AP: Pakistani Christians Light Candles for the Gojra Victims
At least seven Christians were burned alive and hundreds injured in an attack in Gojra this past Saturday, after violence erupted in the Punjab town over the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran several days before. Dawn reported, “More than 50 houses were set on fire and a place of worship belonging to a minority community was damaged by an angry mob. According to sources, most of the houses were burnt by a group of youths who had their faces covered with veils. They threw petrol bombs and fired indiscriminately.”
Father Shabbir Bashir told the AFP, “Two children – a brother and sister aged six and 13 – their parents and 75-year-old grandfather were burnt to death after the mob locked them inside a room of their house...How we can feel safe and secure in such a country? They killed us. They ransacked our houses. They looted our homes. How we can feel protected?”
Although Pakistani authorities arrested 200 people after the incident, and offered $6,000 [500,000 rupees] in compensation to the victims’ families, the Christian Science Monitor reported their response “failed to dampen accusations from Christians that the police neglected to protect them.” A consensus was reached among Christian leaders in Gojra to observe three days of mourning, from Monday to Wednesday, for this attack. All schools, colleges, missions and educational institutions run by Christians will remain closed these three days, and “Christians in Gojra will mark Aug. 11 – traditionally celebrated as Pakistan’s minority day – as a “black day” of mourning,” reported the Monitor.
It is not enough to bring these perpetrators to justice. The government must also understand and begin to address the root and underlying causes behind such incidents. Violence against Pakistan’s minorities [According to the CIA Factbook, only 3% of Pakistanis are minorities - mainly Hindus and Christians] is not uncommon; in fact, Minority Rights Group International found that Pakistan had the world’s highest increase of threats against minorities last year and was ranked the seventh most dangerous country for minorities overall. Saturday’s violence in Gojra marked the third attack on Pakistani Christians in the past month, noted the Monitor.
According to police officials, the violence was incited by members of the Sipah-e-Sahba Pakistan, a militant Sunni sectarian group founded in the 1980s by a cleric who wanted Pakistan to be officially declared as a Sunni Islamist state. The group is said to have strongholds in southern districts of Punjab, particularly Jhang. Moreover, noted the CS Monitor, the SSP “was originally an anti-Shiite organization and was funded in the past by Pakistan’s intelligence services to wage war in Kashmir,” [also see related CHUP post on the Punjabi Taliban].
After sifting through the related news reports, it seems the SSP exploited the situation to carry out further violence against minorities. According to CNN, police said the demonstrators on Saturday “were protesting an alleged desecration of pages in the Quran…at a Christian wedding.” However, Shahbaz Bhatti, the federal minister for minorities, told reporters that an investigation “determined there was no desecration of the Quran in village 95 Gill near Gojra City, and the allegations were baseless.”
The desecration of the Quran is part of Pakistan’s blasphemy law. The law, introduced in 1977, mandates that any “blasphemies” of the Muslim Holy Book be met with punishment (life imprisonment or death). However, because of the ambiguity associated with such legislation, human rights activists say it has been manipulated by extremists in order to persecute religious minorities, [Sana Saleem has some great details about the law over at her blog]. The LA Times, which reported on the persecution of Christians in Pakistan last year, noted:
A 2007 U.S. State Department report said that no person in Pakistan has been executed for blasphemy. But in May, a Christian man already imprisoned for two years was sentenced to death. His crime: He told a group of Muslims to lower their noise because his family was mourning the loss of his nephew, whose body was laid out in his home. The men accused him of blasphemy.
In the aftermath of Saturday’s violence, Pakistan’s leaders passed a resolution condemning the incident and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice. While the victims of this attack deserve justice, they also deserve more than lawmakers writing letters of how very angry they are [a la Team America]. Not one of Pakistan’s politicians decried the very law that first incited the violence, or the fact that it was manipulated to justify the attack. This is not the first time the blasphemy law has been used to legitimize sectarian violence and prejudice, and it will not be the last.
Moreover, I hope the press attention surrounding the Gojra burning sheds further light on the overarching situation of Pakistan’s minorities. Below, is a great piece by France 24 English, which reported on the Christians living in Islamabad, noting that 5,000 live in extreme poverty:
Thank you for discussing a very underreported but important topic. Pakistan’s minority populations are so small so this is the type of story that would usually slip through the cracks. Does it sound like the recent incidents are isolated or could they be part of a concerted effort against Christians? Regardless, it is disturbing.
It seems they are isolated, but attacks on minorities (Shias, Ahmedis, Christians, Hindus, etc.) have occurred quite often. What’s interesting is that the recent attacks on Christians are related to 9/11, and Christians in Pakistan being seen as “America’s dogs.” While I’m not entirely certain about how common that prejudice is, it’s something that also has come up in Iraq, particularly since Iraqi insurgent propaganda frames the U.S. military as “Crusaders,” and Assyrian Christians have faced similar persecution.
Well written. I vaguely remember Musharraf proposing changes to the way an FIR for blasphemy is filed with the intention of providing some protection against its misuse. The outcry against that minor change and his quick retreat shows how long we have to go.
Basim,
Could you tell us a little more about the outcry over Musharraf attempting to change the FIR for blasphemy? Who was against it?
[...] url: "http://teabreak.pk/commenting-on-the-gojra-burning-42/23093/" }); Read more at: CHUP! – Changing Up Pakistan accusations, angry mob, bashir, brother and sister, christian leaders, christian science [...]
Nice post as always. The Gojra incident is appalling and shameful. I think you hit the nail on the head about none of the politicians decrying the original law which gives these fanatics an easy path to act on their twisted beliefs. These incidents, while not always reported and not always as serious as this incident, happen on a very regular basis. Qaidyanis/ahmedis are also victims of these crimes and are murdered on a regular basis without it receiving much press coverage. I don’t recall the exact figure, but incidents against Ahmedis occur on a weekly basis in Pakistan. Minorities in Pakistan are consistently oppressed and this is the result of an institutional discrimination in Pakistan’s system.
Minorities in Pakistan are completely unprotected and police regularly turn a blind eye towards the oppression of minorities. Even in this case, police arrested 200 people after the incident. The fact that 50 houses and a place of worship could be set ablaze shows a lack of law enforcement.
The blasphemy laws are completely ridiculous and vague. Because of this law people enforce their twisted form of vigilante justice in the name of protecting Islam. How often is this law actually serving its initial purpose? And personally, I don’t even think “blasphemy” should be punishable through the law. But that is me and I understand if people think its a punishable offence, but if the law leads to discrimination, not the protection of the population, then it is useless.
It seems that no amount of shame or shock can get our lawmakers to pay attention to this problem.
The Quaid must be turning in his grave as we approach Independence Day.
Good points MSB,
What’s interesting re: the police turning a blind eye, was that 2 policemen were reportedly among the people arrested in relation to the incident. It’s unclear whether they were involved in the riots, or they were arrested for not doing anything.
In regard to the Quaid turning in his grave, a Dawn editorial today was discussing twitter “going green” for Independence Day, and noted many twitter users turned their pictures black in protest of the Gojra burning. Just an interesting side note.
I think a little humanity of christian in Pakistan..
[...] While the blasphemy law is an easy tool for anyone who wants to get shot of someone they don’t like, it also gives statutory justification to anti-Christian mobs. It’s the means that the Pakistani state is arguing – but the criminal code is with them in spirit. And while militants may very well be behind last week’s disturbances government figures have squarly failed to deal with the question of Zia’s laws. One Punjab minister blamed militants, a statement from Asif Zardari pinned the riots on “vengeful and armed groups” – but no hint that the political elite may be looking at General Zia’s legacy on the Pakistani statute books [More on this at Kalsoom's CHUP]. [...]
Thanks a lot for compiling an informative report. I found the news report that you brought to notice particularly interesting.
Thank you for reading! Appreciate it.
[...] Lakhani at CHUP! -Changing up Pakistan suggests that a lot more needs to be done: It is not enough to bring these perpetrators to justice. [...]
Not impressed with the very artificial, pretnetious comments by paks all over the net on this topic!!
Paks have been doing everything in their power through media, pak governmental verbal warfare, actual real warfare , relentless jihadi terror by ISI to undermine Hindu-Muslim unity in India to provoke violence like this.
ISI sponsored bomb blasts in hindu temples, ISI sponsored bomb blasts on the eve of Diwali all carried out to promote Hindu-Muslim violence in India.
Hypocrites=paks. Now you are shedding crocodile tears.
Err….ok. This incident really had nothing to do with “undermining Hindu-Muslim identity in India,” and the response among many Pakistani bloggers (I linked to Sana Saleem but several others expressed similar views) was united in their condemnation of the violence and their support for the Christian minority in Pakistan.
Thank you. Excellent report. What an immense problem. Praying.
Very good report but the condition of Pakistani christians is more worde than this report.
Even, JUI-F, a religious party, has condemned the violence. These occasional flare-ups in sectarian violence should not deter us Pakistanis (or Pakistani-Americans, Pak.-British) to achieve more for our country.
I see your comments and don’t believe a word any of you are saying. All the sweet words and regrets expressed here mean nothing because they change nothing.
The problem is a religion that teaches hate and violence. The problem is that people will put blame everywhere except where it belongs. You condemn the violence but refuse to consider the source of the violence.
Only in Islam is having an opinion called blasphemy. Is Allah so weak that his followers must kill men women and children to make him feel good and protect his honor?
Kactuz
I think you’ve confused a religion with people’s hardline interpretation. Most religions can be construed to justify violence in the name of God, which is wrong ANYWHERE, but whether you’re an abortion clinic bomber or an Islamist jihadist, it’s important to separate what is religion and what is interpretation in an effort to justify violence. Islam is not a violent religion, and the majority of people do not practice it that way.
[...] Lakhani at CHUP! -Changing up Pakistan suggests that a lot more needs to be done: It is not enough to bring these perpetrators to justice. [...]
http://mychurch2you.com/featured/they-want-to-destroy-christians/
[...] While the blasphemy law is an easy tool for anyone who wants to get shot of someone they don’t like, it also gives statutory justification to anti-Christian mobs. It’s the means that the Pakistani state is arguing – but the criminal code is with them in spirit. And while militants may very well be behind last week’s disturbances government figures have squarly failed to deal with the question of Zia’s laws. One Punjab minister blamed militants, a statement from Asif Zardari pinned the riots on “vengeful and armed groups” – but no hint that the political elite may be looking at General Zia’s legacy on the Pakistani statute books [More on this at Kalsoom’s CHUP]. [...]
I have a friend that lives in Toba Tek Singh. About two years ago, she worked as a social worker and I would hear about her visits to some of the towns around Toba Tek Singh. I remember her telling me about going to Gojra a number of times. Now, she tells me about what happened there. She must have known some of the victims. I feel so terrible about what has happened. I also have read a lot of the history of Pakistan and when it was founded in 1947, one of the key points was that it would be tolerant of other religions. In 1977, the blasphemy law was passed. That has been abused on several occasions. My friend told me about what happened in Sangla Hill, also not too far from Toba. That was a couple of years ago maybe more. I hope the blasphemy law is repealed. I see that some people are working towards that end. I hope for the best for the Christians in Pakistan.
The interest increase is actually an exponential function that, given enough time and a constant value that is rolled over, will consume the entire value of the issue. ,
people of all religion should live in peace and harmony and stay away from all the politics of politicians