When you read news articles like the following, you quickly realize how easy
we Christians in the West really have it. We face little to zero danger for
embracing our Christian beliefs. Not so in many other non-Christian
countries around the world. To believe in Christ in those countries means
danger, ridicule, alienation, ostracization, persecution and even death.


Sectarian Clashes Surge in a City in Pakistan's Heartland

By SALMAN MASOOD - NYT

August 7, 2010


FAISALABAD, Pakistan -- This industrial city, famous for its textile
exports, has lately become renowned as the center of a new wave of sectarian
violence that has gripped Pakistan as militancy and extremism have taken
firm root here in central Punjab Province.

Last month, violent clashes broke out between Muslims and Christians after
two Christian brothers -- Rashid and Sajid Emanuel -- were shot dead outside
the district courthouse after showing up to face charges of blasphemy.

Immediately, there were fears of rioters' setting fire to the Christian
neighborhood where the brothers had lived, Warispura, a poor suburb with
about 100,000 people -- as they had done in a similar episode last year in a
district nearby.

Blasphemy is a capital crime in Pakistan, and rights activists say the
allegations are usually spurious and used to settle personal vendettas or to
score political points.

In this case, for instance, the troubles started on July 1 when a
handwritten letter defaming the Prophet Muhammad was distributed in a
marketplace; it contained the address and telephone numbers of both
brothers.

"A thief does not leave behind an ID card," said Aslam Pervez, 60, a
Christian teacher and a neighbor of the brothers. "A grave injustice has
been done. The charges were not even proven, and they were killed. Is it
justice? Where is the law?"

Analysts say the communal and sectarian clashes often have a local spark --
an economic grievance, for instance -- that is easily ignited in an
atmosphere in which militant groups have been allowed to thrive for years by
politicians who use them as a base of support, or have little to gain by
standing up to them.

Looking to expand their influence, the groups, too, read the political winds
as astutely as they do the local political terrain.

Such groups have thrived for decades in Pakistan, though sectarian violence
has ebbed and flowed. Some groups, like Sipah-e-Sahaba, a Sunni militant
organization, have largely domestic agendas, while others, like
Lashkar-e-Taiba, focus on jihad in India and Afghanistan.

But it can be hard to draw a firm line, and sometimes the domestic groups
channel militants to the others.

Under the nearly 10 years of military government that ended in 2008,
sectarian violence was relatively subdued, in part because the military did
not need to manipulate domestic schisms to maintain control. But civilian
politics and sectarian tensions work hand in hand in Pakistan, and recently
the violence has flared again. The last bad spasm was also under civilian
rule in the 1990s.

Christians are not the only targets of the violence. In February, one person
was killed during armed clashes between two Muslim sects. One of the sects
then burned down the homes of several leaders of the other sect. Then in
April, four members of the minority Ahmadi sect, declared non-Muslim by the
country's Constitution, were gunned down in Faisalabad by masked gunmen
thought to be from Sipah-e-Sahaba.

Amir Rana, a terrorism expert, said the level of radicalization had grown
and spread across Punjab Province, the country's heartland. Residents say
banned Islamic militant groups have managed to increase their presence and
clout in Faisalabad, a city of nearly three million, and its surroundings.

Both Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Taiba, the group that India and the United
States have blamed for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India, maintain offices
in neighboring districts, which also serve as recruiting grounds.

As riots broke out on July 19, groups of agitated men, many of whom were
said to be armed, tried to make their way to Warispura, the Christian
neighborhood, from a neighboring village, Malkhan Wala, which is a known
stronghold of Lashkar-e-Taiba, residents of the Christian neighborhood said.

Mr. Rana speculated that local economic competition might have been a
motivator. Christians in Faisalabad are settled on land close to roads and
railway tracks. "This is precious land," he said. "Industrialists and
builders have their eyes on such properties."

Mr. Rana said Sipah-e-Sahaba had a strong base among the working class of
the city; most Christians are in the working class, too.

Khalid Rashid, vicar general of the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul in
Faisalabad, said the acts of violence against minorities, especially
Christians, were on the rise, as the militant groups wanted "their presence
to be felt."

Religious minorities are feeling vulnerable and insecure. Christians make up
only 5 percent of the population.

Neighbors and family members said the two Christian brothers who were killed
had enmity with nobody. Rashid, 31, was a pastor who ran a local prayer
group. Sajid, 28, was pursuing an M.B.A. degree.

They were taken into custody after a case was registered against them at the
urging of local traders. On July 19, after a court appearance, an
unidentified gunman entered the court premises and opened fire in the
hallway. Both brothers were shot in the back and died at a hospital. A
police officer was wounded. The attacker escaped easily.

The government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the killings. The Punjab
police suspended two police officers for security lapses. But the family of
the brothers is in hiding. The father, a retired government employee, and
his three other sons and a daughter fear being singled out and are afraid to
pursue the case.

Joseph Coutts, the bishop of the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, attributed
such attacks to the growing intolerance and militancy in Pakistani society.

"These groups have become so strong that they have become a law unto
themselves," he said. He added: "There is a lot of anger amongst Muslims,
and there is a revival of militant Islam. Local Christians are seen as
linked to the West, the United States, and therefore the fallout."

Indeed, a city resident, Khurram Shahzad, who lodged the initial complaint
with the police against the brothers, claims not to know them personally.
Muslims in the Warispura neighborhood said that Christians had been provided
financing from abroad to spread Christianity and convert Muslims.

"They had been given money to spread their religion," said Muhammad Nadeem,
25, an electrician. A crowd of onlookers nodded in agreement.



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