Members of Pakistan’s Christian community remain terrified as the country faces its worst anti-Christian violence in recent years, amid calls for execution.
Muslim clerics have called for nationwide anti-Christian protests and the public execution of a young Christian man, Yousaf Masih, following unfounded reports he had burned pages of the Koran.The calls follow a serious outbreak of anti-Christian violence in the Christian community of Sangla Hill, about 130km northeast of Lahore, Pakistan’s second largest city.
According to BosNewsLife, Christians report that a Muslim who owed Masih a large amount of money threw a burning match into the room where the Koran was placed, prompting Sangla Hill police to arrest and torture four of Masih’s six brothers.
The accused Yousaf then, according to reports, confessed the act in exchange for the release of his brothers, with Muslim leaders now saying he should be executed.
According to churches, officials and human rights groups, hundreds of Christian families have fled the region while other Christians remain indoors amid rising tensions and fears of more attacks.The Archbishop of Lahore, Lawrence Saldanha, expressed concern in a letter to the governor of Punjab that some Muslim circles “continue feeding Muslim hatred” directed against Christians in Sangla Hill.
The Archbishop was referring to the gathering of around 3,000 men at the Jamia Masjid Rizvia mosque in Sangla Hill on Friday 2 December where they allegedly made the call for the execution of Yousaf Masih alongside local government officials, Shahibzada Haji Fazal Kareem, a member of Pakistan’s Assembly.
In the letter to the governor of Punjab, Archbishop Saldanha, described the situation in Sangla Hill as ‘worrisome’, especially in the run-up to Christmas, reports AsiaNews.
The Archbishop added that while the judicial inquiry was not yet completed, the Muslim religious leaders “take it for granted that Yousaf Masih is guilty”, before urging the governor to agree with his view that such calls could have “serious repercussions”.
He also said that the perpetrators should be found because “to arrest the innocent is counterproductive”, adding that Pakistan’s blasphemy legislation should be abolished immediately, after having led to the arrest of numerous Christians accused of disregarding Islam, reports International Christian Concern.
Christians reacted with anger to the statement by Pakistan’s President Musharraf in which he condemned the attack whilst also condemning the alleged burning of the Koran. Christians complain that the state has not done enough to protect them.
In a recent visit to Pakistan, the Archbishop of Canterbury urged the reform of the country’s blasphemy laws, expressing the fear it was being used to “settle private scores”.
Around 2,000 Muslims destroyed the Roman Catholic, Salvation Army and United Presbyterian churches in their attack on Sangla Hill on November 12.
