MEP Jean Lambert and Former Bishop of Rochester Dr Michael Nazir Ali.
The BPCA is organising it's next annual protest march against the Blasphemy Laws of Pakistan that have created second class citizenship, for minorities living in Pakistan. Section 295b&c and 298a of the Pakistan Penal Code has frequently been used as a tool to oppress people of faith minorities and to enact retribution for personal vendettas on the vulnerable. Our protest will be held on the 2nd July 2011 and below we list the itinerary:
10:30: Set up to the fore of Pakistan Embassy, Lowndes Square, Knightsbridge (feel free to join us and to assist)
11:00: 1 hour worship service
12:00: Submission of petition at Pakistan Embassy
12:00 - 12:30: 30 minutes of political speeches
12:30: Protest march starts and head towards 10 Downing Street
14:00: Arrive at 10 Downing Street - 10 minutes of political speeches
14:10: Submission of Petition at 10 Downing Street
14:15: Speakers form attendees
14:30: Prayer and close.
Guests include:
- Opening prayer by Reverend Barry Cheeseman of Ilford High Road Baptist Church
- Bishop Dr Michael Nazir Ali - Former Bishop of Rochester
- Stuart Windsor - Christian Solidarity Worldwide
- Dr James Shera MBE, PGCE -Former Mayor of Rugby
- Alison Ruoff - Former Magistrate/member of the General Synod of the Church of England
- MP Lee Scott -Conservative Party
- Alan Craig - Christian Peoples Alliance
- Canon Yacub Masih
- Rev Stephen Green - Christian Voice
- John Pontifex - Aid to the Church in Need
- David Prasad- Castewatch
- Imam Dr Hargey - Oxford Islamic Congregation
- Dr Martin Stern (Nazi Holocaust Survivor and former Student at Peshawar University)
- Pastor Hari Kaul - Wolverhampton Asian Christian Fellowship (Indian)
- Reverend Amelia Jacob - St John's Alperton
- Andrea Minichiello-Williams - Director of Christian Concern
- Canon Toby Crowe - St John's Alperton
- Upkar Rai - British Sikh Council
- John Bosco - Christian Social Link
- Jesbir Singh - Free Sarabjit Singh Campaign
- Reverend Gill David - currently with St Paul's, Hounslow (soon Manchester)
- Ranbir Singh - Hindu Human Rights Group
Speeches will be incorporated into the 30 minutes section before starting the march and the 30 minutes after the march. Some speakers will be used during the 1 hour worship service.
Previous events have been a real success and MEP Jean Lambert has attended both events, Baroness Cox attended our first event, while former Bishop of Rochester Dr Michael Nazir Ali joined us on the last event.
We have previously enjoyed company with Women Against Fundamentalism, The Hindu Human Rights Group, Sikh Human Rights Group, British Sikh Council, United Sikhs, Bishop Michael Read, Canon Toby Crowe, Alan Craig Christian Peoples Alliance and many other senior figures.
This year the date is held on the 2nd of July to commemorate the martyrdom of Sajid and Wajid Maish the two pastors shot dead after being acquitted of a false blasphemy charge in Faisalabad. They were arrested on the 2nd July 2010.
Last years event was held on the 31st July to commemorate the tragic attack on Gojra in which 9 people were killed, 100 homes razed to the ground and two churches were destroyed. This incident occurred after a false blasphemy charge was placed on a community said to have used torn shreds of the Quran as confetti. The incident in Gojra took place on 1st August 2009 and the bride and groom and close family were killed.
This year we will also hold a 1 minute silence for Shahbaz Bhatti with a few tributes - to our former brother.
Please complete a comment if you will be coming to encourage others
I hope to be there with you.
ReplyDeletethis blasphemy law should be abolished.
ReplyDeletewhy ? blasphemy law is not for only last prophet but also for christ .and 2nd thing is it didnt apply to pak christians but on every citizen .
DeleteDear Wilson,
ReplyDeleteDr Hargey who is the Imam of the Oxford Islamic Congregation and the MECO chairman will be happy to join and address the march in July. Other members of our congregation will be present as well.
Salaam and regards,
MECO administrator
Hi Wilson,
ReplyDeleteI'm praying it goes well tonight. Well done.
I plan to be at the march on 2nd July - as I always am - and would welcome the opportunity to speak. Please note for your blog post (17 Nov) that the Christian Peoples Alliance was represented by me at the last demo and I spoke too, although you've omitted us from the credits list. Yet we are one of your most faithful supporters!
Alan
I am a Christian from Pakistan, at present I am living in U.S.Me and my family convey our sympathy to our late brother Shabaz Bhatti's family,he was faithful to his Heavenly Father and to his people,at present he sitting at the right hand of our Heavenly Father and I am sure he told God to forgive the people who are responsible for his killing.We can pray for our enemies n ask God to change their life.
ReplyDeleteBy the way is there any moderate Muslim? answer is NO.They do not respect their own religion, they misuse the word BLASPHEMY I hope they can see that in all the Muslim Countries there is no peace.n this is all because they do not know their Creator.
Friend's from U.S.A.
i pray for pakistan christians to grow stronger and stronger in the name of yeshua and YHWH, i pray for thier healing and for rebuilding of this church amen
ReplyDeleteI'll be there and will be bringing as many people as possible from Nelson and the surrounding areas
ReplyDeleteVincent Masih
Pakistani Christian
Nelson, Lancashire
Dr. Nazir Ali should get rid of 'Ali' name, if he really belive he is a 'Christian'. Christianity and name 'Ali' have nothing in common. I hope, he is not who want to have his cake and eat it too.
ReplyDeleteI am not from pakistan or asian but I would like to offer support to my Christian brothers and sisters, We need to show the world that we are united. Peace and love From Patrick C
ReplyDeleteGod bless you for having the courage and making the time to take positive action. I will pray constantly that Christ's Divine Mercy will shatter the hearts of stone that are the fruits of ignorance and fear, so easily nurtured by ruthless men where God's Word is suppressed. I will try to be with you on the day.
ReplyDeleteGreetings to you all in Christ.
ReplyDeleteWith reference to Brother Raymond Durrani's comments:
1. Does whatever name you have depict whether or not you will receive eternal life through Christ Jesus?
2. The name Durrani is a common Islamic name associated with a particular "Patthan" sect ie. yousafzai, Afridi and so on. May be you should consider changing your name too.
3. The purpose of this site and Blog is to show solidarity toward a common goal, no matter what your name is or for that fact whatever faith you follow.
4. As a brother, I would like to recommend that you read King Solomon's Proverbs for your own edification.
5.As an active Christian figure I've never heard of Raymond Durrani, but I've certainly heard of Bishop Micheal Nazir Ali, and that speaks volumes brother.
Wilson: God Bless you brother, keep up the good work. God willing we will meet on the 2nd.
Hello. Greetings in Christ. I wish the same and Pray to God to bless the paki govt to abolish the amend in this law.
ReplyDeleteAll of my PRAYERS AND WELL WISHES are for you PROTEST MARCH ON BLASPHEMY LAW.
Your's well wisher
ATIF SAJJAN from MASHAL YOUTH SOCIETY of Pakistan.
Hi Willson,
ReplyDeleteYour struggle and voice is greatly courages for those Christians who are suffering due to their faith in Jesus Christ.God Bless you, keep it up. Javed Iqbal...CSL
We need more Muslim moderates to condemn these laws and make the extremists non entities....
ReplyDeleteDear Wilson,
ReplyDeleteOur collective voice will bring the change in Pakistan and days are not far when this blasphemy law must be omitted from Pakistan Penal Code.
Kind regards
John Bosco
Hi Wilson,
ReplyDeleteI will definatley be there
I hope to be there.
ReplyDeleteI hope we all stand with you and unite
ReplyDeleteHow can I join you?
ReplyDeleteHow can I be there?
ReplyDeleteGod willing I would be there to support your cause.
ReplyDeleteSad to say that I will not be attending - current commitments - but I will be paying attention.
ReplyDeleteBut I must comment on some previous comments. A person's name is irrelevant, the content of mind and heart is what counts. The suggestion that there are no moderate Muslims is as preposterous as it is offensive.
This rally is about tolerance and justice and has a history of inclusion with attendees of many faiths and a grand variety of names. This is also about courage and trust, neither of which are served by the sorry nit-picking that has appeared in thankfully few of the above comments.
Wilson Chowdhry, his family and friends, continue to demonstrate qualities of tolerance, fairness and courage and are deserving of unswerving support in their efforts; not because they are Christians or Pakistanis or because of their names - they deserve it because they are right.
Hi guys, I will be there.
ReplyDeleteI hope to be there
ReplyDeleteNaveen Khan
ReplyDeleteGreetings to all Christian brothers and sisters,
I am proud to say I am a moderate Muslim who supports minority rights more than anybody can imagine. I am completely against this fake blasphemy law which is taking lives of innocent Christians and other humans. This law is against Quran. No Muslim who understands this can defend it. It is a bad law. Even senior professors of Al-Azhar University, Egypt said this and added it is against the spirit of Islam too. So it should be repealed in totality, not amended or reformed. I am totally with you in your fight against religious bigotry. If it is possible, please add me on Facebook. I will share my research on this law in the coming days. My profile is dedicated to working against mullahism. Here is the link:-
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000306196509
My dear brother in Christ Wilson,
ReplyDeleteYou are doing a wonderful work for the basic human rights of Pakistani minorities. You are acting a voice of voiceless. May God bless you in all your activities. I will be there with you on 2nd July protest.
With kind regards,
Shahbaz
I am from Karachi Pakistan. i like a girl she is Muslim we talked about religion when we were studying together. she like me also now we got married she has converted but her parents and brother following us and they want to be kill us... so my request to you people please pray for us.. and if you can do something for us then please help us because we want to live
ReplyDeleteSorry I can't be there. Praying for petition success. As a church rep for CSW, I helped to present it at Spring Harvest in 2008. Met and prayed with Shabaz Bhatti 2009. May God bless the day. Blessed are those who persevere in the Lord. Mike B.
ReplyDeleteHi... My name is Enan Samuel from Pakistan. I would like to request you all that their is no use to file petition against the Blasphemy Laws... because it is next to impossible that there would be any ammendment/ abolishing in the law... If you really want to do something for the Christians in Pakistan then i would suggest that you file a petition for refugee status for the Christians in Pakistan to the UN Secretary General. If you all are interested to do something for the Christians of Pakistan then help then get a refugee status so that they move out of Pakistan.
ReplyDeleteHi, instead of taking out rallies against the blasphemy law, I think it is preferable to join hands and raise the social, economical and educational standard of the common Christians of Pakistan.even then it would have been more suitable to organize these rallies in Pakistan to pound a effective stress on Govt. collectively with all our Christian leadership.
ReplyDelete