Patras Masih - Shot down for refusing to convert to Islam

Yesterday (21st December 2009) in Karol village , Punjab province a Christian man was shot dead by 3 of his Muslim friends. Patras Masih was convinced to buy liquor for his friends as it is illegal for those from the Islamic faith to purchase alcohol.

When one of his friends was found dead the following morning due to alcohol poisoning, Patras Masih was first told that he must repent from his sin of adhering to the Christian faith and fully embrace Islam, or that he would be executed. Patras Masih stoically refused to recant the Christian faith and today he is another martyr.

In front of his family the man was repeatedly shot in the chest by all 3 friends that he had known from his youth? How fickle friendships can be? Praise God for his Agape love that is boundless and everlasting.

The Ferozewala police have issued warrants for the arrests of the 3 perpetrators of the sadistic killing. However, the 3 murderers are still at large and the victims family are vulnerable. If you are in Pakistan, please pray for this family and offer them any support you can. If you are in Britain and wish to help why not contribute to "Open Doors" an organisation that works for the betterment of persecuted Christians:

http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/pakistan/12924/

We believe that brother Patras Masih is with the saints and God above and that his sacrifice and martyrdom will be a spur to our people. Many asked why we held the protest when we did during a time of quiet and little incident. Well here is evidence to those that failed to support the march that the atrocities are continuing and that a perfunctory response at the time of an incident is just not good enough? Why are Pakistani Christians refusing to sign our petitions on the web? Do they not want change...are they too scared to stand up to the tyrants? God gives us dominion yet when pastors refuse to lead the way we will remain a divided community. We again challenge all British Pakistani Christians and those that are in safety in Pakistan and across the Globe to sign our international petition:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Stop-the-persecution/

Brothers in Canada, America, France and other countries- please show the British Pakistani Christian Community they way by starting the process?

Those in Britain please sing our number 10 Petition we now have 140 signatures yet very few are signatures from Asian Christians. Why are the Indian Pastors, the Pakistani Pastors not the first on the list? This is a time for you to get proactive - so please lets show some solidarity - we cannot live in fear and need to recognise our duty as the privileged in safe environments:

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Save-lives/

Merry Christmas!

This is just a quick Christmas Greeting for all viewers of the British Pakistani Christian Association. Christmas is the day set a aside for Christians to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The derivation of this particular day as a festival for Christ's birth is steeped in mystery. It has long been held that the day was the date of an ancient roman pagan festival of the sun, as the day corresponds with the winter solstice, from which days lengthen. However, historical evidence refutes this and there is very little data supporting a large festival around this time celebrating any sun deity. Moreover the earliest records evidence only a small scale parochial celebration dating from around 400 AD. The Catholic church maintain, that 25th December was selected due to its position 9 months, after the presumed date of the inception of Christ March 25th (which corresponds with the summer solstice).

Whatever the truth behind the date modern tradition has veered from the original aim of celebrating the birth of Christ and now focus is geared towards having a sumptuous meal and the receipt of gifts. This has its positives, as it brings families together and creates a seasonal glitter for young children. However, the true message of Christ has been lost along the way and TV and other media are unfortunately, more interested in Santa Clause and snowmen.

We will be praying for all those who are suffering Pakistan and we will pray that Christmas is a time of joy for all people, irrespective of faith, creed, colour or any other diversity. God created mankind not just Christians. Being a Christian is a choice, not a birth right - we all have to choose our own walk and should have the freedom to do so.

I would ask that Christians in Pakistan pray for our group and pray for their own situation too, as united in prayer our community across the globe can achieve great things. Do remember the People of Korian, of Gojra and of Sumbrial - communities that have been subjected to significant threat and persecution and are still living in desolate conditions. If you can spare a gift for those people, either visit yourselves to show solidarity and provide comfort and succour to our brothers and sisters or contribute to the existing Aid efforts.

It is Christmas time and those of us who are safe in our homes this Christmas need to gear up for more fervent action. The weather or non-receipt of a personal invitation is not a reason to stay away from the pressure activities arranged by community representatives. Pastors who feel slighted need to recognise that they are in position to serve and any authority they have is God given and must be justified. Christ was the servant king and washed the feet of his disciples. I doubt many of our leaders could swallow such a task - yet our God has shown humility of a kind that this world shall never see again. Moreover, Christ was a political activist he questioned authority and in protest to the religious traditions He healed on the Sabbath, He questioned that law by saving the adulteress by causing internal reflection within the rampant mob primed to stone her to death withe these words "let he who is without sin cast the first stone".

It was his thought provoking words, peaceable nature and agape love that drew people to him and caused such political and religious change in the communities Christ affected. We need to be more Christlike and need to be willing to confront political powers, religious powers and other principalities if we are to overcome the situation in Pakistan. Previous protests held by our community have been disorganised and resulted in dual factions; firstly those that were willing to use crude terms and inflammatory comments in fits of rage, releasing the pent up aggression and frustration created by the atrocities in Pakistan. The other group carried out the peaceful more thought provoking chants and raised a banner of unity and peace, that endeared more people to our cause. In previous protests my brother Alex and I have tried to control the exuberances of the more militant individuals in our community. We tried talking to them to make them think about the increased hostilities they could create. I personally, had to shout chants louder to get them to alter their more chants and join in unison with the majority of more peaceful petitioners. It is with great pride that the BPCA states that not one inflammatory remark or civil dispute arose form our recent protest. People were coming to our group to take a pamphlet describing the issues in Pakistan without fear or trepidation. We will be holding another protest in the Summer and hope that more of you will show solidarity - only in showing unity can we considered a force and have a direct impact in resolving what we would consider the primary concern for our people in Pakistan.

In the picture you can see the snowman that my daughters my nieces and my nephews made outside my mothers home. The girls collected snow and filled a bucket, the boys carried the bucket, I shaped and constructed the snowman. Together we created a local monument, parents are still bringing their children to the snowman and taking pictures.

It was a time of fun and frolicking - not entirely Christian in nature and hardly depicting what Christmas is about. We thought we would share it with you though as it is a seasonal activity that we in the UK can only undertake during the period that is Christmas. Let this picture not detract from the origin of Christmas, but may it inspire you to work together as a cohesive force, a group with different functions, with different roles that contribute to the overall end product. Much like the body of Christ is meant to function.

I pray that God blesses you all and that he binds us together as a community with chords that cannot be broken.

Message from Sukhwant Dhaliwal from Women Against Fundametalism

Demonstration organised by the British Pakistani Christian Association
Saturday 19th December

Women Against Fundamentalism condemns the persecution of Christian and other religious minorities in Pakistan and particularly the use of the blasphemy law to incite and pursue their harassment and victimisation. It joins in support of others that call for the blasphemy law in Pakistan and elsewhere, including Britain, to be repealed. Blasphemy and incitement to religious hatred offences are used to harass and intimidate and ultimately silence the voices of women and other groups such as gays and lesbians within these communities. This sort of legislation creates a climate of fear and self-censorship. Here in Britain the author of the play Behzti which was set in a Sikh temple and dealt with issues of rape and abuse of power was subjected to threats and intimidation and the Birmingham Rep theatre was attacked by Sikh extremists but even some Sikh moderates argued that the author had crossed the line by setting the play in a place that Sikhs regarded as sacred. We believe in the right of people to have religious beliefs or to not have any at all, to interpret religious texts as they see fit without recriminations. We condemn the political use of religion to attack minorities wherever these may be including Muslims in India, Hindus in Bangladesh, Christians or Ahmaddis in Pakistan. What is important for women against fundamentalism is not the lack of accuracy around the claims that Christians in Gojra defiled the Quran but that it is their right to have a different set of beliefs, to question, to dissent or to not believe in the existence of a god at all if they so wish.

Human Rights Watch calculated that between the years 2000 and 2005, 350 Ahmaddis were charged under the blasphemy legislation. This is a means of excluding Ahmaddis from mainstream discussions and representation which bears echoes in Britain where religious leaders that have the ear of the British state are successfully marginalising those with different and divergent religious interpretations. The elimination of diversity and the institutionalisation of homogenous notions of religious groups bears echoes here in the government's own faith agenda where local Sikh gurdwaras for instance are involved in deciding who is Sikh in order to control entry into newly established state funded Sikh schools. Such assertions are particularly parochial when it comes to women in terms of how they ought to dress and behave and often meted out in the application of restrictive marriage rules intended to cement clear boundaries between cultural, religious and ethnic groups.

As is clear from the communal violence between Sikhs and Muslims during partition right up to the genocide instigated by Hindu nationalists against Muslims in Gujarat, women often bear the brunt of communal rage. For Women Against Fundamentalism challenging communalism is equally about protecting the rights of minorities within minorities and of less powerful sections such as women and children subjected to the overbearing power of religious leaders.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan have suggested that claims that Christians defiled the Quran arose from rumours spread by particular clerics. Subsequent violence also revolved around rumours that churches were desecrating the Quran. The fact that seemingly mundane acts - such as property deals, or building walls, or asking someone to sing more quietly - can give rise to such violence overnight tells us that such expressions of intolerance are never a sudden irrational burst but rather the reflection of an instilling of views mobilised by religious political groups over time. It is important to look closely at how a combination of state practices, state actors and civil society actors and mobilisation has created the conditions for such violence to take place.

Human Rights Watch have noted that women and girls in Pakistan confront astounding levels of violence, with hundreds of women and girls murdered each year in the name of family honour. The question of honour is inextricably linked to right wing religious mobilisation and a growing conservatism where women are viewed as the vessels and symbols of communal and religious purity, their behaviour is closely monitored and subject to severe reprimand when norms are thought to have been contravened. Again what appear to be everyday mundane acts are viewed as acts of opprobrium. Women's bodies are further violated during outbursts of communal violence where religious nationalism, communalism and fundamentalism is displayed through rape, abduction and horrific acts of gender mutilation. The right of people to dissent is also the right of women to exist. The two are very closely aligned. Women Against Fundamentalism calls for the repeal of blasphemy legislation and the protection of minorities and marginalised voices.

Message from Clara Connolly - Women Against Fundamemtalism

Clara Connolly, Women Against Fundamentalism
BPCA Rally 19th December 2009

Women Against Fundamentalism (WAF) challenges fundamentalism in all religions – by fundamentalism we mean the use of religion or religious affiliation to gain, or hold on to, political power. The ultimate fundamentalist goal is a theocracy – or state run along the dictates of one religion. Pakistan is one example; so was Ireland when I was growing up there – which was what led me to join WAF. The primary aim of a theocracy is to keep its own people under control – especially its women and dissidents. But it is invariably harsh and intolerant of its minorities.
Modern Britain, it goes without saying, is not a theocracy – though the state has many institutional features which many a rising fundamentalist would envy: it has a state religion – the Church of England, with its ties to state and monarchy. Until recently it also had a blasphemy law, an offshoot of Christian canon law, which protected only Christians from being offended.
In 1989, the founding moment of WAF, Muslim groups tried to extend the British blasphemy law to prosecute to the publishers of Salman Rushdie’ s ‘Satanic Verses’, and have the book banned. This was unsuccessful in the courts - which clearly exposed the discriminatory nature of the UK blasphemy law. WAF argued strongly then that the law should not be extended to cover all religions, but abolished.

Blasphemy laws isolate people from each other, along sectarian lines. If in Pakistan (and until 2008, the UK) it protects only the majority or state religion, it can be used as a tool for persecuting minorities, as is happening in Pakistan. The blasphemy law is being used there as an excuse to inflict terror and persecution on Christians, as well as on Ahmadis and other minorities. But extending blasphemy only widens the capacity for offence; it still promotes sectarianism and set people of different beliefs at each other’s throats. It compounds the divisiveness along religious lines – the same goes for any substitute or replacement like ‘incitement to religious hatred’. And of course it polices, persecutes and silences dissidents of any religion – majority or minority .

What we should be asking for is the abolition of the blasphemy law in Pakistan. To do this we should support the progressive forces there who are calling for its abolition – including lawyers and judges who have been among the most exemplary critics of the regime. A victory on this issue would be one significant step along the way of restoring Pakistan to what was promised by its founder, Jinnah – a secular state which would guarantee equal rights for all, regardless of belief.But its is right also to put pressure on the British Government ; it has some responsibility for the increased targeting of Christians in Pakistan since 9/11 – and particularly since the second wave invasion by Western troops of Afghanistan. Human rights organisations in Pakistan have commented on the relationship between the West’s war on terror and the increase in attacks on Christians in Pakistan.

The British Government bears a responsibility for the protection of Christians in Pakistan, unwitting victims of the war against terror, and should use its influence with Pakistan to press for the abolition of the blasphemy law.

Message from Baroness Cox

Caroline Anne Cox (née McNeill Love), Baroness Cox (born 6 July 1937) is a cross-bench member of the British House of Lords. She also is the founder and CEO of an organisation called the "Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust" She has campaigned for humanitarian causes, particularly relating to disability.

We have today received a version of what was spoken by Baroness Cox at our protest march on Saturday (Her address was not from notes and Baroness Cox has kindly provided a brief summary).

In her email to us, she spoke favourably about our event and the media attention we managed to encourage. Quite simply, the Peace Rally highlighted the plight of minority groups in Pakistan, to a much wider British public than ever before.

We have been advised that Baroness Cox will be praying for the situation in Pakistan and we would ask that you all keep the Baroness and her work in your prayers.

It is a wonderful blessing to have such senior figures in support of our cause and we should cherish such committment and give credit were it is deserved.

I would like to add, that my email to the Baroness was sent one day before the event. Imagine my joy when the following morning, I received a response confirming her attendance. That such people with authority - who no doubt have a very extensive appointment list, would be willing to sacrifice time on a cold, miserable and rather dreary day - is an encouragement to me and hopefully to the rest of our community. Good spirited leaders like the Baroness and few and far between - even in the Christian World and the British Pakistani Community for one should feel indebted to "our" Baroness.

Here is the summary of Baroness Cox's address:

'Congratulations on organising this important event!

First, I speak as a parliamentarian who has the privilege of living in a free and democratic society.

I believe that freedom is indivisible and that all of us who live in freedom should use our freedoms on behalf of those who are denied their freedoms.

I hope the British government will raise more strongly with the Government of Pakistan the violations of religious freedoms of many citizens in Pakistan and urge the Government of Pakistan to fulfil its responsibilities to provide protection for all its people.

Those suffering from violations of fundamental freedoms, including freedom to practice their own religion, include not only Christians but other faith groups as well, including the Ahmadia Muslims - and we must speak for the rights of all people of any faith or none.

Secondly, speaking as Christian: the Bible tells us that we must 'speak for the oppressed' and therefore, as a Christians as well as a parliamentarian, I am here today to support you in your valiant endeavours to work for peace, justice and freedom for all the peoples of Pakistan.

Thirdly, also speaking as a Christian, I am reminded that St Paul in his letter to the Church at Corinth challenged the church: 'When one part of the Body of Christ suffers, we all suffer'. Do we? My plea to other Christians this Christmas is to remember and to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters suffering persecution around the world. It is estimated that there are 270 million Christians suffering persecution in some form around the world today. Let us not forget them - and today, I plead that we remember especially our brothers and sisters in Pakistan who have suffered so much and who face so many challenges and threats. They are maintaining their faith at great cost and with many sacrifices: let us pray that we will be worthy of the price they are paying for our faith and uphold them in love and prayer.'

Caroline Cox.

New threats from the Taliban to Pakistani Christians!

We have received news directly from Pakistan that texts from a unregistered number have been received by people of all communities in Pakistan - threatening a surprise attack on all churches in Pakistan on the 25th December 2009.

Most Pakistani Christians have already intimated that they will not let this news deter them from attending church on a day that is very sacred to them.

The BPCA would ask Christians across the UK to pray for the safety of those threatened in Pakistan. We would also urge all people of all faiths to continue to provoke influential world bodies and governments to continue challenging the Government of Pakistan to protect all of its people and to bring justice to the perpetrators of violence and terror.

Learn more (here)

British Pakistani Christian Association Protest March