Stop Islamisation of Schools in Pakistan

Muslims live in North America, Europe, Australia and other non-Muslim countries, but never have the education system in these countries ever tried to impose an alien religious subject on their children, nor have the Muslim children ever been brainwashed into believing that their religion is inferior to those of other religions. As a matter of fact all children in non-muslim countries are taught the importance of national unity, patriotism, love for humanity & economic development of their respective countries.

Here in Pakistan, since the last 65 years special emphasis is given to Islamayat (Islamic studies) in all educational institutions from primary to under-graduate level. Diverse subject such as Mathematics, Science, Geography, History and even language subjects such as Urdu, Punjabi and Sindhi have Islamic concoction in them. Alternative subjects such as Civics & Ethics are given little or no importance and even in these subjects, 75% teaching of Islam is present. This is well and okay if all the students in Pakistan come from Islamic backgrounds – What happens to children from Christian backgrounds? What alternative subjects are taught to them that do not include Islam? I am afraid the answer to the above two questions is not positively reassuring.

Islamic Studies is taught to Christian children from Kindergarten level and when these children reach the upper primary level, they are reasonably brainwashed by then into believing that Islam is the only superior religion and that their belief in Christ or Christianity is wrong-the Holy Bible unlike the Holy Quran has been amended and due to this fact it is no longer accurate and an inferior religion. Teachers also coax these Christian children (05 years old and above) to renounce Christianity & embrace Islam to redeem themselves from sin and promises of a place in paradise. Our Christian children when at home pose serious & misinterpreted questions to their parents about the activities that took place in their respective school and begin to question their faith creating an atmosphere or uncertainty, alienation & inferiority complex which later in life causes entrenched doubts about their religious convictions and even a switch to Islam, based on the earlier misinterpreted version imparted by their Islamic Studies teachers. It is no secret that these Islamic Studies teachers are in fact aggressively promoting Islam with the tacit approval of their respective educational hierarchy, which is turn are taking their instructions from the Government. Is this approach correct?

Let’s take another example. There was a hue & cry in France about the issue of Muslim female students not allowed to wear the scarf while in School. The Government of France made it amply clear that all students in France must follow rules & regulations and that the dress code did not include religious insignia or restrictions. The point is that Muslim prefers to adhere to their religious values in non-muslim countries but force Islamic value to non-Muslims in their own countries. Why the double standard? Can Pakistani Government justifiably prove that Islam is in fact more superior to other religion? Pakistani print and electronic media always claim that the Holy Quran explicitly forbids Muslims from discriminating against other religions. Why then the unnecessary discrimination? Pakistani Government boast about the rising number of converts to Islam but in reality, other religions are not allowed to flourish, instead other religions are demonized here. Pakistani government never provides a level playing field and usually resorts to unethical & provocative methods to inflict physiological torture on Christians.

Religion can never be forced onto others, we the Christians in Pakistan are guaranteed religious freedom both by the Constitution of Pakistan as well as the United Nations (Pakistan is a veteran member of the United Nations) but this guarantee only exists on paper – the reverse is actually applicable.

To compound problems Islamic studies is taught in the Arabic language – once again an alien and irrelevant language both for Muslim & Christian students alike, whom face extreme difficulty in comprehending this language. Then there are a few schools that teach Civics or Ethics instead of Islamic Studies but it becomes difficult for children whom are studying these particular subjects to successfully pass their examinations. This is another hand twisting methods adopted by the educators into compelling students from opting out of Civics/Ethics in favor of Islamic Studies.

Interestingly enough Christian students, who complete Islamic Studies examinations, are given good grades, even though they may not have made a serious attempt to pass.

Peace Worldwide strongly urges the Government of Pakistan both at Federal & Provincial level to cease teaching Islamic Studies to Christians, instead appoint teachers from Christian background to teach Holy Bible to Christian students. This will improve the unemployment situation for the Christians, create an atmosphere of tolerance & brotherhood and will give Christians a sense of security- sorely missing in Pakistan.

Pakistani Christians applaud the Government into allowing Aga Khan Board to be established; similarly we recommend that a Christian Board too be created to facilitate children from Christian background.
Forcibly eradicating other religious values & beliefs will only create an atmosphere of distrust, contempt, intolerance, discrimination & loss of self-esteem, a situation currently in existence here in Pakistan. Wake up Government of Pakistan before it is too late.

Hector Aleem
Chairman
Peace Worldwide

Christian Genocide in Pakistan

Christianity is the largest minority in Pakistan but besides being the largest number of minority, they are also the largest number of persecuted nation in Pakistan. There are lots of examples of Christian persecution since the inception of Pakistan. Today, Pakistani Christians are regularly jailed, persecuted and even sentenced in false blasphemy cases. Pakistani fundamentalists are cutting the necks of Christians like street dogs, raping and abduct Christian girls. Shame on recent parliamentarians like Tahir Khalil Sandhoo and Kamran Michael who are enjoying the ministry with the ruling government, if they care even a little about their nation they should resign immediately and start working for Christians.

The recent case of Shafqat Masih is the worst example of blasphemy cases lodged against Christians because his whole family is in custody of the police and they have been shifted far away from their home city. This is the same case in which Peace Worldwide Chairman, Mr. Hector Aleem was trapped and he spent four years in prison for this offence. No Christian is such fool to send a blasphemous message to any Muslim cleric especially when they know the consequences, also, every Christian parent teaches their children not to involve their selves in any anti Islamic activity.

There are no organizations especially Christian NGOs who are helping these victims of blasphemy instead they depends upon the local NGOs who do nothing but provides false news to the international media, normally all these organizations are the agents of the government of Pakistan who provides news according to the guidance of the Government of Pakistan.

Peace Worldwide condemns the misuse of blasphemy law in Pakistan because it is creating hate and inferiority complex in the minds of Pakistani Christians, the government, the secret agencies and courts are silent when several innocent Christians are facing persecution due to blasphemy law.

Pakistan should stop genocide of Christians of Pakistan. Or else a time will come when Christians of Pakistan will consider Pakistan their enemy and will rebel against it because same concept of two nation theory applies here.

David Cameron: I will change the law to allow crosses at work

During exchanges at Prime Minister's Question Time, Mr Cameron was asked about the case of Nadia Eweida, who has appealed to the European Court of Human Rights after being barred by British Airways from wearing a crucifix while working at Heathrow Airport.

David Davis, the former shadow home secretary, described the airline's refusal to allow Miss Eweida to wear her cross as a "disgraceful piece of political correctness" and asked the Prime Minister why the Government was opposing her appeal.

He told the Commons that Miss Eweida was appearing before the European Court in September to complain that there were no protections under United Kingdom law for workers who wore religious symbols.

Saying she wore the crucifix "as a mark of her Christianity," Mr Davis went on: "The behaviour of British Airways in this was a disgraceful piece of political correctness, so I was surprised to see the Government is resisting Miss Eweida's appeal.

"I cannot believe the Government is supporting the suppression of religious freedom in the workplace, so what are we going to do in this case?"

In response, Mr Cameron said he that he was fully supportive of employees' right to wear religious symbols at work, adding: "I think it is an absolutely vital freedom."

He went on: "What we will do is that if it turns out that the law has the intention [of banning the display of religious symbols in the workplace], as has come out in this case, then we will change the law and make clear that people can wear religious symbols at work."

The Prime Minister joked that while he did not always side with Mr Davis – his rival for the 2005 Tory leadership contest – he "wholeheartedly agreed" with him over the BA case.

Miss Eweida, 59, a Pentecostal Christian from Twickenham, south-west London, was sent home from her job at Heathrow in 2006 when she refused to remove her crucifix or accept a non-uniformed job.

She lost an industrial tribunal, which ruled that she had not suffered religious discrimination. Mrs Eweida had argued that the airline was discriminating against her as a Christian because Sikh employees were permitted to wear turbans and Muslims could work in hijab head coverings.

But BA said that the wearing of a cross was not a "requirement" of her faith, unlike the turban and hijab. BA has since changed its policy to allow the wearing of crosses and other religious symbols.

Miss Eweida's has been joined in her legal battle by Shirley Chaplin, a nurse from from Exeter, who was told by her employer, The Royal Devon and Exeter Foundation NHS Trust, to remove a necklace on which she had hung a cross.

It is the first time that Mr Cameron has explicitly promised to change the law in the event that the two women lose their case.

Vince Cable, the Business Secretary who is Miss Eweida's constituency MP, welcomed the Prime Minister's words. He had previously written to Theresa May, the Home Secretary, asking for a change in the law and was told this was impossible.

He said: "As her local MP, I've supported Nadia's right to wear a cross throughout her campaign. I wrote to the Home Secretary eighteen months ago urging her change the law.

"So I am delighted by the Prime Minister's announcement today that the law will be changed to allow people of all religious faiths to be able to wear symbols of their religion."

Mr Cameron's announcement means that Christians and other people of faith will be given formal legal protection to wear religious symbols at work regardless of the outcome of the European Court case.

If Miss Eweida and Mrs Chaplin are successful, then no changes to the law will be necessary because the case will form a legal precedent.

The loss of the case would mean that the Government would be expected to bring forth legislation providing protection for religious workers as soon as the parliamentary timetable allowed.