Christians having horrendous time in Pak thanks to ‘intolerant’ Islamic laws

October 2nd, 2009 ROME - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has assured Pope Benedict XVI that his government would ensure that blasphemy laws are not used against Christians. During their meeting here, the Pope had asked Zardari to guarantee protection of minority Christians and ensure that a Gojra-like violence doesn't get repeated.

October 1st, 2009 PETALING JAYA - The Sisters in Islam (SIS) has said the decision to whip part-time model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno for drinking beer undermines the Malaysian Government's efforts in portraying Malaysia as a moderate Islamic country. The Star quoted SIS board member Zainah Anwar as saying that while the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister have always tried to project Malaysia as a model Islamic country, whipping was unacceptable and could be seen as too severe.

September 9th, 2009 DHAKA - Armed Muslim gangs in Solepur, located close to Dhaka, have been targeting Christians for several weeks, forcing many members of the community to flee the area. Forced land sales and motorcycle thefts are rampant in the area and despite the incidents being reported, the police has done little to prevent the targeting of the minority community.

August 17th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Nearly 2,000 Christians are living in tents here for the past three months, and most of them claim the Government has evicted them off their lands without warning, citing their religion. According to a report, people are dying of poverty and their living conditions are said to be quite pathetic.

August 14th, 2009 NEW YORK - Several Pakistani Christians took to the streets here and staged a demonstration in front of the United Nations to protest against the Gojra riots in which nine Christians were killed and several others injured. People held placards that read: "Stop killing innocent Christians," "Don't kill or destroy in Allah's name", "Cruelty against humanity is blasphemy", and "Stop burning Christian Churches" shouted slogans against the Pakistan government.

August 7th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Following his visit to riot-hit Gojra, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has hinted at changing the blasphemy law in a bid to facilitate "religious harmony" in the country. Eight Christians were burnt alive last month over blasphemy allegations in Gojra.

August 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pakistani authorities have arrested 100 people and offered 6,000 dollars in compensation to Christian families in an effort to reassure the country's minority that they will be protected by the law, after an anti-Christian riot left eight people dead in the town of Gojra over the weekend. The response of authorities on Monday failed to dampen accusations from Christians that the police neglected to protect them.

August 3rd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Christian community in the town of Gojra has closed all schools and colleges in the area for three days as a mark of respect for the eight persons killed in riots on Saturday. Hundreds of Muslims, apparently spurred by a banned militant group, stormed a Christian neighbourhood in the eastern city of Gojra on Saturday, burning dozens of houses after reports surfaced that some Christians had desecrated a Quran.

July 22nd, 2009 LONDON - The Founder of Britain's oldest Sharia court has said that harsh Islamic punishments, such as the amputation of limbs, will make Britain a safer place. The Daily Times quoted Sheikh Suhaib Hasan, secretary of the Islamic Sharia Council, as saying that the enforcement of Sharia law was "something to bring you more peace and security".

July 13th, 2009 BAGHDAD - Iraqi Christians remained defiant in the wake of Sunday night's attack on a church in eastern Baghdad that left at least four dead and 18 injured. "If anyone thinks that these terrorist attacks will force us or our friends from our home, they must be crazy," Nahla Sabbah, a 34-year-old Christian civil servant told DPA.

July 5th, 2009 Megachurch pastor Rick Warren addresses US MuslimsWASHINGTON — Defying some of his fellow conservative Christian critics, one of the most prominent religious leaders in the country told several thousand American Muslims on Saturday that "the two largest faiths on the planet" must work together to combat stereotypes and solve global problems. "Some problems are so big you have to team tackle them," evangelical megachurch pastor Rick Warren addressed the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America.

July 2nd, 2009 LAHORE - Over six hundred Muslims attacked Christians in Bahmniwala village in Kasur District of Pakistan after local mosques urged them to unite and "teach a lesson" to the Christians. Angry Muslim mob, after accusing of blasphemy, destroyed Christians' houses, looted valuables and tortured Christian men and women ruthlessly.

April 25th, 2009 LONDON - US President Barack Obama's step-grandmother in Kenya has found supporters in Muslims and Christians, who have fallen into a row with the former accusing the latter of trying to convert the 87-year-old to Christianity. Sarah Obama, who has been at the centre of spotlight in the country ever since her grandson bagged the top job, had been invited to attend an event at a Seventh Day Adventist Church.

April 21st, 2009 LAHORE - Pak-Taliban chief Sufi Muhammad's Islamic ideology and Sharia implementation in Swat are incorrect, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said. The News quoted Rehman, as saying that the procedure for enforcing Sharia in Swat was not correct and the recommendations of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) should be implemented in this regard.

April 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - With the Pakistan Government giving its nod to the Taliban demand for Sharia courts in the Malakand region of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), various religious parties are demanding the imposition of Islamic laws across the province. Leader of a faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami, Hamidul Haq Haqqani told a US daily that the implementation of sharia would allow the government to establish peace in the region.