Persecution of Pakistani Christians must end, interfaith network says
Episcopal News Service. August 20, 2009 [082009-01]
Matthew Davies
The ongoing persecution of Christian minorities in Pakistan has brought condemnation from Anglicans and Muslims worldwide who are calling for a revision to the country's law that has been used to justify recent attacks by extremists.
On August 20, the Network of Inter Faith Concerns for the Anglican Communion (NIFCON) announced that it is one of the main sponsors of a petition being drawn up asking the government of Pakistan to repeal the law against blasphemy.
According to the Pakistan penal code, the law forbids damaging or defiling a place of worship or the Quran, the Muslim holy book, and forbids defaming Prophet Mohammed. These "offences relating to religion," as they're cited in the penal code, are punishable by life imprisonment or death.
The petition comes three weeks after at least seven Christians in Gojra and Korian in central Punjab were killed by a Muslim mob, the latest in a series of attacks that have intensified over the last two years. The attacks followed rumors that Christians in the region had desecrated a copy of the Quran. More than 70 Christian homes were reported to have been burned and demolished in the attacks.
"In recent years the threat of this law has often been used in unjust attacks upon the country's vulnerable Christian minority, and it seems to have played a part in the recent incident in Gojra which led to the death of a number of Christians," the NIFCON announcement said.
"The advocacy of structural change by people internationally signals an awareness of the seriousness of injustice locally. It also expresses a personal solidarity with those who suffer and recognizes publicly that their cry is heard," said Bishop Michael Jackson of Clogher, Church of Ireland, chair of NIFCON's management group.
"I am glad to invite people of good will, especially Anglicans, from all over the world to add their voices in support of our Christian brothers and sisters in Pakistan," said Jackson, who accompanied Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams on a visit to Pakistan in November 2005.
The petition, which can be accessed here, is in the form of an open letter to the government and the people of Pakistan. It is also supported by leading Muslims, including Dr. Musharraf Hussein of the Christian-Muslim Forum based in England, the NIFCON announcement said.
"The attacks on Christians, and on occasions also on Muslims, facilitated as they are by the law on blasphemy, are very damaging to the reputation of Pakistan and indeed to the reputation of Muslims which we wish to see restored," the petition says. "Indeed we are convinced that living together peacefully for the good of humanity is the heartfelt desire of people of faith."
The petition calls upon the political and religious leadership of Pakistan "to unite in condemning these attacks and murders in the strongest terms as an evil and a crime." It also urges the Pakistani government "to act decisively to prevent any misuse of the present law to victimize minorities."
"Muslims and Christians alike are urging the repeal of this ill-advised law … and its replacement with legislation agreed by the consensus of all faiths which will prevent incitement to religious hatred and the defaming of the prophets and founders of the different faiths," the petition says.
On August 4, Williams condemned the atrocities in Pakistan, saying that such actions "are not the work of true Muslims: they are an abuse of real faith and an injury to its reputation as well as an outrage against common humanity, and deserve forthright condemnation."
Williams noted that Christians in Pakistan are "a small and vulnerable minority, generally with little political or economic power. They are disproportionately affected by the draconian laws against blasphemy, which in recent years have frequently been abused in order to settle local and personal grievances. They need to be assured of their dignity and liberty as citizens of a just and peaceful society. Their good, their security, is part of the good of the whole Pakistani nation. Those of us who love Pakistan and its people, whatever their faith, feel that the whole country is injured and diminished by the violence that has occurred."
Elsewhere in Pakistan, a surge in terrorist activity and the intense military operation against the Taliban in the Swat valley and neighboring districts have caused more than three million people to flee their homes.
At the 76th General Convention, the Episcopal Church expressed its "solidarity with the Church of Pakistan and the whole Christian community in Pakistan and especially the Diocese of Peshawar, which borders Afghanistan."
In Resolution D084 convention calls upon the Episcopal Church to facilitate a visit to the United States "of one or more representatives of the Christian community in Pakistan to speak to the American people about the situation in Pakistan," and what Christians in the United States can do to help.
Besides the Diocese of Peshawar's relief work with internally displaced people, free medical care services are being arranged through the Diocesan Mission Hospital in Peshawar. ERD is partnering with the diocese in its relief efforts.
In its resolution, General Convention urges the international community "to provide food, clothing, shelter and medical care for the people of Pakistan who have fled from their homes, both those who are refugees and those who are internally displaced persons, especially the persecuted Christian community."
The resolution's explanation describes the refugee situation as the "largest civilian exodus since the genocide in Rwanda and the largest mass migration in southern Asia since the partition of India 60 years ago."