Change Font Size:   A A A

Oct 01, 2012 | EDOT Staff

Christians Victimized in Pakistan, Church Burns

burnt church peshawar
Muslim protestors burned St. Paul's Church
burnt bibles peshawar
Vandals burned and destroyed holy books

St. Paul’s Church, in central Pakistan’s Mardan District, northeast of Peshawar, burned along with other buildings on the compound, vandalized and set on fire by extremist Islamists on September 21. Reports from the Diocese of Peshawar say the attack was in retaliation for the internet video trailer depicting Mohamed unfavorably. The Christian community and the Rt. Rev. Humphrey S. Peters, Bishop of Peshawar, had previously condemned the film.

 

The film, Innocence of Muslims, was made in the United States by an Egyptian. Protests against the film, which depicts Muhammed as a thug and womanizer, turned violent in Pakistan as they did many similar gatherings throughout the Middle East in September.

 

Protestors attacked both public and private properties all over Pakistan, diocesan officials said. Vandals broke furniture and desecrated holy books before setting fire to the church, officials said in their monthly e-newsletter, The Frontier News.

 

St. Paul’s Sarhadi Church, in the Mardan District belongs to the Diocese of Peshawar, part of the Church of Pakistan. On Friday, September 21, protesters burnt everything inside the church. They also destroyed the vicarage, a school building and two other houses on the church property, including the school’s principal.

 

“Residents of the compound ran for their lives through the back gate of the compound,” the report said, reporting that no one was injured in the attack. “The Diocese of Peshawar is very sad about this shameful act of desecrating worship places of non-Muslims Pakistanis, especially the Christians. Kindly pray for the protection of Christian Community, Churches and Christian institutions in Pakistan,” the report further said.

 

The Diocese of Pakistan provides vocational skills training to women to provide jobs skills and financial support for their families. The Diocese also has clinics that accept patients without discrimination of non-Christian faiths. Bishop Peters participated in a National Interfaith Peace Conference in August organized by the World Council of Religions in which speakers agreed that the responsibility of religious and political leaders was to promote interfaith peace for rebuilding a “peaceful, tolerant culture in Pakistan.”

 

Interior Minister Rehman Malik told participants of the conference that minorities in Pakistan enjoy equal rights and that the government is trying to stop discrimination and violence against non-Muslim Pakistanis. He recognized Christian educational and health institutions for their role in the overall development of the country.

 

In other news from Pakistan, the minor child, Rimsha Misih, 14, accused of blasphemy for burning pages of the Koran was released from jail and her case sent to juvenile court. Her accuser, Imam Masjid was arrested under the blasphemy law for tampering with evidence and falsely accusing the girl, who has down syndrome.

 

Read more at peshawardiocese.org