Ho-hum, just another day for Christians living in Islamic lands.
LAHORE: A cleric in Sialkot district disrupted a Saturday mass, abused the pastor and is now threatening to register a blasphemy FIR against him for drawing upon verses from the Quran during his sermon.
Pastor Messiah George* had been invited by Data Zedka village Christians to give a sermon at the local church.
According to Arif Hameed*, a school teacher who arranged the pastor’s visit, Qari Muhammad Fazal* disrupted the mass around 11 pm, abusing the pastor and threatening to kill him. Fazal had objections to the pastor reading Quranic verses during his sermon. “He [Fazal] tried to get through to the pastor but we were able to help him escape,” said Hameed.
Fazal called the police to the church but by the time the police reached the church, the pastor had fled. Police officials were able to “persuade the Qari” to go home after assuring him that action will be taken against the pastor.
The next morning local Christians, said the school teacher, apologised to Fazal who is still insisting that the pastor “confess to his crime”, and publicly apologise for quoting the Quran. “Fazal has warned us that we will be responsible for the consequences,” he said.
Hameed said they had also sent women to the cleric’s wife and mother to apologise. “But Fazal’s adamant that the pastor apologise over the megaphone,” he said. Hameed said that they feared agitation by Muslim residents.