Christianity in Pakistan
Christianity is the largest religious minority in Pakistan. The total number of Christians in Pakistan is
and half Protestant. All modern Christians in Pakistan are descended from recent converts during British rule;
they are not descended from any historical community of Christians from ancient times.
History
In 1877, on St. Thomas' Day at Westminster Abbey, London, Rev Thomas Valpy French was appointed the first
Anglican Bishop of Lahore, a large diocese which included all of the Punjab, then under British colonial rule,
and remained so until 1887, during this period he also opened the Divinity College, Lahore in 1870. Rev
an oriental scholar, and compiled a 'Dictionary of Islam' (1885).
Missionaries accompanied colonizing forces from Portugal, France, and Great Britain, and in ancient Pakistan.Christianity was mainly brought by the British rulers of India in the later 18th and 19th century. This is
evidenced in cities established by the British, such as the port city of Karachi, where the majestic St. Patrick's
Cathedral, Pakistan's largest church stands, and the churches in the city of Rawalpindi, where the British
established a major military cantonment. All of the modern Christians in Pakistan are descended from
converts from during British rule.
The Europeans won small numbers of converts to Anglicanism, Methodism, the Lutheran Church and
Catholicism from the native populations. Islam was very strong in the provinces of Punjab, Balochistan and the
largest numbers came from resident officers of the British Army and the government. European and wealthy
native Christians established colleges, churches, hospitals and schools in cities like Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi
and Peshawar. There is a large Catholic Goan community in Karachi which was established when Karachi's
infrastructure was developed by the British before World War II, and the Irish (who were subjects of the
British Empire and formed a large part of the British Army) were an important factor in the establishment of
Pakistan's Catholic community.
of the Christian community changed drastically. Christians in Punjab and Sindh had been quite active post
1945 in their support for Muhammad Ali Jinnah's Muslim League. Even before the final phase of the
movement, leading Indian Christians like Pothan Joseph had rendered valuable services as journalists and
propagandists of the Muslim League. Jinnah had repeatedly promised all citizens of Pakistan complete equality
of citizenship, but this promise was not kept by his successors. Pakistan became an Islamic Republic in 1956,
making Islam the source of legislation and cornerstone of the national identity, while guaranteeing freedom of
religion and equal citizenship to all citizens. In the mass population exchanges that occurred between Pakistan
and India upon independence due to conflict between Muslims and followers of Indian religions, most Hindus
and nearly all Sikhs fled the country, but the Christians remained.
Christians have made some contributions to the Pakistani national life. Pakistan's first non-Muslim and
certainly most respected Chief Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court was Justice A. R. Cornelius. Pakistani
Christians also distinguished themselves as great fighter pilots in the Pakistan Air Force. Notable amongst
them are Cecil Chaudhry, Peter O'Reilly and Mervyn L Middlecoat. Christians have also contributed as
educationists, doctors, lawyers and businessmen. One of Pakistan's greatest batsmen, Yousuf Youhana, was
also Christian, but he recently willingly converted to Islam, taking upon the Islamic name Mohammad Yousuf.
In Britain, the Bishop emeritus of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, is a Pakistani Christian.
Apart from the Catholics, Christians of other denominations re-organized themselves, in India, into the
Churches of North and South India respectively, and as the Church of Pakistan in 1948. Politically, groups like
the Pakistan Christian Congress have arisen. The New Apostolic Church also has followers in Pakistan.
Statistics
Province Christians
Balochistan 0.40% 31,200
Federally Administered Tribal Areas 0.07% 2,223
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 0.21% 42,452
Punjab 2.31% 1,878,735
Sindh 0.97% 344,065
Islamabad Capital Territory 4.07% 38,894
Community Issues
From 1947 to the mid-1970s, the governments of Pakistan were largely secular in policy and
judgment.However, with the Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization and forced implementation of Islamic Sharia law in
Pakistan marginalized the Christian minorities and caused intense persecutions.
In 1971, East Pakistan became independent as Bangladesh, and a large chunk of Pakistan's Hindus and
Christians were de-linked from Pakistan. Pakistan became a culturally monolithic, increasingly Islamic state,
with smaller religious minorities than ever.
With the governments of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Zia ul-Haq, more stringently Islamic laws transformed
Pakistan. While conversion to other faiths than Islam is not prohibited by law, culture and social pressures
prohibit such conversions (see Apostasy in Islam). Extremely controversial were the blasphemy laws, which
made it treacherous for non-Muslims to express themselves without coming off as un-Islamic. Zia also
introduced the Sharia as a basis for lawmaking, reinforced by Nawaz Sharif in 1991. Coerced conversions to
Islam from Christianity are a major source of concern for Pakistani Christians, and the minority face threats,
harassment and intimidation tactics from Islamic extremists. Often, converts to Christianity from Islam face
the death penalty.
The 1990s
In the 1990s, some Christians were arrested on charges of blasphemy, and for protesting that appeared to
insult Islam. John Joseph, a bishop in Faisalabad committed suicide to protest the execution of a Christian man
on blasphemy charges.
Discrimination in the Constitution
Christians, along with other non-Muslim minorities, are discriminated against in the Constitution of Pakistan.
Non-Muslims are barred from becoming the President or Prime Minister. Furthermore, they are barred from
being judges in the Federal Shariat Court, which has the power to strike down any law deemed un-Islamic.
Faisalabad Riots
The English Daily Telegraph published reports on November 14, 2005 claiming that Christian churches and
schools (in the city of Faisalabad) have been destroyed "when Muslim preachers urged people to 'take
revenge' after a Christian allegedly burnt pages of the Koran."
The newspaper went on to say: "Hundreds of Christians fled the town as a crowd thousands strong, wielding
axes and sticks, set fire to five churches, a dozen houses, three schools, a dispensary, a convent and two
parsonages."
The incidents and the reports were published just as the English cricket team was touring Pakistan and
preparing to play a test match in Faisalabad, a major city in the province of Punjab.
Christians in Pakistan Armed Forces
Christians have served in Pakistan Armed Forces. They have received highest civilians and military awards.
Some of the notable Christians of PAF are:
Group Captain Eric Gordon Hall
Wing Commander Nazir Latif
Wing Commander Mervyn L. Middlecoat
Squadron Leader Peter Christy
Flight Lieutenant William D. Harney
Conflicts
Blasphemy Laws
Pakistani law mandates that any "blasphemies" of the Koran are to be met with punishment. On July 28, 1994,
Amnesty International urged Pakistan's Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto to change the law because it was being
used to terrorize religious minorities. She tried but was unsuccessful. However, she modified the laws to make
them more moderate. Her changes were reversed by the Nawaz Sharif administration. Some people accused
of blasphemy have been killed in prison or shot dead in court, and even if pardoned, may remain in danger
from imams in their local village.
Ayub Masih, a Christian, was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death in 1998. He was accused by a
neighbor of stating that he supported British writer, Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses. Lower
appeals courts upheld the conviction. However, before the Pakistan Supreme Court, his lawyer was able to
prove that the accuser had used the conviction to force Masih's family off their land and then acquired control
of the property. Masih has been released.
On September 22, 2006, a Pakistani Christian named Shahid Masih was arrested and jailed for allegedly
violating Islamic "blasphemy laws" in the country of Pakistan. He is presently held in confinement and has
expressed fear of reprisals by Islamic fundamentalists. (Note that the name "Masih", which is Arabic for
"Messiah", is a common surname in Pakistan among Christians.)
In November 2010, Asia Bibi was sentenced to death by hanging for "blasphemy"; the sentence has to be
upheld in higher court before it can be executed.
Islamist violence against Christians
On October 7, 2001 the U.S.-led War in Afghanistan began.
On August 9, 2002 Muslim gunmen threw grenades into a chapel on the grounds of the Taxila Christian
Hospital in northern Punjaborn 15 miles west of Islamabad, killing four, including two nurses and a paramedic,
and wounding 25 men and women.
On September 25, 2002, unidentified Muslim gunmen shot dead six people at a Christian charity in Karachi's
central business district. They entered the third-floor offices of the Institute for Peace and Justice (IPJ) and
shot their victims in the head. All of the victims were Pakistani Christians. Karachi police chief Tariq Jamil said
the victims had their hands tied and their mouths had been covered with tape.
On December 25, 2002 a few days after an Islamic cleric called for Muslims to kill Christians, two burqa-clad
Muslim gunmen tossed a grenade into a Presbyterian church during a Christian sermon in Chianwala in east
Pakistan, killing three girls.
The All Pakistan Minority Alliance said "We have become increasingly victimised since the launch of the US-led
international war on terror. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the international community to ensure that
the government protects us."
In November 2005, 3,000 militant Islamists attacked Christians in Sangla Hill in Pakistan and destroyed Roman
Catholic, Salvation Army and United Presbyterian churches. The attack was over allegations of violation of
blasphemy laws by a Pakistani Christian named Yousaf Masih. The attacks were widely condemned by some
political parties in Pakistan. However, Pakistani Christians have expressed disappointment that they have not
received justice. Samson Dilawar, a parish priest in Sangla Hill, has said that the police have not committed to
trial any of the people who were arrested for committing the assaults, and that the Pakistani government did
not inform the Christian community that a judicial inquiry was underway by a local judge. He continued to say
that Muslim clerics "make hateful speeches about Christians" and "continue insulting Christians and our faith".
In February 2006, churches and Christian schools were targeted in protests over the publications of the
Jyllands-Posten cartoons in Denmark, leaving two elderly women injured and many homes and properties
destroyed. Some of the mobs were stopped by police.
On June 5, 2006, a Pakistani Christian stonemason named Nasir Ashraf was working near Lahore when he
drank water from a public facility using a glass chained to the facility. He was assaulted by Muslims for
"Polluting the glass". A mob developed, who beat Ashraf, calling him a "Christian dog". Bystanders encouraged
the beating, because it would be a "good" deed that would help them get into heaven. Ashraf was eventually
hospitalized.
On August 2006, a church and Christian homes were attacked in a village outside of Lahore, Pakistan in a land
dispute. Three Christians were seriously injured and one missing after some 35 Muslims burned buildings,
desecrated Bibles and attacked Christians.
Based, in part, on such incidents, Pakistan was recommended by the U.S. Commission on International
Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in May 2006 to be designated as a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC) by the
Department of State.
In July 2008, a Muslim mob stormed a Protestant church during a prayer service on the outskirts of Pakistan's
largest city, Karachi, denouncing the Christians as "infidels" and injuring several, including a pastor.
The 2009 Gojra riots was a series of violent pogroms against Christian minorities by Muslims.
In June 2009, International Christian Concern reported the rape and killing of a Christian man in Pakistan, for
refusing to convert to Islam.
In March 2011, Shahbaz Bhatti was killed by gunmen after he spoke out against Pakistan's blasphemy laws.
The U.K. increased financial aid to the country, sparking criticism of British foreign secretary William Hague.
Cardinal Keith O’Brien stated, "To increase aid to the Pakistan government when religious freedom is not
upheld and those who speak up for religious freedom are gunned down is tantamount to an anti-Christian
foreign policy."
The Catholic Church in Pakistan requested that Pope Benedict declare martyrdom of Shahbaz Bhatti.
At least 20 people, including police officials, were wounded as 500 Muslim demonstrators attacked the
Christian community in Gujranwala city on April 29, 2011, Minorities Concern of Pakistan has learnt.
During a press conference in Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan, on May 30, 2011, Maulana Abdul Rauf
Farooqi and other clerics of Jamiat-Ulema-e-Islam quoted “immoral Biblical stories” and demanded to ban the
Bible. Maulana Farooqi said, “Our lawyers are preparing to ask the court to ban the book.
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