On August 16 2023, a mob attacked the Christian community in Jaranwala, Pakistan, on the pretext of blasphemy charges. They burned churches, houses, and sacred books of Christians. This is not the first time; such an incident has happened in Pakistan for the past three decades against minority communities. The Christian community has suffered, in particular, tremendously, not denying that other minorities in Pakistan have gone through the same.
However, with Christians, these incidents have occurred more often than with other minorities. As in the past, the current incident is condemned widely and declared heinous, but it does mean the community will get justice.
In Pakistan, justice is not available to all powerless, in that Christians stand alongside all other powerless and the poor in the country.
However, if the reasons behind this recurring violence are not addressed, such incidents deem to happen in the future as well.
I find three prominent reasons behind this violence against Christians; first, Christians are seen as agents of the West, so if anything happens in the West against Islam, they are first to bear the price, second, socially, the majority of Pakistani Christians are from low caste background, and as a result, they are treated as second class citizens, thirdly, historical relationship of Islam and Christianity in the West contributes to the social status of Christians.
Even though Pakistani Christians did not exist at the time crusade happened, they are associated with the violence that occurred elsewhere between Christians and Muslims. Christianity in the subcontinent exists since the first century, however, the Christians in Pakistan are the fruit of the missionary efforts of the past century.
The reason I mention this unique relationship of violence with the Christians being associated with the West is the timing of the occurrence of the incident in Jaranwala. It happened right after the incident of burning the Quran in Sweden by a former Iraqi national. Christianity was a majority religion in the West and continues to be so, even after a steady decline because of secularism in the West.
Pakistani Christians share a Western heritage in the form of churches built during colonial times, and many Christians from the West continue to visit Pakistan for religious purposes. This is projected by many Muslims as a political connection instead of merely a religious one. As the country continues to struggle with poverty in the absence of reforms in major areas of life, Christians are othered and perceived as an economic and political threat.
This is exactly why Zulfiqar Bhutto nationalized the Christian education institutes and hospitals. Instead of building new facilities for the population, he confiscated Christian’s property.
Similar incidents continue to happen in the form of the systematic exclusion of Christians from public offices, working places, and economic activities. Sometimes, these incidents of discrimination are reported and at others, they remain silent because if such news goes out in the Western media, they will be further discriminated. After all, they are living in a society, that already excludes them and considers them Western agents.
The culture of silence has increased among Christians after the steady increase of violence against them. The first prominent incident happened in the year 1997 when Shanti Nagar’s Christian community came under attack on the pretext of blasphemy. Many houses, churches, and Bibles were burned.
In the year 2001, a church in Bahawalpur was attacked. Again, in the year 2002, a Church in Islamabad came under attack in the diplomatic area. In the same year, a church in the Taxila Christian hospital was attacked. Later that year in September, a gunman stormed a Christian welfare organization office and gunned down three workers there on point blank.
A few years later, in the year 2009, nine Christians were burned alive, along with many houses, churches, and Bible in Gojra. A suicide attack was carried out in Peshawar All Saint’s Church in the year 2013.
Earlier that year a mob burned almost 200 houses of Christians in Joseph colony (Lahore), again, on the pretext of blasphemy accusations.
After this, in the year 2014, a couple was burned alive near Lahore on charges of blasphemy. In 2016, Christians celebrating Easter were attacked by a suicide bomber and 72 lost their lives in a public park. This continued in other incidents of the acquisition of blasphemy or its threat against Christians in Pakistan.
Time and again, the governments in Pakistan have not been able to bring justice to the preparators of any attacks carried out on the Christian community.
Another aspect of this treatment of Christians also has historical roots in their identity. Most Pakistani Christians are from low-caste backgrounds. They became Christians at the beginning of the early twentieth century and this process of conversion in some way led to their liberation from the traditional role of sanitary worker in the society. Which sadly, continues to be associated with Christians.
It also plays a role in their mistreatment by the government and society. They are seen in the light of their social background and called Chuhra. If this is not the case, how does the local police fail to foresee the event of Jaranwala? This raises doubt about whether sympathetic elements to these incidents are existing in the government machinery of the country.
Many Muslims forget that Islam shares a historical link with Christianity as a divine religion, and as a result of that, often Muslims are interested to know about the gospels.
The whole incident of Jaranwala raises doubts about the implicit complicity of the local civil authorities in what happened, otherwise, how is it possible that no one reached in time to curb the situation when it was happening? Another aspect to be understood is that these incidents are not merely about the acquisition of blasphemy. The complex relationship of Christianity with Islam has much to do with these incidents.
The polemical literature on both sides contributes to this religious tension. Moreover, sad incidents, such as the desecration of the Holy Quran, are interpreted to be the stance of Pakistani Christians. Pakistani Christians do not share any political connection with Western society. Inculturation and contextualization have been a central aspect of the spread of Christianity in South Asia, which makes the expression of Pakistani Christianity unique and to an extent sensitive to the culture of the society.
Wherever there are Christians, in most cases, they are adept to their historical and social location. As Pakistani Christians are to their own. The relationship between the churches in Pakistan and the West is based on historical faith, instead of political opinions about the country.
Moreover, the deep conflictual relationship between Islam and the West fails to see that Pakistani Christians, without a doubt, are a product of Western Christian missionary efforts, but they do not represent the West and have no part in contributing to the past.
The missionary heritage of colonial times further contributes to the negative image of Christians in Pakistan. Many Muslims perceive the church as a place of conversion instead of worship. The failure to make a distinction between the past and present poses challenges for Pakistani Christians. The growing house churches in different localities are often frowned upon because of their otherness to the instead Muslim neighbourhood.
The misconception that foreign missionaries only converted people is a common understanding among Muslims. This, however, has not been the case, Christian educational and medical places have provided services to the community at large without proselytizing. Many Muslims forget that Islam shares a historical link with Christianity as a divine religion, and as a result of that, often Muslims are interested to know about the gospels.
That, in any case, does not mean that Christians are actively evangelizing the country.
These perceptions continue to contribute to the reoccurring violence against Christians in Pakistan. And, sadly, they remain unaddressed by both communities. Perhaps it is time now to take concrete measures, not only in terms of ensuring the security of Pakistani Christians and other minorities but also to educate the population about issues leading to violence at the government level.
As a society, we have to find ways to address the cultural and political issues that lead to violence against minorities and openly discuss them.