Pakistan interfaith group urges dialogue in latest blasphemy row
Franciscan priest-led delegation visit Kahna Nau following tensions over burning of Quran pages by a Christian youth
Updated: December 09, 2024 06:49 AM GMT
Members of a Catholic priest-led interreligious delegation visiting a communal strife-torn region in Pakistan have pledged to continue efforts to promote dialogue, mutual respect, and interreligious harmony.
The delegation led by Franciscan priest Lazar Aslam made the pledge during a visit to the Kahna Nau area, near Lahore, the Vatican news agency, Fides, reported on Dec. 5.
The religious leaders said that efforts to promote dialogue, mutual respect, and interreligious harmony in Pakistan’s Punjab region were necessary.
These efforts are “an essential approach to building and spreading a culture of peace and tolerance throughout Pakistan, starting with the younger generations,” they said.
The delegation included Pastor Asif Ehsan Khokar, Islamic scholar Mufti Syed Ashif Hussain, and Chaudhry Kamran Pervez, president of the Punjab National Peace Committee.
It made the visit after tensions rose in the area over an alleged blasphemy case involving the burning of pages of the Quran.
The incident involved a young drug addict from the Christian community setting fire to his house and inadvertently burning pages of the Quran and the Bible.
The incident sparked anger among the Muslim youths in the region who issued threats to the young man’s family instilling fear among other Christian families.
Police and religious leaders in the locality worked together to ease the tension.
The Christian community had expressed its gratitude to the religious leaders and authorities for their efforts to maintain peace in the locality, Fides reported.
Blasphemy is a sensitive charge in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even mere allegations ignite public outrage and sometimes result in mob violence.
Blaspheming against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad are crimes punishable by death under Pakistani laws.
Hundreds of people have been accused and jailed for alleged blasphemy, and some were handed the death penalty. However, no one has been executed so far.
In June, Nazir Masih, a 74-year-old Christian died days after a Muslim mob attacked him in Punjab’s Sargodha district for allegedly burning pages of the Quran in May.
Masih’s death prompted UK-based global Christian group, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, to issue a strongly worded statement demanding the end of Pakistan’s blasphemy law.
Aslam told Fides that continued cooperation between religious communities in Pakistan is essential for lasting harmony.
“As Franciscans, we continue to work for peace through dialogue, convinced that this is the path to true harmony,” Aslam said.
The Franciscan priest said that Advent is “a spiritual time of trusting prayer and peace,” for Catholics.
“We want to show to the local Christians our closeness, testifying that mutual respect between Muslims and Christians is essential for the good of Pakistan,” Aslam added.
Muslim leaders also supported Aslam’s statement, emphasizing that “only peaceful coexistence will guarantee a prosperous and harmonious future for Pakistan.”
Citing the Prophet Muhammad, the Muslim leaders said that “interreligious harmony and dialogue are only possible on the basis of equality, respect and acceptance.”
Muslims make up the majority of Pakistan’s estimated 241 million people and Christians and Hindus account for about 1.6 percent each.
