FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Muslim Clerics Seek Death for Christian who Married a Muslim Woman

You are free to disseminate the following news. We request that you reference ICC (International Christian Concern) and include our web address www.www.persecution.org. Contact Jeremy Sewall, Policy Analyst, 1-800-ICC (422)-5441, jeremy@www.persecution.org.

(July 17, 2008) The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) www.www.persecution.org has just learned that Mr. Asim Pasha, a Christian resident of Attock, Pakistan, is searching for shelter after receiving death threats by local Muslim clerics for marrying a Muslim woman named Samina.

In an interview with ICC from an unknown location, Pasha said that he fell in love with Samina years ago and married her in front of a Justice in the Court in 2004. However, Samina’s Muslim parents opposed the marriage due to Pasha’s Christian faith. As a result, Pasha and Samina fled the city and hid themselves for years to protect themselves from Samina’s parents.

They returned to Attock in 2007 with a child and Pasha started a music business in his neighborhood. In April 2008, a number of young Muslim boys found out about the mixed marriage and began harassing Pasha publicly. They told him that he had embraced Islam by marrying a Muslim and therefore he should follow the teachings of Islam. The boys also threatened him with “serious consequences” for “insulting” Islam. Pasha denied their charges and said that he had never embraced Islam.

“Sada e Jamhoor,” a weekly journal in Attock, caught wind of Pasha’s situation and published a story against him on June 22, 2008, alleging that he forced Samina into the marriage and that he forcibly converted her to Christianity. Pasha told ICC that his wife is living with him happily without any disputes about faith. This article followed an earlier advertisement in the journal from May 18, 2008, calling on the Muslim community to unite against Pasha to teach him a “good” lesson for this “sin.”

Local Muslim clerics entered the fray and claimed that Pasha had converted to Islam to marry Samina but kept practicing his Christian faith and eventually forced Samina to convert to Christianity. They said that he had cheated a Muslim girl and made fun of Islam, and therefore must be hanged publicly.

Pasha has asked the authorities to protect him and has sought out a human rights organization to provide him a hiding place. Pasha is ready for exile along with his wife and child. He said he wants to live happily with his family without fear of disputes. This is not currently possible for him as the local police have refused to register a case against the clerics or the journal, and will not provide protection to Pasha’s family.

Please pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort Pasha, and contact the Pakistani embassy in your country and ask them to protect the rights of Christians and all religious minorities.

Pakistan Embassies:

USA : (202) 243-6500, info@embassyofpakistanusa.org

Canada : (613) 238-7881, parepottawa@rogers.com

UK : 0870-005-6967, hoc@phclondon.org

# # #

ICC is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC delivers humanitarian aid, trains and supports persecuted pastors, raises awareness in the US regarding the problem of persecution, and is an advocate for the persecuted on Capitol Hill and the State Department. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.