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Pakistan: Christian Girls Targeted for Forced Conversions
Forced conversion in Pakistan is an ongoing problem, and reports of it continue to increase. Most of the victims and their families charge that Pakistani police frequently refuse to help the victims, and even side with the kidnappers.
Pakistan's small and courageous Orthodox Christian community is as vulnerable to this persecution as are the rest of Pakistan's Christians. The ongoing mistreatment of Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan is an issue of immense importance that nevertheless receives scant attention from the UN or international human rights organizations. Please pray that the Christian community in Pakistan will be able to endure this martyrdom and experience a resurrection, and that relief will come to this courageous and long-suffering Christian community.
For previous coverage of forced conversions and the persecution of Christians in Pakistan in general, see here.
"Christian Girls in Pakistan Targeted with Forced Conversions," International Christian Concern, October 5, 2019:
10/05/2019 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has documented seven cases of Pakistani Christian girls being forcibly converted to Islam in just the first six months of 2019. Unfortunately, reports of forced conversions continue to increase. In September alone, three Christian girls joined the confirmed list of victims.
Nabila Nadeem, the mother of a young girl subjected to forced conversion in 2013, is all too familiar with these stories.
"Forced conversion is usually used to cover up the crime of abduction and rape," Nadeem explained to ICC. "Mostly teenagers are forced to convert."
However, that is not always the case. Faiza Mukhtar, a Christian teenager and a student at the government girls' primary school in Khanqah Dogran, located in Sheikhupura district, was forcefully converted for entirely different reasons.
On September 4, Fazia was forcefully taken from school to an Islamic seminary and converted to Islam by the school's principal. The principal claimed, "The Christian girl has learned reading and writing the Arabic language, and therefore she is no more a Christian and must live the rest of her life as a Muslim."
In a video posted to Facebook, Faiza's mother claimed, "On that day, my two daughters went to school, but only one returned home. When we went to the school in search of Faiza, the principal revealed that Faiza had converted to Islam and therefore we had no right to meet her. It was heartbreaking for me."
"Instead of returning our daughter, the principal asked all of us to convert to Islam," Faiza's mother continued. "She offered us a luxurious life and that she will bear the entire expenses of the family and we will have access to Faiza if we converted."
Faiza's mother claims that the police did not cooperate with her family and refused to register a case against the principal for kidnapping their daughter….
"This trend is becoming alarming for the Christians in Pakistan and bringing a bad name to the country," Nadeem told ICC. "The parliament must come up with sincere legislation to curb forced conversions and protect religious minorities."
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While about 30 percent of the world's population identifies as Christian, 80 percent of all acts of religious discrimination are directed at Christians.
Source: International Society for Human Rights
Christians face persecution in more than 60 Countries.
Source: U.S. State Department
Millions of Christians face interrogation, arrest, torture, and/or death because of their religious convictions and cultural/ethnic identification.
Source: Open Doors USA
Between 2007 and 2014, Christians have been targeted for harassment in more countries than any other religious group.
Source: Pew Research
Christian responses to persecution are almost always nonviolent and, with very few exceptions, do not involve acts of terrorism.
Source: Under Caesar's Sword
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