Christian Woman Accused of Blasphemy Does the Unthinkable - ASIF AQEEL/WORLD WATCH MONITOR CHARISMA NEWS

Christian Woman Accused of Blasphemy Does the Unthinkable

 5/27/2016 ASIF AQEEL/WORLD WATCH MONITOR  charisma news

Sonia Gill (left), 23, with Mary Gill, a member of the Punjab Assembly. (World Watch Monitor)

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A young Pakistani Christian woman accused of blasphemy chose not to flee from her home, so that her Christian neighbors wouldn't be targeted in her absence.

The accusations against Sonia Gill, 23, were eventually withdrawn, but not before she had refused to leave the "Christian Town" settlement near Gujrat.

Dozens of Pakistanis have been murdered and Christian settlements attacked after blasphemy accusations. In all recent examples, Christians fled their homes in the wake of the accusations, but Gill refused to do so, despite angry protestations outside her home.

"If I flee, what would happen to my Christian neighbors and their houses?" she said. 

The accusation came less than a month after another Christian was accused of blasphemy in the village of Chak 44, just 100km away. On 16 May, an angry mob of about 70 people gathered outside Gill's house, led by Muslim cleric Khubaib Jalali, who used to live in Mandi Bahauddin, the nearest city to Chak 44.

At least 150 Christian families live in Christian Town, which has three churches.

How events unfolded

Gill's neighbor, Sharjila Komal, known as "Poma", accused her of using an advertising banner bearing the name of Prophet Muhammad as a floor covering. But Gill said the banners bore only the names of politicians and that her neighbor had another motive for the accusation.

"About three years ago, Poma's sister-in-law eloped with my cousin, Khalid," Gill said. "A police case was registered against Khalid, but the matter was settled after the woman returned. But that is why Poma had a grudge against us.

"Poma stitches clothes and lives next door to us. That morning, she came to our home to say that my niece's uniform had been stitched and could be picked up from her at any time. She saw an advertising banner spread on the floor, which had pictures of politicians and their names. My brother, Shaukat, has a keen interest in politics. These banners were used in November last year, during local elections, and now they were of no use, so we were using them to cover the floor."

Shaukat Gill added: "It was about 8 p.m., when about 70 people reached our home and demanded that the banner 'bearing sacred Islamic names' be handed over to them. I invited the prominent persons – who were about 18 in number – to come in and inspect the banners they believed bore the sacred name of the Prophet.

"After seeing the banners, these angry protestors said that they were not satisfied and that they would consult among themselves in the nearby mosque."

As the mob departed to discuss the matter at Mosque Gulzar-e-Habib, Shaukat Gill called the police.

"I suspected that the mob would return and may attack us," said Gill, who works as a driver in Gujrat. "The police arrived in a short while and brought the situation under control. In the presence of the police, banners were once again shown for examination, but nothing blasphemous was found."

However, Jalali filed a complaint against the Gills at the local police station and asked for a case to be registered under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The situation remained tense the following morning.

"Christian girls who returned from school told us that they heard in the street that a protest would again be taken out," Sonia Gill explained. "Poma said that she would go to any extent to teach me a lesson. I told her that nothing could take place without the will of my God. Several Christians and Muslims suggested that I should flee the place, but I said that if I did, angry protestors would harm other Christians and their property. Whatever they want to do, they should do it to me and not to others."

Accusation withdrawn

Pakistan's Express Tribune newspaper reported that Sonia Gill had "begged pardon", even though the police said she was "innocent".

"My friends Mushtaq Butt and Allah Rakha Sahotra tirelessly worked with various communities in the city," said Shaukat Gill. "Although we were still very much worried, we believed that God would do a miracle. The next day after the incident, Butt told me that the matter had been resolved."

He added that Butt had been asked to swear on the Qur'an that the Gills hadn't committed blasphemy and would never do so. Butt stated this on oath, after which all accusations were dropped.

The cleric officially withdrew his complaint, writing the following statement: "It is submitted that I [the speaker] in the Gulzar-e-Madina Mosque. I had earlier submitted an application against Shaukat Gill and others regarding committing blasphemy against the Prophet. I have investigated the matter. No occurrence of blasphemy could be verified. As for now, I don't seek any legal action on my application."

"The situation of law and order is under control and the family is living peacefully in their home," said local policeman Ghulam Abbas Dogar.

Emergency hotline agreed

Punjab parliamentarian Mary Gill told World Watch Monitor that after hearing about the incident, she had travelled to meet the Gills and other local Christians. She then reported the case to the district police.

"The police have played a very crucial role in restoring law and order in both instances of blasphemy accusations in Mandi Bahauddin and Gujrat," she said. "It is very encouraging that at least in this instance Sonia did not have to flee the situation.

"As the second blasphemy accusation in less than a month surfaced in the same area, I directly informed the Chief Minister, Shahbaz Sharif, about the situation and then went to ensure the safety of the Christians.

"On the instructions of the Chief Minister, the matter was discussed in a high-powered cabinet meeting on 19 May.

"I suggested establishing a minorities' protection cell, where quick information about such incidents could be provided and law-enforcement agencies could be mobilized to deal with such situations. I am happy that the cabinet meeting decided on establishing a cell that could deal with such untoward situations." 

This article originally appeared on World Watch Monitor. 

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Christians Under Fire for Recognizing Five-Fold Apostle-Prophet

8/27/2015 ASIF AQEEL/WORLD WATCH MONITOR  charisma news

This flier invited Christians to participate in a memorial ceremony on Aug. 16 to commemorate the late Pastor Fazal Masih, referred to as the one 'who was given the title of an apostle.' The flier also carries pictures of 15 office-bearers of the "Biblical Church of God," a small, little-known Protestant group in Gujrat. (World Watch Monitor)

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Pakistani police have charged 15 Christians with blasphemy in the religiously conservative city of Gujrat for publishing a flier that described a Christian pastor, who died 20 years ago, as one "who was given the title of an apostle."

The word "apostle" is translated in the Urdu Bible as "rasool." Although the title "prophet" is usually translated into Urdu by the Arabic-root "nabi," "rasool" can also carry the same meaning.

The claim of "apostleship" or "prophet-hood" is perceived as an open insult and challenge to the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad. Muslims believe he is Allah's last and final apostle and prophet, after whom prophecy ceased. Therefore any countering claim is considered blasphemous and, according to Pakistan's blasphemy law, may be punishable with death.

The Catholic news agency, Fides, reported that during the recent Ramadan, in early July, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif approved a summary prohibiting the English translation of Islamic terms. Sacred Arabic names and words like "Allah," "masjid," "sala'at" and "rasool," it reported, "are now forbidden to be translated into English as 'God,' 'mosque,' 'prayer' and 'prophet' ... The Prime Minister's announcement came a day before the anniversary of the coup of General Zia ul Haq in 1977, when a number of laws were issued to Islamize the country."

In Gujrat, which is in the Punjab region, the flier, an invitation to Christians to participate in a memorial ceremony on Aug. 16 to commemorate the late Pastor Fazal Masih, carried pictures of 15 office-bearers of the "Biblical Church of God," a small, little-known Protestant group working in Gujrat city.

A Pakistani commentator explained to World Watch Monitor: "The flier's language looks like it's been copied from the Internet. It's language that may be more acceptable in countries where Christianity has more freedom. It suggests that the late pastor practiced the gifts of the Holy Spirit and had a prophetic gift. However this is a concept that does not translate easily in an Islamic context."

The flyers were placed across the city in the areas where Christians are in a higher number, such as Mughal Colony, where the dead man's son, Younatan Fazal Gill, lived. He was one of the organizers of the program.

"There are about 200 households of Christians who have reasonable means of earning, and also have their own houses," Mukhtar Mughal Khan, a Christian political leader and former local councilor, told World Watch Monitor.

"Only three days before the announced date of the program, first a Muslim woman and then Umar Butt, a shopkeeper, noticed that the flier used the word 'apostle' for a Christian.

"There are people who say Umar Butt enquired of Younatan's brother-in-law, Imran Masih, about the title of 'apostle.' Imran told him that Christians could use this "biblical" description, after which the situation escalated.

"On Aug. 15, it was announced from the loudspeaker of a local mosque that all Muslims should gather to discuss this issue. The police of the Civil Lines were also called in.

"After the meeting, the police searched Christian neighbourhoods and removed all the fliers. And when the organizers of the program were preparing to gather the next day, the police arrested some of them."

The police of Civil Lines registered a case (numbered 972/15) under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001. This was an unusual move because it did not allow for a local citizen to lodge the application, nor was the case registered under the blasphemy laws of Pakistan.

"The situation got tense, even though there was no untoward incident, so Christians started to leave the area," said Khan.

A Christian health visitor, Roseanna Masih, told World Watch Monitor that two women living across the street from her started name-calling: "They said Christians had blasphemed the Holy Prophet and that they should be punished for it. I told them that anyone who had done wrong should be punished, but why should all of us be treated with contempt?"

"On Friday, Aug. 21, Christians were expecting that after Friday prayers extremist Muslims would attack their houses, so almost all their women and children were sent away while only men were left their to guard their houses," said Khan. He said that there were about 500 houses in the Mughal Colony and about 200 households were of Christians.

"The police cordoned off the area and the Deputy Police Officer, Ghulam Mustafa, and Civil Lines Police Station House Officer, Shahid Tanveer, played a wonderful role and did not let any unpleasant incident take place," said Khan.

Police Officer Tanveer later told World Watch Monitor that the situation was under control and that there was no law and order situation in the area.

"However, the police arrested Pastor Aftab Gill, another son of the deceased pastor, and three others, while Younatan has obtained bail," said Khan.

Similar Cases

This is not the first time a Christian has been accused of blasphemy because of biblical interpretation or translation. Almost exactly a year ago, on Aug. 23 in Bahawalpur, about 450 kilometres from Lahore, 60-year-old Naja Masih was sitting outside his home with his neighbour, Shahid Mehmood, discussing similarities between the Bible and the Quran, after which Masih was charged and immediately handed to the police.

In his First Information Report (FIR), submitted in the Civil Lines Police Station, Mehmood stated that Masih told him "God Himself took human form—God forbid—and appeared to Lot, and told him to leave his village." Mehmood further alleged that Masih had injured his religious feelings, by saying that when Lot had fled Sodom along with his daughters, his daughters "intoxicated" him and slept with him to continue their father's lineage.

In another case, a Christian man named Anwar Kenneth was arrested and charged under the blasphemy law. He claimed he was one of the two promised witnesses to Jesus (interpreted as Elijah and Moses) in the last book of the Bible (Rev. 11) but was believed to be mentally ill. However, he was sentenced to death in 2002 and since then his appeal has not been heard by the Supreme Court.