By BosNewsLife Asia Service with reporting by BosNewsLife’s Stefan J. Bos
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife)– Thousands of Muslims burned down a Lutheran church as well as its school and adjacent homes in Pakistan Friday, September 21, injuring several Christians in violent protests against an anti-Islam film that elsewhere killed dozens of Pakistanis, church sources and rights activists told BosNewsLife.
In published remarks, Lutheran Bishop Humphrey Peter said a crowd of some 8,000 people, many of them carrying petrol, attacked the St.Paul Church complex in Mardan city in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province.
“The St.Paul Church, its school and the houses of the principal and pastor along with a vehicle were burned by a mob,” he said in a statement released by Pakistan-based rights group World Vision In Progress (WVIP).
Several people staying inside the church complex were beaten, added WVIP Executive Director Farrukh H. Saif.
Saif suggested that many more people could have been killed or injured in Friday’s church attack.
“Nearly 500 students are studying at the primary and secondary school of the Lutheran church. But nobody was there now because it was a holiday in Pakistan,” he told BosNewsLife.
MORE DEATHS
Saif said that elsewhere in Pakistan at least 22 people died in clashes between Muslim protesters and security forces.
“According to the reports we received from hospital sources in the city of Karachi alone there were 15 killings, while four others died in Peshawar, two in other parts of Punjab province and at least one in the capital Islamabad.”
Additionally “hundreds were injured,” he said.
More than 100 were wounded in Karachi alone, according to Allah Bachayo Memon, spokesman of the chief minister of Sindh province.
He told reporters about 20 vehicles, three banks and five cinemas were set on fire.
CINEMAS BURNING
Crowds also set two cinemas ablaze and ransacked shops in the northwestern city of Peshawar, clashing with riot police who fired tear gas in deadly clashes there, witnesses said.
Security forces reportedly fired in the air in Peshawar and the eastern city of Lahore to keep protesters away from U.S. consulates.
Police also fired tear gas at about 1,000 protesters in Islamabad, news reports said.
Violence has erupted in Pakistan and other nations after excerpts of the “Innocence of Muslims” movie were posted on the video-sharing YouTube website in English and Arabic.
The film depicts the Prophet Muhammad as a caricature.
‘DAY OF LOVE’
Friday’s clashes overshadowed calls by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf for peaceful protests and a “Day of Love” for Prophet Mohammad.
Ashraf made clear however that he understood the anger, saying an attack on Islam’s founder was “an attack on the whole 1.5 billion Muslims”.
The U.S. embassy in Pakistan has run television spots, one featuring Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying Washington had nothing to do with the film about Mohammad.
That did little to calm down WVIP activists. WVIP, which is closely investigating the plight of Christians, says it remains concerned about the impact on minority Christians of the anti-Islam film.
The group already supports hundreds of Christians who were forced to flee separate violence in a slum in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad last month, Saif told BosNewsLife.
PREVIOUS ATTACKS
“Extremists [previously also] burnt the churches, houses , schools, and other different properties of Christians,” the advocacy official recalled.
Said also expressed concern that the latest outrage over the film will lead to further misuse of Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws.
Friday’s violence underscored that “if fanatics can burn properties and other belongings of Pakistani Muslims who have nothing to do with the movie, then think about those innocent Christians who were falsely accused under the same blasphemy issues,” he said.
He said the legislation has been used to attack and imprison several Christians, including Rimsha Masih, a mentally challenged girl and Asia Bibi, a mother of five, as well as Christians Sajid Masih, Amanat Masih, Yousaf Masih, Fanish Robert “and many others”.
Minority Christians in countries have also expressed worries that the outrage over the anti-Islam film will increase persecution.
EMBASSIES CLOSED
Western diplomatic missions in Muslim nations tightened security ahead of Friday prayers.
However on Friday, September 21, protests went off mainly peacefully in the Arab world, where last week several embassies were attacked and the U.S. envoy to Libya was killed in an initial burst of unrest over the film.
France ordered its embassies, schools and cultural centers to shut in a score of countries, but the bloodiest demonstrations appeared to have happen in Pakistan on Friday, September 21.
The French authorities also banned demonstrations over the anti-Islam film and against the more recent publication of cartoons denigrating Prophet Mohammad.
Tunisia’s Islamist-led government said it too had banned protests against the images published by French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. That decision came after four people were killed and almost 30 wounded when the U.S. embassy in Tunis was stormed last week in a separate demonstration over the anti-Islam film.
While I appreciate most of what is written in your article, I wish media like yours would stop retelling the lie that the attack on the U.S. consulate and the subsequent murder of 4 of its staff had anything to do with the video. It was clearly a pre-planned attack as retribution on the anniversary of 9/11.
There are clearly Muslims who hate anything western and anything which can be described as infidel. As soon as there is a ‘provocation’ they immediately use it as an excuse to attack and even murder people who have no connection whatever to the original ‘provocation’
The barbarians are at it again.
Where are all the mythical “moderate” Muslims we’re always hearing about?
Shallom,
May our God bless you with His all the best despite many persecution from the unbeliever such this islamic violence more and more intensive nowadays. I am sure that God will show His power and miracle to draw more the unbeliever close to Him, to know His loves.
Stand up in your faith and keeping pray continuosly!
Dear Coulfut Diaspora,
We are not “retelling the lie” that the attack on the U.S. consulate and the subsequent murder of 4 of its staff had anything to do with the video. The truth is that it happened during anti-Islam film demonstrations. You may well be right that this was “a pre-planned attack as retribution on the anniversary of 9/11”, but as reporters we have to stick with the facts. All we know now is that it happened as part of the anti-Islam film protests.
However we could have added analysts and commentators saying the issues you raised. There are indications that militants were looking for a reason to to express anti-American, and anti-Western feelings and to condemn what they view as the West threatening their religion. But that was not the main issue of this particular story.
Best regards,
Stefan J. Bos, BosNewsLife
Today we protest at the Press club Lahore against Producer director and investor who telecast movie which hurt Muslims in all over the world. We all Christians in Pakistan condemn to those blasphemous acts which disturb the struggle of interfaith harmony Peace and culture of tolerance. We demand that this movie should be bane and Govt of U S Take serious notice against that production. Whenever some one doing negative of blasphemous remakes against Prophet Muhammad (P B U H) then Christians in Pakistan are under threat. Because Muslims think that America is big supporter of Christians in Pakistan. But reality is that ‘America has his own interests in this region but Christian are suffering for its polices’
Now there is no sense to produce any movies which hurt our Muslims friends and their faith. This movie should be finished and the responsible people should be interrogate and punished.
Khalid Shahzad.
Director Dorothea center for special children
President Voice of Christians
The Picture of Burned St,Lutheran Church in Mardan is not true at your page if you need true and real picture i can provide you. That is an other church which church members posted you to collect funds. so please be care full from fake stories and pictures.
Thanks
Khalid Shahzad.
Dear Khalid,
Before you advise us to “please be care full from fake stories and pictures” please check again the text beneath the picture of the church, which says, “Pakistan churches have been attacked in the past as well, as this file photo shows.”. It makes clear that this is another church. We are not in the business of publishing fake stories and pictures; in fact if we make mistakes, we try to correct them soonest. You are welcome to send us the actual picture.
Best regards,
Stefan J. Bos, BosNewsLife