Wake up Policy Makers

Over the Centuries people from different cultures and regions have always given more importance to the prevalent religion in that particular region at that particular time. Christianity has its roots in the Middle East which was preached and practiced in Europe while Islam which too has its origins in the Middle East found a permanent foothold in Asia and Africa. To openly claim that one’s religion is superior to the other is in itself an act of blasphemy.

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 other 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-Muslims countries are taught the importance of national unity, patriotism, love for humanity & economic development of their respective countries.

Here in Pakistan Since the foundation of Pakistan special emphasis is given to Islamiyat (Islamic Studies) in all educational institutions from primary to under-graduate level. Diverse subject as Mathematics, Science, Geography, History and even language subject 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, Islam is present. This is well and okay if all the students in Pakistan come from Islamic backgrounds – what happen 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.

Islamiyat is taught to Christian children from kindergarten to undergraduate level and when these children reach the upper level, they are reasonably brainwashed by then into believing that Islam is the only superior religion and that their belief in Jesus Christ or Christianity is wrong – Holy Bible 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 teach them about 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 questions their faith creating an atmosphere of uncertainly, alienation & inferiority complex which later in life causes entrenched doubts about their religious conviction and even a switch to Islam, based on the earlier misinterpreted version imparted by their Islamiyat teachers. It is no secret that these Islamiyat teachers are in fact aggressively promoting Islam with the tacit approval of their respective educational hierarchy, which in turn is taking their instructions from the Government of Pakistan. Is this approach correct?

Let’s take another example. There was a hue & cry in France and other European Countries about the issue of Muslim female students not allowed wearing the scarf while in school. The Government of France made it amply clear that all students in France must all follow the rule & regulations and that the dress code did not include religious insignia or restrictions. The point is that extremists prefer 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? According to the constitution of Pakistan, every citizen is equal in the eyes of the state. Holy Quran explicitly forbids Muslims from discriminating against other religions & non-Muslims and clearly instructs Muslims to treat non-Muslims better than they would their own kind. Islam also preaches that all men are equal and that tolerance towards non-Muslims should be happily accepted by Muslims. Why then the unnecessary discrimination? Pakistani Government boasts about the rising number of coverts to Islam in the non-Muslim world but in almost all existing Muslim countries, other religions are not allowed to flourish, instead other religions are demonized. Since the foundation of Pakistan, the government is busy in preaching Islam. Muslim Fundamentalists and extremists never provide a level playing field and usually resort to unethical & provocative methods to inflict physiological torture on non- Muslims in their countries.

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 Islamiyat 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 Islamiyat but it becomes difficult for children whom are studying these particular subjects to successfully pass their examinations because there are no teachers of Ethics. Besides the books of Ethics cannot be found anywhere in the market. Moreover the books of Ethics are full of Islamic Studies and are against Christianity. This is another hand testing method adopted by the educators into compelling students from opting out of Civics/ Ethics in favor of Islamiyat.

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

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

We the Christians of Pakistan applauds the Government into allowing Aga Khan Board to be established; similarly we recommended that a Christian Board to be created to facilitate children from Christian background.

Forcibly eradicating other religious value & 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 Policy makers before it’s too late.

Hector Aleem

Chairman

Peace Worldwide

(NGO in Special Consultative Status

With the ECOSOC of the United Nations)

SCAM ???

Christians are facing discrimination in Pakistan since its inception, and then the tyranny of their own leaders who are not their true representatives but the supporters and promoters of their own parties. True and honest leaders of Christians are the ones who live among them and those who have social connections with their community i.e. Christians.

All parties including PPP, PML N and F and MQM have ignored Christian representatives while awarding their tickets for the reserved seats. They had given their tickets to those who have no or less social connections with Christians. The awards of tickets for reserved seats have become a business of political parties and millions of rupees are involved in this business. The ECP should ensure that the reserved seats list was prepared by parties on merit and the nominations reflected the population ratio of Christians. A committee should be constituted to probe this matter and a new list of candidates should be prepared.

Christians of Pakistan have suffered badly during these years due to unfair practices relating to their representation in the elected houses. Many candidates could not get into the elected houses because they do not have money to buy party tickets. It is observed that usually tickets for reserved seats are given to some particular Christians. Akram Gill, who have been selected as a MNA for 10 years and Shahbaz Bhatti whose so called party have always promoted its own MNAs and now his imported brother who is imposed on Christians, does not have any social connection with Christians neither he know anything about their problems and issues. How can a representative who got his Computerised National Identification Card after 37 years on his return from Italy understand the issues of Christians? This leads us to think that only those candidates can get the party tickets who are rich enough to buy one.

Big populations of Christians is still poor and failed to get their pressing issues resolved during these years and are still facing discrimination in educational and health sectors as well as other fields only because the minority lawmakers were not their true representatives, even constitutional rights of Christians could not be given to them.

Christians should be given dual voting right so that they could get reserved seats in addition to general seats. All political parties of Pakistan have ignored the majority segment of Christians to as their handpicked candidates from their own parties and this selection process keeps them absolutely unaware of the real issues of Christians because they know that they are not the one who has selected them.

Christians Demands Right to Cast Dual Vote

Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s constitutional guidelines of August 11, 1947, lie buried in the debris of opportunist constitutionalism and repeated inventive nationalism that does not treat religious minorities at par with the majority community. Yet, as a silver lining, it is still possible to redress many imbalances under the aegis of the political parties, the Election Commission of Pakistan and the higher judiciary.Though the 1998 census puts the religious minorities of Pakistan at 3.86%, the population today can be estimated at 6,665,093. Yet, considering the demographic spread, the analysis of the electoral rolls and past elections, depict an entirely different picture. Christians varying of 8.7% population is mostly concentrated in Islamabad, Punjab, Karachi and Quetta.Under the article 36 of the constitution, the state is obliged to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of minorities and presently under Article 51(4), ten seats are reserved for non- Muslims in the National Assembly. These seats are reserved for minorities in which the representatives are selected (not elected) by the political party which is in Majority. An example of that was Mr. Paul Bhatti who was a citizen of Italy for 37 years, he later came to Pakistan, obtained an identity card of the Country and became Federal Minister of Minorities. Was it necessary to appoint a foreigner as a Federal Minister of Minorities? Is there no leader in Pakistan from minorities? The system of reserved seats is unjust and is being enforced on minorities of Pakistan. Minorities particularly Christians need right to cast dual vote.Given an opportunity, the non – Muslims are capable of fielding candidates on general seats and capable of winning them in approximately 10 seats all over Pakistan; provided the political parties show the conviction and courage of fielding them. Alternatively, if properly utilized, they have the capability in these constituencies to swing results.We do not expect our problems to vanish over night nor are we seeking direct confrontation with the Government of Pakistan or for that matter the Muslim population. All we want is Justice and equal rights as Pakistanis, as enshrined in the Constitution of both Pakistan and the United Nations. We on our part are willing to cooperative with the government in making Pakistan a peaceful, progressive and developed nation provided we are treated as citizens with equal rights. The general attitude of the Christians is that of hopelessness, despair and if they could, they would love to depart Pakistan. Unfortunately that cannot happen, so the only final hope we Christians have is to look forward to United Nations and International/National Human Rights organizations’ assistance to improve our Quality of Life, where we can lead meaningful and decent lives without the constant fear of discrimination of one type or another.

Mohamed Morsi approves martial law in Egypt, state media reports

CAIRO: Struggling to subdue continuing street protests, the government of President Mohamed Morsi has approved legislation reimposing martial law by calling on the armed forces to keep order and authorizing soldiers to arrest civilians, Egypt's state media reported on Saturday.

Morsi has not yet issued the order, the flagship state newspaper Al Ahram reported. But even if merely a threat, the preparation of the measure suggested an escalation in the political battle between Egypt's new Islamist leaders and their secular opponents over an Islamist-backed draft constitution. The standoff has already threatened to derail the culmination of Egypt's promised transition to a constitutional democracy nearly two years after the revolt against the former leader Hosni Mubarak.

"President Morsi will soon issue a decision for the participation of the armed forces in the duties of maintaining security and protection of vital state institutions until the constitution is approved and legislative elections are finished," Al Ahram reported, suggesting that martial law would last until at least February. Parliamentary elections are expected to be held two months after the constitutional referendum, which is scheduled for next Saturday.

A short time later, a military spokesman read a statement over state television echoing the report of the president's order. The military "realizes its national responsibility for maintaining the supreme interests of the nation and securing and protecting the vital targets, public institutions, and the interests of the innocent citizens," the spokesman said.

Expressing "sorrow and concern" over recent developments, the military spokesman warned of "divisions that threaten the state of Egypt."

"Dialogue is the best and sole way to reach consensus that achieves the interests of the nation and the citizens," the spokesman said. "Anything other than that puts us in a dark tunnel with drastic consequences, which is something that we will not allow."

Al Ahram reported that the defense minister would determine the scope of the military's role. Military officers would be authorized to act as police and "to use force to the extent necessary to perform their duty," the newspaper said.

A need to rely on the military to secure a referendum to approve the new charter could undermine Morsi's efforts to present the documents as an expression of national consensus that might resolve the crisis.

Even the possibility presents an extraordinary role reversal: an elected president who spent decades opposing Mubarak's use of martial law to detain Islamists — a former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood who himself spent months in jail under the "emergency law" — is poised to resort to similar tactics to control unrest and violence from secular groups.

After six decades during which military-backed secular autocrats used the threat of an Islamist takeover to justify authoritarian rule, the order would bring the military into the streets to protect an elected Islamist, dashing the whispered hopes of some more secular Egyptians that the military might step in to remove Morsi.

The move would also reflect an equally extraordinary breakdown in Egyptian civic life that in the last two weeks has destroyed most of the remaining trust between the rival Islamist and secular factions, beginning with Morsi's decree on Nov. 22 granting himself powers above any judicial review until the ratification of a new constitution.

At the time, Morsi said he needed such unchecked power to protect against the threat that Mubarak-appointed judges might dissolve the constitutional assembly. He also tried to give the assembly a two-month extension on its year-end deadline to forge consensus between the Islamist majority and the secular faction — something liberals have sought. But his claim to such power for even a limited period struck those suspicious of the Islamists as a return to autocracy, and his authoritarian decree triggered an immediate backlash.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters accusing Morsi and his Islamist allies of monopolizing power have poured into the streets. Demonstrators have attacked more than two dozen Brotherhood offices around the country, including its headquarters. And judges declared a national strike.

In response, Morsi's Islamist allies in the assembly stayed up all night to rush out a draft constitution over the boycotts and objections of the secular minority and the Coptic Christian church. Then, worried that the Interior Ministry might fail to protect the presidential palace from sometimes-violent demonstrations outside, Morsi turned to the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups to defend it, resulting in a night of street fighting that killed at least six and wounded hundreds in the worst clashes between political factions since Gamal Abdel Nasser's coup six decades ago.

International experts who monitored the constituent assembly's work say that before the crisis, the Islamists and their secular foes had appeared close to resolving their differences and uniting around a document that both sides could accept. Even the draft charter, ultimately rushed out almost exclusively with Islamist support, stops short of the liberals' worst fears about the imposition of religious rule. But it leaves loopholes and ambiguities that liberals fear an Islamist majority could later use to empower religious groups or restrict individual freedoms, which the secular opposition has repeatedly compared to the theocracy established by the Iranian revolution of 1979.

Their denunciations, in turn, have reminded Islamist leaders of the Algerian military coup staged in the early 1990s to abort elections after Islamists won, and Morsi's political allies have repeatedly accused their secular opponents of seeking to undermine democracy in order to thwart the will of the Islamist majority.

Against the backdrop of the mounting distrust, Morsi's advisers say he has tried to offer a series of compromises. He has sought to redefine his initial decree so it fits within judicial precedents instead of stepping over the courts. He has said that the decree would be canceled after the referendum next weekend, even if the constitution is rejected.

And on Friday night, government officials opened the door to a delay in the referendum so that the constituent assembly can make further amendments, if secular opponents would agree to the terms.

But Morsi's Islamist allies say that they have also lost hope that any concession would satisfy the secular opposition and are convinced the opposition's true goal is to bring down the president — the main chant of the protesters who have surrounded the presidential palace for the last four nights. Morsi's secular opponents say they do not trust the president or the Brotherhood to deal in good faith. They are insisting that he agree to revamp the constitutional drafting process before they sit down for any talks.

In a speech two days ago, Morsi had invited secular opposition leaders to meet with him Saturday to try to work out a compromise. But the principal leaders declined the invitation. Without them, he met with a group again dominated by fellow Islamists, including some less-conservative Islamists outside the Brotherhood's party, according to a list reported on state media. Only one secular politician, the former presidential candidate Ayman Nour, attended.

The continuing unrest in the streets and attacks on Brotherhood offices had begun to raise the possibility that violence might mar next Saturday's scheduled vote on the referendum. While a deployment of the military could allay those concerns, it might also lead to new questions about the legitimacy of the process if the charter is indeed approved, complicating longer-term hopes of restoring civility and trust.

Christians count down to Christmas

Waiting for the wonder — Utah’s and world’s Christians count down to Christmas

Advent » Christians in Utah and around the world count down to Christmas.

By Peggy Fletcher Stack

| The Salt Lake Tribune

First Published Nov 29 2012 12:57 pm • Updated 6 hours ago

In a world before iPhones, digital alarms and day planners, Christians sought a way to measure their waiting.

How many days until the Savior’s birthday? How many cold nights before the celebration? How long until light pierced the dark and rapturous music filled the air?

Thus, those medieval believers devised ways to mark the time before Christ-Mass with candles, prayers, fasting, blocks and wreaths. Such traditions have persisted to this day among many traditional Catholic and Protestant churches across the globe. They celebrate it as the season of Advent, which means "coming," to commemorate the anticipation of Christ’s birth.

Now even nontraditional believers embrace the idea of daily reminders.

Beyond Bible passages and Nativity figures, eager children can count down the days with Legos and Playmobil, chocolates and gummy bears, Disney and Barbie, Peanuts and princesses, snowmen and soldiers. They do so with calendars made of paper and cardboard and wood and fabric — often felt — that feature little windows that open, close or slide.

For most Americans "waiting means annoyance," Utah’s Catholic Bishop John Wester told his flock this week. "We don’t like to wait — we want to do, we want to be on the move. We sometimes fail to appreciate that Advent really is a gift that helps us open our hearts to that which we are expecting. This is unfortunate, because by rushing through to Christmas we miss many valuable experiences."

Advent, Wester said, "is a precious period for us to ponder and prepare."

It’s all about the anticipation of wonder, said the Rev. Tom Abbott, pastor at Cottonwood Presbyterian Church.

"Our culture is so focused on the immediate," said Abbott, who is spending his first Christmas in Utah since becoming Cottonwood’s pastor in September. "It is great to have a season where we think about waiting and preparing. Things of value take time. They don’t necessarily happen in the moment."

What Christians await, he said, "is the gift of salvation and what that means for us."

On each of the four Sundays until Christmas, leaders at Abbott’s church — like many others across Utah and the nation — light one candle in their evergreen wreath, which symbolizes everlasting life. Three of the candles are purple, representing aspects of Christ’s royal lineage — hope, peace and love.

On the third Sunday of Advent, he explained, the candle is pink, suggesting joy at the upcoming birth.

Finally, during the Christmas Eve service, a white candle, symbolizing Christ himself, is placed in the center of the wreath.

In her Advent sermon, Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts focused on the waiting women of Christian history.

There was Jesus’ mother, Mary, who anticipated "the birth of the Promised One in her part of the world, a child born for the whole world," Jefferts said in a videotaped message at the Chapel of the Good Shepherd on the grounds of General Theological Seminary in New York City.

Then there was John the Baptist’s mother, Elizabeth, who was "promised a child in her old age," the presiding bishop said. "These are both very unexpected births they are awaiting."

Finally, Jefferts said, there was Elizabeth of Hungary, a 13th-century saint "who was betrothed as a child herself, married at 14, a mother of three by the time her husband died when she was 20."

This saint "spent her life giving it away, giving it away both physically through her means and through her presence and her healing," Jefferts said. "She was an icon of generosity."

So what are Christians waiting for this year?

"Is it an opportunity to meet the surprising around you? Is it an opportunity to reflect on what is most needed in your heart and in the world around you? How are you going to wait for that gift? Are you going to wait actively? Engaged?" Jefferts asked. "Honing your desire? Stoking the passion within you for that dream? Are you going to wait for a dream that will bless the whole world?"

Rosemary Baron, a lifelong Catholic and hospital chaplain in Salt Lake City, celebrates Advent in the simple ways she learned as a child.

"We use the same Advent wreath that our son — who is now 32 — made when he was 5 years old," Baron wrote in an email. "It is braided and made from salt dough. We insert new candles each year and say Advent prayers and read a reflection by candlelight each evening after dinner."

Baron and her husband have followed this pattern during the nearly 40 years of their marriage and, before that, with her parents and siblings.

It is nothing new or extraordinary, she said, just "a spiritual preparation for Christmas."

Fearful Pakistani Christians make home in forest

Having fled their homes in the latest spasm of Pakistani religious strife, a few hundred Christians have camped in a forest in the Pakistani capital, cut down trees and are using the branches to build a church. Their ordeal began when a Christian girl in their poor Islamabad neighborhood was accused by a neighbor of burning pages of the Quran — a blasphemy by Pakistani law that can mean life in prison.

A week after the girl's arrest, much remains in question: her age — 11 to 16 in conflicting reports; mental condition —  Down syndrome has been mentioned; and what exactly she was burning — there's little evidence that Quran pages were involved.

But as word spread, hundreds of people gathered outside her house demanding action, and on Aug. 20 police arrested the girl pending an investigation. (The Associated Press is withholding her name because it does not generally identify underage suspects.)

Most Christians in the neighborhood fled — some 600 families according to one interfaith group. Some said their landlords evicted them. A few have returned.

One of those who moved into the forest on Sunday was Sumera Zahid, who was busy feeding her three children and her parents.

"We used to come here to collect wood for fuel so we find it a suitable place for shelter," she said. "Here it is not anybody's home, nobody's land. Let us live here in safety."

On Monday their pastor, Arif Masih, spoke to them by the frame of branches they were lashing together for their church.

"We are thankful to the Lord for this land although here is no water and food, but rest assured the Lord will create water fountains and provide all fruits here for you if you remain patient and suffer these hardships, thanking the Lord," he said.

Blasphemy is an extremely sensitive issue in this 95-percent Muslim nation of 190 million people, and cases often grab huge attention here and abroad.

Crowds have been known to beat or kill suspected blasphemers. Last year two prominent politicians who criticized the blasphemy law were murdered, one by his own bodyguard who then attracted adoring mobs. In July, thousands of people dragged a Pakistani man accused of desecrating the Quran from a police station, beat him to death and set his body alight.

So volatile is the issue that public figures appear loath to speak out on the latest episode. The government has made little substantive comment, and no police protection was evident at the forest encampment.

On Monday the All Pakistan Ulema Council, an umbrella organization of Muslim clerics, held a news conference together with the Pakistan Interfaith League, the group that reports 600 families have fled and is campaigning to return them to their homes.

The two groups called for an investigation into whether the girl was wrongly accused and what role religious extremism played. League chairman Sajid Ishaq demanded government compensation for the displaced Christians, as well as protection.

Critics say the blasphemy laws are often used in vendettas and score-settling. Sensitivities are also heightened by Western reactions to such incidents, such as the U.S. State Department statement calling the latest case "deeply disturbing."

At the news conference, the head of the clerics' council, Maulana Tahir-ul-Ashrafi, told the outside world not to interfere, saying Pakistan would provide justice for the girl and her community.

Meanwhile, Nooran Bashir, who had fled a few hours after the girl's arrest, was back in her home Monday.

"I don't know whether she burned pages of some holy book or not, but we all had to abruptly leave our homes to save our lives," she said. She said one of her sons came back with her, but her other children were too frightened and she sent them to relatives.

She said Muslims asked the Christians not to worship in their church, and if they did, to refrain from singing.

But others were not ready to return. About 200 Christians, mostly men, protested in front of the city administration offices Monday, demanding permission to stay in the clearing. About another 100 people, mostly women and children, were back at the clearing.

"We don't have a big list of demands," said one Christian resident, Salim Masih. "We have cleared this place with our hands, and we have laid the first foundation of a small church here. Although this is a mere skeleton made of tree branches, this is the holy home of God. This should be respected."

Iman Sheikh: Pakistan’s anti-Christian witch hunt

Rifta Masih is an 11-year-old Christian girl who lives near Islamabad, Pakistan. She reportedly suffers from Down’s Syndrome. Like many of the other Christians in her area — who comprise about 10% of the local population — the members of her family work menial jobs, and live in tiny properties rented from Muslim landlords.

On Thursday evening, Rifta was seen leaving the one-room dwelling she lives in with her sister and parents, carrying an earthenware dish filled with ash. Or, it may have been some refuse in a small shopping bag. Although Hammad Malik, a 23-year-old witness, is unclear on exactly what the girl was transporting, he is quite certain that the burnt remains had Arabic writing on them.

Rifta, he alleges, was burning pages from a Koran inside her house, and then trying to find a place to dispose of the remains. Although he did not see her do this, that did not stop him from assembling an angry group of men and reporting the incident to the local police, with the demand that the girl be apprehended in accordance with the country’s Blasphemy Law. The authorities at first did not act, but then moved swiftly to get the girl into custody when a mob of over 500 people gathered at the Masih home’s doorstep. Fearing for her safety, the authorities put her into a cell for a two-week detention.

Welcome to Pakistan: A nightmare society beyond pity or parody, where handicapped 11-year-old girls must be locked up to ensure their own safety.

According to the Blasphemy Law, anyone found guilty of insulting the Prophet Muhammad or the Koran can be sentenced to death. With blind religious extremism on the upswing, there is no shortage of Hammad Malik types — self-appointed religious vigilantes on the lookout for any transgression, real or imagined.

The law has been enforced in regard to even the most dubious reports of “blasphemy,” and has led to the murder of two prominent politicians. In January 2011, Punjab Governor Salman Taseer was shot by his own bodyguard after he expressed sympathy for Asia Noreen, a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy. Scarcely two months later, Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan’s first Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs and the only Christian in Pakistan’s Cabinet, was leaving his mother’s home in Islamabad when his car was sprayed with bullets. (The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the killing.)

The aforementioned Noreen, better known in the media as “Asia Bibi,” was a farmhand who fetched water for her coworkers. When some Muslims refused to drink the water on account of it being contaminated by an “unclean” Christian, heated work-site arguments allegedly ensued. Later, a cleric received complaints that Noreen made derogatory comments about the Prophet Muhammad. A mob arrived at her house, attacking her and her family before she was rescued by the police. This was in June 2009. She is still in jail.

The Blasphemy Law can be manipulated by cynical plaintiffs, as a tool to take personal retribution. In the case of Asia Bibi, there had been a pre-existing feud between Noreen and a Muslim neighbour over property damage. In Rifta’s case, relations between the Muslim and Christian communities had been tense for months after complaints were made about the noise coming from churches in the area during religious services.

In Pakistan, Christians traditionally have worked as cleaners and sweepers; many Muslims still consider them “unclean.” About 900 Christians living on the outskirts of Islamabad have been ordered to leave the neighbourhood and the homes they have inhabited for two decades. On Sunday, houses on the backstreets of Mehrabadi, an area 20 minutes drive from Islamabad’s western embassies and government ministries, were locked up and abandoned, their frightened occupants having relocated to already overcrowded Christian slums in and around the capital.

Pakistan is a country with many problems — from corruption to terrorism to regional secession movements. But none captures the primitive, bigoted spirit of the nation’s religious extremists more perfectly than the witch hunt for “blasphemers” that has been used to persecute the country’s tiny, beleaguered Christian community. If an 11-year-old handicapped girl is considered fair game for the fanatics, what chance does anyone else have?