Thursday, July 2, 2009

Pakistan: Almost 700 Christians forced to flee village after Muslims incited by mosque broadcasts go on rampage

Pakistan Taliban and al Qaeda forces, with the full cooperation of the government continue to harass and drive Christians from their homes and into refugee camps.

It's way past time to seize Pakistan's nukes and place the country back on the international terrorists list.

Islam as a whole must be contained and controlled much as the Soviet Union was with the goal being the debilitation of Islam to the point it is no longer a threat to the non-Muslim world.


FROM JIHADWATCH.ORG:

Pakistan: Almost 700 Christians forced to flee village after Muslims incited by mosque broadcasts go on rampage

The District Coordination Officer said Islam doesn't allow "cruelties" toward minorities. The problem is, the bar is pretty low in Islamic law in the first place. Qur'an 9:29 mandates that dhimmis (or "protected peoples") "feel themselves subdued." That statement defines the spirit of Islamic laws concerning unbelievers, and it is that spirit by which the slightest perceived transgression leads to scenes like this.
Islamic Tolerance Alert, and an update on this story.
"Christian families in Kasur hide from angry mobs," by Ali Usman for the Daily Times, July 2:

LAHORE: At least 110 Christian families, almost 700 people, were forced on Tuesday night to flee Bahmniwala, a village in Kasur, after angry mobs attacked and threatened to burn their houses for allegedly committing blasphemy.
Casus belli: A boy on a tractor:

The families sought safety in the fields surrounding their village, even as mosques urged the Muslims to unite and “teach a lesson” to the Christians, residents told Daily Times. However, locals told Daily Times the problem started when a Christian boy, Arif Mashi, was travelling on a tractor and asked a Muslim boy, Muhammad Riaz, to allow him to pass. When Riaz refused, the two quarrelled.

Following this incident, on Tuesday night, a mob attacked houses of the area’s Christian community with petrol-bombs, destroying their electricity meters and thrashing any Christians they found. On Wednesday, the Muslim community refused to communicate with the Christian community, boycotting their businesses. The Christians who returned to their homes found they had no electricity or drinking water the entire day. “Despite the presence of police, the mosques continued to urge a complete Christian boycott,” Sohail Johnson, chief coordinator of the Sharing Life Ministry, said.

Human Rights and Minority Affairs Minister Kamran Michael said he had asked officials of the Revenue Department to compile an estimate of the loss suffered by the Christian community. He said justice would be ensured, adding the government would investigate the people responsible for turning the incident into a religious issue.

A committee comprising Christian and Muslim elders of the area, led by Kasur District Coordination Officer (DCO) Abdul Jabbar Shaheen, was formed on Wednesday to look into the matter and negotiate a peace deal between the two groups. The committee has been given four days to settle the matter.
DCO: The DCO said Islam did not allow cruelties against minorities. In his capacity as the DCO, he apologised to the Christians for the treatment that was meted out to them. A fact-finding mission led by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), will travel to the area today (Thursday) to probe into the matter