Finally!

Via Yahoo! News:

As violence against religious minorities in Pakistan continues to grow unabated, at least one group of Christians has decided it is finally time to fight back.

Earlier this month, in what observers and locals characterize as a very rare occurrence, Christians in the Francisabad neighborhood ofGujranwala stood their ground when a group of Muslims from nearby settlements began attacking their property.

Mobs have stormed through Christian settlements in the central Punjab province with increasing frequency in the last few years, fueled by extremist right-wing sentiment and often using the pretext of blasphemy allegations to justify their actions. In March, for instance, a mob attacked the Christian Badami Bagh area of Lahore after a personal dispute between a Christian and a Muslim mired in blasphemy allegations.

But the clash that erupted in Francisabad was unique in that the Christian community fought back. And while the incident isn’t likely to spark a wider campaign of retaliation by Christian groups, it serves as a cautionary tale for Pakistan as its sectarian rift continues to widen. […]

Residents quickly amassed at the Catholic church, while the mob gained ground and began to gather outside. The Christian men of the neighborhood – who were armed – retaliated when the Muslim mob opened fire.

This is virtually unheard of in Pakistan. In similar cases in the past, Christian leaders and priests have generally appealed for calm and encouraged the community to forgive. At the most, they will organize peaceful protests to record their outrage.

The new reaction this time, however “is because there was an environment of fear that had been created,” Gill says. “People can feel this. Francisabad was saved because people stepped up to defend themselves.”