Tag: Christians

  • ‘I will ask questions, not judge’: Hassan Ahmed talks about raising children in multi-faith home

    ‘I will ask questions, not judge’: Hassan Ahmed talks about raising children in multi-faith home

    Sunita Marshall and Hassan Ahmed are the perfect example of interfaith love and harmony. They’ve always been open about their journey of raising their kids in a Muslim household while respecting each other’s beliefs.
    The couple appeared on Masarrat Misbah’s show and discussed raising children in a household with different faiths.

    Hassan pointed out that many people adopt a religion simply because they are born into it, without studying its teachings or understanding what is right and wrong. “If my children ever express interest in Christianity, I would calmly discuss it with them. I wouldn’t react with anger but engage in a dialogue, asking them about their reasons and interpretations,” he remarked. He noted that his daughter, known for her logical approach, often considers such matters thoughtfully.

      While talking about his past, Hassan said, “I used to be that Muslim we often see in our society, someone who carried a lot of aggression. Marrying a woman from a different religion was perhaps Allah’s way of helping me shed that intolerance. While I still hold Islam in high regard, this experience has taught me the importance of tolerance and understanding.”
    Hassan Ahmed and Sunita Marshall tied the knot in 2008 and have two children.

  • Christians in India fearful as election looms

    Christians in India fearful as election looms

    Irpiguda (India) (AFP) – Church walls crumble in India’s Kandhamal district, where brutal attacks on Christians 16 years ago means many survivors still worry about their minority’s place in a Hindu-majority nation.

    With India’s election on the horizon and Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi widely expected to win, many Christians fear they may once again become targets.

    Deepti was among those attacked in 2008 when mobs rampaged through parts of India’s eastern state of Odisha after the murder of a Hindu priest and his four followers.

    The murder was widely blamed on Christians, and the ensuing revenge rampage left at least 101 people dead.

    Aged 19 at the time, she was gang raped by a mob enraged that her uncle had refused to recant his Catholicism.

    “I remember it every minute,” the 35-year-old domestic worker said in tears, using a pseudonym because she feared being identified.

    “I had been living there since childhood, I recognised them from their voice,” said Deepti, who moved to the state capital Bhubaneswar after the attack.

    “I can still remember each one of them.”

    She was one of scores of women who, according to community leaders, were sexually assaulted across the district.

    Mobs targeted dozens of churches, prayer halls and Christian homes, forcing tens of thousands to flee.

    Last year, the Vatican greenlighted the start of the beatification process towards potential sainthood for 35 of those killed in the violence, a group the church calls the “Kandhamal martyrs”.

    Local Odisha Archbishop John Barwa calls the move a “source of renewed faith and hope”.

    A simple memorial for those who were killed has been erected in the village of Tiangia.

    “Where there is hatred, let me sow love”, the memorial reads, quoting Saint Francis of Assisi.

    ‘Still scared to talk’

    Prasanna Bishnoi, head of Kandhamal’s survivors’ association, said church recognition that people had “died because of their faith” was welcomed — but that honouring the dead did nothing to address the worries of the living.

    “Otherwise, I don’t think it is going to benefit our people,” Bishnoi said.

    Six weeks of voting in marathon general elections begin on April 19, but few doubt the June 4 result — with the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in power for a decade, widely tipped to win again.

    Critics accuse Modi’s BJP of wanting to turn officially secular India into a Hindu nation, something he denies.

    But many Christians worry.

    Right-wing Hindu groups have long accused Christians of forcibly converting Hindus and these allegations, which the community has vehemently denied, have resulted in attacks.

    India has 1.4 billion people and according to the last census, more than two percent are Christians.

    Believers say the religion has been present in the country for nearly two millennia, since the apostle Thomas arrived in the year AD 52.

    The New Delhi-based United Christian Forum (UCF) rights watchdog recorded 731 attacks against Christians in India last year, warning of “vigilante mobs comprising religious extremists”.

    In Kandhamal, the trauma of the 2008 attack haunts survivors, fearful they could be targeted again.

    “Even now the danger persists,” said Raheli Digal, 40, showing AFP the charred walls of what was once her house in Irpiguda village, where the church also lies in ruins.

    “When we remember those old scenes, and watch the news (about ongoing incidents of violence against Christians), we feel scared,” she added.

    “They have been saying for a long time that they won’t let Christians live here.”

    The housewife said she has lived since the 2008 violence in a resettlement camp nearby, and rarely returns to her village.

    “We do not come here… we are still scared to talk to them (Hindus),” she said.

    She sobbed as she described how she hid in the surrounding forested hills, watching as a mob chanting anti-Christian slogans came with blazing torches.

    “They destroyed our home, set it on fire,” she said.

    “We had nothing, not even a piece of cloth, not even water or food,” she added. “We had small children with us — we grabbed them, and ran into the forest.”

    ‘This country is for everyone’

    When Modi in January inaugurated a grand temple to the deity Ram in the northern city of Ayodhya, sparking Hindu celebrations nationwide, Digal and her neighbours stayed home.

    The temple was built on the site of a centuries-old mosque whose destruction by Hindu zealots in 1992 sparked sectarian riots that killed 2,000 people nationwide, most of them Muslims.

    The BJP admits there is a “level of threat perception”, but says it is trying to change that.

    “It is important that we dispel that,” said BJP national spokesman Mmhonlumo Kikon.

    Modi has been “engaging with the Christian community and the leaders to reassure them this country is for everyone — it is not just for the majority community”, Kikon said.

    Bishnoi, from the survivors’ association, said seeing Modi meeting Christians helped him feel “safe”.

    But he also said that reports of violence worried him and cast doubt in his mind.

    “If this government comes to power, then I think minorities will be under pressure,” he said.

  • Israel-Hamas issue is beyond war, it is ‘terrorism’: Pope Francis

    Israel-Hamas issue is beyond war, it is ‘terrorism’: Pope Francis

    Pope Francis has deemed the violence stemming from the Israel and Hamas issue as “terrorism”.

    “They suffer so much and I heard how they both suffer”, he said on Wednesday after meeting with Israeli families of captives held by Hamas and Palestinians who have family in Gaza

    “Wars do this, but here we have gone beyond wars. This is not war, this is terrorism,” he added.

    The head of the Catholic Church also called everyone to pray for peace so that both sides would “not go ahead with passions, which, in the end, kill everyone”.

    Jewish groups reacts

    Jewish groups, however, have criticised Pope Francis, demanding an explanation for accusing both Hamas and Israel of “terrorism.”

    The Council of the Assembly of Italian Rabbis (ARI) issued a statement on Thursday, pointing at “Church leaders” for not condemning the Hamas attack and of “putting the aggressor and the attacked on the same plane in the name of a supposed impartiality.”

    Similarly, American Jewish Committee (AJC) posted on X (formerly Twitter):

    “Later in the day, he described the Israel-Hamas war as ‘beyond war’ as ‘terrorism.’ Hamas’ butchering and kidnapping of civilians is terrorism. Israel’s self-defense is not. Vatican, please clarify.”

    The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a US-based Jewish human rights organisation, also called on the pope “not to forget that all the loss and suffering since October 7th stems from the intolerable actions of Hamas.”

    The statement added that the responsibility of all the suffering and loss of both the families of hostages and civilians in Gaza was “on the hands of the Hamas terrorists who, on October 7th, inflicted in the most brutal way, the worst mass murder of Jews since the defeat of Nazi Germany and World War II.”

    The Jerusalem Post also reports that Italian rabbis also questioned the worth of “decades of Jewish-Christian dialog” if when Jews are attacked the Vatican responds with “diplomatic acrobatics.”

  • Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus, removes Christmas decor ‘in solidarity’ with Gaza

    Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus, removes Christmas decor ‘in solidarity’ with Gaza

    The Christian leadership in Bethlehem have announced they will not have Christmas celebrations in the West Bank this year in light of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza which has resulted in killing more than 13,000 people.

    In a letter, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem have unanimously agreed to cancel the commemoration of Christmas to conform to the spiritual significance of the holiday while Palestinians are being brutally killed by Israeli forces.

    “Each year during the sacred seasons of Advent and Christmastide, our Christian communities throughout the Holy Land take great delight in their preparations for the commemoration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” the patriarchs wrote in a joint letter.

    “In addition to attendance in religious services, these celebrations have normally involved participation in numerous public festivities and the large-scale display of brightly lit and expensive decorations as a means of expressing our joy at the approach and arrival of the Feast of the Nativity.”, it further stated.

    “But these are not normal times. Since the start of the War, there has been an atmosphere of sadness and pain. Thousands of innocent civilians, including women and children, have died or suffered serious injuries,” the bishops continued. “Many more grieve over the loss of their homes, their loved ones, or the uncertain fate of those dear to them. Throughout the region, even more have lost their work and are suffering from serious economic challenges. Yet despite our repeated calls for a humanitarian ceasefire and a de-escalation of violence, the war continues.”

    City officials in Bethlehem have also been taking down Christmas decorations in solidarity with Palestinians.

    “Bethlehem Municipality crews announced the dismantling of Christmas decorations installed several years ago in the city’s neighbourhoods and removing all festive appearances in mourning for the martyrs and in solidarity with our people in Gaza,” the city posted on Facebook on November 14.

    Why Bethlehem is significant for Christians?

    Bethlehem is located 10 kilometres south of the city of Jerusalem. Since at least the 2nd century AD, people have believed that Jesus was born where now stands the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem.

  • Israel attacks church sheltering displaced Christians and Muslims

    The Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church, a shelter for several Palestinian families in Gaza, was struck by Israeli bombing on Thursday night.

    Muslims and Christians, together, were seeking refuge under its roof however, Israel military targeted the Church killing and injuring dozens.

    According to Gaza’s Hamas-run government media office, 18 Christian Palestinians were among the killed.

    The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem has conveyed its “strongest condemnation” of the attack, saying that “targeting churches and their institutions, along with the shelters they provide to protect innocent citizens, especially children and women who have lost their homes due to Israeli air strikes on residential areas over the past 13 days, constitutes a war crime”.

    History of Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church

    At the site of Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church, a church was built back in 425 AD but in 1150s or 1160s, the Crusaders named it Saint Porphyrius Church after a bishop renowned for introducing Christianity to Gaza in 395 to 420 AD.

  • Supreme Court seeks reports on Sikh target killings, Jaranwala riots

    Supreme Court seeks reports on Sikh target killings, Jaranwala riots

    As reported by Geo News, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has, on Friday, asked the Inspectors General (IG) of Police to provide reports on cases pertaining to minority rights, asking what steps have been taken by the government on the Jaranwala tragedy and target killing of minority citizens.

    Sardar Bishna Singh, chairman of Baba Gurunanak Welfare Society, appeared in the Supreme Court, where he pointed out that while some of the people from Sikh community went to India in 1947, “We stayed in Pakistan, our religion also started from here. We are not claiming that we are being wronged because we are Sikhs but the Qabza group (land grabbers) does not take anything into consideration — temple, mosque, gurdwara.”

    He also highlighted the destruction of gurdwaras across the country, including Lahore.

    The Supreme Court described the target killing of the Sikh community as deplorable with Justice Ijazul Hassan stressing that the murders have forced Sikh community to move to different places or leave Pakistan, emphasizing that practical steps need to be taken to ensure their safety.

    The Supreme Court asked all the IGs for a detailed report on the recent target killings and also issued notices to the Attorney General and all Advocate Generals.

    The Apex Court also called for a report from a JIT on the Jaranwala tragedy, asking that the initial report be given to the petitioner.

    The petitioner said that after the Jaranwala tragedy, hateful speeches continue unabated.

    The court sought the report on Jaranwala tragedy from the Advocate General Punjab and the IG Punjab and also sought a report from the Punjab Interior Department on the steps taken after the incident, adjourning the hearing of the case for two weeks.

  • ‘Not satisfied with the investigation in Jaranwala incident’: Christian Community

    Grace Bible Fellowship Church Pakistan, a missionary trust, has filed a writ petition through its chairman Peter Charles requesting the court to order a judicial inquiry committee to ensure a fair investigation into and trial of the perpetrators of the Jaranwala incident.

    The petitioner states that an incident of alleged defiling of the Holy Quran, unfortunately, happened in Jaranwala, and through announcements from local mosques, a severe riot took place by a furious mob of Muslim devotees. The mob ransacked the properties of Christian residents, and the riotous elements torched more than 25 churches of and over 50 houses, along with household articles, using petrol bombs.

    Petition submits that the members of the Christian community of the area still live in a state of fear and at risk to their lives and liberty, alleging that the local administration and law enforcement authorities deliberately failed to control the violent mob and the law and order situation.

    It further states that although joint investigation teams (JITs) constituted by the government will submit their findings after completion of due course, which is a time taking practice, whereas the victims seek instant remedies to restore their routine life.

    Expressing its concerns over the working of the JITs, the Christian body says more than 500 suspects were involved in the riots, but the police have only arrested 25 to 30, just to save their skins. It alleges that police officials are also under undue pressure from influential extremist elements.

    The petition pleads that the Christian community is dissatisfied with the performance and discriminating behaviour of the police, as well as the proceedings of the JITs.

    It urges the court to restrain the police from engaging in illegal abduction, harassment and pressurising of the members of the Christian community at the behest of religious elements for any undue, unfair compromise and settlement.

    Advocate Shahbaz Fazal Saroya, the petitioner’s counsel, resubmitted the petition after removing the objections raised by the registrar’s office.

  • Police chief suspects the Jaranwala incident is foreign conspiracy

    Police chief suspects the Jaranwala incident is foreign conspiracy

    Editor’s note: While the Inspector General of Police (IGP) has made claims that this incident is a conspiracy, it has not come as shock to a lot of Pakistanis since similar incidents have happened in the past.

    Punjab IGP Dr Usman Anwar suspects potential foreign involvement in the recent violent riots in Jaranwala, where a communally stoked mob wreaked havoc by torching five churches.

    In an exclusive interview with SAMAA TV, IGP Anwar stated that the timing and calculated actions of the main suspects in the incident have raised suspicions of a well-coordinated plan.
    “While it is too early to conclusively establish external involvement, the Joint Investigation Team is set to delve into this angle”, he added.

    IGP Anwar believes that the perpetrators wanted to turn away the focus from the plight of women who are facing heinous acts in a neighboring country.

    “The sheer size of the unruly crowd, estimated to be around five to six thousand people, posed a significant challenge for law enforcement. The risk of loss of life, if the authorities had engaged in a direct confrontation, was a major factor in their approach,” said IGP.

    “We understand the frustration and concerns regarding our response,” IGP Anwar acknowledged, “but it was crucial to ensure the safety of innocent lives amidst the chaos.”

    Meanwhile, the Chief of Army Staff, General Asim Munir, while addressing the participants of the annual internship program at General Headquarters said that Jaranwala incident is sad and unbearable.
    The COAS said that such elements have no place in our society.

    The COAS also said there is no scope for such Jaranwala incidents of intolerance and extreme behavior against minorities.

    “All citizens are equal to each other regardless of religion, gender, caste or creed,” the Army’s top general said.

    The COAS warned that no one will be allowed to take the law into their hands and people guilty of such crimes will be brought to justice.

    Key suspects arrested

    Over 130 individuals involved in the torching of the churches have already been apprehended, with the primary suspects also under custody, said Mr Usman.

    The identification of more than 170 individuals has been facilitated through the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), aiding the ongoing investigation.

    The Incident

    Disturbing reports have been received from Jaranwala, Faisalabad, where multiple churches have been burnt amid allegations of blasphemy against a Christian community member. As per locals, the Salvation Army Church, United Presbyterian Church, Allied Foundation Church, and Shehroonwala Church situated in the Isa Nagri area have been burnt so far. Christian colonies all around the city have been evacuated and there is a complete shutter down in the city.

    As per the videos and pictures circulating on social media, a police officer can be seen addressing the mob, trying to calm them while the crowd is demanding the death of the accused.

    In another video a man can be seen in a masjid, announcing that Christians have committed blasphemy and is urging others to gather outside the mosque to protest within the boundaries of law.

    In a separate video, a group of young boys and men can be seen chanting violent slogans.

    In a recent update, the Jaranwala police on has registered terror cases against more than 600 people for “vandalising multiple churches and torching homes belonging to the Christian community.” 

    As per reports, Lahore-Multan motorway was blocked by the protestors near Jaranwala. X (formerly Twitter) user Khurram Mushtaq tweeted:

    “Lahore-Multan motorway road is blocked near Jaranwala by people of adjacent villages to protest against alleged blasphemy by a Christian. I fear they will convert into a fierce/violent mob soon. Administration should engage them as early as possible.”

    https://twitter.com/KhurramMushtaq/status/1691728619263955234

    According to Journalist Asad Toor, police have registered a Blasphemy case against some Christian community members.

    A resident of Jaranwala, while talking to The Current, said that the entire Christian community is terrified. He said that the this is not a sudden incident. One of his house helpers, who belongs to the Christian community, arrived at their house around 6 o’clock in the morning and told his mother that the city may witness unrest. She further said the accused brothers were residents of the same colony and the matter seems to be a case of personal grudge.

    Another source told The Current that a girl was being teased by some members of the Muslim community and when they were scolded, the aftermath spiralled out of control, leading to blasphemy allegations which led to violent protests all around the city.

    The district administration has imposed section 144 for seven days, prohibiting all kinds of assembly, except for events organized by the government. Following the orders issued by the caretaker prime minister, the Punjab government has given directives to form a high-level inquiry committee to probe into the incident.

    “This was a well thought out plan to disrupt peace and a high-level investigation is underway regarding the desecration of the Holy Quran and incidents that take place afterward,” a spokesperson for the provincial government said in a statement.

    Meanwhile, last night Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr. Usman Anwar also reached Jaranwala to monitor the situation. The officers also held a meeting with the Aman Committee members and other locally influential religious and political parties’ leaders to engage the protesters.

    Meanwhile, Punjab government has removed Jaranwala AC Shaukat Masih from his post and made him an officer on special duty (OSD). Sources said the AC, who is also a Christian, was made OSD to pacify the violent protesters who were pressing the government to immediately transfer the officer.

    Interim Prime Minister of Pakistan, Anwaar ul Haq Kakar, took to X (former Twitter) and condemned the incident and said, “I am gutted by the visuals coming out of Jaranwala,#Faisalabad. Stern action would be taken against those who violate law and target minorities.”

    Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party and former Foreign Minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, urged the administration to ensure safety of the Christian community and their churches.

    Senator Sarfraz Bugti tweeted, “Punjab Govermnet should enforce its full might to protect the Christian churches and homes.”

    Former Interior Minister of Pakistan and President of PMLN Punjab, Rana Sanaullah said, “The culprits must be brought to justice at the earliest, and the law should take its due course.”

    Chairman Pakistan Ulema Council, Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, tweeted that the situation is troublesome and police is trying to resolve the situation.

    Bishop Azad Marshall, President Bishop Church of Pakistan & Educator, said, “We, Bishops, Priests and lay people are deeply pained and distressed at the Jaranwala incident in the Faisalabad District in Pakistan.”

    The situation is changing by the hour in the city and netizens have taken to social media to raise their concerns.

    President Pakistan Muslim League Kasur, Rana Sikandar Hayat, urged authorities to take immediate action.

    Politician and Activist, Ammar Ali Jan, stated that the police is helpless in front of bigots.

  • Miftah Ismail commended for his ‘bold and clear’ comments on violence against religious minorities

    Miftah Ismail commended for his ‘bold and clear’ comments on violence against religious minorities

    Speaking on Geo News’ programme “Naya Pakistan”, Finance Minister (FM) Miftah Ismail on Sunday said that most Pakistanis are driven by emotions and not rationality.

    “How many people spoke up for a Christian couple burnt alive in an industrial kiln? A few days ago, an Ahmadi was killed but not many people raised their voices. People are scared.”

    Read more: Ahmadi man allegedly murdered for not chanting slogans in praise of Khadim Rizvi

    A 62-year-old member of the Ahmadi community named Naseer Ahmad was stabbed to death in Chenab Nagar on August 12, for allegedly refusing to chant slogans in praise of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) founder Khadim Hussain Rizvi.

    https://twitter.com/SAMRIReports/status/1559108747502538753?s=20&t=1PbwDx-IqmjAnhPaRqTy-A

    Miftah went on to say that we don’t value education and that we are an emotionally driven country. “We are an emotional country that does not give much precedence to rationality and thinking.”

    “We don’t own Nobel laureate, Dr Abdus Salam, because he was an Ahmadi. Our daughter, Malala [Yousafzai] won a Nobel Prize and we find all kinds of faults in the world and associate them with her,” said Miftah.

    The minister also said that our country lacks the basic awareness required for a country to progress because we don’t give preference to education.

    Twitterati reacted to Miftah’s comments about minority rights.

  • PTI’s Usman Dar arrested for planning jalsa on minority’s private property

    PTI’s Usman Dar arrested for planning jalsa on minority’s private property

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) leader Usman Dar and other party members were arrested on Saturday after a police crackdown at the party’s rally venue in Sialkot.

    Dar shared a video on Twitter, saying he was speaking from a “prison van”. Others could also be seen with him.

    Dar said, “We will bear imprisonment but remain loyal to our leader Imran Khan. And listen closely, we will come out of the jails and again hold a rally in Sialkot. Our leader will again come to Sialkot. And under the leadership of Imran Khan, we will bury this imported government, these puppets of America forever.”

    Earlier, in the day police launched a crackdown on PTI’s activists and got the rally venue vacated after they tried to hold a public meeting at the CTI ground, a property belonging to the Christian community, without their consent. However, now the party has changed the venue to the public VIP Ground in Sialkot.

    The Christian community lodged a protest as PTI had not taken prior permission from them for the rally. When the police arrived to stop the arrangements, many PTI workers showed resistance, however police baton-charged and used tear gas to disperse PTI workers.

    Sialkot District Police Officer (DPO) Hasan Iqbal, who was present at the site, told reporters, “As you know we are right now standing on a ground that belongs to the Christian community. They had filed a writ [petition] in the high court, asking that no political rally be held on the grounds.”

    He added that the “political party’s leaders” sought permission to hold the rally but the Christian community refused. “Then we came here and told them that we can help you with regards to an alternative venue. What has happened after that is there for you to see,” he added.

    In a video, Iqbal can be heard talking to PTI members. He said, “No one is stopping you. This land is private. You didn’t take permission from them. Your party talks about rule of law. Does the law allow you to do a jalsa on this land without the Christian community’s consent?”

    “We have been trying to tell your this for two days. Try to understand it”, he added.

    Following the situation, former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan claimed, “What imported govt did in Sialkot against our leadership & workers is outrageous, but not unexpected. This bunch of criminals out on bail and their convict mafia boss in London have always used fascist tactics against opponents when they are in power.”

    In a press conference, Shafqat Mehmood, Ejaz Chaudhry, and Firdous Ashiq Awan blamed Defence Minister Khawaja Asif for the police action and urged the administration to release PTI leaders who have been arrested.