IRAN -- Authorities Arrest Two Christians at Christmas Gathering

On Dec. 17, security police and undercover officers attacked a Christmas gathering of more than 70 newly converted Christians in the city of Karaj, Iran, according to Farsi Christian News.
Read the full story here

SOMALIA — Christians Under Fire for Their Faith

On Nov. 23, Mohamud Muridi Saidi, a Somali Christian, fled the Kakuma refugee camp on the Kenyan border after receiving death threats from Muslims, according to Compass Direct News.

Read the full story here

Update: Chinese authorities step up campaign against Christians

Pastor Yang Rongli Photo from ChinaAid

The central government in China has reportedly intensified its campaign against Christian activity in the country, targeting both registered and unregistered churches. (Source: ChinaAid)

On November 2, Judge Sun of the Linfen Intermediate Court instructed the families of the five remaining imprisoned leaders and pastors of the Linfen-Fushan Church in Shanxi province (click here for more information) to hire lawyers to defend them in an immediate trial. Even though the believers have been detained for over 50 days, their families had not received prior warning or notification of arrest. One of the imprisoned leaders, Pastor Yang Rongli, has been transferred to the Taiyuan City Detention Center, a high-security prison directly controlled by the central government. Local sources have expressed particular concern for her safety.

On the evening of November 12, Public Security officials sealed the doors and locked down the Wanbang Missionary Church in Shanghai, which was earlier banned by authorities on November 2 (click here for more information). While officials were barring the church entrance, believers banded together to protect the associate pastor as he escaped into the crowd. Two days earlier, a formal notice of abolishment was issued to the senior pastor of the church. The seven pastors also received notices stating that they are "self-claimed illegal preachers" and ordering them to cease their "illegal religious activities." Many of the 2000 members of the church have been severely questioned and threatened in recent weeks by members of multiple agencies. The senior pastor's cell phone number has been terminated and the church's website forcibly shut down.

Pray that the detained Christians from the Linfen-Fushan church will be found innocent and be released. Ask God to protect and encourage Pastor Yang Rongli. Pray for strength and endurance for the members of the Wanbang Missionary Church. Pray that religious freedom will be respected by Chinese authorities.

Update: Iranian Christians finally released from prison

Maryam Rustampoor and Marzieh Amirizadeh, Iranian Christians who were arrested by security forces in early March (click here for the story) were released from Evin Prison in Tehran on November 18. The women were released without bail but may have to face a future court hearing. Upon their release, they stated, "Words are not enough to express our gratitude to the Lord and to His people who have prayed and worked for our release." (Source: Elam Ministries)

Praise the Lord that these faithful believers have been released after 259 days in prison! Pray that their example of steadfast faith will encourage other Iranians suffering for Christ. Pray for them as they recover from the harsh treatment they received in prison.

Christians fined and deported in Kazakhstan

Two Christians, Viktor Leven and his brother, Didrikh, are facing prosecution for taking part in religious worship without state registration in Akmola Region, Kazakhstan, according to a November 5 report from Forum18. On October 14, Viktor, who was born in Kazakhstan but has German citizenship, was found guilty of "carrying out missionary activity without local registration" (Article 375-3 of the Administrative Code), an offense which prescribes a fine and/or deportation to foreigners or people without citizenship. He was fined a total of 6,480 Tenge (approximately $45 CAD) and ordered to be deported. He has since had his fine and deportation annulled on appeal -- a decision which local Christians see as a result of the court recognizing "that he was not a missionary and had not been sent to Kazakhstan for this...he lives here." On October 28, Didrikh was found guilty of violating Article 374-1 which forbids "leadership or participation in the activity of an unregistered social or religious organization." He was fined 129,600 Tenge (approximately $900 CAD), which is 100 times the minimum monthly wage. He reportedly plans to lodge an appeal to the same Akmola Regional Court which overturned Viktor's punishment.

Also in Kazakhstan, Feruza Utegenova, a member of New Life Church in Aktau on the Caspian Sea, was deported toUzbekistan on November 5. She had been convicted and fined in June for "carrying out missionary activity without local registration" (Article 375-3) after she distributed a Christian children's magazine to a 12-year-old girl living near her home.

Pray that the charges against Didrikh will be dropped. Pray for strength and guidance for Feruza as she seeks to serve Christ amid her trials. Pray that authorities will cease their harassment of Christians in Kazakhstan.

For more information on the persecution facing Kazakhstan's Christians, click here.

Remember Persecuted Christians Worldwide this Sunday

Human rights groups are asking believers to say a special prayer for fellow Christians worldwide this Sunday, the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. According to the Christian Newswire, Open Doors USA asked believers to remember people like Maryam Rostampour, 27, and Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad, 30, two Iranian women who have been held in Tehran's Evin prison sinceMarch 5 for their faith. The women have been asked to recant multiple times. The U.S. State Department designated Iran, along with seven other countries, as "Countries of Particular Concern" for their religious repression on Oct. 26. "Maryam and Marzieh are suffering in an Iranian prison simply for refusing to recant their belief in Jesus Christ...they truly are modern heroes of the faith," says Open Doors USA President/CEO Dr. Carl Moeller. "We must speak out against this injustice. Join our campaign urging the Iranian government to release these women."

Massive 'Reconversion' Event in India Aimed at Christians

Compass Direct News reports that hundreds of tribal Christians and adherents of aboriginal religion from villages were reportedly "reconverted" to Hinduism on Oct. 26. Hindu nationalist Swami Narendra Maharaj's goal was to "reconvert" 6,000 Christians in the so-called purification ceremony in Maharashtra state, reported The Hindustan Times, which put the number of "reconversions" at around 800. Hindu nationalists believe all Indians are born Hindu and therefore regard acceptance of Hinduism by those practicing other religions as "reconversion." Many reports of "reconversions," however, have been found to be false. In 2007, a Hindi-language newspaper reported that four Christian families had "reconverted" to Hinduism. But a fact-finding team from the All India Christian Council revealed that none of the members of those families had ever converted to Christianity.

Christians throughout India targeted in violent attacks

The Voice of the Martyrs received several reports of violence against Christians in India throughout the week, including the following two incidents.

On the morning of October 25, four men entered the Assembly of God church building in Old Hubli, Karnataka during a worship service and started taking notes and photographing the worshippers. When the pastor's wife, Radha David (42), asked the men to sit quietly and listen to the sermon, they immediately left. A few minutes later, a group of approximately 50 Hindu militants stormed into the church. They threatened the believers and dragged Pastor K.M. David Raj (47) outside. The militants then collected the Bibles, Christian literature and banners and burned them in front of the church building. Police arrived on scene and brought Pastor Raj, Radha, and three other believers to the police station. At last report, the five remained in police custody.

On the same day, Pastor Pavithra Kumar (28) was brutally beaten following a morning worship service in Mastoori town, Madhya Pradesh. Approximately 11 Hindus called Pastor Kumar outside where they attacked him with their fists, wooden rods and field hockey sticks. Pastor Kumar was able to escape his assailants and run back inside the church building. However, he was badly injured on his hands, chest, back and head.

Pray that these believers will keep their eyes on Jesus, persevere in their faith, and not grow weary or lose heart (Hebrews 10:32-39, Hebrews 12:1-3). Pray that those who seek to hinder the work of the Church in India will see the love and grace of Jesus in the lives of Indian Christians. We invite you to post a prayer for suffering Christians in India on our Persecuted Church Prayer Wall.

For more information on the persecution of Christians in India, click here.

Pakistan Police Torture Christians Arrested in Islamic Attack

Brian Sharma

October 27, 2009

LAHORE, Pakistan (CDN) -- Two Christians in Gojra, Pakistan who allegedly fired warning shots as an Islamist mob approached that burned seven Christians to death on Aug. 1 told Compass they were tortured after police arrested them.

Only one of hundreds of Muslim assailants in the fire assault on Gojra's Christian Town is in jail, but sources said Islamists have provided police a pretense for arresting the two Christian brothers who gave shelter to 300 people. Naveed Masih, 32, alias Fauji ("the Soldier") and his 25-year-old brother Nauman Masih were arrested on Sept. 2 and Sept. 7 respectively for "rioting with deadly weapons and spreading terror with firing."

Naveed Masih is said to have fired warning shots from a rooftop into the air and at the feet of the mob of approaching Muslim assailants to try to disperse them, but both brothers deny using any weapons.

From his jail cell, Naveed Masih told Compass that he and his brother were taken to the Police Training Centre in Choong, where they were kept in illegal detention for 18 days and were tortured "in so many ways ruthlessly and in inhumane ways."

"Sometimes we were not given anything to eat or drink except one time, and sometimes we were hung in a dark well while our faces were covered with a cloth," Naveed Masih said. "They beat me with cane sticks on the back of my hands and sometimes hung me upside down and then brutally beat me."

Police kept them hungry for days, he said; when they asked for food, officers told them to confess that they had fired, he added. Naveed Masih said police tortured them to try to force them to say they had links with terrorist organizations that provided arms and ammunition to them.

Naveed Maish said they were forbidden to sleep; they were awoken whenever they dozed off. Throughout the 18 days of torture, he said, the two brothers were kept separate but saw each other when they were taken to court.

"We hugged each other and wept, seeing each other's wounds," he said.

Naveed Masih said police tortured them because they had given shelter to more than 300 women, children and elderly people on the day of attack, in which the assailants - acting on an unsubstantiated rumor of "blasphemy" of the Quran and whipped into a frenzy by local imams and banned terrorist groups - also looted more than 100 houses and set fire to 50 of them. At least 19 people were injured in the melee.

In spite of the targeting of the Christian area in Gojra by hundreds of Islamic extremists, police have registered complaints filed by the Muslim assailants against 129 Christians; sources said these various charges were filed only to pressure the Christian community. Thus far police have arrested only Naveed Masih and Nauman Masih - whose cases were submitted in an Anti-Terrorism Court to make it difficult for them to obtain bail, according to their lawyer - but the Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement was able to obtain release on bail for Nauman Masih.

Nauman Masih told Compass that of the 17 Muslims named in the First Information Report on the Aug. 1 attack, only one, Abdul Khalid Kashmiri, was in jail. Kashmiri has offered 1 million rupees (US$12,500) if the Christian complainants would withdraw the case, Nauman Masih added.

The rest of the Muslim assailants are still at large, and sources said police have no intention of arresting them. In addition, three checks of 100,000 rupees (US$1,200) each issued by Punjab Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah for compensation to victims have been cancelled, Nauman Masih said, probably because the recipients are among the 129 Christians implicated in the false charges.

Nauman Masih said that when his mother arrived at the Christian Town Police Station the night his brother was arrested, officials told her that she could see him the next morning. But when she and other women arrived the next morning, he said, police told them that they had not arrested him.

The Community Development Initiative (CDI), anadvocacy group working with the help of American Center for Law and Justice, has taken up the case of both brothers. CDI lawyer Haroon Suleman Khokhar said that they have been falsely implicated in a serious crime for protecting themselves and many other innocent Christians.

He said that police had no justification for submitting the cases of the two brothers in the Anti-Terrorism Court ofFaisalabad. Khokhar said Naveed Masih was a key eyewitness in the report filed with police on the Aug. 1 attack, and that the two brothers were implicated in the cases only to try coercing Naveed Masih to withdraw from testifying against the Muslim attackers.

To protest police registration of the complaints against the 129 Christians, which include Bishop of Gojra John Samuel, Naveed Masih and Nauman Masih, on Oct. 5 the Christians of Gojra rejected goods sent by the U.S. Embassy to Pakistan in Islamabad. Demanding justice rather than aid, the Christians threw away the boxes of aid

Lawyer Calls Turkish Christians’ Trial a ‘Scandal’

Barbara G. Baker

October 20, 2009

SILIVRI, Turkey (CDN) -- After three prosecution witnesses testified yesterday that they didn't even know two Christians on trial for "insulting Turkishness and Islam," a defense lawyer called the trial a "scandal."

Speaking after yesterday's hearing in the drawn-out trial, defense attorney Haydar Polat said the case's initial acceptance by a state prosecutor in northwestern Turkey was based only on a written accusation from the local gendarmerie headquarters unaccompanied by any documentation.

"It's a scandal," Polat said. "It was a plot, a planned one, but a very unsuccessful plot, as there is no evidence."

Turkish Christians Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal were arrested in October 2006; after a two-day investigation they were charged with allegedly slandering Turkishness and Islam while talking about their faith with three young men in Silivri, an hour's drive west of Istanbul.

Even the three prosecution witnesses who appeared to testify at Thursday's (Oct. 15) hearing failed to produce any evidence whatsoever against Tastan and Topal, who could be jailed for up to two years if convicted on three separate charges.

Yesterday's three witnesses, all employed as office personnel for various court departments in Istanbul, testified that they had never met or heard of the two Christians on trial. The two court employees who had requested New Testaments testified that they had initiated the request themselves.

The first witness, a bailiff in a Petty Offenses Court in Istanbul for the past 28 years, declared he did not know the defendants or anyone else in the courtroom.

But he admitted that he had responded to a newspaper ad about 10 years ago to request a free New Testament. After telephoning the number to give his address, he said, the book arrived in the mail and is still in his home.

He also said he had never heard of the church mentioned in the indictment, although he had once gone to a wedding in a church in Istanbul's Balikpazari district, where a large Armenian Orthodox church is located.

"This is the extent of what I know about this subject," he concluded.

Fidgeting nervously, a second witness stated, "I am not at all acquainted with the defendants, nor do I know any of these participants. I was not a witness to any one of the matters in the indictment. I just go back and forth to my work at the Istanbul State Prosecutors' office."

The third person to testify reiterated that he also had no acquaintance with the defendants or anyone in the courtroom. But he stated under questioning that he had entered a website on the Internet some five or six years ago that offered a free New Testament.

"I don't know or remember the website's name or contents," the witness said, "but after checking the box I was asked for some of my identity details, birth date, job, cell phone - I don't remember exactly what."

Noting that many shops and markets asked for the same kind of information, the witness said, "I don't see any harm in that," adding that he would not be an open person if he tried to hide all his personal details.

For the next hearing set for Jan. 28, 2010, the court has repeated its summons to three more prosecution witnesses who failed to appear yesterday: a woman employed in Istanbul's security police headquarters and two armed forces personnel whose whereabouts had not yet been confirmed by the population bureau.

Case 'Demands Acquittal'

Polat said after the hearing that even though the Justice Ministry gave permission in February for the case to continue under Turkey's controversial Article 301, a loosely-defined law that criminalizes insulting the Turkish nation, "in my opinion the documents gathered in the file demand an acquittal."

"There is no information, no document, no details, nothing," Polat said. "There is just a video, showing the named people together, but what they are saying cannot be heard. It was shot in an open area, not a secret place, and there is no indication it was under any pressure."

But prosecution lawyer Murat Inan told Compass, "Of course there is evidence. That's why the Justice Ministry continued the case. This is a large 'orgut' [a term connoting an illegal and armed organization], and they need to be stopped from doing this propaganda here."

At the close of the hearing, Inan told the court that there were missing issues concerning the judicial legality and activities of the "Bible research center" linked with the defendants that needed to be examined and exposed.

Turkish press were conspicuously absent at yesterday's hearing, and except for one representative of the Turkish Protestant churches, there were no observers present.

The first seven hearings in the trial had been mobbed by dozens of TV and print journalists, focused on ultranationalist lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz, who led a seven-member legal team for the prosecution.

But since the January 2008 jailing of Kerincsiz and Sevgi Erenerol, who had accompanied him to all the Silivri trials, Turkish media interest in the case has dwindled. The two are alleged co-conspirators in the massiveErgenekon cabal accused of planning to overthrow the Turkish government.

This week the European Commission's new "Turkey 2009 Progress Report" spelled out concerns about the problems of Turkey's non-Muslim communities.

"Missionaries are widely perceived as a threat to the integrity of the country and to the Muslim religion," the Oct. 14 report stated. "Further efforts are needed to create an environment conducive to full respect of freedom of religion in particular."

In specific reference to Tastan and Topal's case, the report noted: "A court case against two missionaries in Silivri continued; it was also expanded after the Ministry of Justice allowed judicial proceedings under Article 301of the Criminal Code."

The Turkish constitution guarantees freedom of religion to all its citizens, and the nation's legal codes specifically protect missionary activities.

"I trust our laws on this. But psychologically, our judges and prosecutors are not ready to implement this yet," Polat said. "They look at Christian missionaries from their own viewpoint; they aren't able to look at them in a balanced way."

Taliban in Pakistan Threaten Christians

ASSIST News Service reports that members of the Taliban sent threatening letters in Sargodha, Pakistan warning Christian leaders to convert to Islam or face dire consequences. According to International Christian Concern, believers in the area were told to convert to Islam, pay a jizya tax (an Islamic tax imposed on religious minorities) or leave the country. If Christians refuse to accept the choices given to them, the letter said that they "would be killed, their property and homes would be burnt to ashes and their women would be treated as sex slaves. And they themselves would be responsible for this." Islamists sent the letter to Shiite Muslims (who are a religious minority) and Christian schools, companies and even a hospital

Christians Take On World Hunger This Week

The Christian Post reports that churches nationwide are calling on their congregations to do something for World Hunger Day on Oct. 16. "I think Jesus was very clear that not only are we to share with people the love of God in sharing about Jesus Christ, but we also are to meet the human needs that exist," said Wendy Norvelle, a spokesperson for the Southern Baptist Convention'sInternational Mission Board. The denomination took an offering on Sunday for its World Hunger Fund. ThePresbyterian Church (U.S.A) has encouraged its members to participate in Food Week of Action, Oct. 11-18. According to the U.N. World Food Program, more than 1 billion people go hungry every day, some of them pushed over the brink by rising food prices and other fallout of global economic problems.

Indonesian Christians ordered to stop worshipping in home

Pastor Bedali Hulu and his church Photos from Compass Direct

After several weeks of pressure and intimidation, members of the Jakarta Christian Baptist Church have been ordered by officials to cease worshipping in the home of Pastor Bedali Hulu, according to an October 5 report from Compass Direct. The officials were reportedly pressured to make the order by the Islamic Defenders Front, the Betawi Forum Group and members of the political party Hizbut Tahrir. On September 13, hundreds of Muslims barged into Pastor Hulu's home and forced the believers to leave. Several days later, a church-owned vehicle was burned in the pastor's driveway. A large crowd again surrounded the home on September 27, demanding that the worship service be stopped.

Pastor Hulu established and registered his church with Religious Affairs authorities in 2005 and obtained written permission from a local official to hold the services. However, in 2006 a Joint Ministerial Decree was revised, insisting congregations be composed of at least 90 adult members, demanding permission from at least 60 adult neighbours and requiring a permit from local authorities. According to local Christians, it is nearly impossible to meet all of these terms to qualify for a permit.

Ask God to use this ordeal to strengthen the members of this church. Pray that they will keep their eyes on Jesus, persevere in their faith and not grow weary or lose heart (Hebrews 10:32-39; 12:1-3).

To find out more about the suffering of Indonesian believers, please visit the Indonesia Country Report.

Muslims Demand Arrest of Christians for 'Provoking' Gojra Violence

ASSIST News Service reports that Muslim residents of Gojra have demanded that Christians who have been accused of provoking violence be arrested by today. The violence ended in seven Christian being burnt alive by a Muslim mob on Aug. 1. The calls for Christian men's arrests became strident on Tuesday after a Muslim man who had allegedly opened fire on Christian residents on Aug. 1 died in Allied Hospital, Sargodha. The man, Amjad, had suffered injuries during the Gojra violence. The Muslims gave police a 48 hour ultimatum, warning that the onus of consequences will be on the administration if the Christian accused of provoking violence were not arrested. So far, heavy contingents of police have been deployed around the local Christian colony, apparently to prevent further violence. Police also stood outside the Bishop House and the Catholic Church.

During Ramadan, Egypt Arrests 155 Christians, Minorities

Baptist Press reports that authorities in southern Egypt have arrested 155 Christians and other non-Muslims for publicly eating and drinking during Islam's holy month of Ramadan. A Christian organization in the country warned the enforcement of Islamic law on non-Muslims would "create another Taliban in Egypt." The arrests, which occurred in the states of Aswan and Dakahlia and the resort city of Hurghada, were made to maintain order and decrease crime during the holy month, an unnamed government official told the Los Angeles Times. Human rights organizations were quick to react, calling the arrests both illegal and unconstitutional. "Every citizen has the right to eat and drink in Ramadan without being harassed," said Gamal Eid of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information. "This means that the government is implicitly endorsing turning Egypt into a religious state."

Christians in Pakistan Fear Further Firestorms

Brian Sharma

September 10, 2009

LAHORE, Pakistan (CDN) -- In the wake of Islamists setting fires that killed at least seven people in Punjab Province last month, the latest of several attempts to provoke further attacks on Christians took place in a village on Friday (Sept. 4) when unidentified men tore pages of the Quran and left them at a church.

Police said they were able to cool tensions in Chak 8-11-L Mission Village, near Chichawatni, after the torn pages of the Muslim scriptures were left at the Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church and on a nearby road. Sources said they have witnessed similar attempts to ignite attacks on Christians in several areas of Punjab Province since an Islamic mob on Aug. 1 burned seven Christians alive in Gojra over a false accusation of blaspheming the Quran.

Superintendent of Police Ahmed Nawaz Cheema said the pages of the Quran were left at the dividing line between Chak 8's Christian-inhabited Mission village and the Muslim-populated Maliks village, indicating "it was planted to create tensions between the two villages."

Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church Pastor Salmoon Ejaz told Compass that Muslim women on their way to glean cotton early in the morning had found the torn pages of the Quran. They took the pages to local Muslim clerics, who in turn took them to the police. Pastor Ejaz said the clerics came to Christian leaders and told them they had no suspicion that Christians had torn the pages, and that both Muslims and Christians should be vigilant and try to find the culprit.

Since then, the pastor said, the situation has been tense but under control, with police fully cooperating.

"The situation is calm, and we have no fear from the local Muslims, but the real threat is from the madrassas of Chak 11-11-L, 81-9-L and Multan Road," said the pastor of the church, which was founded in 1906. "Even in Gojra the local Muslims had not attacked, but outsiders were the assailants, and that is the reason we are still frightened."

In Gojra, members of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, a pro-Taliban, Sunni Muslim group, and its al Qaeda-linked offshoot, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, were suspected of planning the attack that killed the Christians and injured at least 19 others. Urged on by clerics from mosque loudspeakers, the rampaging Islamists set fire to 50 homes and looted more than 100 houses.

Christian advocacy group Community Development Initiative (CDI) Field Officer Napoleon Qayyum said al Qaeda remnants have lost support following a Pakistani military operation in tribal areas along the Afghanistan border, and that to regain backing they were trying to exploit anti-U.S. and anti-Christian sentiment. He said well-coordinated efforts were underway to instigate Muslims against Christians by inciting hatred against the United States and the Pakistani government, a U.S. ally in anti-terrorism efforts. In this way, he said, the al Qaeda militants justify terrorist activities against the Pakistani government.

"Terrorism is like the AIDS virus, which keeps changing its tactics," Qayyum said.

CDI helped to encourage police to increase security in the Mission Village area, he added.

Superintendent of Police Cheema said 50 policemen had been stationed in the area to prevent potential conflicts and would remain there until rumors died down. Christian leaders outside the district had contacted area police warning that Islamists could try to spark violence.

"These Christians have a good liaison with the Christians of other districts and cities," he said.

Muslims in Maliks were cooperating fully with police to keep conflict from erupting, he said, adding that area Muslims were concerned that Christians in the 400-home Mission Village were not sending their children to school, which is located in the Maliks village of 2,000 Muslim homes. Cheema said area Muslims had indicated that if Christians were afraid, they would be willing to go to the Christian colony and bring their children to school.

Tensions after Gojra

The rumor of desecration of the Quran that led to the attack in Gojra, 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Faisalabad, on July 30 had prompted an Islamist arson assault on Korian village, seven miles from Gojra, that gutted 60 houses.

On June 30, a cleric in Kasur district's Bahmaniwala village used a mosque loudspeaker to announce a call to attack Christians that resulted in more than 500 Muslims ransacking and looting at least 110 houses. Chief Minister of the Punjab Shahbaz Sharif has ordered the arrest of six Muslim extremists, including suspected mastermind Qari Latif.

On Aug. 1, as houses in Gojra were burned and plundered, Muslim clerics called for demonstrations to protest the arrest of Islamists suspected in the Kasur violence. Pakistan People's Party's Provincial Assembly Member Ahmed Riaz Tohlu and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's National Assembly Member Sheikh Wasim resolved the issue by assuring Christians that Kasur would remain secure and by promising the Islamists that the arrested Muslims would be released. The officials told the provincial deputy general inspector, however, that the names of the released Muslims "should be the first to be mentioned in the FIR [First Information Report] if any untoward incident takes place."

Potential tensions were also warded off in Shantinagar, a village near Khanewal that suffered a massive onslaught from Islamic extremists in 1997, after another incident involving the Quran on Aug. 8. District Councilor Chaudhry Salamat Allah Rakha told Compass that when one of the village Christians went out in the fields, he saw a bearded person holding something.

"That man yelled at him, at which point the other man ran away," Rakha said. "This man tried to catch him but failed, and then he saw that there were three Qurans wrapped in a white cloth."

The Christian suspected the bearded man who fled intended to tear pages of the Quran in order to frame Christians for blasphemy. District Councilor Wazir Jacob arrived at the site and called police, and Sadar police station House Officer Chaudhry Zaka came soon after and seized the three Qurans.

Rakha said that police were asked to file a First Information Report on the incident, but the district police officer refused on grounds that it would create tensions in the area.

Tensions were simmering in St. Henry Colony in Lahore after an altercation over an inconveniently parked car led to a gang fight. Local Pastor Azam Anthony told Compass that on Aug. 6 a Muslim family parked a car close to the front of a house owned by Christians, and a Christian woman came out of the house and asked them to move as it hampered their ability to enter.

"At this the Muslim woman dragged her by her hair, and the Christian woman in her effort to release herself got hold of her shalwar [a garment like trousers]," Pastor Anthony said. A man with the Muslim woman grew furious and began beating the Christian woman, he said.

"The sight further incited Christian boys there who were watching this all going on," he said. "They asked that man why did he beat a woman, and they beat the man."

The Muslim man gathered other Muslims, along with a Muslim councilor of the area, and began fighting the Christian boys. Pastor Anthony said that before leaving, the Muslims said they would deal with the Christians after Friday prayers.

"That afternoon was quite tense, and Christians of the area had prepared themselves for another Gojra incident," Pastor Anthony said. The timely intervention of Christian leaders and police has averted any further incidents - so far.

In the wake of the Gojra attack, Christians have deliberated whether to arm themselves so they can defend themselves against further attacks. One Christian, Naveed Masih, who fired into the air as the Islamist throng attacked, has been credited with reducing the number of casualties and damages. Dubbed Naveed the Soldier, he was the only man with a rifle when the mobs charged Gojra. Several Christian women had taken refuge in his house.

A Muslim association based in Gojra, the Muslim Mahaz Tanzeem for Peace, has since tried to blame Maish for setting off the violence and charged three priests and another Christian with providing him weapons. According to Asia News, the association has threatened another Islamist wave of violence unless the four Christians are arrested.

District Councilor Rakha said that since the attack, about 15 boys have been armed and trained to keep watch at night. Christians in other areas, such as Youhanabad and Bahar Colony in Lahore, told Compass that they would rather die defending themselves than be killed doing nothing.

Petition for Prosecution

In view of the increase in attacks against Christians in Pakistan, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has filed a petition with the United Nations through its European body, the European Center for Law and Justice.

"We have expressed in the strongest terms possible that the Pakistani government must prosecute acts of violence based upon religion," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ECLJ and the U.S.-based ACLJ. "Christians are being singled out and murdered because of their faith. Only when the Pakistani government effectively prosecutes those responsible for the acts of violence will attacks against Christians end."

The "blasphemy laws" that encourage Muslim violence against Christians violate the principle of the universality of religious freedom to which Pakistan officially adheres, Sekulow said.

The ECLJ petition calls on Pakistan to prosecute deadly attacks on Christians, which have claimed the lives of at least 60 Christians in the past decade in at least 27 separate incidents of Muslim-on-Christian violence. The ECLJ filing states: "More than two decades of blasphemy laws have taught Pakistani Muslims that the punishment for allegedly insulting Islam is death. The Pakistani government must repeal or procedurally change blasphemy laws."

Because Pakistan has proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in a resolution to the U.N. that it presented on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, it should abide by those terms for its own religious minorities, the ECLJ petition states.

Copyright 2009 Compass Direct News. Used by permission. All rights reserved.