MidnightWatcher's Blogspot

“SIALKOT, Pakistan, February 27 (CDN) — Tensions are still high in a village near here following Muslims’ attempt to seize land from a Christian family by threatening to accuse them of ‘blasphemy.’

What began on Feb. 19 as a quarrel over a pigeon between Christian and Muslim youths at Nawa Pind Sabu Mohal village, in Sialkot’s Pasroor area in northeast Punjab Province, grew into an occasion to jail some Christians in the overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim country, the Christians said.

Gulshan Masih, 20, told Compass that his younger brother, Saif Masih, 18, had quarreled with a young Muslim over a pigeon that led to about a half dozen boys from each group charging into a fistfight and later pelting each other with stones. With the Muslims throwing bricks and stones from inside a mosque at the young Christian men’s homes, the skirmish ended when an elderly female relative of the Christians was wounded in their courtyard, Gulshan Masih said.

A few hours later, police officers arrived and took his father, 55-year-old Bashir Masih, 55, and 50-year-old uncle, Pervaiz Masih, into custody.

‘The Muslims had accused us of desecrating the mosque by throwing stones at it,’ Gulshan Masih said. ‘My father and uncle were not even involved in the fight, yet they were taken into custody on false charges.’

Muslim villagers have tried to drive Christians from the village on similarly petty pretexts, he said.

‘We own land and cattle, and this may be one of the reasons why the Muslims keep on picking fights with us over minor issues,’ Masih said, recalling how relatives Saleem and Rasheed Masih were arrested on a false blasphemy charge in 1999 after a quarrel stemming from a Muslim ice cream vendor refusing to serve Saleem Masih from the same bowl used by Muslims. Rasheed Masih was not even present at the scene of the quarrel, Gulshan Masih said, but was also charged.” Read more.

“In the wake of a year of protests and violence, the volatile situation in Syria has brought great suffering to the entire population. Syrian Christians say their greatest need right now is prayer, according to Open Doors, an international ministry supporting persecuted Christians and religious freedom around the world.

The danger has prompted many churches across the country to meet only in daytime, many only on Sundays. On Fridays, the weekly Islamic day of assembly, many Christian schools now close. Because of rampant killing, theft and kidnapping of children, some parents have stopped sending their children to school. Syria also suffers a lack of fuel and electricity, an economy in shambles and few jobs.

‘Christians’ plights vary by place,’ said Dr. Carl Moeller, president and CEO of Open Doors USA. ‘Damascus Christians seem to have the fewest difficulties; in contrast, many Homs believers have fled what has become a war zone.’

Some Christians want to stay; others desperately seek to emigrate, said Moeller. Many say they simply cannot flee.

‘Many believers tell us that Syria is where they belong and will remain, even if that means dying there,’ he said.

More than 80 percent of Christians have fled Homs, the city where fighting is the worst. Looters have invaded the homes of those who have fled. At least one evangelical church has been attacked. Those who remain have limited means of safe transportation. Few attend church services.” Read more.

Syria: Armed Attack On Catholic Monastery – “For the first time in the history of the conflict in Syria, an armed attack has been made on a Catholic monastery, reported Vatican Radio on Saturday. About 30 armed men wearing masks attacked the monastery, founded by Jesuit from Italy Paolo dell’Olio. Attackers demanded money and weapons. According to the abbot, no one was killed or wounded. ‘However, it is strange that the attackers sought weapons in a monastery, known as a center of dialogue and reconciliation between Muslims and Christians,’ – said the monk. According to the Catholic Archbishop of Damascus, maronite Samir Nassar, the situation in the country is spiraling out of control as the armed opposition spreads its influence to different regions of the state.” Read more.