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TechnoratiThe violent burning of churches in a rural village in Pakistan last Saturday has provoked reaction of Christians from all of the country and the world.
Head of All Pakistan Minorities Alliance Shahbaz Bhatti, second left, speaks near a holy bible and a cross, those were burnt by angry Muslim mob, during a press conference in Islamabad, Pakistan on Monday, Nov. 14, 2005. (Photo: AP/Anjum Naveed)
According to the U.K.-based human rights watchdog Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), leading church leaders in Pakistan announced on Monday that all Christian schools will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 17, in protest at the allegedly schematic attacks and destructions on Christian properties by a 1,000- to 2,000-strong Muslim mob in Sangla Hill village, Punjab, eastern Pakistan.
Three churches, a convent, a Christian School, a girls' hostel and a priest's home are reportedly to "have turned into ashes" as a result of a hour-long rampage. The mob had even burned Bibles, Christian literature, crosses and other Christian materials, and set fire to Christian homes, CSW reports.
All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA), which has sent a team to the troubled area, said "Christian residents fled to save their lives". Even though no injuries or deaths were incurred, CSW says APMA has declared seven days of nationwide mourning.
In an open letter to the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, obtained by the Italy-based Catholic news agency AsiaNews, four leading Pakistani church leaders demanded a "high-level judicial inquiry" and "exemplary punishment to all the culprits responsible for this deliberate outrage."
The signers of the letter included Mgr Lawrence John Saldanha, Catholic Archbishop of Lahore and President Catholic Bishops’ Conference; the Rev. Alexander J. Malik, Moderator of the Church of Pakistan; Victor Azariah of the National Council of Churches in Pakistan; and the Col. Gulzar Patras, Territorial Commander of the Salvation Army.
By using previous reports of Pakistani news agencies, the leaders gave evidence of the allegedly schematic attacks as well as the authorities’ negligence and unjust treatment towards Christians.
Regarding the charge of blasphemy against a Christian named Yusaf Masih, who allegedly desecrated the Koran and triggered the anger of Muslims, church leaders called it a "baseless rumor."
“The fact of the matter is that Yusaf was playing a game with two Muslims who lost a large sum of money. They asked him to return the money back and when he refused, they turned round and accused him of burning the Quran," stated the letter to the Pakistani President.
The church leaders also raised their concern over the blasphemy law, calling for a total repeal.
"The incident sharply reveals the ineffectiveness of the new rules of the Blasphemy law," they explained.
The statement echoed a previous comment made by the Catholic Archbishop of Lahore, Lawrence Saldanha, immediately after the attack.
"Pakistan's blasphemy laws are the main sources and tools for creating social, sectarian and inter-religious disharmony,” Saldanha had said. “It is negligence on the part of the ministries responsible, who allow the misuse [of the blasphemy laws] at such a large scale, causing a huge amount of injustice."
Mervyn Thomas, CSW's Chief Executive, also made a similar comment, saying in a released statement that the violence “demonstrates how badly misused the blasphemy laws have been.”
“The rights of religious minorities have been neglected for too long. The time has come for Pakistan to repeal the blasphemy laws, and work for equal rights for all religious communities." Continue »
