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| India-Pakistan |
| Fearful Pakistani Christians make home in forest |
| 2012-08-29 |
| [Dawn] Having fled their homes in the latest spasm of Pak religious strife, a few hundred Christians have camped in a forest in the Pak capital, cut down trees and are using the branches to build a church. Their ordeal began when a Christian girl in their poor Islamabad neighbourhood was accused by a neighbour of burning pages of the Koran -- a blasphemy by Pak law that can mean life in prison. A week after the girl's arrest, much remains in question: her age -- 11 to 16 in conflicting reports; mental condition -- Down syndrome has been mentioned; and what exactly she was burning -- there's little evidence that Koran pages were involved. But as word spread, hundreds of people gathered outside her house demanding action, and on Aug 20 police jugged I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece! the girl pending an investigation. Most Christians in the neighbourhood fled -- some 600 families according to one interfaith group. Some said their landlords evicted them. A few have returned. One of those who moved into the forest on Sunday was Sumera Zahid, who was busy feeding her three children and her parents. "We used to come here to collect wood for fuel so we find it a suitable place for shelter," she said. "Here it is not anybody's home, nobody's land. Let us live here in safety." On Monday their pastor, Arif Masih, spoke to them by the frame of branches they were lashing together for their church. "We are thankful to the Lord for this land although here is no water and food, but rest assured the Lord will create water fountains and provide all fruits here for you if you remain patient and suffer these hardships, thanking the Lord," he said. Blasphemy is an extremely sensitive issue in this 95-per cent Moslem nation of 190 million people, and cases often grab huge attention here and abroad. Crowds have been known to beat or kill suspected blasphemers. Last year two prominent politicians who criticised the blasphemy law were murdered, one by his own bodyguard who then attracted adoring mobs. In July, thousands of people dragged a Pak man accused of desecrating the Koran from a cop shoppe, beat him to death and set his body alight. So volatile is the issue that public figures appear loath to speak out on the latest episode. The government has made little substantive comment, and no police protection was evident at the forest encampment. On Monday the All Pakistain Ulema Council, an umbrella organization of Moslem holy mans, held a news conference together with the Pakistain Interfaith League, the group that reports 600 families have fled and is campaigning to return them to their homes. The two groups called for an investigation into whether the girl was wrongly accused and what role religious extremism played. League chairman Sajid Ishaq demanded government compensation for the displaced Christians, as well as protection. Critics say the blasphemy laws are often used in vendettas and score-settling. Sensitivities are also heightened by Western reactions to such incidents, such as the US State Department statement calling the latest case "deeply disturbing." At the news conference, the head of the holy mans' council, Maulana Tahir-ul-Ashrafi, told the outside world not to interfere, saying Pakistain would provide justice for the girl and her community. Meanwhile, ...back at the laboratory the fumes had dispersed, to reveal an ominous sight... Nooran Bashir, who had fled a few hours after the girl's arrest, was back in her home Monday. "I don't know whether she burned pages of some holy book or not, but we all had to abruptly leave our homes to save our lives," she said. She said one of her sons came back with her, but her other children were too frightened and she sent them to relatives. She said Moslems asked the Christians not to worship in their church, and if they did, to refrain from singing. But others were not ready to return. About 200 Christians, mostly men, protested in front of the city administration offices Monday, demanding permission to stay in the clearing. About another 100 people, mostly women and kiddies, were back at the clearing. "We don't have a big list of demands," said one Christian resident, Salim Masih. "We have cleared this place with our hands, and we have laid the first foundation of a small church here. Although this is a mere skeleton made of tree branches, this is the holy home of God. This should be respected." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 The saudi's don't allow Christianity in the first place. As for these fellow Christians, I'm not sure what we can do. It would be better for them to pack up everything and leave that accursed land, but it's not that simple. |
| Posted by: Charles 2012-08-29 14:23 |
| #4 What a horrible intolerant country just like their masters the Saudis. |
| Posted by: Thrineter Juling6998 2012-08-29 12:56 |
| #3 Better make some longbows. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2012-08-29 12:23 |
| #2 OOOOPPPSSSS, forgot CHINA DAILY FORUM > VLADIMIR PUTIN CALLS FOR HIGHER RUSSIAN POPULATION RATES | VLADIMIR PUTIN RIDICULED FOR DEMANDING RUSSIANS HAVE MORE SEX. Radical Islam will be laughing at Vlad's critics all the way to RUSSORABIA + the OWG CALIPHATE. SUN TZU would agree - Horney Ahmed cannot be blamed iff Russians don't wanna have sex anymore, or don't wanna have sex wid other Russians. Horney Ahmed is not responsible for Russia's Econ probs or its Secularism. CDF BLOGGER-POSTER [paraph] = opined that > THE ENTIRE CHRISTIAN WORLD IS DYING, VEE DEMOGRAPHICALLY OR OTHER. > MONOGAMY is Eugenics. > POLYGAMY [Polyamory?] IS THE [NATURAL, DIVINE] LAW - RETURNING TO THE LAW WILL SOLVE MANY MANY PROBS. > IFF THE CHURCH OVERTHROWS THE LAW OF POLYGAMY, WE MUST OVERTHROW THE CHURCH. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2012-08-29 01:01 |
| #1 ION TOPIX > ARMENIANS FEAR MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD RULE IN SYRIA. HHHHMMMMM, Pro-Sunni-Al-Qaeda-vs-Pro-Iran-Hezbollah for control of Syruh??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2012-08-29 00:48 |