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In the fresh act of violence against the Christians of the village, the invaders used petrol bombs and acid and burned down an estimated 100 Christian houses and churches. The likelihood that angry Muslims could commit suicide attacks to avenge so called “blasphemy” charges in the near future, cannot be ruled out, if the vicious abuse of the diabolical law continues. In the eyes of these religious fanatics the blasphemy law would be perhaps better avenged if the entire minority population was wiped out. The police and other law enforcement agencies once again lived up to their reputation of sitting back and taking no action whatsoever to provide security and protection to the Christians of the village, who indisputably had become more susceptible to Muslim violence after the involvement a the Muslim cleric who provoked Muslims to wage a “mini Jihad” (holy war) against innocent and defenseless Christians of the area. Siding with their Muslim brethren, the local police filed a criminal case against the one accused of blasphemy. The unscrupulous police officials are equally culpable and accountable for the atrocity afflicted by the hard line Muslims on economically poor, socially ostracized and victims of social and constitutional discrimination. It is hard to fathom why Pakistan’s national print and electronic media does not give full coverage to such dreadful incidents of injustice against the weaker citizens of the state. Apart from religious fanatics, the police, the media, and the judiciary, also have been biased against Christians especially when it comes to dealing with blasphemy accusations. Why should the judge of lower court convict and sentence a blasphemy accused because of the pressure of Islamists? If he gives a biased verdict to save his life, does he not almost take life of the accused, who otherwise is supposed to get a fair trial? It has even graver implication because such a verdict renders all the family members of the accused vulnerable to blood-thirsty fanatical elements. The hard-line Muslims of Pakistan must be thankful to the late military dictator, General Zia-ul-Haq, who introduced the draconian laws in 1986 apparently to prolong his dictatorial rule. Mr. Haq is gone but has left behind this black law which has caused colossal physical, emotional, psychological and material loss to the religious minorities of Pakistan. Each time such a gruesome injustice takes place, it only reinforces the deepening sense of deprivation among the religious minorities, the lowest of the low in the Islamic republic of Pakistan. The emotional and psychological scars such violence leaves on the already oppressed, deprived and subjugated pariahs, may not even be eradicated during the entire life-time of the victim. The lives of victims of Muslim intolerance are never the same. They have to struggle to get back to normality. It hugely upset their lives. They live in a constant shadow of fear. The face the ever creeping fear of being kidnapped, attacked, or forcibly converted to Islam, which leaves them disoriented and unsettled. The prospects of the religious minorities being productive are already terribly bleak. There is a hurdle in every step of their way. A few fortunate ones, or some rigidly determined, might surmount a barrage of hindrances stacked against them but a large majority of people from the religious minority communities die before they could overcome such difficulties. The tragically unlucky ones do not die a physical death, but they die at the hands of religious fanatics. Tragically, a false accusation could turn the victim into a living corpse. How can a man ever dream of his place in heaven after shedding blood of an innocent person? Men of conscience at least think deeply before making any statement or taking any action in general and more so when their words or actions might stir public reaction. Is that a deep-seated animosity in the hearts of Muslim clerics against Christians that so overwhelmingly eclipses their reason or do they not have any sanity at all? They are, however, gifted in finding a reason. The reason does not have to be a grave one. It does not need to be solid, but at least needs to be factual. They are happy so long they have one. In the recent incident, a minor quarrel between a Christian and Muslim man, threw a reason right in the lap of Qari Latif, the Muslim cleric whose inflammatory announcements from the village mosque successfully lopsided the balance between reason and emotion among over 500 local Muslims. Well done!
** You may republish this story with proper attribution. Send this story to a friend. This story is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of the ASSIST News Service or ASSIST Ministries.
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