PAKISTAN: Christians burned alive in extremist attacks
By John Pontifex
Bishop Joesph Coutts of Faisalabad, Pakistan, with young Catholics from his diocese.
Bishop Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad in Pakistan has spoken of his people’s anger and grief after eight people – including two children – were burned alive in one of the bloodiest attacks against Christians in the country’s history.
The victims, who included nine-year-old Umia Alnaf, her mother Asifa, and Mausa Masih, 10, died on Saturday 1st August when nearly 3,000 people rampaged through the Christian quarter of Gojra city in the Punjab Province, 30 miles from Faisalabad.
The mob, carrying sticks, clubs and a small number of firearms, set fire to property including more than 50 homes and two churches.
More than 20 people were also injured in the violence.
The attacks came two days after a related incident in the nearby village of Korian, where gangs set fire to more than 70 Christian homes and two small churches.
Speaking from Pakistan, Bishop Coutts told Aid to the Church in Need: “There is a lot of anger among the people about what has happened.
“Emotions are running extremely high. People could respond in any way. This is undoubtedly one of the worst attacks we have faced.”
The bishop, who on Sunday 2nd August presided at the funerals of those who died in the Gojra violence, stressed the failure of the authorities to tackle the causes of the violence.
He also criticised the police for not acting quickly. Despite well-publicised threats against Gojra, the police response was “half-hearted and ineffective,” he said.
Bishop Coutts underlined the number of recent attacks against Christians and said the threat to their safety was being ignored.
“In all these cases, the police did almost nothing to stop the rampaging mobs.
“Condolences, apologies and assurances [always] pour in from officials and other citizens after the event, but the timely action required to prevent such incidents has always been missing.”
The bishop alleged that a banned militant religious group was behind the attacks.
The group wanted to carry out “a sort of religious cleansing” to turn Pakistan into an Islamic theocratic state where non-Muslims were told to convert or leave, he told Aid to the Church in Need.
Bishop Coutts was speaking to the charity a few minutes before a meeting with a high-ranking government regional official. He said looting and arson were all too common, but that this was the first time in recent memory that Christians had been killed in an act of religious hatred.
Among the dead were Asia Victar, 22, and her mother, Eerueen, Ikhlaf Hameed, and two men in their early to mid 70s, Haneed Khan and Mr Sharif.
A ninth person, a man aged 25 from Faisalabad, was killed in an accident bringing food aid to the victims in Gojra.
The attacks were sparked by Muslim outrage at reports that children had cut up pages from an old school book to use as wedding confetti. They had not realised that the pages contained verses from the Qu‘ran.
Christian leaders in Korian, the village very close to Gojra, where the wedding took place, moved quickly to quell Muslim unrest.
But four days later, on Thursday 30th July, a large mob descended on Korian and demanded that Taalib Masih, the father of the children who cut up the school book, be hanged for an act of blasphemy against Islam.
The Christians of Korian were forewarned of the attack and escaped before the aggressors arrived.
The mob looted up to 80 Christian houses in the village and ransacked two small Protestant churches.
With more rumours of Christians desecrating the Qu‘ran, the mob turned their fire on Christian Town in Gojra city.
Bishop Coutts has repeatedly called for the repeal of Pakistan’s so-called Blasphemy Laws.
The laws state that perpetrators of crimes of disrespect towards the Qu‘ran and the Prophet Mohammed are liable to sentences of life imprisonment or the death penalty in a system of summary justice.
The bishop went on to highlight the many messages of condolence received from Muslim leaders and stressed the continuing need to work towards inter-religious cooperation.
Bishop Coutts will be chief celebrant and keynote speaker at Aid to the Church in Need UK’s Westminster Event on Saturday, 17th October at Westminster Cathedral.
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