I still recall my first presentation at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications in Phoenix, Arizona, where I quoted an excerpt from Jinnah’s famous-but-censored speech of August 11, 1947: “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State.”
After my presentation, several of the listeners asked me about the condition of minorities living in Pakistan and I remember telling them that in Pakistan the minorities lived far better lives than minorities in India. I never introduced myself to anyone as a Christian but as a Pakistani unless someone asked me about my last name. I did this because I believe that my first identity is Pakistani. Not only that, I wrote a research paper at the University of California-Davis about the positive aspects of Pakistan.
On the way back, at Manchester Airport, waiting for my flight to Pakistan, I met other Pakistanis, all of whom asked me why I was returning to Pakistan. My answer to them was that I had made a commitment to implement what I had learned during the Humphrey fellowship. I told them that at my university, I was the only Christian girl in my class and the way my class-fellows would wish me on Christmas and Easter is still a sweet memory. They never made me feel that I was different from them as far as personal religious beliefs were concerned.
But something has happened, that has now compelled me to think that, is my Pakistan — the one I have been living in for years — vanishing? The arrest of 11-year-old Rimsha Masih on a charge of blasphemy is forcing me to reconsider my notions about my Pakistan. Reports claim that the girl has Down’s Syndrome although there are divergent views on this. But let’s suppose that even if the girl is not suffering from this disease, how can one justify keeping her in prison, especially when the charge against her could well be concocted?
Without going further into Rimsha’s case specifically, I am now forced to think about my own predicament. What if, one day, me and other Christians also become victims of blasphemy — just because someone doesn’t like our faces, or something like that? Isn’t it an easy way of getting rid of a person who is from a minority community? By spreading hatred against them based on an allegation that they committed an act of blasphemy? Because when that happens, it takes no time for a mob to gather, block a road and demand that the alleged blasphemer be arrested, or handed over to the mob!
So I have come to the conclusion — and it is this: this is not the Pakistan I have lived in for years and certainly this is not the Pakistan I told my foreign and American friends about during my recent stay in America. This is not the Pakistan that made me return from my US fellowship. This is not the Pakistan where minorities are treated in a positive manner; even children are being held in prison, for actions that they possibly cannot comprehend.
My Muslim brothers and sisters, please let Pakistan retain its original image in my mind. This is also my country. And it is of other minorities also, all of whom love this country as much as you.
Please let Rimsha live the life girls her age do.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 29th, 2012.
COMMENTS (97)
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@maliha: To be a good flower of any religion you must first be a good human , you are a good human being
aww :( hope she gets the justice she deserves.. and for all those saying that minorities arent treated well in pakistan, for me I am a muslim and I treat my friends from other religion with even more respect than my muslim friends cuz i dont want any of my action to offend them!!! :)
It appears Tribune is the favourite Pakistani news-site for Indians. Thumbs up, Tribune team!
@Noor: our liberation struggle was more of a racial issue whereas the incidents mentioned in India are religious riots sponsored by the state herself.
If some one want to know the life of minorities in India, he should ask the question like... 1) What happened to more than 2000 Muslims in Indian Gujarat under indian state rule. They were burned alive and killed brutally. 2) What happened to more than 100,000 Kashmiri Muslims in Indian occupied Kashmir. Who killed them? 3) Why Christians were burnt alive in their own churches in India.
Indians here seem to forget Assam, Bihar, Orissa, Golden Temple, Gujarat, Kashmir and countless other massacres of minorities. These people are delusional
@Noor: I usually hate doing this but thought it was important, but please ponderover these points before you build your perception: 1) Number of muslims from India trying to immigrate to pakistan vs Number of Hindus from pakistan trying to immigrate to India 2) Growth in the minority population in India vs Pakistan since independence 3) Minorities holding high positions in Government in India vs pakistan 4) Persecution of minorities through law in India vs pakistan 5) Celebration of minorities in India vs pakistan 6) Content in school textbooks about minorities in India vs pakistan
Pakistan has never had a stable demoncracy and its record for protecting minorities has always been nothing short of terrible. It was bad in the 60's, it was worse under General Zia in the 80's and it has become even worse since then. You may recall entire villages being burnt in the 90's by angry mobs. Rimsha's case is nothing new. There are many such cases which do not receive press attention. India has its fair shair of problems but it is light-years ahead of Pakistan in terms of the rule of law and protection of minorities. Zimran Samuel, Barrister, Manchester, UK
I stand with you and all my Hindu and Christian brothers and sisters...
Thanks lubna for your fight for better Pakistan & don't give it up until we achieve our goal.
Problem with Ordinary Pakistanis is they don't know Islam. Most of them blindly follow local mosque imams and nearly all of these local mosque imam are bred in madrassa of extremists. In case of Rimsha local mosque imam is to blame to invoked religious sentiments and led the mob. If we look at Saudi Arabia which is also considered as role model in terms of religion, Saudi authorities are controlling and dictating their sermons and they are not allowed to address public without prior consent of local gov. If some-one doesn't follow, you will not find him next day and i have seen example.
I hope Rimsha will be freed soon & live a normal life
@Rajeev Kumar: lets not forget the Mutilated bodies of Muslims ,Christians which litter the streets of India ...every other year ...Both nations are at fault ..but India more so because it is rich and has no War on its frontier ..
Well Done Lubna!!! Majority of Pakistanis are very loving and caring people.
Agree with Author! Let her live! As majority we all are peace loving people.
For what it's worth to the ones not liking the Indian minority reference, considering nobody brought India up, they probably ended up wanting to say "that's still not an answer to the question" but instead the drop of her credibility decided to not bother with it. If they wanted to know about India's minority condition, they would probably ask an Indian.
@Author Keep writing. Good job done my dear. It has been well read and responded, the bigots will keep putting their foul comments, dont worry Love and blessings
@Noor who writes "The numbers in Pakistan are pale, significantly pale compared to India."
Hehehe. 1971 - 3,000,000 killed. Yes my dear sister, pale, very pale.
My dear sister, I completely agree. I hang my head in shame at the shameful way minorities are being treated here. I stand with you and ALL my Hindu, Ahmedi, Shia brothers and sisters.
Hats off !!!
Truth aside. I am just 'loving' the responses of my Indian brothers and sisters. Who really cares about what really happens. Its all about out ability to project an image. "Incredible India"
Not lets get into some math here. Lets count the numbers of minorities killed in India vs. in Pakistan after 1947. I believe the number in India is in thousands if not in hundreds of thousands. Kashmir. Babri Masjid. Massacre of Sikhs. Assam. Gujrat. The numbers in Pakistan are pale, significantly pale compared to India.
Does not mean Pakistan does not have its own issues, but my dear neighbors. Data does not lie. data never lies. Marketing, projecting an image and saying something over and over again does not make that the truth!
Oh yeah you will certainly bring-up Bangladesh in 1971. No denial that was wrong and brutal. But they were not minorities and without your tacit support it would not have happened.
This law needs to be fixed, By the way I am a bearded Sunni Muslim and sincerely believe that this law is in contradiction with our beliefs. You guys might like to read a book "Muhammad" by Karen Morgan
@ author.......
"A fter my presentation, several of the listeners asked me about the condition of minorities living in Pakistan and I remember telling them that in Pakistan the minorities lived far better lives than minorities in India." Young lady..do me a favour..cross your heart and ask yourself if this is true.. thanks
Pakistanis are talking but meanwhile an 11 year old mentally challenged girl is sitting alone in a Prison...you have no sense of doing the right thing? this could be anyone's daughter...she should be freed immediately into the custody of her parents...shame is on Islam because of this injustice...
Name one Christian movie star or minister(except for minorities portfolio) or model or sportstar or scientist or chief justice or president or prime minister or police commissioner or......... being Patriotic is one thing, being a fool is another.
Are you thinking of not returning? ..... like anyone in Pakistan will give a rat's bottom, and mullah probably will welcome if an intellectual kaffir stays out of their way of supreme Islamic state.
@ Linda D’souza Well before people give blatant statements one should consider the facts of the case. People in pakistan have a very wrong understanding of right wing political parties as they tend to think that the parties of the said ideology in pakistan mirror those elsewhere. Shiv Sena is castigated despite the fact that its a regional political party wedded to the notion of sons-of-the-soil rather than purely a notion of hindutva. In India parties have matured over long time and in absence of any "deep state" they have evolved to a level that is probably difficult for people across borders to understand.
By the way Goa is currently ruled by BJP and there were 7 catholic candidates fielded by BJP. All won and this significant catholic shift was crucial in sweeping BJP to power. People might balk as such an alliance but it helps the minorities through direct empowerment and softens the core of most parties bringing them close to the centrist paradigm. And seriously you are talking about the Karachi where sectarian violence is a daily issue, local body elections long overdue, organised crime rampant etc etc. Goa is full of tourists both domestic and foreign and though there is damage to the beauty as you describe it, I can assure you all the beaches will put Clifton to shame any day ............
PS please try and visit to get a first hand information ...........
@Author: I find it hard to believe that you did not lose some credibility with your US audience when you said that minorities in Pakistan live better lives than in India, that you only now realized how precarious the circumstances of minorities are in Pakistan. I find it easy to believe that you included the India comment in your article just to get more hits and more comments. But since that's what you want, here it goes.
Minority Presidents of India: Zakir Hussain, Muhammad Hidayatullah, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Zail Singh, APJ Abdul Kalam
Minority Vice-Presidents of India: Zakir Hussain, Muhammad Hidayatullah, Mohammad Hamid Ansari
Minority Prime Ministers of India: Manmohan Singh
Minorities (partial list) among Famous Indian Film Stars: Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, Rehman, Waheeda Rehman, Mehmood, Feroz Khan, Mammootty, Shah Rukh Khan, Amir Khan, Salman Khan, Nargis, Shabana Azmi, Saira Banu, Tabu
3rd Richest Indian: Azim Premji (also awarded Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in India)
In addition there have been too many minority chief ministers (heads of government of various states), governors (heads of state of various states), top personnel in Civil Service, and the Military to name here.
This is not to say that religious discrimination does not happen in India, but it is not State-sanctioned policy. That, dear author, is why your comparison is not apt.
@Ammar: It is wrong to say that hundreds of people are languishing in jails on account of blasphemy law. Hundreds of people are languishing in jails for a variety of crimes due to our sluggish legal system. In fact in many cases like Gojra incident and Salman Taseer's murder people have tried to settle the issue in an extra judicial manner which needs to condemned. People responsible for such acts must be awarded befitting punishment because when our country has Blasphemy laws then they have no right to settle the issues in the streets. It is not the blasphemy law alone as a matter of fact any law can be misused. . For example in a murder case usually the aggrieved party instead of getting the case registered only against the actual murderer would implicate all the near relatives along with the actual murderer. After the inclusion of names in the FIR, all these individuals who are otherwise innocent are arrested and they have to stay behind the bars for several years before they are proved innocent. There are hundreds of such cases registered in our rural areas every year but these are not publicized. For this reason alone we cannot strike of the law for the trial of murderers.Please read my earlier comments carefully and see the amendment I have suggested. More over Pakistan is not the only country which has the blasphemy law. This law is there in most of the western countries, in all most all the muslim countries and also in some of the states in US. The need of the time is to improve the law to prevent its misuse.
well written Lubna .. great thoughts ,presence of people like you in this country is extremly important to keep it a pleurlistic country. hatts off to you. and @Zaid Hamid go jump in a lake
Like all other members of the minority communities who feel obliged to be loyal to Pakistan, the author suffers from "Stockholm syndrome".
Lubna Thomas Benjamin
Go and check your ancestory who knows you people might have got converted in 1947 to save from death..and all the talking about 'minorties are treated better in Pakistan than India'..you said that because you have studied in Pakistan and lived in Pakistan and that is the material you get to read in Pakistan...I've seen many Pakistani go to US to study even then there preception about India remains the same..
I remember reading Benazir Bhutto autobiography where she said that she could'nt beleive that Pakistani army was doing so many atrocities in eastern Pakistan on Hindus (thanks to Time magazine) and talking about Christians in India...Sonia Maino Gandhi heads the goverment of India and today when our PM is in Iran (who is a Sikh one of the smallest minority) the second in command is A.K Antony ..still talking about minority in India..
Lubna said all that in a speech in Arizona ...I can well imagine what preception the Americans would have of India..although she is or will not be the last Pakistani to say that about India..
@Linda D'souza
First of all, you need to get your identity straight. You say you are Pakistani-Goan-Portugues Catholic.
So, are you a Pakistani, Goan or Portuguese?
Second, what you have written has got nothing to do with minority persecution. In you emotional, hollow outburst, you didn't even pause to think if you are talking about the persecution of Catholics or the ruining of a town.
Third, you say you live in Karachi, then how do you know what is happening in Goa now? How long did you live in Goa? When did u move to Karachi? If it was after independence, why would you move to Karachi? If it was before independence, how do you know what happened in 1969 or afterwards?
Your comments are so illogical, I find them funny rather than offensive.
@Prakash: That was a good one
@Linda D'souza: What a senseless argument?goa is most educated state of india(more than 90% educated).Goa is the only state in india where famale population is more than male.Now enjoy living in forest.
@Linda D'souza: Where do u live now ?
I am a Pakistani-Goan-Portugues Catholic and lived most of my life in Karachi Pakistan, I agree with the writer we minorities are treated better than Catholic minorities in India. When India invaded Portuguese Goa in 1969 they have allowed corruption and filth to enter this beautiful paradise. The Indian goverment has allowed chain hotels to destroy the beautifu; coastline and Goa is now infested with Indian tourist that degrade the beauty of the beaches & holy place & treat the locals with insults and have no respect of the seniors. **
**
"I remember telling them that in Pakistan the minorities lived far better lives than minorities in India."
There lies the reason for her return to Pakistan. She probably did not make the grade and was thrown out from the university. Here in US you are given a limited time to complete your graduation. If you cannot do it you are thrown out of the university.
On another note, I am tired of hearing everyone quoting only one speech from Jinnah. His speech of August 11, 1947: “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State.”
Can anyone quote any other such speech or any other line from the same speech or even examples from his way of life to support his secular credentials ? In any case, most Indians, Muslims of India included, love Jinnah for creating Pakistan.
...in Pakistan the minorities lived far better lives than minorities in India...
Where should I apply for immigration to Pakistan?
“Let Rimsha live the life the girls her age do” - What about the mob, are they not allowed their bit of fun?
@S K Afridi: God is great and nothing that we humans do or dont do will make a iota of difference in his greatness. The order that there is in the universe from the level of the galaxies down to the particles within the atom might give some idea of his greatness.Please get out the misconception that any acts or man made laws can in any way affect his greatness. We pray (beg) him for his mercy and blessings please come down to our level forget about trying in any way to enhance his greatness.Our actions have no effect on him other than influencing his decision as to what he should do with us on judgement day, even when i am sure he will be more merciful than we are to each other.
India is the final benchmark for Pakistan. They can derive immense satisfaction by saying they are better than India without any supporting evidence or mostly out of ignorance. But after coming back from US, the wisdom dawns, the author sees what happens around and claims this is not the pakistan that was, before she left for US. What a pathetic article. The incidence of blasphemy against one christian child has opened the eyes of this author. The rest of the sectarian violence, distorted history teaching, elimination of hindus right from independence, anti ahmedi laws from Bhutto era (resulting in, funnily, having the grave of "First Nobel laureate" in Pakistan), bangladesh war etc etc can take a hike. I suggest she read the article on blasphemy laws in India and Pakistan in this very same newspaper and the comments following that before she puts pen on the paper again.
This is your country just as much as any Muslim neighbor of yours! You have a spot of the country's flag and no one can take this right from you! Your rights in this country are the same as anyone else's. I hope for a day when every citizen of this beautiful land can feel equally respected and cared for. I hope for a day when people will be judged upon their character, and not the Church of God they attend.
Do you really think Christian in Pakistan are having equal rights,perhaps you don't realise what Christian are going through,how long we can keep our eyes close to all the true facts,just be real.
Well said Luna. We need to claim Pakistan back. For everyone's sake. An god bless u an rimsha. Inshallah we will.
Lubna, all Pakistanis are proud of you, which tells us that Pakistanis don't discriminate based on religion. The eleven-year old blasphemer's case is a little different because it is a matter of God and His commands. Other than that you are like any other Pakistani.
Can't we get out of this binary thinking: to love Pakistan, we have to hate India? There was no need for the author to mention the 'plight' of minorities in India. Is there any statistics or a fact-sheet that Pakistan is a better place for people other than Sunni Muslims than India is for people other than Hindus?
Weldone Lubna. Love and blessings. The Editor Express Tribune, please sent it to the enlightened Chief Justice of Pakistan.
@S K Afridi: Almost everything you have said is patently false. The law has led to the misery of hundreds of people who have languished in jails for years on spurious charges, regardless of their age, mental condition, class or religion. And no, having the law there does NOT prevent people from taking the law into their own hands - since Zia and the Federal Shariat Court modified the law to include life imprisonment and death penalty, based on completely ill-founded precepts, thousands of people have been unfairly victimized under it, as opposed to less than 10 blasphemy cases in the decades before that. Since the death penalty was introduced, more than 40 people (all already accused by the law) have been killed by rampaging mobs. The blasphemy law ENCOURAGES not PREVENTS people to perform mob violence. It ignites unnecessary passions that should never be ignited.
Don't hide your prejudices spurious support for the 'rule of law', Mr. Afridi. This law is blatantly unfair, not based on any religious precept and a crude smear on the face of all Muslims in this country. Watch this and learn if your heart can manage to see beyond your hate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTFF9eNst9c
@Author: Thank you for writing this. As a Muslim, I can only hang my head in shame at the actions of my supposed co-religionists. I truly hope this suffering of innocents stops soon and will do everything to help it end.
to Palistanis, is the religion you practice really Islam? I did not know that your creed is so fragile that it is threatened by children. A religion based on hatred and murder can not be called a religion. Go read your holy book. Is this what it teaches? Does the holy book turn you into fanatic murderers of any body you disagree with? Like all holy books, Quran should be respected but the creed that makes you burn people deserves to be destroyed.
Keep up the good work Lubna !!
Welcome to PAK with a rude awakening!
It is the same PAK you left a year ago only now your conscience is awaken.
The Hubert Humprey fellowship did a good thing in you. Perhaps you should also learn about Humprey from historical documents.
He was a man from Minnesota, had his views on the world shaped by his Norwegian Christian mother who taught him the "Protestant work ethic" and it changed his outlook in life. He thought outside of his box, became a young mayor of Minneapolis, and then on to become the first democratic senator from Minnesota. He was an outspoken critic of segregation prevalent at that time in America, spoke for the minority rights vehemently, and a key player in the passage of civil rights bill, which changed America forever.
Humprey was the first civil rights leader in US, even before Martin Luther King. The fellowship has done it part, if only you speak against all minority rights equally.
Remember, "injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere" and " justice is happiness and it is more profitable than injustice".
Laws have their own usefulness. If there was no blasphemy law then the enraged people would resort to punishing the perpetrators in the streets which will be very unfortunate. Good or bad , laws are enacted for their strict observance. When there is a blasphemy law in this country and the people know that they can be legally punished for blasphemy then why do they indulge in blasphemous acts? Why have we started questioning the law? Why don't we question those who break the law? Why don't we question those who show total disregard to the religious feelings of their fellow Pakistanis. Fighting against the law and not educating the people to be law abiding and civilized citizen will never solve this problem. This law has come to stay as it had been enacted in accordance with the wishes of the large majority of the people of Pakistan. It should also be appreciated that the law is not minorities specific. It is equally applicable to the Pakistani Muslims. In fact till this day no one from the minorities has been punished under this law. All those who had been arrested or tried in the past had been set free by the appealet courts. I have no doubt that like any other man made law this law may also be having certain short comings which can be removed with the passage of time. For example in order to prevent its misuse by unscrupulous elements, the should also lay down severe punishment for those who are found to have falsely implicated an innocent individual. Instead of using this incident as a propaganda ploy to malign Islam and Pakistan we should appeal all our Pakistani brothers to be law abiding.
Lubna - People like you are an inspiration for us. All I can request is that don't give up on Pakistan, if possible. We are in this fight together.
Sonia Gandhi is a practising Catholic ..................
@Author
I dont know whether you've inserted that line to get more comments..But just small one advice
If someone asks "Are minorities treated well in your country?" The expected answer should be either "Yes" or "No",not comparing it with the neighboring country.
What you're saying is like when your father asked your exam result,you say "I failed,but still I got more marks than my neighbor"
I know you apologist would point out the decade old Gujarat riots or the 2 decade old burning of Australian missionary or the 2 decade old demolition of the unused mosque for which there is a huge security issue every December 6th.. I never said that my country is an utopia..We have issues,but we are trying to resolve it peacefully and I'm happy that my country is going in the forward direction.
But please remember,your country cannot excel unless it removes the comparison with India...
What a contrast; the quiet, calm and dignified views, indeed patriotism for Pakistan, of Lubna Benjamin and the horrid, sneering, closed-mind maulvi types who are now in the ascendancy in Pakistan. We Muslims of our country can learn so much from the Christians, yes also of our country; that we refuse to do so is one of the many tragedies of Pakistan.
@Mohammad Ali Gaad " No one has right to act worst especially when it comes to a Religion and it`s rules. Rimsha cross all the marks by putting Noorani Qaida on fire.I am certainly amazed to think that a girl of 13 or 14 is enveloped with, fire which was burning around her core for Muslims. "
Were you there when it happened, Did you see her "do it" ? Maybe you are best candidate to execute this girl. A place in heaven in this life, and in many other lives are guaranteed for you.
@ the author: As a Pakistani Christian I want to ask you, have you been to India. As a journalist I want to ask you, how can you make such a discriminating comment? As a Christian Pakistani and a journalist I want to say... you need to know what you are writing.
Girls of her age do not go into the house of people looking for sacred books to burn.
Rimsha and you both are as proudy Pakistanis as any other citizen, this is not my statement, this is what the Great Quaid said himself. This is happening because fanatic moon-soon has struck the country temporarily and the Govt unfortunately surrendered to a few fanatics . (see the case of Mumtaz Qadri and the Coward retreat of the Govt) I will not give you a list of arguments in support of my above statement but just see how much are opposing and condemning the arrest of Rimsha. The people who came out in support of her arrest were merely a hundred or so. But again one terrorist can make the whole city terrorize. In short it is the so called liberal and secular PPP that is unfortunately miserably failed to implement writ of the government.
How can you make a statement like minorities are living a better life in Pakistan than in India. Have you done any research on it?
In pakistan, a minority can't be a president or prime minister. In India almost all the major political positions like president, vice president, chief justice, chief election officer are taken by minorities.
We have "real" freedom of religion and we don't discriminate between any group (even Ahmadis are considered Muslim and not persecuted). The constitution of India is secular and gives equal opportunities to every group. There are no forced conversion through abduction of girls, no target killing of certain groups. How can you even make a comparison! There are lapses but we are working on it but our direction is correct.
But pakistan is in reverse gear. Look at the population of minorities! Its dwindling.. There are no laws which protect minorities from forced conversion, land grabbing. Hindus/Christians of Pakistan are migrating to other countries including India.
I agree with your conclusion~
Iqbal said "Sitaron se aage jahan aur bhi hain " my Indian and Pakistani brothers for God sake think big . Stop feeling happy that your neighbor is last even though you are second last.Let anyone take GOLD SILVER and BRONZE i am happy that we beat Pakistan." I remember telling them that in Pakistan the minorities lived far better lives than minorities in India" what a childish statement to make.Let us start competing with USA , UK, Europe, Japan & Singapore and not with each other think BIG
Mam,
It would have been great if you could provide data to substantiate your assertion that minorities in India are doing worse than the minorities in Land of pure. Manmohan Singh is a Sikh and is PM :)
The current situation of minorities in Pakistan is not only difficult for the minorities themselves but it is also frustrating for many of the majority who understand that this is unfair treatment in the name of religion. Many people in Pakistan dont understand that the white part of our flag is there for a reason, it signifies minorities. Minorities who were promised equal rights and opportunities at the time of partition. Now we have not only turned from that promise but we have become excessively intolerant towards our minorities. We shouldn't forget there was a time when we were in their place before 1947. I ask a question from supporters of blasphemy law. How would you feel if your 11 year old son or daughter was jailed on charges of showing disrespect towards the Bible? Would you want them to be treated the same way that rimsha has been treated? Because law should be equal for all citizens of the state, right?
I will tell you a truth. Minorities in India are in a far better state compared to Pakistan. They can become President , Prime minister and can occupy higher posts. There are so many programs being run by govt. for welfare of minorities. I am , although , surprised at the fact that you have not uttered a single word about other minorities like Hindus , Sikhs , Hazaras , Ahemedis ,Shias etc. This shows the bias of your mindset as you yourself are a christian. Can you specify , why population of Hindus has gone down to less than 1% from 15% in 1947 ? I will say that you had closed your eyes and ears when all this other incidences were happening like abduction , forced conversions , rape of other minorities. I hope you will come with a better excuse next time. In reality , since last 20 yrs or so from the time of Zia ul Haq , the degradation of mindset of majority has started and now it has come with so much power that no body is able to control it. You will have to admit that the mindset and thinking of majority has rusted completely.
@Author : Listen i appreciate your efforts but No one has right to act worst especially when it comes to a Religion and it`s rules. Rimsha cross all the marks by putting Noorani Qaida on fire.I am certainly amazed to think that a girl of 13 or 14 is enveloped with, fire which was burning around her core for Muslims.
this all goes back to CJP. let one of such mobs be hanged and let people see that. this nation doesn't understand the words of love
Thanks to Zia .... and lack of education and just common sense I presume. These Mullahs are saviours of the religion! The will settle property disputed, personal enmity and I hope Lubna all this ends .... before someone accuses you without proof and grab your property by force! Jinnah must be turning in his grave today with all the injustice we have been doing to our minorities!
"Let Rimsha live the life the girls her age do" How come it is possible when people (Adults) are mad and inhumane.. Every religion preaches PEACE among the human beings.. But what the moulvees are doing in contrary to that is disgusting and shameful..
"I remember telling them that in Pakistan the minorities lived far better lives than minorities in India." Really?
Having grown up with a lot a of Christen friends, I can tell for sure they are very decent and peace loving people who are as patriotic as any Muslim would be for Pak (just to clear the point, no differentiation intended). Its an extreme embarrassment that they are being subjected to prosecution like this. If this continuous, I see a very bleak future for my country..
Wish you hadn't dragged India into this, but I feel your pain for Rimsha and thank you for your heartfelt appeal.