Christians living in Islamabad's slums can deal with economic disparity, but not with religious intoleranceMehrabad is a sprawling village of haphazard dwellings and a diverse population not too far from the affluent sectors of the federal capital Islamabad. Most of the people living below poverty line in Islamabad's slums are Christians by faith. Many of them are garbage pickers or sweepers, or do other menial jobs. They are often humiliated and looked down upon.
In August, a Christian girl from the village was accused of desecrating the Holy Koran by burning pages from the Noorani Qaeda. "There is no way Rimsha could have done it deliberately, or someone else from among the local Christians could have asked her to do so," said a local police official. The 11-year-old girl suffering from Down's syndrome has been in Adiala Jail since August 17. Officials say she has been locked up to guarantee her safety, because emotionally charged fanatics are out to kill her.
Mehrabad is a 10-minute drive from Kohsar Market, where late Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer was killed by his bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri in January 2011 after he had called for a fair trial of a Christian woman accused of blasphemy. It is also a 10-minute drive from the neighbourhood in which Minority Affairs minister Shahbaz Bhatti was bumped off two months later. The two incidents shook the Christians of Islamabad.
| A local holy man believes the 11 year old girl is mentally sound and desecrated the Holy Koran deliberately. He called her act 'a conspiracy', but failed to elaborate what objectives she or other Christians would achieve by infuriating thousands of Moslems |
There are 11 legal and four illegal slums in Islamabad which accommodate a large number of Christians. Many Christian women work as maids in nearby houses, and men are mostly daily wagers. They say they can deal with economic disparity, but not with religious discrimination.
In the preliminary investigation, police authorities have cleared Rimsha Masih. Officials believe the girl had no idea what she was burning to make fire. Given the economic and social conditions of the area's Christians, the officials say they would not dare do such a thing on purpose.
After the accusation was made, scores of angry men led by a local holy man gathered outside Christian houses. Cleric Hafiz Khalid Chishti claims he saved the girl from being lynched by the crowd. But he believed the 11 year old girl was of sound mind and burned the pages of Noorani Qaeda deliberately. He called her act 'a conspiracy' but failed to elaborate what objectives she or other Christians would achieve by infuriating thousands of Moslem natives.
During a Friday sermon, the holy man had provoked the worshippers to "wake up and protect" the Holy Koran.
| The 11-year-old girl suffering from Down's syndrome has been in Adiala Jail since August 17 |
While the Rimsha Masih case was discussed in the Vatican, in the power corridors of Washington, and the conference halls of the United Nations
...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks...
, the civil society of Islamabad remained more or less indifferent. Rights activist Dr Farzana Bari admits.
"We are living in a state of terror. The civil society in Pakistain is getting weaker and weaker. To express opinion on such sensitive matters is rather difficult," she explained. The belief that it is justified to kill in the name of religion is spreading fast in the Pak society, she feared.
She argues the controversial blasphemy law is misused, often to settle personal vendetta. "Even the trial is unfair. The judges are very careful and don't decide the blasphemy cases, consequently the victims languish in jails for years and years."
The People's Party government has also not been able to take a tough stance against religious intolerance and persecution. Perhaps it is preoccupied with dealing with other challenges threatening its survival.
| The mutilated body of Samuel Yaqoob, a Christian boy, was found in Faisalabad. The boy's lips and nose had been cut off and he was disemboweled |
President Asif Ali Ten PercentZardari
... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in ...
has taken personal interest in the Rimsha Masih case, but there are many others buried under files in police and court records.
Days after the blasphemy allegation made headlines, another horrible incident took place in Faisalabad
...formerly known as Lyallpur, the third largest metropolis in Pakistain, the second largest in Punjab after Lahore. It is named after some Arab because the Paks didn't have anybody notable of their own to name it after...
on Eid day.. The mutilated body of Samuel Yaqoob, a Christian boy, was found on Eid day. Reports said the boy's lips and nose had been cut off and his stomach was removed. The police are investigating whether the boy was accused of blasphemy.
On July 3, an angry mob burned a man alive in Bahawalpur after he was accused of desecrating the Koran. Police failed to protect the suspect and some of them were beaten up. Later, they started the paperwork but haven't done much else against 2,000 people.
On 15 April, 80-year old Iqbal Butt was rubbed out by a holy man in Sheikhupura on similar allegations. The holy man who killed Butt had earlier accused him of blasphemy. The court had acquitted Butt.