Islamic Extremists Attacking Christians, Sikhs in South Asia

ICC Note

There has been an increase in Islamic attacks against Christians and other religious minorities in India and Pakistan. Religious minorities feel unprotected by their governments.

By Stoyan Zaimov

04/17/2012 India (Christian Post)-Reports of Islamic extremists attacking people of others faiths in India and Pakistan have been growing in recent years, resulting in beatings and even beheadings.

On March 30, a Christian church in the West Bengal state of India, a 65-year-old woman widow was beaten after Islamist extremists forced their way into the church, Compass Direct News reported. The 11 or so members of the church were attacked simply for gathering and worshipping Christ, and the Islamists called them “pagans” as they continuously kicked and beat them.

In the same area of Nutangram earlier in March, a 22-year old woman was driven from her predominantly Muslim village after she thanked Christ for being healed from an illness – apparently, even her Muslim parents joined in the subsequent attack by Islamists who wanted her and her beliefs out of the village.

The religious persecution is reportedly just as bad in neighboring Pakistan, where Christians are targeted even by government authorities. Currently, a Christian mother of five, Asia Bibi, is on death row for allegedly blaspheming the name of the prophet Muhammad two years ago, an accusation filed by co-workers at a field she was working on.

Bibi insists all she was doing was defending her Christian faith, but has been jailed nonetheless – and even if the Pakistani court finds her not guilty and releases her, many Islamic leaders have placed a bounty on her head, The New American reported.

Islamic militants have also targeted Sikhs in the same region – according to The Associated Press, atrocities by Muslim extremists against religious minorities in the area are so common that they are at most only condemnation by officials, but rarely punished.

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