September 9, 2009
By Lynette Wilson

Persecution of Christians has been documented as far back as New Testament times and has continued throughout human history, including today in Muslim-majority countries like Pakistan where recent attacks have evoked international attention and concern.

Bishop Alexander John Malik of Pakistan's Diocese of Lahore, who is visiting New York September 8-10 and meeting with officials of the Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church an the National Council of Churches, has spoken out against the attacks at home, pressing the government for a judicial inquiry into recent mob violence that killed at least seven people and burned more than 100 homes in a village near Gojra in Central Punjab. It was the second such attack in one month's time.

"The fanatics are attacking minorities, which is a deplorable act. [The] government should take serious action against these extremists who are targeting Christians and burning their houses," said Malik in a statement published in The Nation, an English-language newspaper covering Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. "It is the duty of the state to ensure that life and properties of minorities should remain safe from such fanatics."

The Diocese of Lahore is part of the Church of Pakistan, which is one of the united ecumenical provinces of the Anglican Communion. It was established in 1970 with a union of Anglicans, Scottish Presbyterians (Church of Scotland), Methodists, and Lutherans. On September 8, Malik briefed staff at the Episcopal Church Center describing how the "war on terror" affects Christians in the Muslim world.

"In Muslim countries all Christians are Westerners and all Westerners are Christians," Malik said, adding that this mindset carries over from the belief that an attack on one Muslim country is an attack on all Muslim countries.

When President Barack Obama says that the war on terror being fought in Afghanistan and Iraq is not a "war on Islam," as he did in a June 4 speech in Cairo, Egypt, Muslims don't believe him, Malik said.

"The ‘war on terror' needs to be reviewed and revisited," he said, following the briefing. "To capture Osama [bin Laden] alive or dead will not benefit [anyone]. Osama is an institution, an ideology of violence, terror and extremism. That ideology has to be replaced with another ideology."

Malik suggested that the United States should invest in education and "creating an awareness and plurality of views and religions" that create space for others in the Muslim world.

The Diocese of Lahore operates 26 coeducational schools serving more than 16,000 students (30 percent of them Christian). Unfortunately, Malik said, many of the diocese's and the country's best students leave to study abroad and do not return to Pakistan.

Pakistan's blasphemy law, which prohibits saying anything against the Prophet Muhammad or desecrating the Quran, is also used to justify violence against Christians. Rumors that Christians desecrated the Quran incited the mob violence near Gojra.

In 2005 when a Danish newspaper published editorial cartoons depicting the image of the Prophet Muhammad, Christians in Pakistan suffered the consequences under the blasphemy law, Malik said.

"If someone in Denmark publishes a cartoon under freedom of speech … it is blasphemy and they attack us and target us," he said.

At its recent meeting, the main governing body of the World Council of Churches called on the government of Pakistan to repeal the section of the country's penal code which carries a mandatory death penalty for anyone found guilty of blasphemy, and to "guarantee the rights of all religious minorities in the country."

In August, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori signed a petition – sponsored by the Anglican Communion's Network for Inter Faith Concerns (NIFCON) – that calls on the government of Pakistan to repeal the blasphemy law.

Jefferts Schori also wrote to the moderator and bishops of the Church of Pakistan assuring them of the Episcopal Church's "ongoing prayers and attention concerning the ever-changing situation" in the South Asian country.

At the 76th General Convention in July, the Episcopal Church expressed its "solidarity with the Church of Pakistan and the whole Christian community in Pakistan and especially the Diocese of Peshawar, which borders Afghanistan."

Jefferts Schori noted in her letter that at the time of the General Convention resolution, the tragic events in Gojra had not yet taken place.

She cited resolutions from previous General Conventions and the Executive Council "which provide the policy base for advocacy, education and prayer regarding religious freedom worldwide and the victimizations of Christians in Pakistan."

The Presiding Bishop said in her letter that the Episcopal Church will continue to seek ways to support the Church of Pakistan in its work for justice, peace and reconciliation.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan was created in 1947 as the first religious state in modern times when Indian Muslims demanded their own homeland. Its population is estimated at 175 million people, of which 3 percent, or 4.5 million people, are thought to be Christians.

Episcopal News Service
Lynette Wilson is staff writer, Episcopal Life Media.