60 Christian houses in Pakistan reduced to ashes by chemical bombs over blasphemy accusation

By Dan Wooding and Sheraz Khurram Khan, Special to ASSIST News Service

TOBA TEK SINGH, GOJRA, PAKISTAN (ANS) – In a shocking display of violence in Pakistan, Islamists set ablaze some 60 Christian houses in Korian village in Toba Tek Singh district on Thursday, July 30, 2009, at 9:00 pm Pakistan time after a blasphemy accusation was leveled against a young Christian boy, Imran Masih, and his father Talib Masih.

The trouble began for the Christian residents of Korian when Talib, a Christian vendor ignorantly brought home a piece of paper that had Quranic verses written on it, along with some other rough papers.

Talib’s children innocently ripped apart the paper not understanding its contents.

When some local Muslims found the torn pieces of paper, the anti-Christian hostility spread like a wildfire in the village.

Living up to their reputation of penalizing so-called “blasphemers”, local Muslim clerics accused the father and son of committing blasphemy and made inflammatory statements against the blasphemy-accused and incited Muslim residents of Korian and adjoining villages to attack the Christians of the village to avenge alleged blasphemy.

Some 500 Muslims from nearby villages of 95, 97 and 362 (J.B), who were armed with firearms and explosives, attacked the Christians of the village. The Christian residents fled to safety as Muslim clerics announced their verdict to “kill the blasphemers.”

The chemical used by the Muslim mob to set fire to Christian houses was so inflammable that it utterly destroyed the targeted houses. The Muslim mob also took away Christians’ cattle with them.

Sohail Johnson further told ANS that the Muslim mob also attacked the New Apostolic Church and the Church of Pakistan in the village. He said the Muslim mob had “desecrated and ransacked the churches.”

He also cited the District Coordination Officer, Raja Abbas, as saying that “nobody has committed blasphemy in the village.”

The Chairman of the All Pakistan Minorities Teachers Association (APMTA) and head of Social Harmony and Development of Women (SHADOW), Professor Anjum, who was present in the village along with his fact-finding team that also included Dr. Amjad Aftab, Saith Munawar and Daniel Sohotra, told ANS that he could still see “fire raging in some houses.”

He said that the fire “had done extensive damage to the houses and properties of the Christian residents” of Korian.

Condemning the incident, he said that the perpetrators of fresh violence against Christians should be dealt with an iron first.

Professor Anjum told ANS that three Christian men — Riaz Masih, Salamat Masih and Faryad Masih — who had come to visit their relatives namely Liaqat and Ishfaq, were missing after July 30 attack against Christian villagers of Korian.

Anjum also visited a Christian woman called Hanifa, who told him that her five daughters were missing since the July 30 attack. Describing the extent of damage done to the Christian residents of the village by the Muslim invaders, the Chairman of the APMTA said that the Muslim mob “plundered and ransacked the Christians’ houses before setting them ablaze.”

He added, “They took away with them all valuables including TVs and water pumps.”

He described blasphemy-accused Talib’s house as a scene of “utter destruction.”

He quoted Talib and Imran’s family as saying that the invaders had “badly manhandled” Talib and Imran before destroying their house. He said Muslim mob also burnt and desecrated pages of Bible and The Lord’s Prayer.

This latest incident is just one of many that have occurred in recent times in Pakistan.

Angry Muslims set ablaze some 100 Christian houses in Bhamniwala village which falls in district Kasur near the eastern city of Lahore on June 30.