it keeps getting worse...
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
there have been so many bomb blasts in Pakistan in recent months that I have not blogged about them for fear of repetition, even though I have been praying for friends in that troubled country. But today's blast in Peshawar, which has killed over 90 people, can't pass by without comment.I continue to pray for the people whose lives have literally been torn apart by this and other atrocities; and also for those who are planning future such acts of violence - that they would be moved by God's love and compassion to reconsider and seek peaceful means of promoting their cause. For surely no god worth worshipping could approve of such indiscriminate slaughter in their name.
defending the sacred...
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Further to my last post, I received another email this morning, part of which reads...
"It all started at Shanty Nagar, Punjab, then the Christian community fell victim of Islamic extremism in Shangla Hills, the Christian community of Kasoor was attacked by the miscreants, and now a massive attack on a large number of Christians in Korian and Gojra.
In all the incidents Christian community and / or individuals have been falsely accused of desecrating the Holy Quran, thus once again the discriminatory BLASPHEMY LAWS have been misused against the peaceful Pakistani Christians in their own country, Pakistan.
According to News Reports thousands of Muslims, spurred by banned militant group, attacked a Christian neighbourhood in Gojra, on Saturday, burning more than hundred houses, and 7 people which include 2 minor children were also burnt alive, after report surfaced that some Christians had desecrated the Holy Quran."
I know I'm on sensitive ground here but I can't help but comment on this, having lived in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan and witnessed first-hand how Christians live in almost constant fear of such attacks. The Pakistan Christian community has strongly denied the charges of desecrating the Holy Quran, which led to the events of the last week, and this seems to have fallen on deaf ears with no due process.
I'm not a Moslem myself, and therefore have a limited understanding of Islam from my own experience, reading and Moslem friends. But, even so, I confess to finding it difficult to reconcile such actions of extremists with the writings in the Quran they claim to follow. Every Surah (chapter) in the Quran begins, "In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful" - the fundamental tenet of Islamic faith. My struggle is that even if people had desecrated the Holy Quran (again, it's worth stating that this is strongly denied) how could a Most Gracious and Merciful God sanction the indiscriminate burning of entire villages and murder of innocent people as a just response? Surely God's grace and mercy far exceeds the importance of a book, even one as sacred as the Quran (or Bible for that matter).
Interestingly, in the same week that these awful events have been taking place, an art installation involving the Bible caused controversy in Scotland. Naturally, there were complaints from people who were offended by this apparent defacing of Scripture (personally, I didn't really have a problem with it but can see why it could have offended others), but I didn't read of any villages being burned to the ground in response.
Once again, I know I'm on sensitive ground, but when we are faced with such injustices and such extreme persecution of innocent people surely it isn't good enough to brush it under the carpet without comment for fear of offending the guilty. The church in Pakistan has condemned these attacks and we ought to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in doing the same. I'm equally convinced that many Moslems feel just as sickened by the events of the last week in Pakistan and would want to distance themselves from these ugly forms of extremism.
As a comment on my previous post pointed out, the challenge for the Christian community is to avoid the temptation to retaliate, and we must pray for the strength to forgive and, by doing so, demonstrate the gospel in action. That's my prayer for the Christian community in Pakistan; but I'm also praying for their safety and for the Most Gracious and Merciful God to convict those who would cause such suffering in the name of religion and supposedly defending the sacred.
barbaric...
Saturday, August 01, 2009
I was horrified to receive an email just a few minutes ago that read...
"... on the night of July 30, 2009 in the village of Korian Toba Tek Singh, that falls in the Pastoral and Episcopal jurisdiction of Faisalabad Diocese – Church of Pakistan, some Muslim extremists set on fire about 75 houses of the Christian community and 2 Churches of the locality were also damaged.
The Diocese of Peshawar Church of Pakistan condemns this insane and brutal act of violence against peaceful poor Christian communities and on behalf of the Church of Pakistan humbly appeals to all partners and friends to pray for the comfort of the affected families and where possible extend support for the rehabilitation of victims of this unfortunate incident. "
Sadly attacks like these are all too frequent and rarely reported in the Western press. If you are a praying person, please do pray for the families affected, and for the wider Christian community in Pakistan living in fear of further attacks. Pray too against the misguided religious loyalties that lead some people to commit such barbaric acts.
The Pakistan Christian Post gives more information 'here'
update... BBC news report (and video) 'here'
"... on the night of July 30, 2009 in the village of Korian Toba Tek Singh, that falls in the Pastoral and Episcopal jurisdiction of Faisalabad Diocese – Church of Pakistan, some Muslim extremists set on fire about 75 houses of the Christian community and 2 Churches of the locality were also damaged.
The Diocese of Peshawar Church of Pakistan condemns this insane and brutal act of violence against peaceful poor Christian communities and on behalf of the Church of Pakistan humbly appeals to all partners and friends to pray for the comfort of the affected families and where possible extend support for the rehabilitation of victims of this unfortunate incident. "
Sadly attacks like these are all too frequent and rarely reported in the Western press. If you are a praying person, please do pray for the families affected, and for the wider Christian community in Pakistan living in fear of further attacks. Pray too against the misguided religious loyalties that lead some people to commit such barbaric acts.
The Pakistan Christian Post gives more information 'here'
update... BBC news report (and video) 'here'
extrmely dangerous...
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, was interviewed on Al Jazeera English by Sir David Frost on 12 March 2009. He spoke about the threat from domestic terrorism in Pakistan saying that the 'situation is very grave'...
"The situation in Pakistan is extremely dangerous. I would say it's very grave. I think Pakistan faces a mortal threat, not from India, but from domestic terrorism. And that domestic terrorism is so grave that I think that politicians in Pakistan need to come together.
At the moment the politicians are pointing their fingers at each other. In fact they should be coming together and pointing their fingers at those who threaten the Pakistani people and those are terrorists on the Afghan border, terrorists in the Punjab who struck with such deadly effect in Mumbai and terrorists who after all claimed the life of Benazir Bhutto in December 2007."
"The situation in Pakistan is extremely dangerous. I would say it's very grave. I think Pakistan faces a mortal threat, not from India, but from domestic terrorism. And that domestic terrorism is so grave that I think that politicians in Pakistan need to come together.
At the moment the politicians are pointing their fingers at each other. In fact they should be coming together and pointing their fingers at those who threaten the Pakistani people and those are terrorists on the Afghan border, terrorists in the Punjab who struck with such deadly effect in Mumbai and terrorists who after all claimed the life of Benazir Bhutto in December 2007."
the cost of democracy...
Monday, February 18, 2008
... I hope and pray that it's worth it; that the newly elected Pakistani government, whoever it may be, respect the immense price that many ordinary Pakistanis have paid for these elections, in the hope of better and more stable times ahead.See Pakistanis vote in tense election
Pakistan bomb...
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Another bomb blast in Pakistan as the country gets closer to the scheduled February 18th elections. This time 18 people were killed - a tragic waste of human life and, I suspect, not the last in the days ahead. Keep Pakistan in your prayers.
Benazir Bhutto RIP...
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Words fail me... for all her faults (and she had a few, but then don't we all) I genuinely think that Benazir Bhutto was Pakistan's best bet for a more stable future. I feel some of the grief that many Pakistanis will experience in a much greater measure, as well as a degree of despair over where Pakistan goes from here. This is a country in the grip of desperation - Pakistan and its people need and deserve our prayers at this time.a state of emergency...
Monday, November 05, 2007
Regular visitors to this blog will be aware of my connections to Pakistan and the frequent postings over the last few years highlighting some of the tensions in that country. The events of this weekend have had widespread media coverage and so there's little I can add here except to say that I am praying for a country that once again finds itself in turmoil (as it has so many times before). It's easy for the West to come up with platitudes about democracy and so on without a clear understanding of the issues at stake. I must admit to my own views being clouded by the fact that when I was last in Pakistan I spoke to several people belonging to Pakistan's minority communities (i.e. non-Muslim) who spoke about how things were better for them under the Musharraf regime than had previously been the case under 'democratically elected' governments.
In short, things are seldom black and white but various shades of grey, and I simply have to throw myself on the mercy and wisdom of God, that he might bring clarity, peace and justice to a nation that has suffered so much in its relatively short history. Can I urge you to do the same?...
To keep up to date with the events in Pakistan as they unfold, see the BBC and the Guardian special sections.
attack on Bhutto - 130 innocents die...
Friday, October 19, 2007
two years on...
Monday, October 08, 2007
Today marks the second anniversary of the catastrophic earthquake that stuck Northern Pakistan and killed more than 88,000 people. I blogged about this on the first anniversary 'here' following a visit I had made to Balakot, the town worst hit. These events miles away are so quickly forgotten by those of us unaffected, but spare a thought (and a prayer) today for those whose lives will never be the same a result, and for the ongoing effort to rebuild fragile communities torn apart by the quake. Find out more from the BBC 'here' and wikipedia 'here'.more bad news...
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Pakistan - fear amidst the celebrations...
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
As Pakistan celebrates its 60th anniversary today with fireworks, street parties and 21 gun salutes, the Christian communities in Peshawar and elsewhere live in fear following further threats from Islamic radicals. These most recent threats, delivered last week to Christian settlements throughout Peshawar, echo those delivered to the Christians in Charsadda district in May, which I blogged about 'here'.The mentality of the extremists is summed up in a letter that was received by a church leader, which stated, "There is only death for the communities who share similar religion with America and are his agents. Our mosques, and children are being martyred at American orders therefore the Churches will also be wiped out from the face of earth. We will write new history with the blood of the infidels and our suicide attackers are ready to attack the Churches. The death of infidels, their extinction from the face of earth is the foremost objective of our holy war."
A letter from the Christian community in Peshawar, urging fellow Christians to pray for the situation, said...
"... In the present unstable political scenario the Liberal community of Pakistan, the security agencies of Pakistan and the vulnerable minority communities are being threatened and targeted by the Militants. Various suicide attacks have been recently carried out against the Pakistan Army resulting in heavy causalities. The Church and the Christian colonies have always been a soft target for the fundamentalists, and in past, numerous mob attacks have been carried out.
The Christians in Pakistan continue to follow the path of the “Prince of Peace”, Jesus Christ."
The final statement sat with me for some time... as followers of Christ, we resist violence and retaliation, following the way of the Prince of Peace even to death. Easy for me to write as I don't face threats such as these, but for Christians in Northern Pakistan this is a daily reality and a living witness to the good news. As I've urged many times in this blog before... please pray for Pakistan.
troubled Pakistan...
Friday, August 03, 2007
Regular readers of this blog will know about my connection with Pakistan (click on the 'Pakistan' link below to see my other posts). These are worrying times for that country, with indications suggesting a possible slide into civil war between the military government and the religious conservatives. Caught up in the middle of this are minority communities, such as the Christian community, and progressives who want to see the country live up to its founding principles of freedom and harmony.Recently, we had some friends staying with us from Peshawar in the North-West Frontier (near the Afghan border), which has seen more than its fair share of trouble and unrest in recent months. They urged us to keep praying for their country.
If you're interested in finding out more about this troubled country, yesterdays Guardian newspaper carried a two page article which summarises the situation well. It can be read online 'here', and a catalogue of recent Guardian articles about Pakistan can be found 'here'.
religious coercion...
Monday, May 21, 2007
I received an email from a friend in Pakistan about 'this' a week ago, but did not post anything about it for fear of making an already threatening situation worse by putting a 'private' prayer request into the public domain. However, seeing that the story has hit the news anyway, it seems right to draw attention to it.Extremist threats such as this one are very real for minority Christian communities, and they have to be taken seriously if past track record is anything to go by. The Christian community in Charsadda is literally living in fear of imminent attack, causing some to flee their homes in search of safety. As Michael John, the head of Pakistan's Catholic Church and a minority Christian parliamentarian, says: "We are in great danger and need protection".
It does beg the question... what kind of religious belief and fervour causes one human being to treat another in this way? I, for one, cannot recognise an action like this as being in any way fuelled by a 'divine decree', no matter what faith is being observed (and there are a fair few skeletons similar to this in the 'Christian' closet too). As I've requested on more than one occassion before... pray for the peace of Pakistan.
read the full BBC report 'here'
carnage...
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
I've run out of words to use when highlighting the current troubles in Pakistan, but I still feel a responsibility to post them here so that we don't forget the plight of a country that could so easily be ignored by the West.The BBC reports on the yesterday's latest bombing in a central-Peshawar hotel (I've stood in the place of this photo) 'here', with pictures from the scene 'here'. And this comes after a weekend of violence in Karachi.
Pray for the peace of Pakistan...
it's happened again...
Monday, April 30, 2007
The death toll from Saturday's suicide bombing in Charsadda (just North-East of Peshawar, Pakistan) is now up to 31 according to this report. The disturbing thing for me is that this type of attack is becoming so commonplace in Pakistan, a country I love, that the BBC don't seem to even be reporting on it anymore (though there is an online article 'here').As I've said here before, prayer can sometimes seem like such a weak activity (though faith tells me otherwise), but it's often all we can do...
Images (some of which are shocking) related to this tragedy can be found 'here'
pray for pakistan...
Monday, January 29, 2007
It's been another weekend of bombings in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province and capital city. Read the latest BBC report on the situation 'here', and the report on Saturday's bomb in Peshawar (NWFP), which killed 14 people, 'here'. A video report from Saturday can also be found 'here'. Praying can sometimes feel like such a weak activity when faced with the enormity of a situation, but it's often the only thing we can do. If you'd like to pause to pray for Pakistan you might find 'this' virtual candle-lighting station helpful.pause and pray...
Friday, October 20, 2006
There have been two bomb explosions this week in Peshawar in the north-west of Pakistan, where I was just over a month ago with a CMS Encounter group (see several posts archived in September). The first blast on Monday didn't seem to cause any serious casualties, but the explosion earlier today has killed at least seven people and left many more injured. It's very sobering to hear of such attacks on cities that you know and love, and it brings home the harm that is done to real lives when these atrocities are committed. You can read more about today's bomb from the BBC, USA Today and Reuters India.
Please remember Peshawar in your prayers...
my very own slideshow!...
Monday, October 09, 2006
The above slideshow of some Pakistan piccies is thanks to pictobrowser, a very clever flickr related webtool that gives you the html code for displaying a set of slides in your blog or web site. Check it out for yourself!
N.B. if you can't see the slideshow above, you need to install flash first.
hat tip: Jonny Baker
Labels: Pakistan
one year on...
Friday, October 06, 2006
At ten to nine (local time) on the morning of the 8th October 2005 the most catastrophic earthquake the Indian subcontinent has seen struck Pakistan. The 7.6 magnitude quake was felt in parts of India and Afghanistan, and estimates but the death toll at between 70 and 100,000 people, whilst 3.5 million people lost their homes. Buildings were destroyed as far away as Pakistan's capital Islamabad, but the worst hit city was Balakot in northern Pakistan, the scenic gateway to the Kaghan Valley. Balakot was pretty much flattened, as the picture shows, and one year on, despite the tireless work of many NGO's (relief organisations) it remains a scene of devastation. More than a quarter of the Balakot population died in the earthquake.As part of the Encounter trip last month, we visited Balakot to see first hand the work that the diocese of Peshawar is involved in. We heard several personal accounts of when the earthquake struck - one member of the Peshawar Youth Council told of when he switched on his TV, after experiencing the quake in Peshawar, to hear of Balakot's plight. He was so moved that he immediately called round his peers and, with the support and help of the diocesan youth officer, arranged for a group of them to travel to Balakot the following day to help out. They were the first relief group to arrive and have been involved in the area for the last twelve months helping to rebuild small communities in the surrounding mountain areas. What these young adults found when they arrived will remain with them forever... schools that had collapsed on top of children who had just started their lessons, one alone trapping 300 children with many still to be found, completely flattened houses, rubble everywhere, the overwhelming stench of death, gaping chasms in the ground, and desperation and grief in the faces of everyone.
Through an interpreter we spoke to one local man who told us of his experience. He was unloading his van when the quake struck and all he remembers was his van lifting off the ground and turning over before he himself was catapulted into the air. He lost his wife and two of his children to the earthquake, and took us to see the immaculately kept graves in the yard of what remains of their home. Seeing that mound of fertile ground in the midst of rubble was one of the most moving experiences of my life - I will never forget the look of grief in this man's eyes as he showed us this grave.
The tragedy for people like this man is that Balakot cannot be rebuilt. The city sits on top of an incredibly volatile fault line and is likely to experience a far more severe earthquake at some future point - indeed, a 4.2 magnitude tremor was experienced there just last week. The Pakistan government has consequently halted the rebuilding work on one side of the river and is seeking to relocate the survivors of last year's earthquake. I suspect, however, that many will not want to move, chosing instead to remain in danger themselves. How could people like the man I spoke of leave behind the graves of their loved ones? For many the story is even more tragic - the bodies of their loved ones are still buried under rubble, perhaps never to be found.
As a group reflecting on our experience of Balakot afterwards we displayed a range of emotions but the strongest was anger - not necessarily the expected anger at a God who could allow this to happen or at the seeming arbitrariness and injustice of disasters like this, but anger at the lack of interest in this event in our own country. Anger maybe tinged with guilt that we, like so many, had largely forgotten about this disaster only a few weeks after it had occurred. Two members of our group were angry that they didn't even know this earthquake had happened until they signed up for the Pakistan trip. How could such a disaster, declared by the UN as a worse humanitarian crisis than the December 2004 tsunami, have had such scant media coverage in the UK? At least The Guardian are keeping faith with a full page feature on page 25 of today's paper, which can be read online 'here'.
So one year on (Sunday is the anniversary) why not spend a moment with google finding out about the Pakistan earthquake? Why not spend some time praying for those affected? Why not see how you might be able to support the ongoing relief effort?
Or, alternatively we could all just get on with our lives and let the world go by...
some of our team with Diocese of Peshawar relief workers
at a project in Pateka near Balakot
Labels: Pakistan
I'm Malcolm Chamberlain
from Liverpool, United Kingdom
. I'm married with two young children and, in addition to Liverpool, have lived in Leicester (for the first 18 years of my life), York, Peshawar (Pakistan), Oxford and Walsall. I've been actively involved in the emerging church since 2001, as a founding member of Dream in Liverpool City, and coordinator of the Dream network. I'm currently engaged in research into emerging missional communities, and work as a parish priest and pioneer minister.
