PAKISTAN - MUSLIMS
& CHRISTIANS TOGETHER SAVE POOR, MINORITY WOMAN FALSELY ACCUSED OF
BLASPHEMY
By Shafique Khokhar - 11/05/2013
Two
Muslim students reported a 50-year old-Christian for allegedly having burned
pages of the Koran . In reality it was a text book in Arabic. Efforts of
Islamic leader key to saving the woman who is now in hiding for fear of
retaliation. The leader'sinvitation to all to "properly evaluate the
facts" and not "stir up divisions."
Faisalabad ( AsiaNews) - The
active collaboration between Muslim religious leaders and Pakistani Christian
activists has allowed, once again, the peaceful resolution of an alleged case
of blasphemy against a poor woman ( and innocent ) , belonging to a religious
minority. The incident occurred in recent days in Faisalabad
, Punjab , the province with the largest Christian
community. The case has many similarities with that of Philip Masih and
his family as recounted by
AsiaNews, who was indicted for no reason and escaped trial
thanks to the seminal contribution of Muslim leaders and police forces. The
peaceful resolution of the story has prevented an escalation of tension, which
often has exploded into attacks against entire communities (Gojra, in 2009).
The names of the protagonists have been changed for security reasons.
Asia Masih, 50, last week moved into a rented house in Chamanzar Colony, Faisalabad
. On the second day, Oct. 29, after cleaning the apartment she burned some
remains in the garden . Two Muslim students, observing the scene, saw a few
pages written in Arabic among the remains on fire and immediately thought they
were pages of the Koran. A few minutes later they knocked on her door,
accused her of having committed the crime of blasphemy which in Pakistan
is punished with life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Terrified by this serious accusation, Asia fled with her
family and is hidden in a secret and safe place, where she is still - for fear
of retaliation - even if the story has had a positive outcome.
The intervention of a Christian activist (identified with the initials RD ) and
the collaboration of a Muslim religious leader were fundamental to the peaceful
resolution of the case. The first, a member of the Human Rights Defender
Network, collected evidence of the innocence of the woman. In a second step he
approached the Islamic leader, belonging to the Peace Committee of the city,
which has offered its cooperation to analyze the facts and exonerate the
Christian family of the charges, proving its innocence in front of the entire
city .
The Islamic expert's statement was key, according to whom the burned pages
"are not from the Koran, but a school book in Arabic," and he has
also called on Muslims to "properly evaluate the facts," before
launching heavy accusations because they end up only "fomenting hatred and
division".
Speaking to AsiaNews, Iftikhar Ahmed , coordinator of the NGO South Asia
Partnership -Pakistan
appreciates those who " settle such delicate issues using wisdom." He
adds that religious leaders "need to promote peace and harmony in their
speeches, in order to create a more prosperous society". This is echoed by
the Christian activist Naseem Anthony who calls for constitutional reforms and
amendments to the laws, together with a culture that promotes tolerance towards
other religions and faiths.
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