Concerns Rise as New Pakistan Church Attacked

About 100 Muslims attacked a Pakistani church on Friday in the latest "vigilante attacks" against Christians in the country, Agence France-Presse reports. "They set fire to prayer mats and some religious books but the timely arrival of police prevented the situation from taking an ugly turn," local police official Rafaqat Ali told AFP. "The church suffered no major damage." The attack was allegedly a response to a young Christian's desecration of the Koran. Pakistan's Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti said the government will rebuild the church, and that police have dealt with the young man in question. "No one from minorities can even think of desecration of the holy Koran," he said. "Some people want to destabilize the country by doing such things, but the government will not allow anyone to play with the lives and properties of the minorities."