Human chain formed to protect Christians during Lahore mass

[Coyote]

LAHORE: The Muslim and Christian communities came together during Sunday mass in a show of solidarity in Lahore.

Hand in hand as many as 200-300 people formed a human chain outside the St Anthony’s Church adjacent to the District Police Lines at the Empress Road, in a show of solidarity with the victims of the Peshawar church attack two weeks back, which resulted in over a 100 deaths. The twin suicide attack on All Saints church occurred after Sunday mass ended and is believed to be the country’s deadliest attack on Christians.

Standing in the small courtyard of St Anthony’s Church, as Mufti Mohammad Farooq delivered a sermon quoting a few verses of the Holy Quran that preached tolerance and respect for other beliefs, Father Nasir Gulfam stepped right next to him after having conducted a two hour long Sunday service inside the church. The two men stood should to shoulder, hand in hand as part of the human chain that was formed outside the church not just as a show of solidarity but also to send out a message, ‘One Nation, One Blood’.

As part of an attempt to sensitize the public at large, the human chain was the second such event after a similar had been organized in Karachi last week outside the St Patrick’s Cathedral by an organization called Pakistan For All – a collective of citizens concerned about the growing attacks on minorities.

“Well the terrorists showed us what they do on Sundays. Here we are showing them what we do on Sundays. We unite,” said Mohammad Jibran Nasir, the organizer who made the calls for the event on social media...

Interfaith solidarity and fellowhip

 

[Coyote]

 

[Mr. H.]

That's pretty darn cool.

 

[Caroljo]

I heard about this and saw the pictures....and it's awesome!!

 

[Coyote]

I think it's a wonderful wonderful way to fight hate

 

[irosie91]

I think it's a wonderful wonderful way to fight hate

think again. For what reason would pakistanis HATE christians?
There were christians---in what is today "PAKISTAN" long before
there were muslims there. In fact there were also jews. The
christians and the jews....in what is today PAKISTAN-----what did they
DO TO MUSLIMS TO CREATE A "hatred"???? -----well---actually not
a damned thing. Pakistanis hate christians----and jews even
more------because their creed teaches HATRED -----Pakstanis I
met in the US ---virtually from the AIRPORT "knew" all kinds of
reasons for hating-----jews, hindus and christians. Even those
who had never met a jew or a christian or a hindu before landing
at the airport. Since I am very vary fair in complexion and----I was
situated in a christian place-----of course I was OBVIOUSLY a christian---
that is why I learned all about how disgusting are jews and hindus

The PUNJAB province of the Indian subcontinent has a bit
SIKH population ---Muslim Pakistanis also hate the Punjabi
Sikhs? why? I know the answer----they are not muslims

OK lets all be impressed that a few muslims are PROTECTING
christians from......what?????? ISLAMIC HATRED

 

[Coyote]

 

[High_Gravity]

This is good.

 

[Hossfly]

This is good.

And so is this since the Buddhists have to be aware of their brethren being killed in Southern Thailand by Muslims. Even the Dalai Lama, a Buddhist, has called for the protection of the Muslims.
Myanmar Buddhist committee bans anti-Muslim organizations | Reuters

 

[Coyote]

This is good.

And so is this since the Buddhists have to be aware of their brethren being killed in Southern Thailand by Muslims. Even the Dalai Lama, a Buddhist, has called for the protection of the Muslims.
Myanmar Buddhist committee bans anti-Muslim organizations | Reuters

It's good to see them finally taking some steps to put a stop to this. What is happening to the Muslim minority in Myanmar is horrible.

One thing you might not realize though - many of these conflicts you pin on religion are more often ethnic and complex. In Southern Thailand, both religious and ethnic factors have contributed to the conflict. However, the conflict has also revolved around the issue of cultural identity and the cultural independence of the Malay Islamic minority in Southern Thailand. Add into it previous historic attempts of the Thai government to forcefully assimilate the Malay population. Thailand: Why Conflict Persists in the Deep South | TIME.com

 

[Hossfly]

This is good.

And so is this since the Buddhists have to be aware of their brethren being killed in Southern Thailand by Muslims. Even the Dalai Lama, a Buddhist, has called for the protection of the Muslims.
Myanmar Buddhist committee bans anti-Muslim organizations | Reuters

It's good to see them finally taking some steps to put a stop to this. What is happening to the Muslim minority in Myanmar is horrible.

One thing you might not realize though - many of these conflicts you pin on religion are more often ethnic and complex. In Southern Thailand, both religious and ethnic factors have contributed to the conflict. However, the conflict has also revolved around the issue of cultural identity and the cultural independence of the Malay Islamic minority in Southern Thailand. Add into it previous historic attempts of the Thai government to forcefully assimilate the Malay population. Thailand: Why Conflict Persists in the Deep South | TIME.com

Let's skip the Philippines where the Muslims are acting up there and we can skip Egypt where the Christian minority is treated horribly and go to Pakistan. Why not give us a little background as to why the Shiites are leaving for Australia and why the Ahmadis say that the only place they feel safe is in the U.S.?

 

[Coyote]

And so is this since the Buddhists have to be aware of their brethren being killed in Southern Thailand by Muslims. Even the Dalai Lama, a Buddhist, has called for the protection of the Muslims.
Myanmar Buddhist committee bans anti-Muslim organizations | Reuters

It's good to see them finally taking some steps to put a stop to this. What is happening to the Muslim minority in Myanmar is horrible.

One thing you might not realize though - many of these conflicts you pin on religion are more often ethnic and complex. In Southern Thailand, both religious and ethnic factors have contributed to the conflict. However, the conflict has also revolved around the issue of cultural identity and the cultural independence of the Malay Islamic minority in Southern Thailand. Add into it previous historic attempts of the Thai government to forcefully assimilate the Malay population. Thailand: Why Conflict Persists in the Deep South | TIME.com

Let's skip the Philippines where the Muslims are acting up there and we can skip Egypt where the Christian minority is treated horribly and go to Pakistan. Why not give us a little background as to why the Shiites are leaving for Australia and why the Ahmadis say that the only place they feel safe is in the U.S.?

Or why not talk about the brave actions of people like those in the OP protecting a persecuted minority?

Or, shall we just stick to the "let's hate Muslims" meme

 

[Hossfly]

It's good to see them finally taking some steps to put a stop to this. What is happening to the Muslim minority in Myanmar is horrible.

One thing you might not realize though - many of these conflicts you pin on religion are more often ethnic and complex. In Southern Thailand, both religious and ethnic factors have contributed to the conflict. However, the conflict has also revolved around the issue of cultural identity and the cultural independence of the Malay Islamic minority in Southern Thailand. Add into it previous historic attempts of the Thai government to forcefully assimilate the Malay population. Thailand: Why Conflict Persists in the Deep South | TIME.com

Let's skip the Philippines where the Muslims are acting up there and we can skip Egypt where the Christian minority is treated horribly and go to Pakistan. Why not give us a little background as to why the Shiites are leaving for Australia and why the Ahmadis say that the only place they feel safe is in the U.S.?

Or why not talk about the brave actions of people like those in the OP protecting a persecuted minority?

Or, shall we just stick to the "let's hate Muslims" meme

It's not "hate Muslims". It's bringing to light atrocities by terrorists who are Muslim. There is a difference.

 

[Coyote]

Let's skip the Philippines where the Muslims are acting up there and we can skip Egypt where the Christian minority is treated horribly and go to Pakistan. Why not give us a little background as to why the Shiites are leaving for Australia and why the Ahmadis say that the only place they feel safe is in the U.S.?

Or why not talk about the brave actions of people like those in the OP protecting a persecuted minority?

Or, shall we just stick to the "let's hate Muslims" meme

It's not "hate Muslims". It's bringing to light atrocities by terrorists who are Muslim. There is a difference.

And the OP is about Muslims taking a stand against extremists That's the difference...

 

[Connery]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCX3ZNDZAwY]Imagine - The Beatles - John Lennon - YouTube[/ame]

 

[irosie91]

Pay attention to the signs------ONE GOD its a spit in the face at hindus and
Buddhists. Sorry I am only a little impressed. When I used to "be
a christian"....(sic) well---actually when I was IMMEDIATELY taken for
a christian by INCOMING pakistanis----one of the first make nice talks
I got was "HINDUS WORSHIP MANY gods not just ONE like US" After
I said "I am a jew" I got "CHRISTIANS worship IDOLS---and they
think a man is "GOD" "" All of that was before the CURRENT trend (which
I did witness AS IT DEVELOPED) ----for the islamic world to attempt to ally
with the christian world ---against------guess WHOM!!!!

DA JOOOOOOOOS AND DA HINDUUUUUUUS


For a demonstration in Karachi----that is a very THIN CROWD----tens of thousands
came out to protest a little generic drawing of an arab----which was taken to be
muhummad -----so hysterical that they trampled two kids to death.

That anyone suggests that the are RISKING THEIR LIVES----is another clue
to the real situation -----standing in front of a church holding peace signs ---
is "RISKING ONES LIFE IN PAKISTAN" !!! why? who would object?

now children----be logical----the whole thing underscores the INTENSITY
of actual violence against christians et al et KAFFIRIN, or THE WRONG
SECT.

 

[Coyote]

Muslims in Egypt form a human chain and pray together around a church to prevent it from being attacked by Islamists

 

[Coyote]

This apparently has occurred in numerous places. It's a pity the mainstream media reports little on these sorts of events.

Pakistanis of all faiths protect churches with human chains | The FRANCE 24 Observers

For the past two Sundays, hundreds of Pakistanis of all faiths have formed human chains in front of churches during mass – first in Karachi, then in Lahore. This solidarity movement was launched in reaction to the terrorist attack that killed 81 worshippers at a church in Peshawar, making it the deadliest ever perpetrated against the country’s Christian minority.

Militant groups linked to the Pakistani Taliban said they carried out the September 22 bomb attack in response to US-led drone strikes. Christians have been targeted for their faith before, but previous attacks have usually taken the form of mob violence linked to blasphemy cases.

However, suicide bombings are quite frequent in Pakistan. Shia Muslims, who are also a minority, have been repeatedly targeted this year. Terrorist activity on the whole is steadily rising, with watchdog group South Asia Terrorism Portal reporting that more than 2,500 civilians have been killed so far this year, indicating that it is on course to surpass last year’s numbers and become the worst year on record.

Christians represent 1.6 percent of the country’s overwhelmingly Muslim population. It is the second largest minority group after Hindus.

“When our Christian brothers or sisters are in church, they shouldn’t have to be worrying about their security”

Mohammad Jibran Nasir is a lawyer in Karachi and a member of the newly-formed collective Pakistan For All, which organised the human chains. He is a Sunni Muslim.

We were inspired to do this after seeing Muslims form human chains to protect Coptic Christians in Egypt, when they were being attacked. We wanted to allow our Christian brothers and sisters here in Pakistan to have a moment of peace in church, when they are trying to connect with God and shouldn’t have to be worrying about their security. And of course, we also wanted to send a message to the Taliban and to the Pakistani government. To the Taliban: We disagree with you; to the government: If you don’t take effective measures to protect houses of God, we’ll have to do it ourselves.

Of course, participants were afraid for their security too, but the whole point was to show that we were ready to take a risk that should be taken by the security forces. They should take whatever measures are necessary to protect all holy houses. During both events, there were many Muslims among us, but also Hindus and atheists. When the mass ended, the Christian worshippers came and joined us. We then had Muslims scholars, both Sunni and Shia, make speeches condemning the Peshawar attack.

While our movement is secular, it was important for us to include Muslim scholars as a way to get the attention of the public on this issue. The Pakistani Taliban have said that the Peshawar church attack is perfectly in line with sharia law. So we wanted to hear from scholars to give an authoritative view of what Islam truly is.

Our movement has caught the attention of a large group of scholars called the Pakistan Ulema Council. They have called us and declared full support; in fact, they’re sending us a delegation to join us for our next human chain, in Islamabad this Sunday. [The collective is also planning a fourth human chain in Peshawar]. They’ve also asked their members all over the country, even in tribal areas, to talk about minority rights in their prayers next Friday, which is Eid al-Adha [a major Muslim holiday]. This is a huge step!

 

[Hossfly]

Or why not talk about the brave actions of people like those in the OP protecting a persecuted minority?

Or, shall we just stick to the "let's hate Muslims" meme

It's not "hate Muslims". It's bringing to light atrocities by terrorists who are Muslim. There is a difference.

And the OP is about Muslims taking a stand against extremists That's the difference...

What it really looks like here, Coyote, is that you don't want to say anything against the Muslims even though the Sunnis are after the Shiites and Ahmadis in Pakistan. You didn't seem to have a problem digging up some article about Thailand, now did you? If it were just the Muslims versus the Buddhists in Pakistan, then I am sure you would be digging up some article to show they are equally to blame. However, you can't say that the Shiites and Ahmadis are equally to blame in Pakistan so you just want to skip over that.

 

[Coyote]

It's not "hate Muslims". It's bringing to light atrocities by terrorists who are Muslim. There is a difference.

And the OP is about Muslims taking a stand against extremists That's the difference...

What it really looks like here, Coyote, is that you don't want to say anything against the Muslims even though the Sunnis are after the Shiites and Ahmadis in Pakistan. You didn't seem to have a problem digging up some article about Thailand, now did you? If it were just the Muslims versus the Buddhists in Pakistan, then I am sure you would be digging up some article to show they are equally to blame. However, you can't say that the Shiites and Ahmadis are equally to blame in Pakistan so you just want to skip over that.

What it really looks like Hoss is you can't stand to have a thread that says anything nice about Muslims in the world.

It's ok.

I'm sticking to my topic