Religion of Peace update

[Mornac]

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I’m moving this over here where it’s more pertinent

[Mornac]

Nearly 4000 Muslims Attack Christian Homes in Egypt, Torch Church
3-5-2011

(AINA) -- A mob of nearly four thousand Muslims has attacked Coptic homes this evening in the village of Soul, Atfif in Helwan Governorate, 30 kilometers from Cairo, and torched the Church of St. Mina and St. George. There are conflicting reports about the whereabouts of the Church pastor Father Yosha and three deacons who were at church; some say they died in the fire and some say they are being held captive by the Muslims inside the church.

Witnesses report the mob prevented the fire brigade from entering the village. The army, which has been stationed for the last two days in the village of Bromil, 7 kilometers from Soul, initially refused to go into Soul, according to the officer in charge. When the army finally sent three tanks to the village, Muslim elders sent them away, saying that everything was "in order now."

A curfew has been imposed on the 12,000 Christians in the village.

This incident was triggered by a relationship between 40-year-old Copt Ashraf Iskander and a Muslim woman. Yesterday a "reconciliation" meeting was arranged between the relevant Coptic and Muslim families and together with the Muslim elders it was decided that Ashraf Iskander would have to leave the village because Muslims torched his house.

The father of the Muslim woman was killed by his cousin because he did not kill his daughter to preserve the family's honor, which led the woman's brother to avenge the death of his father by killing the cousin. The village Muslims blamed the Christians.

The Muslim mob attacked the church, exploding 5-6 gas cylinders inside the church, pulled down the cross and the domes and burnt everything inside. Activist Ramy Kamel of Katibatibia Coptic advocacy called US-based Coptic Hope Sat TV and sent an SOS on behalf of the Copts in Soul village, as they are presently being attacked by the mob. He also said that no one is able to contact the priest and the deacons inside the burning church and there is no answer from their mobile phones.

Coptic activist Wagih Yacoub reported the mob has broken into Coptic homes and has called on Copts to leave the village. "Terrorized Copts have fled and some hid in homes of Muslim neighbors," he added.

Witnesses said the mob chanted "Allahu Akbar" and vowed to conduct their morning prayers on the church plot after razing it.

http://www.aina.org/news/20110304222016.htm

[Mornac]

Developing: Ethiopian Muslims Burn Down Five Churches, More Attacks Feared
Church Leaders Ask for Government Protection from the Ongoing Muslim Attacks

Washington, D.C. (March 3, 2011)–International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that in the past two days, thousands of Muslims have razed five churches and the homes of two evangelists in Asendabo, Ethiopia. Christian leaders are asking for protection after the Muslim attackers continued burning churches even after the federal police were sent to the town.

The Muslims started the attacks yesterday after falsely accusing the Christians of desecrating the Qur’an. More than ten thousand Muslims shouted “Allah Akbar” (Allah is great) as they burned down five evangelical churches. The government sent the federal police force to protect the Christians after the Muslims burned down the first three churches. The Muslims overwhelmed the police force and burned down two more churches today.

Speaking with ICC, Christian leaders expressed their fear that Muslims will start killing the Christians unless the government sends more security forces to contain the Muslim attackers.

At the time of the writing of this report, none of the Muslim attackers have been arrested. The government officials detained some Christians and took them to the nearby Jimma town stating that they need to do that for their own security.

Ethiopia is a Christian majority country and was one of the first nations to accept Christianity. However, in the areas of the country where Muslims are the majority, Christians face attacks.

“We urge Ethiopian government forces to send reinforcement to protect the Christians in the city of Asendabo from the Muslim attacks. We ask Christians around the world to prevent any further attacks by calling the Ethiopian officials in their countries and asking them to protect the Christians and their property,” said ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, Jonathan Racho.

Please urgently contact the Ethiopian officials in your country and urge them to send more security forces to protect the Christians from the Muslim attacks.

Ethiopian Embassies:

USA (202) 364-1200, Canada 416 482 6637, Germany 493077206, UK 020 78383897/020 7838 3898

http://www.persecution.org/2011/03/03/developing-ethiopian-muslims-burn-down-five-churches-more-attacks-feared/

[Mornac]

Anti-terror police foil alleged plot to kill Christian cleric in Istanbul
ISTANBUL - Daily News with wires
March 5, 2011

Istanbul police’s anti-terror unit apprehended two suspects accused of plotting to assassinate a priest in the city’s Fatih district, Doğan news agency, or DHA, reported Saturday.

Law enforcement officers alleged that a suspect who was identified only as E.T., and who was reported to be under 18 years of age, offered 18-year-old Okan G. 50 Turkish Liras to kill the unnamed priest.

Police raided the suspects’ homes in Istanbul’s Gaziosmanpaşa district and detained the pair, seizing two guns in the process. Officers later revealed that one of the guns could be altered to shoot metal balls.

The suspects were later taken for questioning at the Istanbul Police Department on Vatan Avenue in the Fatih district.

The plot comes after several Christian figures were killed in Turkey between 2006 and 2010. Andrea Santoro, a Catholic priest stationed in the Black Sea province of Trabzon, was shot and killed by a 16-year-old youth while praying at the city’s Santa Maria Church. One year later, the editor-in-chief of the bilingual weekly Agos, Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, was allegedly killed by Ogün Samast, who later confessed to the crime.

In April 2007, Christian missionaries Necati Aydın, Uğur Yüksel and German citizen Tilmann Geske were reportedly tortured before being murdered at the Zirve Publishing House in the eastern province of Malatya.

Last year, Italian Bishop Luigi Padovese, the vicar apostolic of Anatolia in Turkey, was allegedly murdered by his private driver in the southern district of İskenderun.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=two-arrested-in-turkey-over-alleged-plot-to-kill-christian-2011-03-05

[Mornac]

Report examines persecution of Church in 33 nations
March 18, 2011
 
Aid to the Church in Need has issued its 2011 report on the persecution of Christians worldwide.

The report, which examines persecution in 33 nations, notes that “Christians in Muslim countries are now especially vulnerable and those responsible for crimes against them are quite open about their contempt for the Church … As witnessed in Iraq and in some other countries, the express wish of the extremists is undoubtedly to wipe out Christianity from their land.”

“In non-Muslim countries too there have been manifest signs of increasing radicalization of religious groups and a corresponding growing antipathy to Christianity,” the report adds. “This is especially visible among Hindu extremists.”

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=9649

[Mornac]

Medieval justice... in the 21st Century: Woman caned in front of a baying mob for having an affair
By Daily Mail Reporter

April 2011


A woman flinches as she is about to be repeatedly caned for having an extramarital affair.

Irdayanti Mukhtar, 34, received nine lashes by Sharia Police for having a relationship with another man, even though she is said to be in the process of divorcing her husband.

The harsh punishment was meted out in front of a crowd of 200 people outside the Al Munawwarah Mosque in Jantho, Indonesia.

 
Brutal: An Indonesian official prepares to whip Irdavanti Mukhtar as another announces to the crowd what her punishment she will receive
The jeering crowd recorded the brutal beating on their mobile phones and camcorders and shouted for more beatings in the strict Muslim city.

Mukhtar had been sentenced to the punishment the previous day by a Sharia court where prosecutors said that she was guilty of being in 'close proximity' to another man.

Under Sharia law the offence carries a maximum beating of nine strokes with a cane or a minimum of three.

 
Sharia Officials carry Mukhtar who collapsed after the caning to a local hospital

Neighbours had seen Mukhtar with the man and had barged in on her while the couple were in her bedroom, although it is unclear what they were actually doing.

The mob then dragged them to the local police station to be charged.


It is believed Sharia Police are also investigating a claim that Mukhtar was molested by the crowd before they took her to be charged.


Shortly after the caning on Friday Mukhtar passed out and had to be taken to hospital for treatment.


She was one of four people, including the man she was caught with, to be caned for extramarital affairs.


The jeering crowd take pictures and record Mukhtar being taken off the platform after she was whipped by Sharia police

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1375168/Sharia-Law-A-woman-whipped-having-affair.html#

[Mornac]

Thousands of Christians Displaced in Ethiopia After Muslim Extremists Torch Churches, Homes

By Diane Macedo
March 24, 2011

Thousands of Christians have been forced to flee their homes in Western Ethiopia after Muslim extremists set fire to roughly 50 churches and dozens of Christian homes.

At least one Christian has been killed, many more have been injured and anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000 have been displaced in the attacks that began March 2 after a Christian in the community of Asendabo was accused of desecrating the Koran.

The violence escalated to the point that federal police forces sent to the area two weeks ago were initially overwhelmed by the mobs. Government spokesman Shimelis Kemal told Voice of America police reinforcements had since restored order and 130 suspects had been arrested and charged with instigating religious hatred and violence.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the Islamist group Kawarja is believed to have incited the violence.

"We believe there are elements of the Kawarja sect and other extremists who have been preaching religious intolerance in the area,” he said at a Saturday press conference. “In previous times, we have cracked down on Kawarja because they were involved in violence. Since then they have changed their tactics and they have been able to camouflage their activities through legal channels."

The string of attacks comes on the heels of several reports of growing anti-Christian tension and violence around the country where Muslims make up roughly one-third of the total population but more than 90 percent of the population in certain areas, 2007 Census data shows.

One of those areas is Besheno where, on November 9, all the Christians in the city woke up to find notes on their doors warning them to convert to Islam, leave the city or face death, a Christian from Besheno told FoxNews.com on condition of anonymity.

“Under the Ethiopian constitution we are supposed to have freedom of religion, but Muslim leaders in our town don’t allow us that right,” the source said.

Later that month three Christians in Besheno were assaulted in religiously-motivated attacks and three others were forced to flee the city after being told that Muslim leaders had commissioned hit men to kill them, one of the exiled Christians told FoxNews.com.

“We were told by some Muslims that live in the city that there was already a plan to kill us and that the people who were assigned to kill us had already come from another city to do it.”

A witness to the three attacks was then assaulted in January after testifying about them in court, International Christian Concern (ICC), an organization that aims to fight Christian persecution, reported.

In the southern town of Moyale, a Christian was sentenced to three years in prison in November for allegedly writing "Jesus is the Lord" in a copy of the Koran, Compass Direct News reported. Christians from the area told the website he had actually written the phrase on a piece of cloth.

Sources also told Compass authorities had offered to release the man, Tamirat Woldegorgis, if he would convert to Islam, but he refused.

Additionally, two of his friends were fined for visiting him in prison and taking him food, Compass Direct reported.

And in Oma Village on February 26 a Muslim mob with rocks and rods assaulted and wounded 17 Christian college students who were distributing Bibles during a mission trip, ICC reported.

The mob overwhelmed government security forces that attempted to protect the students, but the students eventually fled, the ICC website said.

"The violence against Christians in Ethiopia is alarming because Ethiopian Muslims and Christians used to live together peacefully. Besides, it’s extremely disconcerting that in Ethiopia, where Christians are the majority, they are also the victims of persecution," Jonathan Racho, ICC's Regional Manager of Africa and South Asia, told FoxNews.com.

Meles said that the government is doing everything it can to stop religious violence.

"We knew that they were peddling this ideology of intolerance, but it was not possible for us to stop them administratively because they are within their rights," he said. "If we can find some association between what they are doing by way of preaching and what happened by way of violence, then of course we can take them to court."

Racho, originally from Ethiopia, said the fact that the government waited a full week before sending troops to Asendabo shows that it’s not doing enough. Going forward, he said he hopes the government "will take measures to ensure that such attacks will not happen in the future," including bringing all responsible parties to justice to show this will not be tolerated.

"The Ethiopian government has arrested around 130 of the perpetrators, and we hope they will be prosecuted according to the law."


http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/24/thousands-christians-displaced-ethiopia-muslim-extremists-torch-churches-homes-2057387870/

[Mornac]

03/28/2011
PAKISTAN - UNITED STATES

Two Christians killed, churches burned: extremists respond to Florida Koran burning
by Jibran Khan

In Hyderabad and Lahore, a mob of Islamic fundamentalists targeted the Christian places of worship. Desecrated several copies of the Bible. Anti-American slogans and demonstrations in different cities of Pakistan. The extremists pledge more violence, if Washington does not condemn pastor Jones to death. Bishop of Islamabad: the gesture of a "fanatic."

Islamabad (AsiaNews) - Two believers killed, churches attacked, copies of the Bible burned: the Christian community in Pakistan is once again the victim of violence by Islamic fundamentalists, who have targeted places of worship in the country. The extremist violence was triggered by the insane act - repeatedly condemned by Christians in Pakistan and India – of the pastor Wayne Sapp, who last March 20, in Florida burned a Koran under the supervision of the evangelical preacher Terry Jones. The escalating violence has raised alarm over the fate of Asia Bibi, a symbol of the abuses committed in the name of the blasphemy law. The bishop of Islamabad / Rawalpindi defines the US pastor a "fanatic" who encourages followers to a "violent ideology", the consequences of which have an impact "on innocent Christians" across the world.

On March 25, a mob of Islamic extremists attacked a Pentecostal church in Hyderabad, killing two Christians and burning some copies of the Bible. Eyewitnesses said that the fundamentalists stormed the place of worship looking to set it on fire, but a group of believers defended the church. Security forces have fled the scene, leaving those present at the mercy of the crowd. The attackers hurled anti-Christian slogans and a feeling of anger toward the religious minority has spread. in the city The pastor of the church reports that "despite the condemnation of the burning of the Koran" the community "has come under attack because they think that we are linked to the Americans." He emphasizes that "we are Pakistanis, who were born in this land and we do not have any kind of relationship with the United States." "What fault did those two innocent people have – he ends - who were not Americans, but only Pakistani Christians?".

In a second incident, the Full Gospel Assembly Church, in the Badami Bagh area of Lahore, was attacked. Again fundamentalists burned the church, threw copies of the Bible into the street and accused the Christians of blasphemy, claiming they found pieces of the Koran, not far from the church. During the attack some security guards were injured.

Meanwhile, the weekend demonstrations were repeated against the burning of the Koran wanted by Pastor Terry Jones in different cities of Pakistan - among other Peshawar, Lahore and Islamabad. The demonstrators, who burned his picture and chanted slogans and chants against the United States, called for the death of U.S. preacher. Extremists also threatened reprisals and other targeted attacks against Christians, if the U.S. government fails to take action against Pastor Jones.

The Pakistani Christian community, however, in a show of support with Muslims, condemns, and demonstrates against the burning of the Koran. Catholic priest Fr. Anwar Patras, said that Christians are first of all Pakistanis, "we were born in this land and we will be buried here, we have no connection with Pastor Terry Jones and his sick ideas." Condemning the attack, the religious priest shows sympathy for the two Christians killed "and reiterates that" the community is in danger”.

Recent violence has raised the alert level around Asia Bibi, the 45 year old Christian mother of five children, sentenced to death based on the "black law" and in prison, pending appeal. The Masih Foundation reports that "despite security measures" adopted in the cell, the woman is in danger. "She cannot eat prison food - continue the activists - but ingredients are provided to cook her own food, she prays and fasts for her own sake and for the current situation in Pakistan. The Catholic Church has asked for special prayers for her.

Interviewed by AsiaNews, Mgr. Rufin Anthony, bishop of Islamabad / Rawalpindi, said that "Christian doctrine teaches tolerance and love," the U.S. minister is a "fanatic" promoting "a sick ideology." The prelate accused the American preacher of ignoring "the scope of his actions" and now Pakistani Christians "live with greater fear because his actions worsened our situation." "There are examples of threats to churches and Bibles burned in some areas - concluded Msgr. Anthony - now innocent Christians will face the consequences. "

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Two-Christians-killed,-churches-burned:-extremists-respond-to-Florida-Koran-burning-21139.html

[Mornac]

Muslim mob attacks Catholic church in Pakistan 
   
March 29, 2011
Roderick Samson 
 
St. Thomas parish, located in Wah Cantt ( Cantonment)almost 45 Km from Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, was attacked by extremists on the evening of March 28. Wah Cantonment Ordnance Complex consists of 14 ammunition facilities in Wah (Pakistan Ordnance Factories - POF), which is supposedly a high security area.

According to the caretaker of at the Catholic parish, at around 6:30pm the normal security guard was absent from the gate. It was then that 6 or 7 armed men entered from the small gate at the entrance and threw stones at the windows, destroyed the light towers and tried to break down the church door. The caretaker then rushed to alert the parish priest and the police. The extremists were armed, but did not fire their weapons. When they were unable to break the church door, they tried to burn it, ultimately they fled upon failing to enter the church building. Father Yousaf rushed  to the scene and gathered together the local Christian community for safety, while the caretaker is in a state of shock and is unable to give any statement.

Father Yousaf said, "This is a reaction of the desecration of the Koran in Florida, although the Catholic Church has officially condemned the incident and we have also displayed a banner outside the church condemning the incident, still the innocent people are facing the consequences. We had clearly announced that we are not linked or associated with the Americans. There was no guard present at the time of the attack, the local police provides the security but only on Sundays."

Protestant pastor Tariq Emmanuel, who lives close to the St. Thomas Church in Wah Cantt, said, " We heard the noise from the Church, we rushed to the scene, we saw the men running out from the church, they didn't open fire as the cantonment area is a sensitive area, the military and the security agencies would have rushed to the church in case of any gunshots. Although there was no prior threat or any tip from the local police."

Pastor Emmanuel said further, " Last week the Regional Police Officer (RPO) Rawalpindi Hamid Gondal had called the Christian leaders, Pastors and Fathers to discuss the current situation. He stressed in the churches to install security cameras and hire private security guards who are Christians and are reliable, the police will provide the security on request. The Christian leadership had expressed the concerns about the security provided by the police, they were reluctant to trust the police specially after the Salman Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti`s assassination."

The officials of the security agencies and the police reached the St. Thomas Church. They have taken the statement from the caretaker, the Parish Priest and the nearby residents.
 

The Bishop of Islamabad / Rawalpindi Rufin Anthony also reached Wah Cantt, he said " we condemn the attack, we had officially condemned Terry Jones from Florida, we have clarified that we are Pakistani Christians, not Americans. From time to time we have been saying that we should not be associated with the Americans. The security agencies and the police has started the investigation, although there was no threat of any sort from anyone or there was no notification from the local police. The most disturbing aspect is that the St. Thomas Church is located close to the POF Complex, which is the sole ammunition factory in Pakistan and is suppose to be a secure area. There are 4 entry barriers for entry, anyone who enters Wah Cantt passes through a security clearance, so the attackers didnt come from outside Wah Cantt, they are still present in the town. I urge the security agencies to take immediate action and arrest the culprits as this is a serious matter. The police has provided 2 armed guards for now, we are planning to have a meeting with the Christian leaders, Anglican Church and Pastors from various Churches to finalize a course of action in the current situation."

This is the third attack on a Church in Pakistan in past one week, a wave of fear and frustration is spreading among the Christians in Pakistan. The Young Christian professionals don't see any hope in Pakistan anymore.

 
 
http://www.speroforum.com/a/51127/Muslim-mob-attacks-Catholic-church-in-Pakistan
 
 

[Mornac]

1,000 attack non-Muslim village in Nigeria

April 12, 2011

Armed with machetes and guns, 1,000 militants attacked the village of Bar Arewa in the northern Nigerian state of Bauchi on April 7. “Almost every home in the village was destroyed, and some elderly people were reported to have been burnt to death in their homes,” according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

The group is part of a larger band of 2,000 militants that has been attacking non-Muslim villages.

15% of the nation’s 146.5 million people are Catholic, according to Vatican statistics. 50% are Muslim, 25% are Protestant, and 10% retain indigenous beliefs.

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=9954

[makesenseplease]

These "believers" should take Christ at his word and leave these cities.

[IM2]

I am a direct descendent of a christian based movement. So I think that maybe we need to leave religion out of this, because religion has nothing to do with whats going on.

[Mornac]

Muslims Surround Church in Egypt, Prevent Its Reopening

5-24-2011

(AINA) -- On the morning of May 19 two Coptic priests went to St. Mary and St. Abraham Church in Ain Shams and opened it together with some of the Coptic residents, but later in the day thousands of Muslims surrounded the church to protest its opening, hurled stones at the church building and the Copts, who responded by throwing stones. The army and the police stood there watching and did not intervene (video).

Unable to secure the church, the army and police closed it and arranged for a "reconciliation" meeting between the Coptic priest and the Salafi sheikhs. They also arrested eight Copts, one of them 13-years old, and three Muslims. They were all charged with rioting, violence and causing injury to citizens. Three Copts were also charged with having cartridges but no guns and one 15-year-old boy with possessing two knives. The 3 Muslims were charged with throwing stones at the army.

Father Filopateer Gameel, one of the organizers of the Maspero sit-in, said that during a meeting with the Minister of Interior he was told he cannot choose the churches to be reopened because it was all "planned with the Salafis and the security authorities so that when we go, there will be no problems." He confirmed the minister had himself suggested the names of the three churches to be reopened.

The "reconciliation" session was held in a tent by the Islamist imam Kerdassi, the main opponent of the reopening of the church, who also recently built a mosque facing the church. Next to the tent was another one hosting Muslim Brotherhood and Salafi sheikhs, among them the renowned Salafi sheikh Hassan and over 3000 guests all chanting "Islamic, Islamic."

The session lasted for 5-hour, and was attended by sheikhs, imams, priests, lawyers and members of the Muslim Brotherhood, in which the Muslims insisted the church was a factory and the Christians explained that it was a church, although it has no dome or bell, and has been used as a place for worship and has a consecrated alter.

The Coptic diocese bought the building, which used to be a clothes factory, in 2004 and used it for worship until November 22, 2008, when it was closed by State Security after nearly 3000 Muslims surrounded the church, pelting it with stones and terrorizing thousands of parishioners inside.

"The atmosphere of the meeting was belligerent," said attorney Ashraf Edward, "and one of the sheikhs threatened us by saying that should the church be opened without their permission it would end up like the church in Soul which was demolished by Muslims." He said the church was offered a larger place to relocate to away from the Muslim families as the imams said. "They presented us with a petition from the Muslim families against the opening of the church."

The representative of the Ministry of Endowment suggested the church be closed until permission is granted for its opening from the relevant authorities, to which all sides agreed.

At the end of the session a joint statement was read by the Imam Kerdassi, which said "It was decided to close the place and no Christian prayers is to take place there until permission is granted. If there is permission then we should respect it and since there is no permit at present then all parties agreed to close the place permanently, no one to approach it and no one of us to harm it until the authorities have issued a ruling. We all have to love each other, so that Egypt would remain strong and secure as Allah wanted it to be."

The Muslims demanded that should the church be reopened, it should be without cross and dome.

Coptic attorney Dr. Ihab Ramzy said the army and the police did not participate in the "reconciliation" meeting. "This shows the government is ignoring the problem. Am I there to get the Salafis' permission to open the church? If they say no, does this mean I should not open the church?"

"The joint statement linked the opening of the church with the consent of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces," said activist Mark Ebeid, "so the military council has to know that if the church is not opened, this means the dignity of the State has been lost in front of the Salafis. Everyone believes the government should have carried out its decision to open the church whatever the outcome. The big question now is will the government give us a written permission or not?"

http://www.aina.org/news/20110524023731.htm

[Mornac]

2011-05-27
ASIA/PAKISTAN - Two Christian girls have been kidnapped and converted to Islam in Punjab

Faisalabad (Agenzia Fides) - The violence on Christian girls in central Punjab has caused two other victims: as reported by the Masihi Foundation to Fides- which deals with the protection of Christians in Pakistan - two Christian girls were kidnapped by a group of Muslims and forced to convert to Islam and get married. Rebbecca Masih and Saima Masih were kidnapped in Jhung the district of Faisalabad.

As explained by the two sisters` father, Rehmat Masih, a few days ago a wealthy local businessman, Muhammad Waseem, had previously warned that he wanted to marry the two girls, then threatened to kidnap them and convert them by force. Rehmat went to the police to file a complaint, but they did not take action. On Tuesday, May 24 the two girls were stopped while returning from the market, and some men kidnapped and threw them in a car owned by Waseem.

Rehmat rushed back to the police. The officers, after completing the investigation, said that "there are false accusations against Waseem," and that Rehmat, often gets drunk and starts assaulting his daughters, so they might have ran away unable to bear the torture. Other witnesses and neighbors instead swear that Rehmat is a respectable man and has never harmed his daughters.

On May 25, Muhammad Waseem forcefully married Saima Masih, in the presence of the leader Muhammad Zubair Qasim, an active member of the banned extremist group "Sip-e-Sahaba", often known for organizing kidnappings and forced conversions of Christian girls and Hindus. During the final interview, the police said to Rehmat to "forget his daughters."

Haroon Barkat Masih, Director of the Masihi Foundation, who is dealing with the case of Asia Bibi, condemns the incident and says to Fides: "Kidnapping Christian girls, conversion and forced marriages have become common practice in Punjab. The police have been bought, instead of serving the Punjab government they are servants of extremist groups. Punjab is becoming heaven for these groups: Muslim leaders openly call for violence in their sermons, without shame. Hundreds of cases like that of the Masih sisters do not come into existence. We have repeatedly appealed to the Punjab government, without receiving an answer: the government supports these groups. "

A Catholic nun in Faisalabad - who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons - is responsible to regain and hide the Christian girls who manage to flee the violence. The nun explains to Fides: "There are countless similar cases every year, that the Church of Pakistan has denounced many times, asking for respect for basic rights. The Masih sisters is a common fate of many girls and young Christian women in a society that tolerates discrimination on religious minorities, especially on women. " In her pastoral work, the nun "seeks to promote the social status of girls who, for reasons of caste or religion, are living in conditions of subordination and poverty, especially through education and professional training."

http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=29108&lan=eng

[Mornac]

05/30/2011 17:52
IRAQ

Othodox Christian shot to death in Mosul

Arkan Jihad Yacob, vice director of a cement factory, was married and a father of four. Twice before he had escaped kidnapping attempts, but this time, his attackers were able to stop and kill him on his way to work. The guns used had silencers. Fear continues to grip the Christian community.

Mosul (AsiaNews) – Iraq’s Christian community has been the victim of another targeted killing. This morning, an Orthodox Christian was killed in Mosul, northern Iraq. The dead man had been the victim of two attempted ransom abductions in the past, but in both cases, he was able to escape from his attackers. This time, the murderers waited for him as he went to work, firing at him several times in cold blood.
Sources, on condition of anonymity for security reasons, told AsiaNews that Arkan Jihad Yacob was an Orthodox Christian, and the vice director of a cement factory.

Born in 1948 in Mosul, the married father of four was the victim of two previous abduction attempts, ostensibly to extort ransom from his family. In both cases, he was quick enough to thwart his attackers.

This morning however, the men who went after him meant to kill and they succeeded. Arkan Jihad Yacob was shot several times as he made his way to work in an execution-style cold-blooded murder. His killers used a silencer.

The local community took part in Arkan’s funeral in Mosul’s Syro-Orthodox cathedral. With his death, Iraqi Christians find themselves again under attack from Muslim extremists.

The previous incident goes back to 16 May, in Kirkuk, when the body of a Christian man was found. He had been killed after being abducted, his body mutilated, because his family could raise US$ 10,000 to pay for the ransom (see “Kirkuk: young Christian abducted, tortured and beheaded,” in AsiaNews, 16 May 2011).

Speaking to AsiaNews, sources in Iraq say that Christians continue to endure an atmosphere of tensions and fear, as they continue to be targeted for abductions, which end in blood when they are unsuccessful. (DS)

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/An-orthodox-Christian-is-shot-to-death-21701.html#