Christians Flee Pakistani Town as Muslim Mobs Burn Churches, Homes, Claiming Blasphemy
Rumors that a Quran had been desecrated sparked an anti-Christian riot in Jaranwala. The United States and some Pakistani figures are expressing concern about the discrimination and persecution Christians face in Pakistan
Several hundred members of the minority Christian community in the eastern Pakistani town of Jaranwala fled their homes after being attacked by Muslim mobs over the alleged desecration of the Quran on Wednesday.
The mobs vandalized churches and government buildings and set churches and homes on fire in the Isa Nagar neighborhood in Jaranwala, located in Punjab province, 160 miles from the country’s capital, Islamabad.
Jaranwala Bishop Imran Bhatti told The Media Line that the mobs vandalized at least five churches, including the Salvation Army Church, United Presbyterian Church, and Allied Foundation Church.
Unofficial data showed that at least 20 churches throughout the city had been set on fire.
Officials said the situation in the city was still tense but that the Pakistan Rangers, an armed security and law enforcement force, had been called in.
“The series of protests began on Wednesday morning, when rumors of suspected desecration of Holy Quran scrolls by a few youngsters in Isa Nagar began spreading in the city and on social media,” said Khalid Ahmed, a local government official.
The violence began after word spread that desecrated pages of the Quran had been discovered outside the home of a Christian family. The news raced through the city, helped by announcements from the mosques.
Several thousand enraged Muslims assembled in the city center and began pelting stones at the churches, while others set them on fire.
Social media videos and photographs showed flames and smoke billowing from several church buildings, people setting fire to furniture, and people removing the crucifix from a church building. The rioters caused significant damage to the Christian cemetery and also burned the office of the Christian assistant commissioner of Jaranwala.
No loss of life was reported during the incidents.
The United States expressed grave concern about the attacks on churches and residences in Jaranwala and has called for an investigation.
“We are deeply concerned that churches and homes were targeted in response to reported Quran desecration in Pakistan,” State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
“We support peaceful freedom of expression and the right to freedom of religion and belief for everybody,” he said.
Ilyas David, a local teacher, told The Media Line that “the police officials were standing idle and watching while, armed with sticks and batons, a charged mob vandalized churches and burned down homes in the neighborhood.”
“We are law-abiding citizens of Pakistan, but today, our children and women witnessed the end of lawfulness and violence for the first time, as hysterical mobs came into our homes and set fire to our life’s earnings,” he said. “Like the police force, we also watched the spectacle of our own destruction in the midst of helplessness, while no writ of law was visible anywhere.”
Shaukat Masih, Jaranwala‘s assistant commissioner, told The Media Line that “cases have been filed against the miscreants from both sides, and everyone will be brought to court without regard to religion.”
On Wednesday night, the Punjab government suspended the assistant commissioner of Jaranwala on administrative grounds.
A spokesperson for the interim Punjab government said later on Wednesday that more than 100 people had been arrested. The spokesperson also said the provincial authorities had launched a high-level investigation into the incident.
Interim Information Minister Amir Mir said the violence in Jaranwala was the result of a “well-planned conspiracy.”
“There was a plan to destabilize the situation by inciting public sentiment. Angry protesters reacted strongly after the desecration of the Holy Quran,” Mir said. “To avoid further violence, security has been strengthened. Over 6,000 police officers and Rangers personnel have been deployed in the affected areas.”
Mir added that the situation was now entirely under control.
About 2.6 million Christians live in Pakistan, 1.27% of the total population, making them the country’s second-largest religious minority after Hindus. Although religious freedom is assured by the constitution in the Muslim-majority country, Pakistan has long had a serious issue with religious extremism, and the minority religions continue to face discrimination, persecution, and outright violence. Reports of social exclusion and economic disparities have been consistently reported particularly by the Christian community.
The use and abuse of blasphemy laws, which carry the death penalty for a convicted person, to unfairly target religious minorities and personal rivals has been a contentious issue in Pakistan.
“Whatever happened in Jaranwala is a repetition of such incidents that have occurred in the past,” Peter Jacob, the executive director of the Lahore-based Center for Social Justice and chairman of the People’s Commission for Minorities’ Rights advocacy group, told The Media Line.
“In Jaranwala, blasphemy charges have been laid against people who work as sanitary workers and are completely unschooled, so it is incomprehensible to say about such people that they penned blasphemous remarks against the Holy Book,” he said.
There is an urgent need for the government to adopt specific measures and a national action plan to counter extremism, violence, and persecution of minorities
Jacob said that despite the police being immediately alerted that trouble was brewing, “no safety and preemptive precautions were taken by the authorities. It was too late by the time the Rangers arrived. At least 400 hundred Christian families have fled their homes, and their valuables have been looted or destroyed. Furthermore, numerous church-owned residences have been also burned down.”
He also said: “Despite the passage of almost nine years, the federal and provincial governments could not fully implement the order of the Supreme Court that protects the minority rights. There is an urgent need for the government to adopt specific measures and a national action plan to counter extremism, violence, and persecution of minorities.”
Several prominent people condemned the attack on the Christian community in Jaranwala, including caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul ul Haq Kakar.
“Strict action will be taken against those who targeted minorities by violating the law in Jaranwala,” Kakar said. “All law enforcement has been asked to apprehend culprits and bring them to justice. Rest assured that the government of Pakistan stands with our citizenry on an equal basis.”
Protection of the Christian community is the responsibility of the Muslim state
The All Pakistan Ulema (Islamic Clerics) Council strongly condemned the attacks on the churches and houses, while also condemning the desecration of the Quran.
“Protection of the Christian community is the responsibility of the Muslim state,” Allama Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, a prominent scholar and chairman of the Ulema Council, told The Media Line. “Those who desecrated the Holy Quran and those who responded by taking the law into their hands and those who made announcements from mosques and incited the public, all such elements should be punished severely.”
Yasir Bashir, a lawyer at the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench, told The Media Line that Article 36 of the Pakistani constitution focused on the “state’s responsibility to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the minorities.”
“Just three days ago, this country celebrated independence with the slogans of unity and solidarity. Today it’s all charged up to target minorities and vandalize their worship sites,” Bashir said.
Allama Syed Muzzamal Shah, a leading imam based in Rawalpindi, told The Media Line that “the Jaranwala incident is heartbreaking and contemptible.”
“Islam does not allow its followers to hurt the sentiments of other religions. True Muslims never do this,” Shah said. “The state should protect the rights of minorities and strict actions should be taken against those responsible.”
Mansour Ahmed Randhawa, an Islamabad-based human rights activist and political analyst, said: “As a Muslim, I strongly condemn the Jaranwala incident. Whatever transpired there is completely contrary to Islam’s noble precepts.
“If, God forbid, someone is convicted of [blasphemy], there are state laws to deal with it. Unfortunately, the law was mocked in Jaranwala, and places of worship, cemeteries, and the homes of innocent Christian citizens were burned. It’s a disgrace for a civilized society.”
