February 07, 2010
Hundreds of Pakistani Christians from different walks of life gathered in Shanti Nagar, a Christian-majority village in Khanewal district in Punjab province, to pay tribute to those who got martyred in a savage attack by Islamic extremists.
Local Salvation Army Church organised a Special Remembrance Service to mark the 14th anniversary.
Among the clergy were Pastor Peter John of Yahowah Nassi Church, Pastor Hezekiel Sarosh, Pastor Arshad Nazami of host Salvation Army Church, Pastor Abdul Masih of UGA Church and Rev Simon Shahbaz of Assemblies of God and it was a service to be remembered for great unity.
On February 6, 1997, thousands of Islamic protesters descended on the village with placards stating: "Kill the Christians because they are “blasphemers” towards the Quran and prophet Mohammad." In the village of Shanti Nagar, 4 Churches were burnt, 785 houses were destroyed and 2,500 Christian forced to flee. The mob violence used same incendiary devices which were also used in Bahinwala, Korian and Gojra.
The Shanti Nagar victims organised hunger strike in front of Punjab Assembly building Lahore for compensation of lost of property and demand to repeal blasphemy laws in 1997.
It was remembered in this meeting that suffering Christian families were not awarded any compensation nor blasphemy law is repealed after 14 years.
In this meeting, participants praised God that HE saved them in that burning fire and thanked all Christian brothers and sisters who helped them in tough time by providing food and shelter.
Through this meeting a message was delivered to children that they shall not forget their past that what was happened in this village, Shanti Nagar.
The gathering also condemned killing of Shazia Bashir Masih and demanded justice for teenage Christian girl.
Other articles by Taskeen Khan
Shazia murder case: Christian lawyers' fear | Remands | Child abuse | Human Trafficking | Justice what justice? (Taskeen Khan)
In May 2009 Amanat Ali, the man has been accused of introducing child laborers to wealthy families, met with Shazia’s mother Nasreen Bibi, 48, and told her about his connection with Mohammad Naeem’s family, where he could have introduced Shazia as a maid servant and they would earn a handsome amount in the form of monthly salary and other facilities. After this “lucrative” offer, somehow Nasreen showed her willingness to allow her underage child, Shazia to join the advocate Naeem’s family as a maid servant.
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Two brothers-accused of Blasphemy- killed in Pakistan: An extra judicial killing in the premises of the court (Revd Rana Youab Khan)
Christian and other human rights organisations seek a permanent solution to these murderous attacks which happen from time to time under the guise of the blasphemy law and so demands to abolish the blasphemy law have become more vibrant and vocal. Building on reports and news, we have been receiving from few days, I produce a note to share our concern with the friends and partners in the communion and elsewhere.
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Objections to the Objectives Resolution: A Minorities' Perspective (Revd Rana Youab Khan)
Nowadays, this question is widely under discussion in the Pakistan media, ‘Are we going into another phase of tension between the government and the Judiciary’? On April 18th the National Assembly of Pakistan passed the eighteenth amendment of the constitution of Pakistan but already, a full bench of the 17-member of Supreme Court chaired by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr. Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, had start hearing a set of petitions challenging certain provisions of the 18th Amendment. Under particular challenge was the formation of a judicial commission for the appointment of superior court judges. The decision taken by the Judiciary and the response of the government will determine the future of the amendment. This is the first time in the history of Pakistan that a president has relinquished a significant part of his powers willingly and transferred them to parliament and the office of the prime minister. The 18th amendment also includes an aspect of concern to the minorities, which has been acknowledged by the Chief Justice of Pakistan. He said, credit must go to the present parliament, which after 25 years took notice of the brazen way in which the word 'freely', relating to minorities’ rights which had always been part of the Constitution had been removed and would now be restored in the Objectives Resolution.
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Blasphemy Laws and intolerance by extremist Muslims towards other faiths are an insult to Prophet Mohammed (Yunis Khushi)
Could a Christian compel Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Jens, Parsis, Buddhists, and atheists to respect Jesus Christ the way he respects him, and the way he worships Him as his Lord, God, and Saviour? If a Christian does so, then he is denying the very teachings of Lord Jesus Christ. Could anyone be compelled to pay a respect to any religion, any faith, any book, any prophet, or any kind of beliefs held by some people, or a group of people, or individuals, if that person is not an adherent of that faith, or if he does not want to pay the same respect to that prophet, book, beliefs as the adherents of that faith do? Why are Muslims so much intolerant towards the other faiths? Why do they call Kaffirs (nonbelievers) to everyone who is not a Muslim? Why has the hatred of the Sunni Muslims reached to a level whereby they are calling even Shias as Kaffirs? Why do they want people of all faiths to believe in Prophet Mohammed the way the Muslims believe in Prophet Mohammed? What have been the effects of the Blasphemy Laws in Pakistan? What will be the effects of religious intolerance on human culture and civilization? The following article will analyze the above questions and the general attitudes of the Muslims towards the people of other faiths, and the impact of the intolerant attitudes of the extremist Muslims towards other faiths and among the different denominations of Muslims themselves.
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How many more lost years? (Nasir Saeed)
In the last month, three Christians have received lengthy prison sentences for blasphemy. Qamar David was given a life sentence after being found guilty of sending insulting text messages from his mobile phone in 2006, a charge he denied. Days later, husband and wife Ruqiya and Munir Masih were sentenced to 25 years in prison for supposedly desecrating the Koran, a ruling which, in a country with so little welfare provision, has effectively sentenced their six children to an uncertain future.
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8 Steps to Effective Christian Leadership (Ghazal Bhatti)
As a Christian leader, you are held to high moral, ethical, and social standards. As a leader, you are held to high standards, but as a Christian leader, that bar is raised even higher. Why? Because both the Christian and non-Christian social environment has tended to expect that Christians measure up to their self-proclaimed moral and ethical standards, as they rightly should. What can you do to be sure you ‘stand up to the test’ in the area of Christian leadership?
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