New Attacks – Old Reasons (A perspective on the recent attack on Joseph Colony, Lahore)

Just this Saturday we saw another mob attack on one of the densely populated Christian areas, Joseph colony in Badaami Bagh, Lahore that burnt more than 150 houses and affected more than 250 poor families.

This is hardly a new or unfamiliar turn of events; the root cause of this savagery was not very different from the previous other attacks against the Christian communities in Pakistan. A Muslim man accused a Christian neighbour of committing blasphemy (which is a serious crime in Pakistan - under section 295-C of the Pakistani Penal Code, it can be punished with the death penalty). The man was duly arrested, but this was not enough for the mob, whose blazing fury was stoked until his entire colony had to pay the price for it. Almost the entire colony – houses, possessions, and furnishings alike - of Christian residents was burnt to the ground.

The victims reveal that the police themselves warned them to leave their houses one night before the attack, and that they showed their inability to deal with the angry perpetrators. Again, the behaviour of the local administrative authority and police has not been very different from past events.

It was not very long ago - the 1st of August, 2009, to be precise - that a violent mob had torched nearly 50 houses in a Christian Colony in Gojra (a small village located 30 miles from the city of Faisalabad). Eight Christians were been killed as a result of those attacks. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan stated that the attack was “not a spontaneous reaction to the allegation of blasphemy but w[as] planned in advance” – in short, it reflected a deep-seated antipathy towards this vulnerable minority group. Announcements made from mosques throughout Gojra urged the Muslims to gather and ‘make mincemeat of Christians The following day, Aug 1, around 1,000 people gathered in the town and marched towards Christian Colony. A police contingent present in the neighbourhood did not try to stop the mob.

Similarly, on November 12, 2005, some 500 Christians had to leave Sangla Hill, a small town in Nankana Sahib district of Pakistan. They had noticed the increasing vitriol against Christians being spouted from mosque loudspeakers, after a Christian man named Yousaf Masih had been accused of burning copies of the Holy Quran, and had fled before the riots to save their lives. The angry mob burnt down three churches, a convent, a missionary school, a girls’ hostel and a pastor’s house.

Looking at the latest anti-Christian attack on the Joseph Colony, a number of important questions come to mind:

• Based on a clear and proven record of religiously motivated attacks in the past, what has been done to control the mob violence against minorities?
• Did religious/community leaders develop and implement any mechanism for conflict resolution or dialogue?
• Has there been any improvement in the laws which allow certain malicious individuals to target Christians and other minorities, putting the most vulnerable individuals in society in danger?

Today, this barbaric attack is widely condemned by the government, civil society organisations and the general public. However, the fact of the matter is that unless the administrative authorities, religious and political leadership play their part to address the root cause of such incidents, they will keep on happening in one form or another, making these condemnations seem somewhat hollow. For members of minority faith groups in Pakistan - who are already living under enormous fear from the extremist groups operating in the country – the situation just keeps getting worse.

One thing can be said for sure at this stage is that radicalisation in Pakistan is rising to an alarming level. It will take serious collective efforts by every segment from every segment of Pakistani society to deal with the grave challenges of extremism and community violence.

Rehman Anwer

In Solidarity with Pakistan's Christians

As Christmas approaches, five million of Pakistan’s Christians are busy preparing for Bara Din (the ‘Big Day’). In the days before one of the most special festivals of the Christian calendar, Pakistan’s vibrant Christian community participate in spiritual seminars and engage in carol singing in their small communities. Families will gather together to share meals and sweet cakes, and share gifts in homes brightly lit with fairy lights and decorated with ornaments and a Christmas Tree.

Christmas is an occasion revered by the Christian community as one centred on compassion, goodwill, giving and reflection alongside one’s family. Sadly, as tensions between Muslims and Christians rise in Pakistan, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ risks becoming overshadowed by violence against and conflict targeted at the country’s Christian population.

Advent, from the Latin adventus (arrival) the time in which Christians wait for Christmas was marred in Pakistan this year by news of the shooting of Birgitta Almby, a 70-year-old Bible teacher and director of a Christian-run technical training institute in Pakistan. The Swedish native, who has worked tirelessly for Pakistan for 34 years, was shot by unidentified assailants on motorbikes.

Ms Almby sadly died from her wounds on 12th December.

This news of course comes soon after the distressing and contentious case of young Rimsha Masih.

For many of those with whom we work, the emotional wounds left by attacks against the Christian community are still raw. We’ve been heartened to have witnessed the strength and courage of our new friend, Ashar John, whose two brother-in-laws were murdered in Faisalabad in 2010. Pastor Rashid Emmanuel, 32, and his brother Sajjad were critically wounded; and we stand side by side in solidarity with him.

Our one hope is that this Christmas brings with it a new chapter for Pakistan’s Christian community, who are as much a part of Pakistan as their Muslim brothers and sisters.

Faith can build bridges too!

Every day media and internet compel us to form our own opinions and conclusions. We read news reports, hear accounts of witnesses and see images of deprivations, poverty, disease and violence across the globe. Nothing moves us more than to see injustice done to those who are vulnerable, underrepresented or targeted because of their views, beliefs or ethnicity. In the wake of the recent events in Palestine facebook and twitter is inundated with views and sometimes accounts of those who are witness to truth and ground reality about the situation and the crisis. The debate starts from the plight of the injured children who are always the innocent victims in any conflict, goes on the failure of politicians and statesmen to resolve the issue and then also includes the clash between faiths.

Countless acts of extremism are carried out because of the differences in views and beliefs between followers of different faiths.  And sometimes strife between different sects within a faith also leads to violence. In Pakistan we hear of flagrant abuse of rights and persecution suffered by the Shias and Ahmadis in Pakistan. Malala was attacked by the very people who profess to represent Muslim faith. Religion is highlighted as the centre of countless incidences of persecution, defamation and condemnation of individuals who either differ in perception of our beliefs or belong to a different religion. Whether it is contribution by Dr Abdus Salam in the fields of physics and mathematics or Shabaz Bhatti’s campaign to highlight the issues of minorities, the question we need to ask is, do we honor such individuals because of their endeavors or do we encourage sense of exclusion because faith values differ.   

Though faith is blamed for most of the major conflicts and wars around the world, it has another dimension and perspective too; that of building bridges. If language of extremism is loud, obvious and instantly recognizable we have to redouble our efforts to prove that faith can end disagreements and foster good relations between people of different faiths. Sometimes those with the loudest voices may not always be right. When we come together to prove we could be of any faith and we want to live together, despite our differences in beliefs, we are contributing to nation building and prosperity. ‘Faith-Matters’ aim to bring together diverse and sometimes unheard voices of tolerance and peace from around Pakistan. There is a lot to be done to remove prejudices and inequality in our society. We have to ensure that Hindus can live without the fear of desecration to their temples, Christians are treated with respect and no one fears for their lives because of laws that are discriminating. The NGO is a step in the right direction and a much needed support for those who want to come together and show solidarity for a good cause.

By Salima Yakoob   twitter: @mssolidarity