2023-08-18 15:11:20
The religious persecution of Muslims against Christians living in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has given rise to new chapters of intolerance, causing destruction and even torture, according to information from the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA).
Last Wednesday, for example, around 500 Christian families located in the province of Punjab had to leave their homes in order to escape a crowd of radical Muslims after a complaint of alleged blasphemy.
Three local residents, Muslims, reported to the police the alleged blasphemy against the Koran, a book considered sacred by Muslims. After that, local Islamic leaders began to call for protests against Christians.
“The Koran was desecrated in the Christian colony. All clerics and Muslims assemble in front of the mosque. You are having breakfast at home. Where is your Muslim crush? You should have died,” says a local leader.
Shortly thereafter, six Christian churches were attacked in the Basti Maharanwala Christian neighborhood. They set fire to and broke the windows of temples, according to James Rehmat, director of the Ecumenical Commission for Human Development (ECHD).
Tortured Christians
ECHD also reacted to the attacks. “It is regrettable that we are witnessing a resurgence of this barbarism so soon after Independence Day was celebrated by all religious communities in the Islamic Republic,” the organization said in a statement.
A video recording the moment of the attack went viral on social media. Through the recording, it is possible to observe the intolerance of Muslims converted into crimes against religious freedom and protection of property.
#Churches ransacked, Bibles burned and #Christians tortured in Pakistan, the world is silent.
#Jaranwala The angry Mob are being led by #TLP. #Faisalabad #blasphemy pic.twitter.com/RZAtWo95Cv— Faraz Pervaiz (@FarazPervaiz3) August 16, 2023
Bishop Azad Marshall, president of the Church of Pakistan, said the blasphemy accusation involving local Christians is false. It happens that, in many cases, the followers of Jesus are targets of this type of accusation, simply because they do not recognize the Islamic belief in the same way that Muslims do.
By declaring faith in Jesus as the Son of God, the Word made flesh, refusing Islamic precepts on the Koran and Mohammed, for example, many end up being accused of blasphemy.
“A church is being burned down as I type this message. Bibles were desecrated and Christians were tortured and harassed for being falsely accused of violating the Holy Quran,” Marshal said on Twitter. Look more:
Here is another video of a Muslim mob screaming “Allahu akbar” as a man atop a church breaks the cross. “Then a man among the Muslims will become angry and will go and break the Cross.” (Sunan Ibn Majah 4089) This rioting is over claims that a Christian committed blasphemy. pic.twitter.com/Ire5hFvjqZ
— Robert Spencer (@jihadwatchRS) August 16, 2023
#alleged #blasphemy #Muslims #torture #Christians