Christian families given gifts the day before the Chehlum of Imam Hussain. PHOTO: CREATIVE COMMONS
MULTAN: Christmas for 700 Christian families in Multan was made extra special this year, as the Shia community showered them with gifts the day before the Chehlum of Imam Hussain.
The goodwill step was taken by Chairman Markazi Azdari Imam Hussain Council (MAIHC) Hasan Mashadi in collaboration with religious leaders from other religious sects. The gifts were sponsored by Multan’s civil society.
Hundreds of Christian families from Gulshanabad Colony, Raza Abad Colony, Grass Mandi Colony, Chungi No One Colony and Double Phaatak Colony received the Christmas gifts with open arms and much excitement.
MAIHC was assisted in gift distribution by over 200 male and female volunteers of the Shia community in Multan, who went door-to-door in the form of small delegations.
When Mariyam Masih from Double Phatak Colony was given a gift for her three-year-old daughter by the Shia delegation, she began to weep. She said the gift reaffirmed her belief in the ideology of Pakistan.
One of the volunteers, 17-year-old Jawad Haider said that the time has come to show in practice the ideology of Imam Hussain (RA).
MAIHC's Mashadi also revealed they began this initiative in Multan because it is known as the 'city of saints.'
"I believed tolerance will one day find a place in our society where right now religious is used as a tool to dictate and suppress minorities," Mashadi added.
COMMENTS (36)
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Great great to read this. Feel so proud.
Salam An appreciable effort indeed. May Allah spread this love and affection across the country beyond, race, cast, religion and class.
Good example set by Shia community of Multan! Respect!
much needed good will gesture esp where christians are being persecuted relentlessly! I have summed some of my thoughts on the topic of Christmas at http://wp.me/p1RGFI-as
May God Bless them for extending love to the people of other community and Faith
@Aly shafa " so that people from other parts of the world could understand more about importance of interfaith hormoney". the country which really need to understand the A B C of inter faith harmony is pakistan, world is much ahead in this regard.
This news is little ray of hope that every thing is not lost. One day everything will be fine and become normal.
wounderfull initaitive By great people really , we should salute such minds true islam also teachs us the same morale values , well done by shia community of multan , we all porud of your this great job, we should respect and regards all religions followers, unity is the best weapon against tyranyz,i would like to thank specially to express magzine and its staff for such good promotion of this great news so that people from other parts of the world could understand more about importance of interfaith hormoney .God bless You all HUmanity is first,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
I am speechless.... wonderfullllll gesture!!!
Respect!
Thats such a sweet act.....
We'd like to donate some 3D printed snowflakes. Who should we contact? Can any one point us in the right direction? Thanks, 3dprint.com.pk
Things like these should be promoted!
Ahhhh..really a big and good step. These are the occasions which give us the opportunities to get united...keep it up. :)
@deep - "wow – just waiting for the Hindus to do the same in Muzaffarnagar. "
The Christians in this case were deserving, whereas the Muslims in Muzaffarnagar started the riot by molesting Hindu girls... Snide remarks apart, there's a fair share of Hindus around to do the same. In fact Hindus are equally affected, but nobody talks about them (probably because Muslims cry the loudest)...
Well done! An example to be followed all over Pakistan by all the religious communities. May God bless us all and Pakistan!
Very Nice move. This approach should be very common all over the country. Thanks to those who made idea and thanks to those who bought it end.
Well If Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) , did this than this is an act of appreciation and if not than you are more intelligent than me.
Pakistani first, Muslim/Christian/religious identity next! (shouldn't matter anyway). Lets free our country of all the hate mongering beasts! Well done!
Perfect :)
Very Nice move....Humanity first....Great well done...I felt proud ..... Well done ..
Appreciateing and discussing the above mentioned news article and expressing opinions is an extremely healthy activity of any educated libral society. I am being a Shia felt good about the comments both from Rizwan and Ahmed and other brother and sisters. At least no one is saying its a conspiracy against Islam and Pakistan and none of them are saying Shias are Kafir and kill them, its good to see some discussion instead of hateret and depressing comments.
This is blissful, such a great initiative i mean this is what a real pakistani would do (asli ghee k) :')
Pakistanis never seizes to amaze me. Every time I lose all hope... Some story comes out and says. ... All is not lost there is still hope. Pakistanis Zindabad!
A very good gesture indeed regardless of sect or religion.
A kind gesture indeed. However, this giving and receiving needs to uniformed throughout all sects.
@rizwan: why?
@rizwan: Credit should go to where it belongs to: the same way condemnation should. If a particular sect is murdering the others, why should one say muslims are killing muslims. Identify the culprits by name, otherwise it all gets diluted as sunni versus shia and vice versa.
I wish the heading would be Muslims of Multan! Shias are also muslims too .... we need unity at this point of time to beat the rest of the world and specially the terrorist group!
Tears of joy! I feel proud and happy. @Rizwan, let's just be happy and appreciate this wonderful gesture, specially considering the current environment. I am a Sunni and I believe it was pertinent to mention Shia Sect owing to the fact that this wonderful act was conducted one day before Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (as) which is an event commemorated (more) by our Shia brothers and sisters. The overall context needs to be understood and appreciated.
wow - just waiting for the Hindus to do the same in Muzaffarnagar.
These gestures make us all proud to be Muslims :) Love to all, hatred to none :)
This news item could have been more appreciateable; if word Muslim had been highlighted instead of naming a sect. Come on media we need unity please.
A generous and respectable gesture indeed
Way to go! Kudos to the Shia community for sharing the Christmas with its neighbors. Merry Christmas to all my friends of all religions and sects. Here is a lesson for those under attack by the terrorists. Join hands together against these extremist hate monger killers. The civil war in Syria has been crushed when the opposition was taken over by the Whabi extremists and the govt got the help of all other minority groups. All smaller sects and minorities should make an alliance to protect and help each other. This is the only way they can fight these terrorists. We should establish a global fund to help each other.