Muslim Bulldoze a Church in Pakistan: Muslim Bulldoze a Church in Pakistan

[mehru]

Church Reportedly Demolished by Muslim Land Mafia

A church in Lahore’s Sardar Town has been destroyed by reported Muslim land mafia.

According to a report from Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan’s (SLMP), Sohail Johnson, the independent Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) “King of Kings Church” was demolished on Nov. 15. The vandals bulldozed the church building, trashed Bibles, broke the church’s sound system, hit Christian women and injured a little boy.

SLMP claims the leader of the vandals was a Muslim man named Nanha Bhatti, who along with his friends, attacked the church.

SLMP said when the attack occurred the female members of the church were preparing for a convention at the church on Nov. 16-17. Their husbands were at work. Although they were informed about the incident, SLMP said by the time they reached the church, Bhatti and his group had already left the scene. When the women attempted to resist the attackers, they were reportedly slapped and had bricks thrown at them.

SLMP said as a result a five-year-old boy was hit in the forehead with a brick and his forehead needed five stitches. The church’s sound system was also destroyed.

Reportedly, SLMP said, a local government clerk also accompanied Bhatti.

A church elder told SLMP that the pastor was out of town at the time of the attack, and it was evening before he returned.

An individual told SLMP that Bhatti is a member of the “land mafia,” and has some official support. He added, “They all have joined hands with each other to take Christians’ land into their possession.”

Another person told SLMP that local Sunnis objected to the church’s prayer meetings being held at the same time as the Muslim call for prayer. He said the cleric was assured by Christians they would change their prayer meetings so the Muslims’ call for prayer would not be disturbed.

SLMP said another informant told the group, “I was at home when Nanha Bhatti brought the bulldozer. My house is next to the church. I tried to stop the bulldozer, but Nanha asked the driver of bulldozer not to stop even if it harmed me or kill me. He abused me. He was demolishing the church mercilessly. He is a cruel man; he wants us to go from here so that he can take possession of our lands.”

SLMP provided some background to the area conflict in Sardar Town, where there are maybe bye 60 Christian families out of hundreds of Muslims. The town is reportedly about 20-25 years old. The one church is the building demolished. Lahore (a nearby city) Development Authority (LDA) claim that the land on which the church sits belongs to them.

SLMP said about seven years ago, LDA tried a land grab but the intervention of a local politician saved the church-until now.

SLMP said, “Now some politicians from Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz Sharif group are very (keen) to grab the land of Christians in this area.”

SLMP said a criminal case has been registered with the police by Pastor Zafar Iqbal, against a Muslim man named Nanha Bhatti.

According to SLMP, Kamran Michael the Minister of Human Rights and Minority Affairs for the Punjab Government assured Christians of his support concerning the issue. However, SLMP noted, police have not yet arrested the alleged perpetrators.

SLMP alleged that the official in charge of the case is reluctant “to arrest the culprits as they have strong influence in the area.”

SLMP said, “(We) strongly condemn such kind of incidents and appeal (to the) government of Pakistan to take strict action against the culprits …. Christians of the areas are under threats, the local pastor is helpless and seems himself weak to pursue the case against powerful politicians who are backing land mafia.”

SLPM said the group hopes individuals and organizations will step forward and help area Christians, as well as providing financial help for the reconstruction of the church.

Church Reportedly Demolished by Muslim Land Mafia

 

[mehru]

Here the story is little different. In this case, no land mafia was involved but rather neighbour had a problem. Whatever, Christians should file a case against this incident. Noone has the right to bully them. This is their country.

Church Bulldozed in Pakistan

While Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi—the mother of five-- continues to sit in prison awaiting a presidential pardon, news just came in to us from The Voice of the Martyrs that a church has been bulldozed in the Pakistan city of Lahore.

According to VOM, militant Muslims attacked the King of Kings Church at Asif Town, Raiwind Road, Lahore on Monday November 15th.

The bulldozed church building and the boy who suffered a head injury, 3-year old Khalil.

2000 Muslims and about 60 Christian families reside in the town.

Apparently evangelists Zahoor and Arshid have held daily prayer meetings at their home for the past 14-months. They’ve also gathered Christians together at the house for fellowship on Wednesday nights and Sundays when they are joined by Pastor Zafar Iqbal. Church attendance grew, so a house adjacent to Arshid’s home was purchased from a Muslim owner. The Christians removed an interior wall to make a large room for worship.

According to VOM, when Mohammed Habib Bhatti, a Muslim neighbor discovered that his neighbor’s home had been purchased and used as a church, he came to the property and threatened the pastor Sarwar Masih and said, “You cannot build a Church building in this area, we have a mosque in this village, there is no need to build a church”.

Bhatti allegedly made good on his threat. According to witnesses, at 1:15PM on November 15th, 2010 he and eight men (impersonating police officers) came to the church property and verbally abused the Christians. One witness said Muslims threw stones at the Christians as they attempted to stop the assault on their church, “While the Muslims were throwing stones and bricks, a 3-year old boy named Khalil was hit on his head with a brick. They were chanting and threatening us saying if somebody will come out of his home to stop us we will kill him.”

A bulldozer moved in and demolished the church building. Pages of a bible were torn and the church sound system was smashed.

Later, one local official offered to pay church members 50,000 rupees ($584 ) to forget the incident. The Christians refused and demanded that the perpetrators be arrested and brought to justice.The Christians say many of their Muslim neighbors had no objection to the prayer meetings or the church building.

http://blogs.cbn.com/globallane/archive/2010/11/24/church-bulldozed-in-pakistan.aspx

 

[Jungibaaz]

For economic purposes, i think buldozing Religious places is Ok, and acceptable by Civilized world.

For Example

Tubas Mosque Razed by Israeli Occupation Government Bulldozers

Just 3 days old news, For this, no cry no extremism, bigot words are used, so let it be in our case aswell.

They are Pakistani citizens and should be treated as such and if you are righteous enough to bulldoze a religious place for economic reasons , why doesn't it happen to Mosques?

and this news does not give us any excuse what so ever.

 

[GentlemanObserver]

They are Pakistani citizens and should be treated as such and if you are righteous enough to bulldoze a religious place for economic reasons , why doesn't it happen to Mosques?

and this news does not give us any excuse what so ever.

No they dare not try that.

You Know why?...

Mullah's Have:

Whilst our minorities have people like:

In conclusion... They dare not bulldoze a mosque, but a church... Hey That's okay...

Disgusting!

 

[greatsequence]

The lal masjid fiasco started in the similar fashion. Musharaf bulldozing old mosques which were just close to the road.

Just one side of the story as was in the asia bibi case. Lets wait until more information comes.

This is really bad because what ever the reason bulldozing a religious place makes the community feel alienated.

 

[flameboard]

For economic purposes, i think buldozing Religious places is Ok, and acceptable by Civilized world.

For Example

Tubas Mosque Razed by Israeli Occupation Government Bulldozers

Just 3 days old news, For this, no cry no extremism, bigot words are used, so let it be in our case aswell.

We are better than the Israelis what they did was wrong indeed, but we need to remember we are better than the Taliban and Israelis, we have to remember what sets us apart we are civilized respectful people.

 

[JonAsad]

in a country where people blow themselves up in Mosques, throw gernades inside a mosque, use the mosque as weapons storage facility, where students are taught talibanic versions of jihad against the world against their own state, what else do people expect here?

If the majority of people in a country are suffering and are afraid to go to juma prayers in a mosque because some idiot might blow himself, then whats the big fuss if someone bulldozed a minority one room church?

it shoould be the cause of huge cry and goar if that has happened in some civilised country, but since it has happened in Pakistan it is OK.

Leave aside for a moment that people of so called Islamic Republic of Pakistan buldozed a church, be it legal or illegal, why this acts suddenly begins to feel like act of Devil? when else where in the world legal mosques are buldozed to make way for illegal settelments, mosques are bombed because of suspected insurgents, soldiers enters a mosque with their shoes on, naturaly i will feel its a norm its OK now.

I may not like it or appreciate it i will condemn it but hey its happening every where, and i'll feel its OK.
Feel disgusted or some thing i dont care.

 

[Pukhtoon]

in a country where people blow themselves up in Mosques, throw gernades inside a mosque, use the mosque as weapons storage facility, where students are taught talibanic versions of jihad against the world against their own state, what else do people expect here?

If the majority of people in a country are suffering and are afraid to go to juma prayers in a mosque because some idiot might blow himself, then whats the big fuss if someone bulldozed a minority one room church?

it shoould be the cause of huge cry and goar if that has happened in some civilised country, but since it has happened in Pakistan it is OK.

Leave aside for a moment that people of so called Islamic Republic of Pakistan buldozed a church, be it legal or illegal, why this acts suddenly begins to feel like act of Devil? when else where in the world legal mosques are buldozed to make way for illegal settelments, mosques are bombed because of suspected insurgents, soldiers enters a mosque with their shoes on, naturaly i will feel its OK.

I may not like it or appreciate it i will condemn it but hey its happening every where, and i'll feel its OK.
Feel disgusted or some thing i dont care.

Nuffin better then that

 

[JonAsad]

We are better than the Israelis what they did was wrong indeed, but we need to remember we are better than the Taliban and Israelis, we have to remember what sets us apart we are civilized respectful people.

We are not better than the israelis, atleast they dont blow themselves up in synagogues,
as for the talibans, the world dont see much difference between us Pakistanis and the talibans any way.

 

[JonAsad]

They are Pakistani citizens and should be treated as such and if you are righteous enough to bulldoze a religious place for economic reasons , why doesn't it happen to Mosques?

and this news does not give us any excuse what so ever.

Govt, clerics agree to form body on mosque demolition issue

ISLAMABAD: The government and clerics agreed on Wednesday to form a tripartite committee of officials from the Islamabad administration, Capital Development Authority (CDA) and prayer leaders, to resolve the issue of demolition of mosques, Daily Times learnt on wednesday.

The decision was made at a meeting at Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao’s residence.

The sources said the meeting was convened after dialogue between clerics and the city administration broke down on Monday. They said that the meeting discussed the demolition of mosques as well as the occupation of a children’s library by Jamia Hafsa students. The sources said that Sherpao and other senior Interior Ministry officials expressed concern over the occupation of the library that was taken over by Jamia Hafsa students after two mosques were demolished in the capital.

They said it was decided that the tripartite committee would decide about the reconstruction of one of the demolished mosques – Amir Hamza Mosque.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the Wafaqul Madaris Al Arabia’s central executive committee was held at Jamia Muhammadia in Islamabad.

Sources said the meeting decided that the CEC members would meet Ghazi Abdur Rashid, the vice principle of Jamia Faridia seminary, and Maulana Abdul Aziz, the principal of Jamia Hafsa seminary, and ask them to get the children’s library vacated. It was also decided that if Ghazi refused to accept the CEC decision, the members would recommend the termination of affiliation of Rashid and Aziz’s seminaries with the Wafaq, said the sources.

They said that a meeting between CEC members, Ghazi and Aziz was in progress at the time this report was filed.

-------------------

Heres what Mr Musharraf had to say..

Not a mosque but mosques

ISLAMABAD: President General Pervez Musharraf said on Friday that certain mosques and madrassas in Islamabad were being relocated and not being demolished. Replying to a question at a press conference, Musharraf said that certain individuals had encroached public land to build mosques and madrassas. “A decision has been taken to relocate the mosques to better places so there is no hindrance in the execution of administrative responsibilities,” he said. staff report

Mosques being relocated, says Musharraf

How they relocate the mosques? By Demolition.
So demolition of holy places for development purposes is OK.

 

[Karachiite]

Very sad news. But it's nothing new. Churches,temples,synagogues have been destroyed before and will continue. I remember last year when a builder in Karachi was building a highrise but couldn't because some idiots had built an illegal mosque on his property, the builder couldn't demolish the mosque due to the outrage of mullahs.

And for the people backing up the people who destroyed this church shouldn't come crying when a mosque in another country is destroyed.

 

[niaz]

We are not better than the israelis, atleast they dont blow themselves up in synagogues,
as for the talibans, the world dont see much difference between us Pakistanis and the talibans any way.

Agreed. Even the Likud; most bigoted of the Israelis; are highly literate people and thus prone to listen to reason.

Alas not so in Pakistan. What do you expect from the Taliban and their supporters when they specifically select girls schools to destroy. I am sure that these savages will come up some made up ‘Hadith’ condemning female education.

Taliban even destroyed a mosque in Landi Kotal declaring it ‘Masjid-e Zaraar’, all in the name of Islam. Despite all this, the bigot Hamid Gul openly declares that he has always supported Taliban. With such men of note along with some members of the right wing mainstream parties such as PML-N, Pakistan will continue to portay Islam as a backward looking religion which preaches hatred and use of force on those who differ.

Long time ago I read a book by Dr Ghluam Jilani Barq called ‘Do Isalm’. I understand the implications 30 years later. Despite the fact that we recite the same Kalimah, read
the same Quran and same Seerat of the Nabi (PBUH); Islam that I believe in and the Prophet (PBUH) that I follow appear to be altogether different from the religion of a lot of Pakistanis including some members of this forum.

 

[The Clarifier]

One more step to jahilia...

Oh Allah, we need education!

 

[Durran3]

If only we could put these mulla scums on trial via blasphemy laws...

 

[MYSTIC]

But note that the lead article of the thread suggests that the motivation is economic - not "religious" in any way -- so what's going on is the use of "religious extremism" as a cover for theft, larceny, vandalism.

Throughout history religion has been used for economic and political mileage. So whats the point?