political prisoners and lift laws that grant special immunity to security officers.

On Monday, in a rare sight, protesters shifted their anger to the United States, inflamed by reports on the Iranian state-run channel Press TV that the Quran was desecrated over the weekend in the United States. Likely acting on the called-off plan of a Florida pastor to burn Qurans, demonstrators reportedly tore pages from the Quran outside of the White House and in Tennessee.

In response to the acts, demonstrators in Kashmir yelled “Death to the U.S.” and “Death to Quran desecrators.” There were also shouts of "Down with America" and "Down with Israel" – remarks rarely heard in Kashmir.

For decades now, the Kashmir region has been divided among three countries – Pakistan (which controls the northwest portion), China (which controls the northeastern portion), and India (which controls the remaining half of the disputed territory).

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, which resulted in a stalemate and a U.N.-negotiated ceasefire, established the rough boundaries of today.

Since 1989, a violent, separatist insurgency and the ensuing crackdown by Indian forces have killed an estimated 68,000 people.

The most recent violence has led Indian officials to debate whether to make goodwill gestures to try to ease tensions, including a lift of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act - which gives sweeping powers to security forces in Kashmir.

In New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India was searching for a peaceful resolution to the summer of conflict.

Pakistan reaction to Quran-burning plan muted, so far

By Sohel Uddin, NBC News Producer

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – In a country where flag and effigy burning is a popular retort to insults against Islam and certain Western foreign policies, the reaction to Rev. Terry Jones’ plan to hold an “International Burn a Quran Day” on Sept.11 so far has been relatively tame here.

Although Jones announced a month ago that his Gainesville, Fla., church would desecrate Islam’s holy book, reactions to the plan only started to be seen in Pakistan on Thursday.

The government urged restraint Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was diplomatic as he told reporters in Belgium Thursday, “This gentleman is not in line with the general thinking of the American people … I don't know what he intends to do, but he is not serving anyone.” Qureshi added, “What we have been promoting was interfaith dialogue, interfaith harmony, and this is a complete sort of negation of that … I hope better sense prevails and this event does not take place."

Unfortunately, diplomacy did not prevail on every street in Pakistan. Sentiments were harsh as about 200 people set an American flag on fire in Multan, a city of 4.5 million, about 350 miles from Islamabad. "DEATH TO AMERICA" placards were accompanied by chants of "Down with American dogs." The crowds threatened to take revenge on the proposed Quran-burning insult.

Lawyer Qamar Intizar Mohammad told Reuters, "If this happens in Florida on Sept. 11, there will be a reaction against the church across the world. Then a new war will begin between Muslims and Christians."

However, in Karachi, a more cosmopolitan city of about 18 million, there was a sense of solidarity between Christians and Muslims as they took to the streets together to protest.

Anti-U.S. slogans were chanted as protesters stepped on cartoons of the pastor, but Christians could also be heard saying, “Down with U.S. plan To desecrate Koran.” Their placards read, “WE DEMAND U.S GOVERNMENT TO ARREST THIS RELIGIOUS TERRORIST AND PUNISH.”

The Christian protesters’ condemnation appeared to be just as strong as the Muslim protesters’. The Bishop of Karachi Sadiq Daniel, who was participating in the march, told Reuters, “It is certainly very bad to desecrate any religious book and to hurt someone's religious and spiritual sentiments. I think the one who carries out such things is a mentally sick person.”

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Bracing for the worst
Back in the U.S., President Barack Obama expressed fears during an ABC interview Thursday that Jones plan could result in “serious violence in places like Pakistan.”

In fact, anti-U.S. sentiment in Pakistan is quite significant. A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that almost six out of 10 Pakistanis regarded America as an enemy and only one in 10 called it a partner.

The poll results demonstrate the uphill struggle the U.S. is having in gaining the Pakistani people’s trust. If the Florida pastor does go ahead with his proposed event, the setback to Pakistani perceptions of America could be immeasurable.

Over the past few days, I have been asking locals and journalists why there hadn’t been any significant reactions to “Burn a Quran Day.”

A few told me that it was probably because people hadn’t really heard about it yet. But many others said, “Just wait and see what people will do here if he goes ahead with it…”

NBC News

Obama: Quran-burning plan is 'recruitment bonanza for al Qaeda'

September 9, 2010

The Rev. Terry Jones, pastor of the Dove Center, has said he will proceed with the plan Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, despite increased pressure to abandon the proposal and warnings that going ahead could endanger U.S. troops and Americans worldwide.

CNN iReport: 'This man doesn't represent America'

On Wednesday, the Vatican joined a chorus of groups imploring the church not to burn Islam's holy book, saying it would be an "outrageous and grave gesture." The president of the United Nations General Assembly, Ali Abdussalam Treki, also expressed concern, saying it will "lead to uncontrollable reactions" and spark tension worldwide.

Earlier this week, the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus, warned that the plan "could cause significant problems" for American troops overseas.

Tolerance

"The general needs to point his finger to radical Islam and tell them to shut up, tell them to stop, tell them that we will not bow our knees to them," Jones said on CNN's "AC360."Jones has rejected the pleas, saying his message targets radical Islamists.

"We are burning the book," Jones said. "We are not killing someone. We are not murdering people."

Referring to Jones, Obama said Thursday, "If he's listening, I just hope he understands that what he's proposing to do is completely contrary to our values of Americans, that this country has been built on the notions of religious freedom and religious tolerance."

"And as a very practical matter, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the United States, I just want him to understand that this stunt that he is talking about pulling could greatly endanger our young men and women in uniform who are in Iraq, who are in Afghanistan. We're already seeing protests against Americans just by the mere threat ... this is a destructive act that he's engaging in."

Meanwhile, a major Islamic group will announce an initiative Thursday to distribute 200,000 Qurans to replace what it says are 200 copies that the Dove Center plans to burn.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) plans to hold a news conference in Washington Thursday to address the issue. The group's "Learn, Don't Burn" initiative includes the distribution of 200,000 Qurans and other activities planned for Friday and Saturday.

"This educational initiative is designed for those who seek a proactive and constructive response to the church's very un-American actions," said Nihad Awad, CAIR national executive director.

"The tiny group of extremists carrying out the book burnings clearly do not represent our society or its values and have been repudiated by all mainstream religious and political leaders."

CAIR, a Muslim civil liberties and advocacy group, has written to Gen. James Mattis, head of U.S. Central Command, asking for help in trying to dissuade Jones.

"The Quran burning event, while protected by the First Amendment, is not in our nation's best interests," wrote CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad in the letter. "Those who seek to harm our nation will exploit the burnings to promote their own political agenda."

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is one of the few public officials who defended Jones' right to go ahead, even as he condemned the idea as "distasteful.

"I don't think he would like if somebody burned a book that in his religion he thinks is holy. ... But the First Amendment protects everybody, and you can't say that we are going to apply the First Amendment to only those cases where we are in agreement," Bloomberg said, citing the section of the Constitution that promises freedom of speech.

The planned action has drawn sharp criticism worldwide.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which is dedicated to protecting U.S. troops from religious intolerance, has promised to buy one new Quran and donate it to the Afghan National Army for each one burned in Florida.

Petraeus has warned that the burning will endanger the lives of the 120,000 U.S. and NATO-led troops still battling al Qaeda and its allies in the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban movement.

Asked his feelings on the matter as president, Obama said, "well, it is frustrating. Now, on the other hand, we are a government of laws. And so we have to abide by those laws. And my understanding is that he can be cited for public burning, but that's the extent of the laws that we have available to us."

"You know, part of this country's history is people doing destructive or offensive or harmful things," the president said. "And yet, we still have to make sure that we're following the laws. And that's part of what I love about this country."

A Christian congregation in Germany on Thursday distanced itself from Jones, its founder and former pastor. Stephan Baar, one of the leaders of the Christian Community of Cologne, said the congregation split with Jones in 2008 over differences in the way the church was run.

"We distance ourselves very very clearly from the actions that are taking place (in Florida) and also from the person himself and unfortunately we really regret what is happening there," Baar said in an interview with CNN affiliate RTL.

CNN

Evangelical leaders try to reach out to the pastor who plans to burn the Koran

By Michelle Boorstein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 9, 2010; 3:07 AM

Geoff Tunnicliffe heads one of the world's largest faith organizations - the World Evangelical Alliance - but on Wednesday morning, when he reached the Florida pastor planning to burn the Koran on Sept. 11, "I felt like a deer in the headlights," he said.

For weeks, Tunnicliffe had remained silent about the intention of the tiny Gainesville church to publicly torch Islam's holy book this Saturday, not wanting to lend legitimacy to the Dove World Outreach Center or its controversial pastor, Terry Jones. But after hearing from Pentecostal leaders around the globe who fear that the scripture-burning could spark sectarian violence, he decided he needed to appeal to Jones as a fellow Christian.

Tunnicliffe is among the religious leaders who have tried to reach out to Jones in recent days and persuade him to abandon his plan, which has been condemned by everyone from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to Gen. David H. Petraeus to conservative commentator Glenn Beck to actress Angelina Jolie. Even Franklin Graham, son of famed evangelist Billy Graham and an outspoken critic of Islam, tried twice without success to reach Jones on Wednesday to express his disapproval of defacing or destroying the sacred texts or writings of other religions, a spokesman said.

Jones did not return telephone calls Wednesday seeking comment.

Tunnicliffe described himself as "pleading" during a 10-minute cellphone conversation with the man whose plan has sparked angry protests in Jakarta and Kabul, a plan that some fear could put the lives of U.S. troops in Muslim countries at risk.

"I tried to talk about the impact this would have on his own stated goals of taking the Gospel to the world," said Tunnicliffe, whose group represents hundreds of millions of evangelicals, including those in Muslim countries.

He told Jones that Christian leaders and missionaries around the world were opposed to the burning, and asked, "What are you hearing from God that these people aren't hearing?" He asked how Jones would feel if the event led to the death of a pastor or the destruction of a church in another part of the world.

Jones listened but remained noncommittal, Tunnicliffe said. "He said they might not change their minds, but that they were praying about it."

At the end of the phone call, Tunnicliffe said, he prayed for Jones.

"Here's the reality: That video will never go away," he said. "It will be so detrimental to our work with religious liberty around the world. Everywhere I go around the world, I will have to address this for years to come."

He and others described their lobbying efforts this week as delicate and strange. Jones doesn't belong to a religious denomination and doesn't appear to know fellow pastors in his town.

Some religious leaders said they fear that Jones won't listen to strangers, or they are reluctant to fuel something that they hope will go away. Others said the fact that evangelical leaders aren't taking more action reflects a distant and sometimes tense relationship with Muslims and the fact that many evangelicals are skeptical of Islam.

"People don't speak out the way they should because they don't have personal relationships," said Richard Cizik, a former longtime lobbyist for the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), the U.S. branch of the World Evangelical Alliance. He noted that an NAE poll of evangelical leaders in 2008 found none who said they had a good friend who was Muslim.

Nevertheless, NAE President Leith Anderson issued a statement Wednesday asking Muslims not to judge "all Christians by the behavior of one extremist. One person with 30 silent followers does not speak for 300 million Americans who will never burn a Koran."

Christian leaders from other denominations echoed those sentiments Wednesday, saying there was no support in their communities for Jones. The question was how to reach the former hotel manager who sells furniture on eBay to make extra money.

Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said he decided not to approach Jones because he believes that the pastor would disapprove of Land's advocacy for the rights of religious minorities and his general engagement with pluralism.

"If I know my boy, he thinks we're apostate liberals anyway," Land said. "My guess is my call would be counterproductive. My calling him would just encourage him to do it."

City commissioners and the mayor of Gainesville have called Jones, as have local clergy, including the Rev. Dan Johnson of the 4,000-member Trinity United Methodist Church, the closest house of worship to the Dove Center. Johnson tried several times to make appointments with Jones before the Dove pastor called Johnson "yellow-bellied" in a local paper, said Troy Holloway, Trinity's director of stewardship development.

Tunnicliffe said he offered to come to Florida on Friday to speak with Jones's church and was planning to deliver a letter to the congregation and run an advertisement in the Gainesville newspaper.

Asked if evangelical leaders - including himself- had delayed trying to stop the Koran-burning because many Christians feel anxious about the spread of Islam, he said he didn't believe that was the case.

"They may have some concerns, but you'd only find the very fringe that would have any support for this, even among the most conservative," Tunnicliffe said. "I think there would be a strong consensus that this kind of approach is absolutely not acceptable and not biblical."

The Washington Post

Christian leaders in Asia concerned Koran burning will affect Christian minorities

Rome, Italy, Sep 8, 2010 / 02:05 pm (CNA).- Christian leaders in Asia are criticizing plans by a Florida pastor to burn copies of the Koran on September 11, saying Muslim radicals will use the incident as motivation for attacking Christian minorities in the region.

Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center in Florida said he intends to continue with his plans to burn the Koran despite the consequences it may have for Christian minorities in Asia. According to Fides news agency, the president of the Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan, Bishop Lawrence Saldanha, strongly condemned the idea and said it was “contrary to the respect for all religions, contrary to our teachings, and to our faith.”

Nazir S. Bhatti, president of the Pakistan Christian Congress called on Jones to cancel the Koran burning, saying it would be used “by Muslim radicals as a pretext for attacking Christians.”

Likewise, the president of the Bishops’ Conference of India, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, urged Christian and Muslim leaders to issue a statement rejecting this act as opposed to the teachings of Christ.

In addition, the secretary general of the Indonesian Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Johannes Pujasumarta, told Fides that the Church will continue to pray “that nothing unpleasant happens in Indonesia or the whole world because of this irresponsible act.”

Angelina Jolie condemns planned Koran burning

Angelina Jolie has spoken out against the proposed burning of the Koran by a small Florida church on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. When asked about the church's plan, Jolie responded, "I have hardly the words that somebody would do that to somebody's religious book."

Jolie is in Pakistan visiting victims of the recent flooding, the worst in the country's history. "There are people displaced by the floods and they've lost their homes. And the floodwater was as high as this ceiling when you see the mark, and I was surprised by that," Jolie said to reporters. "And their needs need to be addressed."

By Sarah Anne Hughes | September 8, 2010; 11:51 AM ET

The Washington Post

U.S. Muslims Give Pakistan Flood Donation to Christian Agency

A U.S. Muslim group decided to help Pakistani flood victims through a Christian humanitarian aid agency, the latter group reported Tuesday.

The Muslim Community of North East Tennessee (MCNET) donated the $11,000 it raised to help the families in the hard-hit town of Shabarra in Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa Province (formerly known as the Northwest Frontier) to World Vision.

MCNET’s organizers, who are Pakistani Americans, praised the Christian aid agency for distributing relief supplies bought using the donation in a “very organized and dignified way.” The group said it wants to raise more money and support more families in Shabarra, which has not received any aid other than from WV.

“The fact that Pakistanis are helping Pakistanis is highly commendable,” remarked Shaharyar Khan Bangash, who manages World Vision’s programs in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Province. “These donations from the Pakistani community through World Vision are an endorsement of the trust the Pakistani community has in our work.”

According to World Vision, MCNET’s donation was used to purchase and distribute kitchenware, bedding, hygiene kits, gas cylinders, floor mats, tents and a small cash grant to 48 families in Shabarra.

About a month ago, flood waters from extremely heavy monsoon rains began to overflow in northwest Pakistan. The floods then pushed south along the Indus River, devastating towns and farmland.

The floods have killed 1,760 people but officials said they expect the death toll to rise “significantly” when they account for the missing. Flood waters have to date destroyed 8.9 million acres of rich farmland, damaged or destroyed a million homes, and affected 17 million people.

It is the worst flooding in Pakistan’s history.

Last month, World Vision Pakistan’s program development and quality director, Anita Cole, said the scale of humanitarian aid needed for the floods is “almost incomprehensible.”

But WV said it is encouraged by the donations from Pakistani in and out of the disaster-stricken country. The Pakistani community has so far given more than $17,000 to communities in need through World Vision.

“I have not seen such a good way of distribution anywhere else,” said Haji Ijaz Akhtar, a businessman and president of the Japan Market in Peshawar, who donated nearly $600 to the disaster through WV.

“After witnessing the excellent, transparent and unambiguous way World Vision Pakistan handles its distributions here today, I intend not only to donate more money but will also urge my other colleagues to donate generously to World Vision,” he said.

Overall, American individuals, foundations and companies have donated $25 million towards Pakistan floodrelief as of Aug. 30, according to Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy.

Meanwhile, donors worldwide have given about two-thirds of the $460 million the U.N. requested for emergency aid, according to the head of the World Food Program. But the food agency itself has less than half the money it needs to feed those affected.

Everyday intolerance

By Rafia Zakaria
Wednesday, 04 Aug, 2010

Hakimullah Mehsud, a major leader for Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, is seen here with a weapon. - Photo on file

Judging from news accounts, the Pakistani military has been making significant inroads against the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the tribal agencies and Swat valley. In a report published by the Critical Threats Project, army personnel described the victory of the security forces as “long-lasting, sustainable peace”.

Operations in South Waziristan are also reported to have been largely successful in identifying and eliminating militant strongholds. Data culled from news reports shows that Pakistan’s military has made tremendous progress in dismantling Taliban operations and gaining control of previously militant-infested areas. A Gallup Pakistan poll conducted late last year showed that the majority of Pakistanis polled supported the military operation in South Waziristan in the hope that it would bring peace to the region.

However, in the midst of these military victories lies disturbing evidence that suggests that while the territorial project of the TTP may be floundering, its social project of producing a radicalised Pakistan attracted to literal and intolerant interpretations of faith is flourishing. Examples of such societal radicalisation abound, a notable one being the lack of public outcry against the rampant persecution of minorities who do not fit into the idealised mould of the Sunni Muslim Pakistani citizen.

The past month saw the rape of a Christian trainee nurse in Karachi. In the same month two Christian brothers were gunned down in Faisalabad in broad daylight while leaving a court for a hearing on blasphemy charges, while there were reports that a psychology professor, who had been on the faculty of the University of Peshawar for the past 10 years, was brutally beaten by students for refusing to convert to Islam. There are also reports that the coffin of Premchand, a Hindu Youth Parliament member killed in the Air Blue plane crash, was inscribed with ‘kafir’ before being turned over to his family.

These incidents came on the heels of the deadly attacks on the Ahmadi community in Lahore in May, which killed scores of innocent people. In the case of the trainee nurse, there are some views on how those entrusted with investigating the crime are casting the case as a Christian-Muslim issue in which information provided by the victim cannot be taken as credible because she is not Muslim.

Examples of social radicalisation are not limited to the silent tolerance of violence against religious minorities. A few months ago, Pakistan shut off for some time access to the social networking website Facebook, which had a link to content regarded as blasphemous. A poll conducted by the website Propakistan reported that nearly 70 per cent of the Pakistanis responding to the poll wanted a permanent ban on Facebook.

Similarly, we recently saw the banning of Teray Bin Laden, a comedy film that pokes fun at Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden and features Pakistani pop star Ali Zafar. The affinity for bans suggests the increasing prevalence of a worldview that wants to eliminate perspectives that are repugnant, rather than develop intellectual arguments against them.

College campuses around the country provide further evidence of creeping radicalism that wishes to institutionalise a literal and dogmatic interpretation of Islam. Kinnaird College, an all women’s institution, banned “jeans and other western dress” on campus last year after the reported harassment of female students by burka-clad women who threatened violence. Similarly, in April this year, female students at the Islamic University in Islamabad were harassed and physically assaulted by a worker of the Islami Jamiat-i-Tulaba.

According to a report published in a Pakistani daily, the accused approached the women near the engineering building on campus, lectured them that taking pictures was haram and then proceeded to slap and kick one of them. This same student had earlier been accused of assaulting a female teacher. Despite all this, when female students protested, the university administration threatenedthem rather than taking action against the guilty party.

Similar acts of vigilantism designed to intimidate women and minorities continue to occur all over Pakistan without inciting even a fraction of public outcry. There have also been reports of armed men accosting women in public places in Karachi, warning them to cover themselves otherwise they would be subjected to acid attacks, while in other cases, letters have been sent to some fathers asking them to “rein in their daughters” and not allow them to be uncovered in public. Women walking in parks have been harassed by groups of men who do not think they should be out in public.

Cumulatively, all these cases point to the constriction of the Pakistani public sphere and the increasing popularity of the dogmatic, intolerant and ignorant interpretation of Islam touted by the Taliban and their ilk. Considered collectively, the most disturbing aspect of these incidents is that they are not being carried out by the Taliban but by ordinary and sometimes educated citizens who have begun to subscribe to radicalised perspectives. The students beating up women and professors, protesters wanting to ban this or that are not the uneducated, barbaric Taliban but educated, urban middle-class citizens from all over the country.

Their acts of intolerance suggest that while the Pakistani military may be winning the territorial conflict, the war for the Pakistani psyche may already have been lost. Such an appraisal begs the question of whether there is any value in fighting the Taliban for territory if we have already ceded our psyche.

The writer is a US-based attorney who teaches constitutional history and political philosophy.

Don't burn the Koran, plead Church leaders

Catholic leaders worldwide and US officials are protesting against a plan to publicly burn the Koran on September 11.

Larry Jones of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville has said that he wants to hold a "Koran Burning Day" on Saturday's anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks, reports Zenit.

Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore, Pakistan, president of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops Conference, told Fides, "We strongly condemn this intention and this campaign, as it is contrary to the respect due to all religions, as well as contrary to our doctrine and to our faith."

Nazir Bhatti, chairman of the Pakistan Christian Congress, also appealed for the stopping of this initiative as "it could seriously harm Christian minorities in Muslim-majority countries."

This "Koran Burning Day," he said, "will be used by radical Islamists as a pretext to attack Christians."

Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai, India, and president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India and several Christian and Muslim religious leaders said in a joint statement that the proposed act was "contrary to the teaching of Jesus Christ."

The cardinal said: "I condemn this completely insensitive threat that is disrespectful to the Holy Quran, on behalf of the Catholic Church".

Bishop Johannes Pujasumarta of Bandung, Indonesia, secretary general of the Indonesian bishops' conference, told Fides: "We have expressed our disagreement and have launched an appeal to have it cancelled.

"We will continue to pray that nothing unpleasant occurs in Indonesia and throughout the world as a result of this irresponsible act".

Various US leaders have also joined the Church leaders in condemning this initiative, Zenit said. This includes General David Petraeus, commander of the troops in Afghanistan, who said the act could endanger the soldiers under his care.

Killing of two brothers reported

Saudi Qaeda leader urges killing of Christians

DUBAI: A Saudi leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has urged sympathisers in the Saudi security forces to kill Christians living in the kingdom, in an audio message released on Wednesday. The purported audiotape, posted on a website used by Islamists, also repeated an often-made call to overthrow the Saudi government and called for attacks on Israel. “Those of you who work in guarding the tyrants of princes or ministers, or the compounds inhabited by Christians, or can reach them, should seek God’s help and kill them,” said AQAP’s number two, Said al-Shihri. Shihri, a former inmate of the US military detention centre in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, claimed that AQAP has received correspondence from members of Saudi armed forces asking for “guidance.” He urged the Qaeda followers, however, to make sure that they avoid killing Muslims by mistake during their attacks. “Fear God with regards to Muslims’ blood... even if that was a reason to postpone your attack,” he said. Shihri also urged any followers in the armed forces to attack Israel from the northwestern tip of Saudi Arabia on the Gulf of Aqaba, across the water from the Israeli resort of Eilat. “Carry your arms against Israel, which is only few kilometres away from you, whose lights you can see (at night) from the city of Haql,” he said. “Whoever among you is a pilot should seek martyrdom in the skies of Palestine, and who works in the navy should aim his weapon at the Jews there,” he added. Shihri called for forming cells within the armed and security forces to recruit sympathisers “to make the toppling of Al-Saud easier.” In June, Shihri urged al Qaeda supporters in Saudi Arabia to kidnap princes and Christians in order to secure the release of militants, including female “preacher” Heila al-Qsayer, a widow of a Saudi al Qaeda militant killed six years ago by the Saudi authorities. Al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia launched a deadly wave of attacks against Westerners and government installations in 2003, but have been dealt severe blows by the authorities, forcing them eventually to regroup in Yemen. Saudi and Yemeni militants announced the merging of their factions in Yemen in January 2009, as intelligence reports have warned that Yemen has become a regrouping haven for Al-Qaeda veterans. Authorities in Yemen have launched a fierce military campaign against AQAP, which has claimed responsibility for the botched attempt to blow up a US airliner over Detroit last Christmas. Yemen is the ancestral homeland of the Saudi-born al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, who has been stripped of his Saudi nationality. afp

(Daily Times Thursday, August 12, 2010)

لاہور: ہلاکتوں میں اضافہ، طالبان نے ذمہ داری قبول کر لی

احمدیوں کی عبادت گاہ پر حملہ، دو ہلاک

رفعت اللہ اورکزئی

بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام، پشاور

تین ماہ قبل لاہور میں بھی احمدیوں کی عبادگاہوں پرحملے کئے گئے تھے جس میں سو کے قریب افراد ہلاک گئے تھے۔

پاکستان کے صوبہ خیبر پختون خوا کے ضلع مردان میں حکام کا کہنا ہے کہ ایک مبینہ خودکش حملہ آور نے احمدیوں کی عبادت گاہ پر حملے کی کوشش کی ہے جس میں حملہ آور سمیت دو افراد ہلاک ہوگئے ہیں۔

مردان پولیس کے ایک اہلکار شاکر اللہ نے بی بی سی کو بتایا ’یہ واقعہ مردان شہر کے علاقے کینال روڈ پر جمعہ کی دوپہر مقامی وقت کے مطابق ایک بج کر پندرہ منٹ پر پیش آیا۔‘

انہوں نے بتایا کہ ایک مبینہ خودکش حملہ آور احمدیوں کی ایک عبادت گاہ کی جانب بڑھ رہا تھا کہ اس دوران وہاں عبادت گاہ کے سامنے ڈیوٹی پر موجود ایک احمدی رضاکار نے حملہ آور پر فائرنگ کردی جس سے اُس کے جسم سے باندھا ہوا دھماکہ خیز مواد پھٹ گیا۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ دھماکے سے حملہ آور سمیت دو افراد ہلاک ہوئے جس میں ایک احمدی بھی شامل ہے۔

انہوں نے کہا کہ جمعرات سے مردان میں احمدیوں کی عبادت گاہ کے اردگرد سکیورٹی کے سخت انتظامات کئے گئے تھے۔

انہوں نے بتایا کہ ابھی تک کسی تنظیم اس حملے کی ذمہ داری قبول نہیں کی ہے۔

ایک مبینہ خودکش حملہ آور احمدیوں کی ایک عبادت گاہ کی جانب بڑھ رہا تھا کہ اس دوران وہاں عبادت گاہ کے سامنے ڈیوٹی پر موجود ایک احمدی رضاکار نے حملہ آور پر فائرنگ کردی جس سے اُس کے جسم سے باندھا ہوا دھماکہ خیز مواد پھٹ پڑا۔

پولیس اہلکار شاکر اللہ

مقامی لوگوں کا کہنا ہے کہ حملہ آور عبادت گاہ کے اندر جانے کی کوشش رہا تھا تاہم فائرنگ کی زد میں آنے سے وہ آگے بڑھنے میں کامیاب نہیں ہوسکا۔

واضح رہے کہ مردان میں احمدیوں کے چند خاندان ایک ہی جگہ پر آباد ہیں اور حکومت نے انہیں عبادت کےلیے ایک الگ جگہ دے رکھی ہے جہاں وہ عبادت کرتے ہیں۔

خیال رہے کہ تقریباً تین ماہ قبل لاہور میں بھی احمدیوں کی عبادگاہوں پرحملے کیے گئے تھے جس میں سو کے قریب افراد ہلاک اور سو سے زائد زخمی ہوگئے تھے۔

اُدھر پشاور میں پولیس موبائل پر ہونے والےایک ریموٹ کنٹرول بم حملے کے نتیجے میں ایک پولیس اہلکار ہلاک جبکہ دو زخمی ہوگئے ہیں۔

پولیس کے مطابق یہ واقعہ جمعہ کو پشاور کے علاقے رنگ روڈ پر اس وقت پیش آیا جب سڑک کے کنارے نصب ایک ریموٹ کنٹرول بم حملے سے پولیس کی گشتی گاڑی کو نشانہ بنایا گیا۔

دھماکے میں ایک اہلکار ہلاک اور دو زخمی ہوئے۔ حملے میں گاڑی کو بھی نقصان پہنچا ہے۔

پشاور میں ایک ہفتے کے دوران یہ دوسرا دھماکہ ہے۔ اس سے پہلے متنی کے علاقے میں طالبان مخالف لشکر کے رضاکاروں پر حملے میں دو افراد ہلاک ہوگئے تھے

Christians must reject "Burn a Quran Day"

By Jennifer S. Bryson

"Burn a Quran Day" is how a church in Florida is preparing to mark the ninth anniversary of 9/11. So far the Christian response to this in America has been nearly dead silence.

The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) has issued a press release opposing Burn a Quran Day. This is good, but it is basically just a statement to assure non-Evangelical Christians that Terry Jones does not represent authentic Evangelical Christianity.

More direct are efforts by John Rankin, an Evangelical and President of the Theological Education Institute, to reach out Pastor Terry Jones in person. In addition, Rankin has initiated the "Yes to the Bible, No to the Burning of the Qur'an" collective affirmation. So far, however, John Rankin seems to be a voice in the wilderness on this.

Since 9/11 many American Christians have been asking why Muslims who oppose Islamist radicalism don't do more to counter it. Today I suspect more than a few Muslims are looking at Christians in America wondering why Christians don't try to dissuade the Dove World Outreach Center in Florida, led by Pastor Terry Jones, from hosting Burn a Quran Day.

What is the responsibility of religious believers in a given faith to engage fanatics advocating ideologies of hate while claiming to act in the name of this faith?

Quran burning does not equate with murdering thousands in terrorism. However, these are similar in being ideological expressions of hatred which identify themselves with Abrahamic faiths better known for their emphasis on God's mercy toward all humans.

Both are independent movements evoking the name of far larger, broader religions. The Dove World Outreach Center is an independent church. Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda is an independent movement. Just as millions of Christians peacefully attend churches with no affiliation with the Dove World Outreach Center, millions of peaceful Muslims have no affiliation with al-Qaeda and associated movements.

Among Muslims there are emerging efforts beyond press releases to engage Islamist fanatics and Muslims, especially young Muslims, at risk of radicalization. Examples include the Quilliam Foundation, a Muslim counter-radicalization think-tank in the U.K., and the videoBelievers Beware: Injustice Cannot Defeat Injustice, released this summer by the Muslim Public Affairs Council based in Washington, DC, featuring Muslim leaders speaking Muslim-to-Muslim against religious fanaticism.

This video is not a press release to assure non-Muslims that al-Qaeda does not represent authentic Islam. Rather, the video targets fellow Muslims.

The target audiences for countering Burn a Quran Day and Islamist fanaticism need to be, precisely, co-religionists, and in particular the enthusiasts of hatred and violence.

We need to reach inside our faiths across the lines of specific religious movements and denominations to engage those who promote and even act on hatred in the name of faith.

In the Believers Beware video, Imam Zaid Shakir of the Zaytuna Institute in California observes, with a passion emphasized in his repetition, that as for the "advocates of extremism...advocates of indiscriminate violence...advocates of killing civilians, where are they successful? Where are they successful? You just see one mess after another, one mess after another. And it is time for us to start cleaning up those messes..."

There is a mess brewing inside Christendom. Some American Christians might be thinking, "Terry Jones and his church - ahem, his "church" - have nothing to do with me because I am Catholic/Methodist/fill-in-the-blank." And yet the only thing a flood victim in Pakistan, likely Muslim, is probably going to hear about this story is, 'American Christians put their energy and resources into Quran burning, not into helping us in our hour of dire need.'

Moreover, if American Christians don't try to reach out to Terry Jones, then who will? Press releases will not be enough.

We need intra-faith dialogue. Those of us inside of a given faith may be most likely to have the credibility, or at least understand the dispositions of the heart and the substantive arguments, which can counter doctrinal fanaticism.

American Muslims and Christians are people with a publicly professed interest in serving our Creator. "Cleaning up those messes," inside our own homes, may be a great way to start doing just that.

http://www.jenniferbryson.net/ is Director of the Islam and Civil Society Project at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, NJ.

(Washington Post August 27, 2010)

Christian and Hindu villages flooded intentionally

Islamabad (Agenzia Fides) – It is something that adds to the tragedy of suffering and frustration of the flooding: the poor villages, many of which are inhabited by Christian and Hindu citizens, are deliberately flooded. The flow of the floods is being diverted by dams and artificial barriers erected to save the lands of large landowners and notables. The occurrence that was denounced by Fides two days ago (see Fides 31/08/2010) is now finding further confirmation in new episodes that NGOs working in the area continue to report to Fides, as well as in the complaints being made by intellectuals and diplomats in Pakistan. Abdullah Hussain Haroon, Pakistan's ambassador to the UN, has confirmed to BBC that there was evidence that landowners had allowed embankments to burst and that the waters were diverted into defenseless villages of poor farmers. The diplomat has called for an official government investigation into the matter.
Fides, after the sad experience of the Christian village of Khokharabad near Multan (leaving 15 dead and 377 homeless), collected the dramatic testimonies of displaced persons from four villages in the province of Sindh: Mirpur Bathoro, Jati, Dharo, and Laiqpur, inhabited by

Christian and Hindu minorities. The villages are located near the town of Sajawal, a densely populated area in the district of Thatta, 80 km from Karachi, which has been strongly affected by flooding in recent days. The people of these villages have received notice from the local civilian authorities to move urgently into other surrounding areas given the arrival of the water, which came with force: the houses of neighboring villages and fields were destroyed and over 2,800 families, both Christian and Hindu, are homeless and landless, in misery. The waters came as a result of an artificial diversion, built to save the agricultural estates belonging to powerful landowners who convinced - and some say in a corrupt manner - local officials to divert the course of water and save their land.

The head of the village of Jati said: "Once again the strength of the powerful crushes the poor. We Christians and Hindus in this area of Sindh are treated like animals; we do not receive any recognition from the government." Another villager said: "We are more than 2,800 families with no food, no water, no home. We are desperate."

Another case that has come to the attention of Fides is the area of Jacobabad, also in Sindh: the outskirts of the city were flooded by a system for diverting waters in order to save the city of Shikarpur. Villagers in the area have vigorously protested to the authorities for such operations.

(PA) (Agenzia Fides 09/02/2010)