Attack on Lahore Churches
By Nasir Ahmad, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Tinton Falls, NJ
The TTP has claimed responsibility for the attack on two churches that has killed 14 and injured over 75 in Lahore. In 2013, a similar Church attack in Peshawar claimed more than 80 innocent lives. These extremists defy the teachings of the Holy Qur'an (22:40-41), which instructs Muslims to protect all places of worship, explicitly mentioning churches. The perpetrators cannot be true followers of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who mandated full protection of Christians from any act of aggression of Muslims. Indeed, St. Catherine’s Monastery in Mt. Sinai, Egypt today houses a copy of Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) letter in this regard.
If the Pakistani Government claims to be Islamic, then it must provide full protection to Christians and their places of worship. The Pakistani authorities must not only condemn the attacks in the strongest terms possible, but also pursue the guilty parties.
Lastly, I express my most sincere condolences to our Christian brothers and sisters who lost their loved ones in this heinous act of violence.
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By Salman Khalid
Seattle USA
Pakistan has had its fair share of tragedy, the worst probably being the mass murder of children at the hands of the Taliban. Our minorities, sadly, are no less vulnerable than our children. Not only do they have to deal with the common problems every other Pakistani faces, they also have to endure day-to-day discrimination and persecution at many levels.
Pakistan - and the Muslim world in general - are facing grave challenges, one of the greatest being religious extremism. Sadly, we have lacked the will and integrity to deal with growing religious intolerance and bringing the perpetrators of such crimes to justice.
May Allah grant strength and fortitude to the Christian community to deal with the harrowing church bombings in Lahore. May Allah grant the people of Pakistan the will and moral strength to confront religious intolerance and bigotry head on. I'm reminded of a saying by one of the greatest leaders of the last century: "A nation cannot be reformed without reforming its youth". On this note, let's give our youth the vision and tools to confront terrorists, operating under the guise of religion, head on. They should be armed with the message: "Swords can win territories but not hearts, forces can bend heads but not minds".
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