New book on Sharing Christian Faith with Muslims!

I have received this very positive email from E. M. Hicham today - seems like a new reader of this blog which is regularly growing in popularity:

Dear friends in the gospel,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Forgive this impersonal email and apologies if it is not of interest to you!

I am writing to let you know that my new book, How shall they hear? Sharing your Christian faith with Muslims, is now released. It is on practical Muslim evangelism.

It is really an outpouring of much that has been on my heart over the years. My hope is that through reading it, people will be encouraged and equipped to reach their Muslim neighbours with the Gospel. For more details you may like to look at the website dedicated to the book which is now live at: http://www.howshalltheyhear.co.uk/ (or: http://www.emhicham.org/).

It is my prayer that this book will in some measure help, equip and encourage Christians in sharing their faith with Muslims.

What others are saying about this book?

“A brilliant toolkit for Muslim Evangelism. If you long to reach out to your Muslim friends with the Gospel but are wondering how to start then this is the book for you.” M.E.C. Word of Hope Ministries.

“As far as outreach to Muslims is concerned, there are few books like this one. Why is that? The author was one of them!…Having been involved with Christian work in South Asia for many years, I can truly say that everything you need to know is here, nothing is left out.” From the forward by Paul Simpson, Raymond Lull Memorial Trust

“You have probably suspected for a while that not all Muslims are radical, but they are all reachable. However, with so many opportunities to meet and speak with Muslims, whether Asian, Arabic or British - including British converts to Islam what shall we say to them? How do they think? What do they either understand or misunderstand about the Good News? There are a few key issues that they raise as arguments to disprove the Christian message. Any help believers can get these days is to be valued. Help from someone who used to think in exactly the same way as many Muslims do, who is now unreservedly and wholeheartedly evangelical and who daily goes among Muslims to speak with them of the Saviour is bound to be of particular value.

"This book is a serious reference book for believers. It looks at Islamic history, theology and culture. It recounts stories of encounters and conversions. It shows the necessity of adjustments in attitudes by Christians and Churches as they increasingly receive converts from Islam into church membership. It is written in a style suited to give both information and motivation in witness to Muslim friends and neighbours. It serves both purposes excellently. It will almost certainly give you the confidence to begin intelligent witness with Muslims. I recommend it witho ut reservation." Rev. David Harding. Pastor of Milnrow Evangelical Church, and executive member of United Beach Missions.

"I have an increasing anticipation picking up the booklets and books written by E.M. Hicham. He writes in such a gripping manner, elegantly and logically. They are a compelling read. The reader wants to turn to the next page to see what he writes on these subjects of profundity and importance. I thank God for him and for his friendship." Rev. Geoff Thomas, Pastor of Alfred Baptist Church, Aberystwyth, Wales, and writer.

With kind regards.
Hicham
هشام

Good News!!!

Click to enlarge map of Protest March on the 19th December 2009!

Our Chairman Alex Chowdhry and I after successfully agreeing a procession route with Scotland Yard Police

The British Pakistani Christian Association is proud to announce that it will be holding a Protest March on the 19th December. The march will focus on the Recent atrocities at Korian, Gojra and Sumbrial in which Christian villages in Pakistan have been heinously attacked as a result of false accusations that the Quran had been desecrated. The Aim of the March is to continue the campaign for justice, peace and equality for all religious minority groups in Pakistan.

The march will begin at the Pakistani Embassy from 12:00, however people need to be ready to leave by 11:30 and we are asking for people to arrive from 11:00 for form up. The March will travel to 10 Downing street and petitions will be submitted at both the Pakistani Embassy and 10 Downing Street.

We are looking for guest speakers who will be limited to 3 minutes (preferably 2 minutes) as they are their to fill gaps between chanting. We also need some volunteers to act as Stewards and I will provide professional training to at least 30 individuals - as long as they provide their names soon. We want to invite the wider Christian Church and Faith Groups to attend and support our cause.

The date was selected as it is the last day for Christmas Shopping and we expect lots of people to be in London at this time - ensuring we have as much impact as possible. It is also near enough to the birth of Jesus for us to have a Prayer and worship session before the event begins and we would like any pastors and singers to come forward - this will be from 11:00 - 12:00 before the march begins only!

Finally this march will have some exciting stunts that will attract media attention - leave that to us! It will be in good taste and will not besmirch the reputation of Christians I promise. Please tell brothers and sisters across the UK to join us at an event that is held on a Saturday in the middle of the Holidays at a time when the media are seeking, news stories as everything goes quiet. Besides at the end of the protests all the ladies can go shopping - making it a political event, focused on securing the future of persecuted Christians, that will also have a strong fellowship and learning function and provide appropriate opportunity to the aunties, sisters and mums who forgot that last present....!

Do join us!

With love and blessings

You faithful brother Wilson!

Contact the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

I now have contact details for the UN and would ask that all key organisations for our community start to write their concerns directly to the office below. We must keep up the recent impetus:

OHCHR address:

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Palais Wilson

52 rue des Pâquis

CH-1201 Geneva

Switzerland

Postal address:

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Palais des Nations

CH-1211 Geneva 10,

Switzerland

General inquiries:
Telephone: +41 22 917 90 00

Email: InfoDesk@ohchr.org

Eurocall!

If you want to contact the European Parliament, here are the details:

Commissioner Benito Ferrero Waldner

DG External Relations

The European Commission

200 Rue de la Loi

B1049 Brussels

Belgium.

Dont forget European Mail cost more than a national delivery - ask your local Post Office for details!

I have asked Caroline Lucas of the Green Party for a copy of the demarche (mentioned in previous post) and will input the document on this blog upon receipt.

Please do start writing to the European Commission as it is imperative we keep Pakistan fixed in the minds of our European Leadership.

Encouraging news from the Green Party!

I received the following response from Caroline Lucas of the Green Party. This proves that the green party are the only true party for Social Justice in the UK:

Dear Wilson,

Thank you for your recent email about the plight of Christians in Pakistan. Caroline has asked me to respond on her behalf and I am sorry for the delay in doing so.
She and her Green colleagues in the European Parliament have a strong track record of speaking out against any religious oppression and you can read Caroline's correspondence with the European Commission at

http://www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk/2009/06/21/correspondence-about-the-right-to-religious-expression/

You will see that this includes specific lobbying about the situation in Pakistan and that Caroline has asked questions about the UK's asylum policies for Christians fleeing oppression in Pakistan.
This European Commission response to a written question from another MEP over the summer may be of some interest:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getAllAnswers.do?reference=E-2009-2097&language=EN

As may the European Parliament's latest resolution on human rights which makes specific reference to Pakistan in clause 98 - see:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/search/highlight.do?hitLocation=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do%3Ftype%3DTA%26reference%3DP6-TA-2009-0385%26format%3DXML%26language%3DEN

London's Green MEP, Jean Lambert is also very active on this issue and it may be that she is willing to meet with you to discuss what further work can be done, as you are one of her constituents. You need to contact her office about this direct. In the meantime, thank you for providing a useful update on the current situation in Pakistan and please be assured that Caroline will continue to press the importance of religious freedom there in her work as an MEP.

Kind regards,

Cath.
Cath Miller

Constituency Co-ordinator and Researcher Office of Dr Caroline Lucas, Green Party MEP for SE England Suite 58 The Hop Exchange
24 Southwark Street
London SE1 1TY
Phone: 02074076281 Fax: 02072340183
Email: carolinelucas@greenmeps.org.uk
Website: http://www.blogger.com/www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk <http://www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk/>


The links show the great progress we as a community have made. The fact that the European Union recognises the Human Right abuses in Pakistan and are continuously monitoring the situation in Pakistan, engaging with the Leadership of Pakistan and have ultimately created a demarch (a formal diplomatic representation of the official position, views, or wishes on a given subject from a government to another government, or to an intergovernmental organization) regarding human rights in Pakistan on the 26th June 2007 in Islamabad. Illustrates that international organisations are aware of the diabolical events in Pakistan. One problem we face is the need to prove outright that the cases for acts of blasphemy are not being taken to court - such as in the case with Robert Danish (killed by Police before court hearing) and that the purported positive discrimination laws in Pakistan are either ineffective, overlooked, and piecemeal. Please share your thoughts and provide more detail to me about the positive discrimination laws in place in Pakistan. See in particular the segment in bold at the end of the response:

Here is an extract from the European Parliament Question Time held on the 22nd June 2009:

Parliamentary questions
22 July 2009
E-2096/09
E-2097/09
Joint answer given by Mrs Ferrero-Waldner on behalf of the Commission Written questions : E-2096/09 , E-2097/09

The Commission is closely following the situation of religious minorities, including the Christian Community, in Pakistan and is actively participating in joint European Union efforts to address the problems they face.

Pakistan is a State Party to the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). The Pakistan Constitution provides for freedom of religion and requires the state to safeguard the rights of minorities.

In as far as the rights of religious minorities are concerned, the Commission is participating in joint EU efforts to address these issues. The EU has consistently used its political dialogue with Pakistan to raise human rights issues, and there have been a number of diplomatic demarches. This has been complemented from 2007 onwards with the human rights dialogue under the EC‑Pakistan Cooperation Agreement, which allows for regular and two-way dialogue on governance and human rights with Pakistan. The Commission has insisted that individual and minority rights be respected.

The blasphemy laws have also repeatedly been brought up by the EU with the Government of Pakistan as part of this human rights dialogue. The Commission understands that, in absolute terms, the majority of those accused under the laws belong to the Muslim faith. But the Commission is conscious of the fact that the blasphemy laws have often been applied against religious minorities, and has been given to understand that false accusations have been used as a tool to settle private disputes or for personal gain.

The last meeting of the Joint Commission took place on 18 March 2009, when the issue of alleged discrimination against minorities, in particular in relation to the blasphemy laws and possible miscarriages of justice, was extensively discussed. The Commission also drew attention to the concerns expressed by Honourable Members on this issue. Pakistani interlocutors made it clear that the blasphemy laws will not be removed from the statute book, but affirmed that allegations of blasphemy must pass through the courts. They also drew attention to positive discrimination from which minorities benefit under Pakistani law.

No longer safe in the UK...?

Brother Tariq Chaudhry sent this rather disturbing peice of news found on Atlas Shrugs:


Christian hotel owners Arrested for defending their beliefs in discussion with Muslim guest:

Christian hotel owners Arrested for defending their beliefs in discussion with Muslim guest

In a word, dumbfounded. There is no logic to this. No one has the right to throw away centuries of blood, toil, advancement, sweat, tears to the dustbin of history. No one.

Two Christians Arrested for "Offending" a Muslim Islam in Action

Once again we see just how backwards things in the UK are. Last week the Manchester Council was calling for an upcoming anti-Islam protest to be canceled. Now two Christians have been arrested for discussing Islam with a Muslim.

Apparently non-Muslims there now have restrictions on their free speech, while Muslims can openly call for holy war. Christian hotel owners hauled before court after defending their beliefs in discussion with Muslim guest By JONATHAN PETRE 20th September 2009

A Christian couple have been charged with a criminal offence after taking part in what they regarded as a reasonable discussion about religion with guests at their hotel. Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang were arrested after a Muslim woman complained to police that she had been offended by their comments.

They have been charged under public order laws with using ‘threatening, abusive or insulting words’ that were ‘religiously aggravated’.

The couple, whose trial has been set for December, face a fine of up to £5,000 and a criminal record if they are convicted.

Although the facts are disputed, it is thought that during the conversation the couple were challenged over their Christian beliefs.It is understood that they suggested that Mohammed, the founder of Islam, was a warlord and that traditional Muslim dress for women was a form of bondage. They deny, however, that their comments were threatening and argue that they had every right to defend and explain their beliefs.

Mrs Vogelenzang, 54, who has run the Bounty House Hotel near Aintree racecourse in Liverpool with her husband Ben, 53, for six years, said: ‘Nothing like this has happened to us before. We are completely shocked.’ She added that the episode had damaged their business and they had been forced to lay off staff and run the nine-bedroom hotel by themselves, leaving them exhausted.

Sources said that a number of guests staying at the hotel, which charges £92 a night for a double room, were having breakfast in its restaurant on March 20 when comments were made about religion.One of those involved was the Muslim woman, who was staying at the hotel while she received treatment at a hospital nearby.

The couple, who are members of the Bootle Christian Fellowship, and their solicitor, David Whiting, said they could not discuss the content of the conversation for legal reasons. But the independent lobby group, the Christian Institute, which has seen both the prosecution and defence legal papers, is supporting their defence.

Mr Whiting, who last year successfully defended street preacher Anthony Rollins in Birmingham, said: ‘There is a dispute as to the facts of the allegations, but Ben and Sharon do not accept they were threatening, abusive or insulting.

‘They are committed Christians and it is the defence’s contention that they have every right to defend their religious beliefs and explain those beliefs to others who do not hold similar views.’

Such news is a a real insult ...here we are trying to introduce freedom to Pakistan whilst here in the UK we persistentky see marginalised Christians and other faith groups, losing their rights to freedom of speech, with potential devastating affect. More's the pity. The worst part of this heinious action is taht it would seem that a trivial debate has resulted in a potential costly lawsuit - hardly the way to promote community cohesion, which is why I would assume the news laws were introduced in the firts place....Please share your views...?

Well Done Michael Nazir and Nasir Saeed!

A message from Nasir saeed from CLAAS:

Dear Friends,

Please find enclosed two links to read about the Archbishop of Canterbury's meeting with the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari and an article in the Times online "End blasphemy law in Pakistan say campaigners". An interview with The Rt. Revd. Michael Nazir Ali and myself. I have also enclosed a translation of Chudhry Shujaat's statement published in the urdu nespaper "Daily Jang". Regards nNasir Saeed CLAAS

Archbishop of Canterbury meets President Asif Zardari


http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102721576831&s=1233&e=001ayQZ_yN6rF8Q_cfk9aAfI4Qvtyu1DOFaAzWiF1Tl71hIbC9l83CzI8hq_JBNPz1EaP11-J_kDb0QN_N88IZxOd7oEqsCHzOkob01gRZPfdEM4oNlyFudgciNiX5J55GThXlVgPG_dbhTaFs11FWpmdQSyxiSALKEA-HM9OD9C2ahEfRtWTlUFA==


End blasphemy law in Pakistan say campaigners

http://www.christiantoday.co.uk/article/a.far.cry.from.justice/24176.htm

Mr. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, President of Pakistan Muslim League-Q has strongly opposed the repeal, or infact any changes to the blasphemy law, stating that PML-Q would not allow any amendments to the blasphemy laws and that they will defend any changes because it is a part of their faith and there shall be no compromise on the matter. Mr. Chaudhry Pervaiz Illahi, Senior Leader of PML-Q also supported his statement.

Pukaar news

Here is a message from Romail Gulzar from Pukaar - it provides a link to his news channel that has been covering the incidents in Pakistan. Pukaar is a general news Channel covering South Asia:

Dear Wilson,

It was nice to chatting with over the phone please view this link;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JJ36WdCWxY : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzERzpWGptw&feature=related :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGRCPOLqs6A&feature=related.

More to come I am sure....

Message from Shamas Pervaiz

Here is a full account of the recent Christian protests in Pakistan, received from Brither Shams pervaiz:


Regarding martyr Robert Danish in result of excessive violence by the jail administration.

The whole christian community in Sialkot protested making rallies, processions and prayer meetings. The first procession made had hundreds of christian from local area along with several members of Pakistan Adam Rights.

The second procession after postmortem was very impressive having MPAs Pervaiz Rafiq, Fathers (Nasir Gulfam, Shahzada Khurram, Moris Jalal), Pastor Jashua, Bishop Jonathan, Member Zila Council Dr. Rafiq Sylvester, Member Tehsil Council Zulfiqar Ghori, Councillors
Tanveer Saqib, Khurram Shahzad, hundreds members of Pakistan Adam Right lead by Malik Shamas Pervaiz (Vice Chairman), chairman SMS Foundation Sarfraz Khan and other thousands christians from the local area.

Unfortunately, thids incident was not covered by the electronic and press media as compared to the incident of Gojra. Moreover christian communities in other cities did not makeprocessions in other cities.

The funeral prayer was attended by Kamran Michael (Provincial Minister), MNA Dr. Nelson Azeem, MPA Pervaiz Rafiq, Fathers, Pastors and hundreds of Christians. The funeral faced tear gas shelling, lathi charge and even fired by the police.

During all this situation it has been very badly felt that finance was the basic need to make or arrange such protests - due to lack of funds the processions were not made more impressive which could have been possible if some funds were available. It is the thing which we are feeling that we must gain from some source...?

Still a lot of work is needed to be done to make a more impressive identity for existence of our Christian community in Pakistan to avoid such incidents in future. God bless you.

Kind regards,
Shamas Pervaiz
(VICE CHAIRMAN)
PAKISTAN ADAMS' RIGHTS
SIALKOT PAKISTAN

Postponed

The Christian Social Link protest march to be arranged for the 25th September has been postponed. Alex and I have been invited to a meeting to discuss the next protest and we will obviously keep you informed on how Christian Social Link and other invited groups intend to progress.

BBC Report on Robert Danish Murder

Brother Asif Mall in Pakistan has sent us this link:

BBC Urdu video link for more information about the background to the tragic death of Robert Danish: http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/multimedia/2009/09/090918_robert_murder.shtml

Kenneth Massey has sent further YouTube links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM-gtZYIkUI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf3thrNKxJI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYZ4xC-YK2M&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU64OvDWCuk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRcCuQ8-GIg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f2SJsztqTE&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dN2YyIwlDw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-hKGOJfHpA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4axWgKyq1Jw&feature=related


I came across these two links below that you can share with all.
The funeral poccession of Robert Danish. The Martyr of Christians , Sialkot 9/11.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dN2YyIwlDw

The reality told by the best friend of Robert Danish. A Christian teen of 19 years who was falsely accused of blasphemy under Section - 295 of PPC. He was murdered while being in police custody....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-hKGOJfHpA

God Bless you
Kind Regards,
From Kenneth Massey


Not to be outdone Brother Asif Mall send us information that the US Commission on International Religious Freedom confers an award on Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan's Minster for Minorities:

Dear All,
I hope you will find these two web.sites useful and informative in terms of news about Pakistani Christians.

http://www.dailyverses.org/ss.htm
http://www.blogger.com/www.mychurch2you.com <http://www.mychurch2you.com/>

Shalom,
Asif Mall

Local News stories provided by Hamdosana

Hamdosana send us a copy of the FIR against Robert Danish!

Click on image to expand

Here is a copy of the actual FIR against Robert Danish, courtesy of Hamdosana. I have included the vision of Hamdosana below after extracting it from their website:

Purposes of this web radio are:

To give you Good news of The Lord Jesus Christ
To offer the essence of church worship service.
To bring you close to the Almighty Lord.
To offer prayers for those who are in need of this.

We pray that Almighty God will transform soul of all listeners.

There is a weblink that is located in the previous post.

Hamdosana send new images!

Net radio have kindly sent us these images of the death of Robert Danish. We have now saturated this blog with these images and I will not be posting any news ones as I believe that there will be little for us to gain from any additional ones - so please stop forwarding these images. I have selected the four pictures from the numerous ones sent by Net Radio as I felt that it was important to show the eyes and the fear anger and tension the community of Sumbrial are feeling in the wake of the death of this poor youth. No previous images displayed had the intensity showed in the eyes of those that are inspecting the body and pointing out the numerous wounds on poor Robert's body. It makes you question what type of human would be able to enact such torture and brutality on a young man without remorse and unremitting....?

Are these the type of Police we want protecting our people or any Pakistani? Surely it is time for an official inquiry into the policing of this incident and the overall countrywide service that has demoralised it's people for centuries...? Please share your thoughts....

If you would like to learn more about Net Radio or "Hamdosana"(an internet based Asian Christian radio station) then please follow this link.

Post Sumbrial Attack story from an anonymous brother in Pakistan.

I (God) will be an enemy to your
enemies and will oppose those who oppose you.

Exodus 23:22

Please Prayer for all Christian and for enemies, because Jesus will Protect us.

In Sialkot Punjab, Muslim extremists burn a church over alleged blasphemy case
The call to hunt Christians launched at local mosque after the Friday prayers. The mob stormed and set fire to the church and ransacked two houses.

Muslims accused a young Christian had desecrated the Koran. In reality the young man is involved with a Muslim girl. Sialkot (AsiaNews) - A church burnt by a mob of angry Muslims, who attacked Christians for a new - alleged - case of blasphemy.

This is what happened yesterday afternoon in a village in Punjab, Pakistan, where the Christian community was targeted by Islamic extremists."The extremists were protesting against the desecration of the Quran by a young Christian from the village" Father Emmanuel Yousaf Mani, director of the Catholic Churches National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) refers to AsiaNews, "that is why they set fire to the church". The priest, who heard the eye witness accounts of the inhabitants, adds that "the place of worship is used by Catholics and Protestants".

NCJP sources report that yesterday, at about 12:30 local time, a Muslim mob gathered round the village church in Jaithikey, not far from the city of Samberial in the district of Sialkot (Punjab). They first damaged the building, then set it on fire. The extremists also looted two houses adjoining the church. According to preliminary reports, the real cause of tension is a relationship between a twenty year old Christian, whose name is Robert Danish, and a Muslim girl. The young man was accused of having "provoked" the girl and "throwing away the Koran [the girl] had in her hands".

"Muslims can not tolerate a Muslim girl falling in love with a Christian," says father Mani, confirming the news of the young man’s arrest this morning by police officers. "The authorities - adds the priest – will not allow access to journalists, to verify the events firsthand".

A statement released by NCJP explains that "The tense situation precipitated following the end of Friday prayers," when a call to action "to give a lesson to the Christians" was launched from the mosque. Following the announcement, at least 35 families left the village for security reasons; others decided to remain in their homes anyway. The police reached the village, while the crowd of Muslims gathered, hyping themselves up into a frenzy over the - alleged - case of desecration of the Koran.

In the evening, the extremists were driven from the homes of Christian villagers, but hundreds remained in the area, under police surveillance.

Father Emmanuel Yousaf Mani, NCJP national director, Kamran Michael, the Provincial Minister for Human Rights and Minorities and Nelson Azeem, a member of the National Assembly (the parliament of Pakistan) arrived in Sambrial and remains in close contact with local government and police - following the evolution of events.

After the attack on Gojra in early August, in which seven people were killed, there is a real risk of a new massacre against the Christian community in the name of the blasphemy law.

I have emailed the sender back for his name so we can attribute this piece to him. You can sense the real urgency for a solution and the anxiety felt by this brother. I can only imagine that this feeling of vulnerability has permeated all our Christian communities in Pakistan and hope for Gods hand to work a miracle and bring peace to this pervading social class distinction and persecution.

Here is a messge received from Qamar Rafiq a reporter in Pakistan - this brings more clarity to the situation in Pakistan. He has some wonderful images of the funeral that shows just how many brothers showed unity and compassion to the beleagured family of Robert Danish. It makes me glow with pride, when I conider the sacrifices and potential danger these brothers and sisters put themselves through. I still need clarification of what exactly the second image shows, however I am sure Qamar will expalin in a further email. Here is his email (sic):

Dear Mr. Wilson

SIALKOT, Sept 13: A committee started inquiry into the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran and burning of a church and two houses of Christians by a mob in Jaithikey-Sambrial here on Sunday. The committee, consisting of members of the national and provincial assemblies, ulema, representatives of Christians and police recorded the statements of local people. Hafiz Sabir Ali, of Bhopalwala, is heading the inquiry committee.

The committee will present its report to the government in a couple of days. Meanwhile, hundreds of the Muslims staged rallies in Jaithikey and Sambrial on Friday in protest against the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran. They chanted slogans against the alleged ‘blasphemers’ and demanded strict action against them. Local Christian leaders and religious scholars held an important meeting at a church in Sialkot Cantonment and reviewed the situation after the arrest of accused Fanish Maseeh under sections 295-B and 354 of Pakistan Penal Code. The first information report states Fanish snatched the Holy Quran from a Muslim girlonFridayandthrewitintoanearbydrain. Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Saturday talked on telephone with Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif regarding the incident of setting on fire a church in Sumbrial. The Prime Minister asked for thorough enquiry into the incident. He also directed for immediate steps to ensure the safety of life and properties of minorities.

Spotless death of Mr. Fanish Messiah set grief and depression among religious minorities in second day. Poor role of the establishments worsen the conditions. Thousands of people participated in the memorial service of Mr. Fanish Messiah. Representatives of different churches, members of provincial & national assemblies, local Christian NGO’s and Christian youth groups joined Fanish’s family in this time of misery.

Throughout the ceremony police force armed with guns and tear gas; sealed complete area called CTI ground. The mob was very annoyed after the wicked behavior of police and political leadership.

Mob protested and demanded government for Justice and security of religious minorities. While some youth groups chanted slogans of peace and justice. Police opened shelling on mob and used tear gas; three persons were reported seriously injured and taken to hospital for medical aid.

While talking here on 16 September 2009; the member of national Assembly Mr. Akram Gill said; Government has failed to protect the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan. All political parties have taken the mandate of public for the protection of their lives and justice. But parliament and political leadership has failed to fulfill the mandate of public. Current wicked circumstances in Pakistan posing disturbances and depression to marginalized religious minorities in Pakistan.

Thanks

Gateway TV UK
Qamar Rafiq, Pakistan

By the way for those of you who dont know (sic) means that the extract is unchanged and presented as received.

Indian Christian Concern

My thanks to Ashok Matthu and Indian Christian Concern for yesterdays meeting. Here is some of their history and it is wonderful to see how Ashok gelled the Indian Community together in the wake India's Orissa Disaster. I pray the BPCA will become a similar beacon for Pakistani Christians as time progresses as we have been born out of similar circumstances. Here is some of the ICC's history and a link to their website. I hope Ashok would be willing to write an article about yesterday's event and have invited him to do so. I was not their during the whole event so cannot be to prescriptive and want to do justice to a very good event. This is a peoples blog and I would ask that any of you who wish to write any article just send an email:

Indian Christian Concern was established in January 1999.On 23rd December 1998, Christians in the Indian state Orissa of were indiscriminately attacked, in homes and churches. While the world was celebrating Christmas, the Christians of Orissa were burying their dead.

Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons, Timothy and Phillip, were burned alive in Manoharpur village, Orissa India early on the morning of 23rd of January 1999. After seeing all the news reports on the violence against the Orissa Christians, Ashok Mattu, now chairperson of ICC, was deeply appalled.

Ashok called a meeting of the church leaders, at which point there were no existing collective voice or organisation to take concerns to the Indian Government. So an organisation called “Indian Christian Concern” was formed. On 6th March 1999, a protest march was taken to the Indian High Commission in London.

Unity for progress!

Pervaiz Sardar from Nottingham is trying to unify the leadership within our community under one banner. He is concerned about the disparate nature of our existing community , with a plethora of organisations that are working remotely from one other. He believes there should be one chairman in one unified group. Although I agree with him in part, I think such a utopian principle is regrettably unachievable as different groups have different aims and objectives. I would not desire the watering down of a groups vision so that it could encompassed within a singular entity as I believe, overall this would have a detrimental impact on the existing groups work and limit the overall strategy of our community workers.

I think a better and wiser solution would be to create a multilateral entity from the amalgamation of Christian Associations within our community - to tackle the issue of the Blasphemy Law, which effects all groups. Such an entity would benefit from the individual work of each branch and the shared focus could enable the strategic and co-ordinated pooling of resources that would reduce crossover and duplication, whilst enabling a much broader understanding and development of our concerns amongst the senior leadership. perhaps rather than a single leader a panel should be agreed and a Chairman and executive could be endorsed who will be responsible for the fashioning of what would be a watershed or landmark for our community.....?

I will attend the meeting and share my thoughts, however I am sure many will opt to ignore the whims of a younger statesman like myself. I hope the scheme works anyway.

Robert Danish- Ignore other names!

Image of Brother Xavier William

I received a message from brother Xavier who will investigate the attacks by the Police at the protest and their handling of the funeral. Hopefullay we will have some eyewitness account up on this blog shortly. The BPCA will from now on refer to the young martyr killed in the Sialkot Police cell as Robert Danish as this seems to be the most likely name, and has been seen on a birth certificate. We will amend his name details on any future letters sent to us. Our thanks to Xavier for his continued efforts I copy a recent mail (sic):


I will be going to Sialkot again on Tuesday and will get you the witness statements of any protestors, and any incident details. You are quite right, The police were violent.

Bro plz i also want to confirm to you that the murdered youth's name is Danish not Falaish or Fanish. I confirmed the name from the boy's family and the name on the FIR and the death certficate is Robert Danish. RegardsXavier

Conscience pricked by new letter...

I received a letter from retired army Brigadier Samson Sharaf - the news is old and I also already have copies of the pictures sent. However, their is a figurative call to action and I felt that such a message is important in the current social climate in Pakistan. Any Pakistani with a conscience should be involved in trying to find a resolution, especially our Christian brothers, who must escape their apathy!

Last nights remembrance meeting at Birmingham was well attended, I believe close to 150 people visited throughout the event. Their were some very good musical performances and poetry and stirring presentations from leading Pastors and those less established - encourgaing unity of British Pakistani's and the need to continue the campaign for Human rights - seeking God in all we do! We need events such as these to retain the impetus and cohesiveness our community is finally achieving - our thanks to Indian Christian Concern for their efforts with this meeting and the solidarity thaye are showing standing with us against the injustice.

Words such as those shared below from our elderly statesmen should serve to inspire others to join our just cause for equality and justice (sic):

"Please find below the pictures of the Martyred Robert Danish. The teenager was beaten to pulp and then left hanging to death in a cover up. The boy was apprehended following trumped up charges of blasphemy in Sambrial. A church was gutted by mobs. All politicians of the constituency clustered there, but apparently the LEA's had the nudge to do things their way. This is very tragic and needs attention of Pakistanis with a conscience."

Brig (r) Samson Simon Sharaf

One thing I will raise about yesterdays meeting is that, once again the lack of young people attending and participating, cements the notion that we need a better youth engagement programme within our fellowship.

Here are some pictures taken at today's Gojra Rememberance day in Birmingham. I am not best placed to remark on how great an event it was, as I was not there for the whole duration. I do expect however, that someone will kindly give me an article to feature about this event and the many visitors. Watch this space......

Why use tanks and armoured vehicles...The Poor Lice (Police) have a lot to answer for!

In the images above you will see that the Police seem to be using excessive force and numbers to police a funeral and what initilally started to be a peaceful protest. I am awaiting to get some witness testimonies to extrapolate whether, we have a against the Police for brutality and negligence and will again write to our MPs and MEP's to urge a review of the situation in Pakistn please join us. The top picture os of Nadeen Bhatti who was shot in the chin by Police I am in the proces sof obtaining a witness statement form him and will keep you all posted.

Please join us on the Christian Link Protest on the 25th September outside the Pakistani Embassy! More details to Follow.....

New update from Shamas in Pakistan.

I received this report from brother Shamas in Pakistan:

The boy's name was Falaish and held a nickname Robert he was working at Sialkot Airport. He started having a love affair with a Muslim girl in his local village JATHIKAY. The mother of the girl first made allegations of the desecration of the Quran and went out to the Imam at the Masjid serving the native village. The Imam announced in the mosque that Robert has desecrated the Quran. This incited a mob who attacked a local church, burnt it down and also attacked christian homes, forcing Christians to flee their homes. The father of Robert was arrested by police and Robertwent to the police station on the next day so that he could be exchanged for his father's release. In a statement by his father during the protest after death of Robert, his father informed those in the area, that he was advised by police that they will kill his son. Next morning, the jail administration told the family that he had committed suicide and when Christians heard this they started a protest march.

A Post mortem undertaken under the supervision of christian doctor Tariq, revealed Robert had been killed under severe torture. He was not allowed to be buried in his native graveyard but in the graveyard of Christian Town under the direction of a very aggressive unit of close to one thousand policemen. Police did lathi charge, tear gar shelling and also fired with which three Christians were injured.

Christians are fearful in the village and the surrounding areas . This is in brief. It has also been broadcast on YouTube with pictures. May God have mercy on all Christians.

Regards,
Shamas

The destitute Christians of Gojra and Sumbrial are still living in fear of reprisals. We need to keep pressing as the International community is starting to take notice of our concerns. In Pakistan leaders are speaking out against the Blasphemy Law and are already rejecting the fickle response form Shahbaz Bhatti, Federal Minister for Minorities. His vows to revise blasphemy laws in a meeting with US Commission on International Religious Freedom in Washington have been ridiculed by the Nazir S Bhatti, President of Pakistan Christian Congress PCC. Nazir Bhatti has stated clearly that Shahbaz Bhatti has lost the confidence of Pakistani Christians and that no previous reforms of the Law have had any affect on the protection of minority groups or the punishment of the perpetrators of the murders or arson attacks or any other atrocity. Read more here.

The battle rages and I sense we can win a victory but to see the abrogation of the Blasphemy Law. We must all continue the fight and press on with even more vigour.

Onward Christian soldiers marching as to war with the cross of Jesus, going on before!

Meeting cancelled!

I have cancelled the meeting on the 24th September as it is too close to Christian Social Link's protest in London. I will talk to people there and fix a date for a meeting. If you itended to come my apologies but it does not make sense to haold a meeting when we can encourgae more attendees at the protest.

Kind regards

Wilson

Gear up for the next protest!

I have spoken to our brothers in Christain Social Link (as promised) and it seems like we can expect another protest in London, to the fore of the Pakistani Embassy on the 25th September. I would ask that you all pencil this date into your diaries, as it has still to be confirmed. The BPCA will be arranging a protest march sometime in December near the the birthday of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Please cascade this information out to as wide an audience (in the UK) as you possibly can. I will keep you posted on developments via the blog!

Images from the recent Sialkot funeral and protests

These images were kindly provided by Xavier William our brother on the ground in Pakistan.