My brothers and sisters in humanity were shamed once again as repeated attacks took place in Pakistan over this past week. When we stand for human rights and human dignity, we must never defend human rights and dignity with human wrongs. However, extremists continue to commit such human wrongs over the calls for dignity, rights, and peace by others. It is the shared role of Christians, Muslims, people of all faiths, and all of our brothers and sisters, to stand together in unity to Choose Love, Not Hate – Embrace Dignity, End Violence.
As Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) posted this week, there has been a renewed efforts by American anti-Islam extremists who seek to continue to cause agitation, we also have been informed of violence again in Pakistan targeting Pakistan Christians as a result of the anti-Islam extremist film “Innocence of the Muslims.”
On September 28 in Pakistan, Pakistan DAWN reported solidarity between Pakistan Christians and Muslims in support of human rights and dignity. DAWN reported Pakistan Christians fasting in solidarity with Muslims condemning the anti-Islam film by anti-Islam extremist Nakoula Basseley Nakoula (aka Mark Basseley Youssef). DAWN reported: “Chairman Khyber Agency Christian Community Arshad Masih told Dawn that some two hundred families living in Landi Kotal and Jamrud observed the fasting on Friday and kept themselves refrained from all types of eating and drinking. Arshad Masih said that Christian community throughout Pakistan was fully behind Muslims and understood the pain and agony they were passing through after the making of sacrilege film by a lunatic.”
Pakistan Christians were also struggling with the consequences of mob attacks incited by the anti-Islam film:
— On Thursday, September 27, a protestant bishop was attacked in Lahore. Italian news reported that “protestant bishop Naeem Samuel of the Trinity Evangelical Church Prayer, was attacked yesterday as he was leaving church in Youhanaabad, a suburb of Lahore (Punjab province), where about 10,000 Christian families live.”
Bishop Naeem Samuel (Photo: Facebook)
— On September 21, in Mardan, St. Paul’s Sarhadi Lutheran Church was attacked and fire-bombed by a mob angry about the anti-Islam film. Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari declared the actions “un-Islamic and condemnable act.” Canadian press reported that “According to reports from Christians in Mardan, the mob attacked and set on fire the church, St Paul’s high school, a library, a computer laboratory and houses of four clergymen, including Bishop Peter Majeed. The mob also damaged and torched movable property, including a car and three motorcycles. Zeeshan Chand, the 17-year-old son of a pastor, was beaten by the mob and had to be hospitalized in Mardan.” Another report states that highly flammable chemical bombs were thrown at the church. Dawn also reported that “They ransacked furniture and equipment in the offices of mobile phone companies, a courier firm and the Mardan postgraduate college.” DAWN reported that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti Rs30 million for the church’s repair/reconstruction.
St Paul's Sarhadi Lutheran Church in Mardan - after Mob's Firebomb Attack
I am asking my friends to see if there are any charities that we can donations to help rebuild the lives of the Christians in the recent mob attacks. I will update this report as I get further information.
The cycle of violence and hate, hate and violence must end. We must do everything we can do to stop it.
Let us all support the end of violence and hate in Pakistan, in America, and everywhere in the world.
Our goal as brothers and sisters in humanity must be to reject these continuing acts of violence against any of fellow human beings of any faith. I urge my Muslim brothers and sisters to publicly continue to voice their condemnation of this. I urge my Christian brothers and sisters to also publicly continue to voice their condemnation of the attacks on religious dignity and respect toward the Islamic faith.
We can and we will have different views in our lives. But we must share the common bonds of human rights, human dignity, human safety, and human life to live in a cohesive society.
Choose Love, Not Hate – Embrace Dignity, End Violence
