ICC Note:
Pakistan continues to be ranked by the Pew Research Center as one of the most hostile nations for religious minorities. False blasphemy accusations, forced conversions, forced marriages, church bombings and widespread social discrimination are just a few of the issues faced by Christians and other religious minorities that call Pakistan home. Will these conditions ever change?
2/13/2014 Pakistan (Catholic Online) – The targeting of religious minorities in Pakistan remains a sore spot in this South Asian nation. A Pew Research Center report named Pakistan, which is 96 percent Muslim, as one of the most hostile nations for religious minorities. Pakistan was among the top five overall for restrictions on religion, singling out its anti-blasphemy laws as a prime example.
Pakistani courts frequently use blasphemy laws to give death or lifetime-jail sentences to minorities accused of insulting Islam.
A study on Pakistan from the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom counted more than 200 attacks among religious groups and 1,800 casualties resulting from religion-related violence between 2012 and mid-2013, which is one of the highest rates in the world.
All religious minorities in Pakistan – and not just Christians, face discriminatory laws, forced conversions, and bombs and shootings aimed at minority-sect Muslims, such as Shiites and Ahmadis.
Public school textbooks in Pakistan regularly demonize minorities and emphasize the nation’s Islamic roots over contributions from people of other faiths. Religious minorities are often stuck on the lower rung of the economy, often working as servants, sweepers and day laborers.
“Things have gone from bad to worse to very much worse,” Robert George, chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom says.
In spit of this bleak outlook, there are stories of minority empowerment. A host of interfaith activist movements is blossoming, pushing for multi-faith education and less violence, while gaining support from pastors and universities.
Minority leaders are now speaking internationally in the media and through religious and human rights organizations. A more tolerant Pakistan, they argue, would translate into another goal for many: less tolerance for terrorists.
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