Christianity in Pakistan
Encyclopedia
Christianity
is the largest religious minority in Pakistan
. The total number of Christians in Pakistan is approximately 2,800,000 in 2008, or 1.6% of the population. Of these, approximately half are Roman Catholic and half Protestant. All modern Christians in Pakistan are desended from recent converts during British rule, they are not descended from any historical community of Christians from ancient times.
In 1877, on St. Thomas' Day
at Westminster Abbey
, London
, Rev Thomas Valpy French
was appointed the first Anglican Bishop of Lahore
, a large diocese
which included all of the Punjab
, then under British colonial rule, and remained so until 1887, during this period he also opened the Divinity College, Lahore in 1870.
Rev Thomas Patrick Hughes served as a Church Missionary Society missionary at Peshawar
(1864–84), and became an oriental scholar, and compiled a 'Dictionary of Islam' (1885).
Missionaries accompanied colonizing forces from Portugal
, France
, and Great Britain
, and in north western Ancient India
, today's Pakistan
, Christianity was mainly brought by the British rulers
of India in the later 18th and 19th century. This is evidenced in cities established by the British, such as the port city of Karachi
, where the majestic St. Patrick's Cathedral
, Pakistan's largest church stands, and the churches in the city of Rawalpindi
, where the British established a major military cantonment. All of the modern Christians in Pakistan are descended from converts from during British rule.
The Europeans won small numbers of converts to Anglicanism
, Methodism
, the Lutheran Church and Catholicism
from the native populations. Islam
was very strong in the provinces of Punjab
, Balochistan
and the North West Frontier Province, but small native communities of converts to Christianity were formed. The largest numbers came from resident officers of the British Army and the government. European and wealthy native Christians established colleges, churches, hospitals and schools in cities like Karachi, Lahore
, Rawalpindi and Peshawar
. There is a large Catholic Goa
n community in Karachi
which was established when Karachi's infrastructure was developed by the British before World War II, and the Irish
(who were subjects of the British Empire and formed a large part of the British Army) were an important factor in the establishment of Pakistan's Catholic community.
When political independence was won by the people of the South Asia
in 1947, the organization and activities of the Christian community changed drastically. Christians in Punjab
and Sindh
had been quite active post 1945 in their support for Muhammad Ali Jinnah's Muslim League
. Even before the final phase of the movement, leading Indian Christians like Pothan Joseph
had rendered valuable services as journalists and propagandists of the Muslim League. Jinnah had repeatedly promised all citizens of Pakistan
complete equality of citizenship, but this promise was not kept by his successors. Pakistan became an Islamic Republic
in 1956, making Islam
the source of legislation and cornerstone of the national identity, while guaranteeing freedom of religion and equal citizenship to all citizens. In the mass population exchanges that occurred between Pakistan and India upon independence due to conflict between Muslims and followers of Indian religions, most Hindus and nearly all Sikh
s fled the country, but the Christians remained.
Christians have made some contributions to the Pakistani national life. Pakistan's first non-Muslim and certainly most respected Chief Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court was Justice A. R. Cornelius
. Pakistani Christians also distinguished themselves as great fighter pilots in the Pakistan Air Force
. Notable amongst them are Cecil Chaudhry
, Peter O'Reilly and Mervyn L Middlecoat. Christians have also contributed as educationists, doctors, lawyers and businessmen. One of Pakistan's greatest batsmen, Yousuf Youhana, was also Christian, but he recently willingly converted to Islam, taking upon the Islamic name Mohammad Yousuf. In Britain, the Bishop emeritus of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali
, is a Pakistani Christian.
Apart from the Catholics, Christians of other denominations re-organized themselves, in India, into the Churches of North and South India respectively, and as the Church of Pakistan
in 1948. Politically, groups like the Pakistan Christian Congress
have arisen. The New Apostolic Church
also has followers in Pakistan.
and forced implementation of Islamic Sharia
law in Pakistan marginalized the Christian minorities and caused intense persecutions.
In 1971, East Pakistan
became independent as Bangladesh
, and a large chunk of Pakistan's Hindus and Christians were de-linked from Pakistan. Pakistan became a culturally monolithic, increasingly Islamic state, with smaller religious minorities than ever.
With the governments of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
and Zia ul-Haq, more stringently Islamic laws transformed Pakistan. While conversion to other faiths than Islam is not prohibited by law, culture and social pressures prohibit such conversions (see Apostasy in Islam
). Extremely controversial were the blasphemy laws
, which made it treacherous for non-Muslims to express themselves without coming off as un-Islamic. Zia also introduced the Sharia
as a basis for lawmaking, reinforced by Nawaz Sharif
in 1991. Coerced conversions
to Islam from Christianity are a major source of concern for Pakistani Christians, and the minority face threats, harassment and intimidation tactics from Islamic extremists. Often, converts to Christianity from Islam face the death penalty
, a bishop in Faisalabad
committed suicide to protest the execution of a Christian man on blasphemy charges.
. Non-Muslims are barred from becoming the President or Prime Minister.
Furthermore, they are barred from being judges in the Federal Shariat Court
, which has the power to strike down any law deemed un-Islamic.
) have been destroyed "when Muslim preachers urged people to 'take revenge' after a Christian allegedly burnt pages of the Koran."
The newspaper went on to say: "Hundreds of Christians fled the town as a crowd thousands strong, wielding axes and sticks, set fire to five churches, a dozen houses, three schools, a dispensary, a convent and two parsonages."
The incidents and the reports were published just as the English cricket team
was touring Pakistan and preparing to play a test match
in Faisalabad
, a major city in the province of Punjab
.
are:
urged Pakistan's Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto
to change the law because it was being used to terrorize religious minorities. She tried but was unsuccessful. However, she modified the laws to make them more moderate. Her changes were reversed by the Nawaz Sharif
administration. Some people accused of blasphemy have been killed in prison or shot dead in court, and even if pardoned, may remain in danger from imams in their local village.
Ayub Masih, a Christian, was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death in 1998. He was accused by a neighbor of stating that he supported British writer, Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses
. Lower appeals courts upheld the conviction. However, before the Pakistan Supreme Court, his lawyer was able to prove that the accuser had used the conviction to force Masih's family off their land and then acquired control of the property. Masih has been released.
On September 22, 2006, a Pakistani Christian named Shahid Masih was arrested and jailed for allegedly violating Islamic "blasphemy laws" in the country of Pakistan. He is presently held in confinement and has expressed fear of reprisals by Islamic fundamentalists. (Note that the name "Masih", which is Arabic
for "Messiah", is a common surname in Pakistan among Christians.)
In November 2010, Asia Bibi
was sentenced to death by hanging for "blasphemy"; the sentence has to be upheld in higher court before it can be executed.
See also List of terrorist incidents in Pakistan since 2001.
On October 7, 2001 the U.S.-led War in Afghanistan began.
On August 9, 2002 Muslim gunmen threw grenades into a chapel on the grounds of the Taxila Christian Hospital in northern Punjab 15 miles west of Islamabad, killing four, including two nurses and a paramedic, and wounding 25 men and women.
On September 25, 2002, unidentified Muslim gunmen shot dead six people at a Christian charity in Karachi's central business district. They entered the third-floor offices of the Institute for Peace and Justice (IPJ) and shot their victims in the head. All of the victims were Pakistani Christians. Karachi police chief Tariq Jamil said the victims had their hands tied and their mouths had been covered with tape.
On December 25, 2002 a few days after an Islamic cleric called for Muslims to kill Christians, two burqa-clad Muslim gunmen tossed a grenade into a Presbyterian church during a Christian sermon in Chianwala in east Pakistan, killing three girls.
The All Pakistan Minority Alliance said "We have become increasingly victimised since the launch of the US-led international war on terror. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the
international community to ensure that the government protects us."
In November 2005, 3,000 militant Islamists attacked Christians in Sangla Hill in Pakistan and destroyed Roman Catholic, Salvation Army
and United Presbyterian churches. The attack was over allegations of violation of blasphemy laws by a Pakistani Christian named Yousaf Masih. The attacks were widely condemned by some political parties in Pakistan. However, Pakistani Christians have expressed disappointment that they have not received justice. Samson Dilawar, a parish priest in Sangla Hill, has said that the police have not committed to trial any of the people who were arrested for committing the assaults, and that the Pakistani government did not inform the Christian community that a judicial inquiry was underway by a local judge. He continued to say that Muslim clerics "make hateful speeches about Christians" and "continue insulting Christians and our faith".
In February 2006, churches and Christian schools were targeted in protests over the publications of the Jyllands-Posten
cartoons in Denmark
, leaving two elderly women injured and many homes and properties destroyed. Some of the mobs were stopped by police.
On June 5, 2006, a Pakistani Christian stonemason named Nasir Ashraf was working near Lahore
when he drank water from a public facility using a glass chained to the facility. He was assaulted by Muslims for "Polluting the glass". A mob developed, who beat Ashraf, calling him a "Christian dog". Bystanders encouraged the beating, because it would be a "good" deed that would help them get into heaven. Ashraf was eventually hospitalized.
On August 2006, a church and Christian homes were attacked in a village outside of Lahore
, Pakistan in a land dispute. Three Christians were seriously injured and one missing after some 35 Muslims burned buildings, desecrated Bibles and attacked Christians.
Based, in part, on such incidents, Pakistan was recommended by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in May 2006 to be designated as a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC) by the Department of State.
In July 2008, a Muslim mob stormed a Protestant church during a prayer service on the outskirts of Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, denouncing the Christians as "infidels" and injuring several, including a pastor.
The 2009 Gojra riots
was a series of violent pogroms against Christian minorities by Muslims.
In June 2009, International Christian Concern
reported the rape and killing of a Christian man in Pakistan, for refusing to convert
to Islam.
In March 2011, Shahbaz Bhatti
was killed by gunmen after he spoke out against Pakistan's blasphemy laws. The U.K. increased financial aid to the country, sparking criticism of British foreign secretary William Hague
. Cardinal Keith O’Brien stated, "To increase aid to the Pakistan government when religious freedom is not upheld and those who speak up for religious freedom are gunned down is tantamount to an anti-Christian foreign policy."
The Catholic Church in Pakistan requested that Pope Benedict declare martyrdom of Shahbaz Bhatti.
At least 20 people, including police officials, were wounded as 500 Muslim demonstrators turned ugly and attacked the Christian community in Gujranwala city on April 29, 2011, Minorities Concern of Pakistan has learnt.
During a press conference in Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan, on May 30, 2011, Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi and other clerics of Jamiat-Ulema-e-Islam quoted “immoral Biblical stories” and demanded to ban the Bible. Maulana Farooqi said, “Our lawyers are preparing to ask the court to ban the book.”
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
is the largest religious minority in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. The total number of Christians in Pakistan is approximately 2,800,000 in 2008, or 1.6% of the population. Of these, approximately half are Roman Catholic and half Protestant. All modern Christians in Pakistan are desended from recent converts during British rule, they are not descended from any historical community of Christians from ancient times.
History
Thomas the Apostle
Thomas the Apostle, also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is best known for questioning Jesus' resurrection when first told of it, then proclaiming "My Lord and my God" on seeing Jesus in . He was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman...
at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Rev Thomas Valpy French
Thomas Valpy French
Thomas Valpy French was an English Christian Missionary in India and Persia, who became the first Bishop of Lahore, in 1877, and also founded the St...
was appointed the first Anglican Bishop of Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, a large diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
which included all of the Punjab
Punjab (British India)
Punjab was a province of British India, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British rule. With the end of British rule in 1947 the province was split between West Punjab, which went to Pakistan, and East Punjab, which went to India...
, then under British colonial rule, and remained so until 1887, during this period he also opened the Divinity College, Lahore in 1870.
Rev Thomas Patrick Hughes served as a Church Missionary Society missionary at Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
(1864–84), and became an oriental scholar, and compiled a 'Dictionary of Islam' (1885).
Missionaries accompanied colonizing forces from Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, and in north western Ancient India
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
, today's Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Christianity was mainly brought by the British rulers
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
of India in the later 18th and 19th century. This is evidenced in cities established by the British, such as the port city of Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, where the majestic St. Patrick's Cathedral
Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Karachi
St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi, is situated on Shahrah-e-Iraq, formerly known as Clarke Street, located near the Empress Market in Karachi, Pakistan....
, Pakistan's largest church stands, and the churches in the city of Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
, where the British established a major military cantonment. All of the modern Christians in Pakistan are descended from converts from during British rule.
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
, Methodism
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
, the Lutheran Church and Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
from the native populations. Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
was very strong in the provinces of Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
, Balochistan
Balochistan (Pakistan)
Balochistan is one of the four provinces or federating units of Pakistan. With an area of 134,051 mi2 or , it is the largest province of Pakistan, constituting approximately 44% of the total land mass of Pakistan. According to the 1998 population census, Balochistan had a population of...
and the North West Frontier Province, but small native communities of converts to Christianity were formed. The largest numbers came from resident officers of the British Army and the government. European and wealthy native Christians established colleges, churches, hospitals and schools in cities like Karachi, Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Rawalpindi and Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
. There is a large Catholic Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
n community in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
which was established when Karachi's infrastructure was developed by the British before World War II, and the Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
(who were subjects of the British Empire and formed a large part of the British Army) were an important factor in the establishment of Pakistan's Catholic community.
When political independence was won by the people of the South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
in 1947, the organization and activities of the Christian community changed drastically. Christians in Punjab
Punjab (British India)
Punjab was a province of British India, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British rule. With the end of British rule in 1947 the province was split between West Punjab, which went to Pakistan, and East Punjab, which went to India...
and Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
had been quite active post 1945 in their support for Muhammad Ali Jinnah's Muslim League
Muslim League
The All-India Muslim League,, was founded by the All India Muhammadan Educational Conference at Dhaka , in 1906, in the context of the circumstances that were generated over the partition of Bengal in 1905...
. Even before the final phase of the movement, leading Indian Christians like Pothan Joseph
Pothan Joseph
Pothan Joseph was a journalist in 20th century India whose career spanned the twenty years before and twenty years after India's independence. He worked with notable people of the time such as Annie Besant, Mahatma Gandhi, Sarojini Naidu, and Motilal Nehru...
had rendered valuable services as journalists and propagandists of the Muslim League. Jinnah had repeatedly promised all citizens of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
complete equality of citizenship, but this promise was not kept by his successors. Pakistan became an Islamic Republic
Islamic republic
Islamic republic is the name given to several states in the Muslim world including the Islamic Republics of Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Mauritania. Pakistan adopted the title under the constitution of 1956. Mauritania adopted it on 28 November 1958. Iran adopted it after the 1979 Iranian...
in 1956, making Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
the source of legislation and cornerstone of the national identity, while guaranteeing freedom of religion and equal citizenship to all citizens. In the mass population exchanges that occurred between Pakistan and India upon independence due to conflict between Muslims and followers of Indian religions, most Hindus and nearly all Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
s fled the country, but the Christians remained.
Christians have made some contributions to the Pakistani national life. Pakistan's first non-Muslim and certainly most respected Chief Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court was Justice A. R. Cornelius
A. R. Cornelius
Alvin Robert Cornelius was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan from May 13, 1960 to February 29, 1968. He was a Justice of the Supreme Court for about 17 years. Born in Agra and known as 'Bobby', he was educated at the Allahabad University and at Selwyn College, Cambridge...
. Pakistani Christians also distinguished themselves as great fighter pilots in the Pakistan Air Force
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
. Notable amongst them are Cecil Chaudhry
Cecil Chaudhry
Group Captain Cecil Chaudhry is a Pakistani Christian, educationalist, human rights activist and veteran fighter pilot. As a Flight Lieutenant, he fought in the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 and later, as a Squadron Leader, in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971...
, Peter O'Reilly and Mervyn L Middlecoat. Christians have also contributed as educationists, doctors, lawyers and businessmen. One of Pakistan's greatest batsmen, Yousuf Youhana, was also Christian, but he recently willingly converted to Islam, taking upon the Islamic name Mohammad Yousuf. In Britain, the Bishop emeritus of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali
Michael Nazir-Ali
Michael James Nazir-Ali was the 106th Bishop of Rochester in the Church of England: he retired in September 2009, taking up a position as director of the Oxford Centre for Training, Research, Advocacy and Dialogue...
, is a Pakistani Christian.
Apart from the Catholics, Christians of other denominations re-organized themselves, in India, into the Churches of North and South India respectively, and as the Church of Pakistan
Church of Pakistan
The Church of Pakistan is a united church in Pakistan, which is part of the Anglican Communion and a member church of the World Methodist Council. It was established in 1970 with a union of Anglicans, Scottish Presbyterians , Methodists, and Lutherans. It is the only United Church in the South...
in 1948. Politically, groups like the Pakistan Christian Congress
Pakistan Christian Congress
The akistan Christian Congress is a Christian political party in Pakistan founded in 1985. The party aims to safeguard and advocate the social, religious and political rights of Christians in Pakistan....
have arisen. The New Apostolic Church
New Apostolic Church
The New Apostolic Church is a chiliastic church, converted to Protestantism as a free church from the Catholic Apostolic Church. The church has existed since 1879 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands...
also has followers in Pakistan.
Statistics
| Province | Christians | |
|---|---|---|
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 0.21% | 0,042,452 |
| Federally Administered Tribal Areas Federally Administered Tribal Areas The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs... |
0.07% | 0,002,223 |
| Punjab Punjab (Pakistan) Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the... |
2.31% | 1,878,735 |
| Sindh | 0.97% | 0,344,065 |
| Balochistan Balochistan (Pakistan) Balochistan is one of the four provinces or federating units of Pakistan. With an area of 134,051 mi2 or , it is the largest province of Pakistan, constituting approximately 44% of the total land mass of Pakistan. According to the 1998 population census, Balochistan had a population of... |
0.40% | 0,031,200 |
| Islamabad Capital Territory Islamabad Capital Territory The Islamabad Capital Territory is one of the two federal territories of Pakistan. It includes Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, and covers an area of 1,165.5 km² of which 906 km² is Islamabad proper... |
4.07% | 038,894 |
Community issues
From 1947 to the mid-1970s, the governments of Pakistan were largely secular in policy and judgment.However, with the Zia-ul-Haq's IslamizationZia-ul-Haq's Islamization
On December 2, 1978, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq delivered a nationwide address on the occasion of the first day of the Hijra calendar. He did this in order to usher in an Islamic system to Pakistan...
and forced implementation of Islamic Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law in Pakistan marginalized the Christian minorities and caused intense persecutions.
In 1971, East Pakistan
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
became independent as Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, and a large chunk of Pakistan's Hindus and Christians were de-linked from Pakistan. Pakistan became a culturally monolithic, increasingly Islamic state, with smaller religious minorities than ever.
With the governments of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
and Zia ul-Haq, more stringently Islamic laws transformed Pakistan. While conversion to other faiths than Islam is not prohibited by law, culture and social pressures prohibit such conversions (see Apostasy in Islam
Apostasy in Islam
Apostasy in Islam is commonly defined in Islam as the rejection in word or deed of one's former religion by a person who was previously a follower of Islam...
). Extremely controversial were the blasphemy laws
Blasphemy law in Pakistan
The Pakistan Penal Code prohibits blasphemy against any recognized religion, providing penalties ranging from a fine to death. However, in practice, it is only applied to Islam. An accusation of blasphemy commonly subjects the accused, police, lawyers, and judges to harassment, threats, and attacks...
, which made it treacherous for non-Muslims to express themselves without coming off as un-Islamic. Zia also introduced the Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
as a basis for lawmaking, reinforced by Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
in 1991. Coerced conversions
Forced conversion
A forced conversion is the religious conversion or acceptance of a philosophy against the will of the subject, often with the threatened consequence of earthly penalties or harm. These consequences range from job loss and social isolation to incarceration, torture or death...
to Islam from Christianity are a major source of concern for Pakistani Christians, and the minority face threats, harassment and intimidation tactics from Islamic extremists. Often, converts to Christianity from Islam face the death penalty
The 1990s
In the 1990s, some Christians were arrested on charges of blasphemy, and for protesting that appeared to insult Islam. John JosephBishop John Joseph
John Joseph was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Faisalabad from 1984–1998 and was best known for committing suicide to protest the cruel treatment of Christians by Pakistani Muslims.John Joseph was born in Khushpur, Pakistan....
, a bishop in Faisalabad
Faisalabad
Faisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...
committed suicide to protest the execution of a Christian man on blasphemy charges.
Discrimination in the Constitution
Christians, along with other non-Muslim minorities, are discriminated against in the Constitution of PakistanConstitution of Pakistan
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the supreme law of Pakistan. Known as the Constitution of 1973, it was drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and, following additions by the opposition parties, was approved by the legislative assembly on April 10, 1973...
. Non-Muslims are barred from becoming the President or Prime Minister.
Furthermore, they are barred from being judges in the Federal Shariat Court
Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan
The Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan is a court which has the power to examine and determine whether the laws of the country comply with Shari'a law...
, which has the power to strike down any law deemed un-Islamic.
Faisalabad Riots
The English Daily Telegraph published reports on November 14, 2005 claiming that Christian churches and schools (in the city of FaisalabadFaisalabad
Faisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...
) have been destroyed "when Muslim preachers urged people to 'take revenge' after a Christian allegedly burnt pages of the Koran."
The newspaper went on to say: "Hundreds of Christians fled the town as a crowd thousands strong, wielding axes and sticks, set fire to five churches, a dozen houses, three schools, a dispensary, a convent and two parsonages."
The incidents and the reports were published just as the English cricket team
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
was touring Pakistan and preparing to play a test match
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
in Faisalabad
Faisalabad
Faisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...
, a major city in the province of Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
.
Christians in Pakistan Armed Forces
Christians have not full liberty but they have served in Pakistan Armed Forces. They have received highest civilians and military awards. Some of the notable Christians of PAFPAF
- In computers :* Personal Ancestral File, a program to collect genealogical information.* .PAF, filename extension of Personal Ancestral File databases* .PAF, filename extension of PortableApps files...
are:
- Group Captain Eric Gordon Hall
- Wing Commander Nazir LatifNazir LatifAir Commodore Nazir Latif, , was a one-star general officer in the Pakistan Air Force and a former director-general of the Operations and Plans at the Air Headquarters, Islamabad...
- Wing Commander Mervyn L. Middlecoat
- Squadron Leader Peter ChristyPeter ChristySquadron Leader Peter Christy , S.J, was a P.A.F bomber pilot and Weapon Systems Officer . A B-57 Canberra navigator, Squadron Leader Christy is officially declared "missing in action" since December 1971, but widely presumed dead by the Pakistan Defence Forces as of 2004.-Education:Christy was...
- Flight Lieutenant William D. Harney
Blasphemy Laws
Pakistani law mandates that any "blasphemies" of the Koran are to be met with punishment. On July 28, 1994, Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
urged Pakistan's Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
to change the law because it was being used to terrorize religious minorities. She tried but was unsuccessful. However, she modified the laws to make them more moderate. Her changes were reversed by the Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
administration. Some people accused of blasphemy have been killed in prison or shot dead in court, and even if pardoned, may remain in danger from imams in their local village.
Ayub Masih, a Christian, was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death in 1998. He was accused by a neighbor of stating that he supported British writer, Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses is Salman Rushdie's fourth novel, first published in 1988 and inspired in part by the life of Prophet Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical realism and relied on contemporary events and people to create his characters...
. Lower appeals courts upheld the conviction. However, before the Pakistan Supreme Court, his lawyer was able to prove that the accuser had used the conviction to force Masih's family off their land and then acquired control of the property. Masih has been released.
On September 22, 2006, a Pakistani Christian named Shahid Masih was arrested and jailed for allegedly violating Islamic "blasphemy laws" in the country of Pakistan. He is presently held in confinement and has expressed fear of reprisals by Islamic fundamentalists. (Note that the name "Masih", which is Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
for "Messiah", is a common surname in Pakistan among Christians.)
In November 2010, Asia Bibi
Asia Bibi
Asia Noreen is a Pakistani Christian woman who was convicted of blasphemy by a Pakistani court, receiving a sentence of death by hanging. The verdict, which would need to be upheld by a superior court, has received worldwide attention...
was sentenced to death by hanging for "blasphemy"; the sentence has to be upheld in higher court before it can be executed.
Islamist violence against Christians
On October 7, 2001 the U.S.-led War in Afghanistan began.
On August 9, 2002 Muslim gunmen threw grenades into a chapel on the grounds of the Taxila Christian Hospital in northern Punjab 15 miles west of Islamabad, killing four, including two nurses and a paramedic, and wounding 25 men and women.
On September 25, 2002, unidentified Muslim gunmen shot dead six people at a Christian charity in Karachi's central business district. They entered the third-floor offices of the Institute for Peace and Justice (IPJ) and shot their victims in the head. All of the victims were Pakistani Christians. Karachi police chief Tariq Jamil said the victims had their hands tied and their mouths had been covered with tape.
On December 25, 2002 a few days after an Islamic cleric called for Muslims to kill Christians, two burqa-clad Muslim gunmen tossed a grenade into a Presbyterian church during a Christian sermon in Chianwala in east Pakistan, killing three girls.
The All Pakistan Minority Alliance said "We have become increasingly victimised since the launch of the US-led international war on terror. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the
international community to ensure that the government protects us."
In November 2005, 3,000 militant Islamists attacked Christians in Sangla Hill in Pakistan and destroyed Roman Catholic, Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
and United Presbyterian churches. The attack was over allegations of violation of blasphemy laws by a Pakistani Christian named Yousaf Masih. The attacks were widely condemned by some political parties in Pakistan. However, Pakistani Christians have expressed disappointment that they have not received justice. Samson Dilawar, a parish priest in Sangla Hill, has said that the police have not committed to trial any of the people who were arrested for committing the assaults, and that the Pakistani government did not inform the Christian community that a judicial inquiry was underway by a local judge. He continued to say that Muslim clerics "make hateful speeches about Christians" and "continue insulting Christians and our faith".
In February 2006, churches and Christian schools were targeted in protests over the publications of the Jyllands-Posten
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
cartoons in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, leaving two elderly women injured and many homes and properties destroyed. Some of the mobs were stopped by police.
On June 5, 2006, a Pakistani Christian stonemason named Nasir Ashraf was working near Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
when he drank water from a public facility using a glass chained to the facility. He was assaulted by Muslims for "Polluting the glass". A mob developed, who beat Ashraf, calling him a "Christian dog". Bystanders encouraged the beating, because it would be a "good" deed that would help them get into heaven. Ashraf was eventually hospitalized.
On August 2006, a church and Christian homes were attacked in a village outside of Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Pakistan in a land dispute. Three Christians were seriously injured and one missing after some 35 Muslims burned buildings, desecrated Bibles and attacked Christians.
Based, in part, on such incidents, Pakistan was recommended by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in May 2006 to be designated as a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC) by the Department of State.
In July 2008, a Muslim mob stormed a Protestant church during a prayer service on the outskirts of Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, denouncing the Christians as "infidels" and injuring several, including a pastor.
The 2009 Gojra riots
2009 Gojra riots
The 2009 Gojra riots were a series of attacks targeting Christians in Gojra town in Punjab province of Pakistan. These resulted in the deaths of eight Christians including four women and a child.-Background:...
was a series of violent pogroms against Christian minorities by Muslims.
In June 2009, International Christian Concern
International Christian Concern
International Christian Concern is a non-denominational, non-governmental, Christian watchdog group, located in Washington, DC, whose concern is the human rights of Christians...
reported the rape and killing of a Christian man in Pakistan, for refusing to convert
Forced conversion
A forced conversion is the religious conversion or acceptance of a philosophy against the will of the subject, often with the threatened consequence of earthly penalties or harm. These consequences range from job loss and social isolation to incarceration, torture or death...
to Islam.
In March 2011, Shahbaz Bhatti
Shahbaz Bhatti
Clement Shahbaz Bhatti , popularly known as Shahbaz Bhatti, was a Pakistani politician and elected member of the National Assembly from 2008. He was the first Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs from November 2008 until his assassination on 2 March 2011 in Islamabad...
was killed by gunmen after he spoke out against Pakistan's blasphemy laws. The U.K. increased financial aid to the country, sparking criticism of British foreign secretary William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
. Cardinal Keith O’Brien stated, "To increase aid to the Pakistan government when religious freedom is not upheld and those who speak up for religious freedom are gunned down is tantamount to an anti-Christian foreign policy."
The Catholic Church in Pakistan requested that Pope Benedict declare martyrdom of Shahbaz Bhatti.
At least 20 people, including police officials, were wounded as 500 Muslim demonstrators turned ugly and attacked the Christian community in Gujranwala city on April 29, 2011, Minorities Concern of Pakistan has learnt.
During a press conference in Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan, on May 30, 2011, Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi and other clerics of Jamiat-Ulema-e-Islam quoted “immoral Biblical stories” and demanded to ban the Bible. Maulana Farooqi said, “Our lawyers are preparing to ask the court to ban the book.”
See also
- Churches in PakistanChurches in PakistanThis is a list of some known churches and cathedrals from various Christian denominations in Pakistan.-Faisalabad:* Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul* The Yerusalem Methodist Church of Pakistan* Philadelphia Pentecostal Church-Hyderabad:...
- 2009 Gojra riots2009 Gojra riotsThe 2009 Gojra riots were a series of attacks targeting Christians in Gojra town in Punjab province of Pakistan. These resulted in the deaths of eight Christians including four women and a child.-Background:...
- Religion in PakistanReligion in PakistanThe state religion in Pakistan is Islam, which is practised by about 95-98% of the 187,343,000 people of the nation. The remaining 2-5% practice Christianity, Hinduism and other religions. Muslims are divided into two major sects: the majority of them practice Sunni Islam, while the Shias are a...
- Demographics of PakistanDemographics of PakistanThis article is about the demographic features of the population of Pakistan, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....
- Christianity in IndiaChristianity in IndiaChristianity is India's third-largest religion, with approximately 24 million followers, constituting 2.3% of India's population. The works of scholars and Eastern Christian writings and 14th century Portuguese missionaries created an illusion to convert Indians that Christianity was introduced to...
- Christianity in BangladeshChristianity in BangladeshChristianity arrived in what is now Bangladesh during the late sixteenth to early seventeenth century AD, through the Portuguese traders and missionaries. Christians account for approximately 0.3% of the total population. Christianity's first contact with the Indian subcontinent is attributed to...