Funny, if a prison guard handles a koran in Guantanamo bay without wearing gloves the president of the USA will likely intervene. But you don’t hear so much about this:
From Eurasia News
Written by: UCAN
December 18, 2011
More than three thousand angry Christians held a protest rally in Lahore yesterday condemning sale of shoes incorporating Christian crosses.
Some Muslim leaders joined the protestors, who were wearing black armbands and headbands. Chanting anti government slogans, they burned tires on the road.
The protest ended after pastors led hymn singing.
“This is no drama. Our Christian identity has been insulted as Christmas approaches”, said Pastor Samuel King, president of the Pakistan Minorities Movement (PMM).
The group had previously confiscated 1,200 pairs of shoes, inscribed with a cross and Christmas symbols, from a shop. Its owner was arrested on November 26 but freed by police after three days.
Gulzar Nqavi, a Shia Muslim who joined the protestors, condemned the indifference of the authorities. “Many Christians visit Muslim shrines; they also hang posters of Nalain Pak (sandals of the Prophet Mohammad) in their houses”, he said.
The PMM also issued a press statement demanding the re-arrest of the shopkeeper and announced a continued movement in absence of any action.
Kanwal Feroz, chief editor of a Christian monthly, also demanded action for blasphemy. “Deliberate or not; this action has hurt the minority community which severely bore the burnt of the blasphemy laws”, he said.
Christians say implementation of Islamic laws of apostasy and blasphemy in the constitution have victimized minorities on basis of business rivalry and personal grudges. However, debate against the controversial laws ended this year after the murder of the Catholic federal minister of minorities.
The mainstream media is going to wait until violence occurs and then blame the Christians.
Where did these Pakistani Christians come from? Are they converts? Off shoots of the few Christians native to India?
Most of the Christians in Pakistan are converts from the times when India was under British rule.
Anne:
http://www.mrctv.org/videos/people-shambala
I think its interesting that a minority religious group’s first inclination to seeing their own christian symbols used in a perceved negative way is to subject the offending party to religious blasphemy. You would think they would condemn blasphemy laws since theyre so arbitrary, but instead they want them applied equally to their religion as well.
I can understand the “if its good for the goose, its good for the gander” mentality, but its still troubling just the same. Seems all religions want to subject those that don’t conform to blasphemy and other practices of social rejection. While it may not be as bad under christians as muslims, it still shows that religion in general is a bad arbiter of justice, freedom, and personal expression.
Adam we aren’t talking about a highly educated group or class, we are talking about semi-educated people, don’t expect them to act like modern collage graduates.