Jaranwala Incident: Following the Accusations of Blasphemy What Happened to Christians and Their Churches in Pakistan, Who Said What Thereafter?
By
Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam
24 August
2023
In the
False Allegations Cases of Blasphemy, We Must Go Beyond Condemnation
Main
Points
1. A Muslim Mob burned 19 churches, 86
homes, and Christian places of worship in Pakistan due to alleged blasphemy.
2. Pakistan Ulama Council demands
government compensation for Christian community loss; Mohsin Naqvi promises
restoration of government buildings and property in Jaranwala very soon.
3. Punjab's Inspector General confirms
3500 police stationed in Jaranwala, arresting 128 suspects accused of burning
and vandalism, and ensuring law and order.
4. Rights organizations claim
Pakistan's blasphemy laws are mostly exploited for private gain, with over
2,000 accusations made since 1987, resulting in 88 deaths.
5. UAE condemns Pakistani extremists'
church burning, highlighting security, respect, and international cooperation.
6. Jamia Al-Azhar condemns church
attacks in eastern Pakistan, promoting tolerance and dialogue.
7. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind condemns
Pakistan's attack on Christians and destruction of churches, urging peace,
restoration, and compensation for victims.
8. The Muslim Council of Elders
condemns actions destroying the Holy Quran and assaulting Pakistani churches,
promoting discourse, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence.
9. Pakistan Ulama Council chairman
Ashrafi condemned the tragedy in Jaranwala, stating Pakistan and Islam are
affected and expressing regret to Christian leaders.
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Photo: The Print/(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023
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The
occurrences of assaults and arson attacks against the Christian community in Jaranwala,
Punjab Province, Pakistan, following claims of alleged blasphemy by two
Christian residents, are still the subject of an ongoing investigation.
According to the official report on the damage caused in this tragedy, an
enraged mob in Jaranwala and its vicinity burned 19 churches. In addition to
homes and Christian places of worship, 86 homes were vandalized and set on
fire.
The
assaults took place after torn pages of the Quran were discovered near the
Christian colony with alleged blasphemous content written on them. An order to
investigate the assaults on the minority community and bring those responsible
to justice was requested in the miscellaneous petition, which was submitted in
a minority rights matter. The police
have so far detained 128 suspects by filing a number of prosecutions under laws
such as causing damage to public and private property and interfering with
governmental actions. Mohsin Naqvi, the incumbent caretaker Chief Minister of
Punjab, said in a statement on Thursday night that the two main suspects linked
to the incident in Jaranwala had also been arrested and were in the custody of
CTD. He praised the Punjab Chief Secretary, Police Chief, and Caretaker Prime
Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar in a tweet for making "arrests in record
time."
The
Anti-Terrorism Act and the Punjab Sound System Act were included in the
complaint filed with the Jaranwala city police station regarding damage and
arson in Jaranwala. The homes and places of worship of Christian community
members are claimed to have been attacked, plundered, and broken into by 500 to
600 enraged protestors.
A woman whose home was vandalised, in Jaranwala of Pakistan's Faisalabad
district on August 17. | PTI
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According
to a report posted on the BBC Urdu News website, eight people, including two
representatives of the religious groups Jamaat-e-Ahl-e-Sunnat and
Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, are said to have organised and incited the rally.
In response
to the Pakistan Ulama Council's demand that the government compensate for the
loss of the Christian community, Mohsin Naqvi stated at a meeting on Thursday
that the government would pay for the restoration of the Christian community's
government buildings and property in Jaranwala within three to four days.
According to
Mohsin Naqvi, Muslim scholars and Ulama have been tasked with coming up with a
long-term plan that will educate people about “our religious teachings”. “We
will foil any conspiracy because we are all Pakistanis together. These things
are incompatible with religion”, he made clear.
Cases
involving harm to places of worship have been filed under "terrorism
provisions." 128 individuals were detained following five complaints
submitted in the Jardanwala Division under the laws against terrorism and
arson, including the rules against insulting places of worship, according to a
statement from Naveed Ahmed, the spokesman for the Faisalabad City Police.
However,
the Punjab government ordered the creation of a high-level inquiry committee to
look into the incident, claiming it was a "systematic conspiracy" to
undermine Pakistan's climate of peace and that those responsible would be
brought to justice.
Dr. Usman
Anwar, the Inspector General of Police for Punjab, told BBC's Asia Ansar that
3500 police officers, including Rangers, had been stationed in Jaranwala to
maintain law and order there. The arrest of 128 suspects accused of burning and
vandalism has been confirmed by the IG of Punjab, who also stated that all
necessary precautions have been taken to safeguard the Christian community.
After this
incident, Section 144 was imposed in Faisalabad district late on Wednesday
night for the next seven days under which all kinds of protests and public
gatherings were banned.
After
The Assaults, Who Said What?
The
Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State Vidant Patel
made a comment about the persecution of Christians during a briefing. He said
that we are really worried that Pakistani churches and residential areas have
been targeted due to the alleged desecration of the Quran. The speaker said,
"We support people's freedom to peaceful expression as well as their right
to practise their faith and beliefs. Never use violence or make threats of
using violence as a way of expression. We demand that the Pakistani authorities
undertake a comprehensive investigation into this case and that all parties
concerned receive advice on how to keep the peace.
Rights
organisations claimed that the blasphemy laws in Pakistan are frequently
exploited for private gains. According to data provided by the Centre for
Social Justice, a nongovernmental organisation that defends the rights of
minorities, blasphemy accusations have been made against more than 2,000
persons in Pakistan since 1987. At least 88 people have perished as a result of
these allegations.
While the
majority of Muslim countries have not yet expressed their condemnation of the
recent attacks on churches, some Muslim states and organisations have.
The UAE has
condemned the burning of churches and homes by extremists in Pakistan and
denounced the violence. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejects practices that
undermine security and stability, stating that hate speech and extremism
contradict international efforts to spread tolerance, coexistence, and peace. The
UAE emphasized the need to respect religious symbols and avoid incitement,
urging the international community to work together to uphold universal
principles of tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Jamia
Al-Azhar, a prominent Sunni Islamic institution, denounced the assaults on
multiple churches in eastern Pakistan on August 17, 2023. The institution
emphasized that the Holy Quran, which is subject to attacks by criminal
extremists, is the same scripture that enjoins the safeguarding of places of
worship for Muslims and non-Muslims. The statement called for reason and
dialogue, referring to divine laws that promote tolerance and human
brotherhood, fostering a culture of peace among nations.
(Summarized
from: https://www.sis.gov.eg/Story/185250/Al-Azhar-condemns-church-attacks-in-Pakistan%2C-emphasizes-protection-of-Holy-Sites?lang=en-us)
Jamaat-e-Islami
Hind (JIH) also condemned the attack on Christians and the destruction of
churches in Pakistan. The national secretary of the JIH, K. K. Suhail, stressed
the horrible damage committed against local churches, Bibles, and residences
while expressing his support for Christians. He highlighted that such behaviour
is against Islam and that those who engage in it are strongly violating the
faith. Suhail appealed for peace and demanded the restoration of the houses of
worship and compensation for the victims. He urged everyone to avoid inciting
hatred and to call the police if they come across something that offends their
religious beliefs.
(Summarized
from: https://www.siasat.com/jamaat-e-islami-hind-condemns-attack-on-christians-in-pakistan-2672481/)
The
extremist mindset seems to be the same everywhere; when they raise their voice
because of religion, the rule of law is overthrown, and the religious minority
is often victimised by the violence perpetrated by thousands of extremists due
to unproven accusations, according to Nader Shokri, who recently wrote a brief
Arabic article condemning this incident. As a result of the alleged blasphemy,
an extremist group in Pakistan's eastern province set fire to a number of
churches and residences belonging to Christians.
(Summarized
from: https://www.copts-united.com/Article.php?I=5281&A=761193)
The Muslim
Council of Elders, chaired by His Eminence Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, denounces
extremist actions that desecrate copies of the Holy Quran and retaliatory
assaults on Pakistani churches. Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam, the Secretary-General
of the Council, contends that these actions are against divine rules, norms,
and human values, which promote respect and forbid harming places of worship.
The Holy Quran emphasises the value of protecting places of worship and
refraining from violence. The Council calls on leaders and scholars to promote
discourse, tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and human fraternity in order to
address division and counter hate speech.
(Summarized
from: http://www.muslim-elders.com/en/MediaCenter/13079)
Allama
Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, the chairman of the Pakistan Ulama Council, said that we
should feel humiliated in front of the Christian community for the catastrophe
that took place in Jaranwala. The culprits of this tragedy targeted Pakistan
and Islam while harming our name overseas. During a press conference in Lahore,
he said that Pakistan as a whole is currently in mourning. The Christian
community has not been the only one hurt by what occurred in Jaranwala;
Pakistan and Islam have also been hurt. We have gone to this church in Lahore
to express our regret to our Christian leaders. The majority of Pakistanis are
Muslims, which, he said, should make us ashamed, but that doesn't mean we
should deny Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, or other local minorities the right to
exist.
He said, “I
wonder who the perpetrators of this horrific deed thought they were placating
by doing it. The mosque of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) was
accessible to Christians in Najran for worship.” According to him, those who
committed the assaults on Churches in Pakistan allegedly broke the agreement
made with the Christians of Najran in the presence of the Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him), which requires that in addition to the places of worship
being preserved, the bells that are installed there must also be.
Tahir
Mahmood Ashrafi contends that Muslims and the government have a responsibility
to protect the lives, property, honour, and dignity of minorities. Following
the events in Jaranwala, he said, "We understand that as elder brothers we
could not fulfil our responsibility, we are ashamed, and we seek
forgiveness." Every two or three months, he allegedly said, I ought to ask
who is behind these incidents and what their opinions and family ties were. “By
Allah, it is neither the teaching of Islam nor the teaching of Muhammad, the
Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), that you harm anyone”.
(Summarized
from: https://www.dawnnews.tv/news/1209927)
Following
supposed blasphemy accusations, Christian communities have previously faced
discrimination in Pakistan. As a result of the attack and arson on Joseph
Colony in Badami Bagh Lahore in 2013, hundreds of Christians were forced to
flee their homes, and a severe problem with law and order developed in the
neighbourhood. Prior to it, in August 2009, in District Faisalabad,
Muslim-Christian rioting in Gojra Tehsil resulted in at least six deaths of
Christians. The riots began when the Muslim residents of the community
assaulted a Christian settlement and set roughly forty homes on fire because
they were furious about the alleged violation of the Quran during a Christian
wedding.
Words of
condemnation follow every attack in large numbers. We are aware that merely
expressing condemnation will not effectively protect minorities. Beyond
criticism, we must go on. It is concerning that incidences involving blasphemy
have increased over the past several years and suggest trouble ahead. It is
past time to devise a comprehensive strategy to address the underlying issues
that cause this occurrence rather than only denouncing it.
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A regular columnist with NewAgeIslam.com, Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi Dehlvi is
a classical Islamic scholar [Aalim, Faazil and Mutakhassis Fi al-Adab al-Arabi
wa al-Ulum al-Shariah] with a Sufi background and an English-Arabic-Urdu
Translator.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-society/jaranwala-blasphemy-christians-churches-pakistan/d/130515