Islamic Persecution of Christians is Increasing . . . in Europe

Many Christians flee the Muslim world to escape persecution. Imagine their surprise when they arrive in Europe and find that the persecution continues.

The World's Most Persecuted Minority: Christians

The International Society for Human Rights reports that 80 percent of all acts of religious discrimination are directed against Christians. If 80 percent of all acts of religious discrimination were directed at any other group, it would be the top story on every news channel and the chief concern of our leaders. But it's Christians, so . . . no worries.

Here's a short video from Prager University, featuring Raymond Ibrahim.

Dozens of Christians Arrested at Prayer Meeting in Saudi Arabia

Politicians and the media continue to insist that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance. Meanwhile, Christians in Saudi Arabia are being arrested for praying.

FoxNews—Dozens of Christians arrested at a prayer meeting in Saudi Arabia need America's help, according to a key lawmaker who is pressing the State Department on their behalf.

Some 28 people were rounded up Friday by hard-line Islamists from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in the home of an Indian national in the eastern Saudi city of Khafji, and their current situation is unknown, according to human rights advocates.

"Saudi Arabia is continuing the religious cleansing that has always been its official policy," Nina Shea, director of the Washington-based Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, told FoxNews.com. "It is the only nation state in the world with the official policy of banning all churches. This is enforced even though there are over 2 million Christian foreign workers in that country. Those victimized are typically poor, from Asian and African countries with weak governments."

In Friday's crackdown, several Bibles were confiscated, according to reports from the Kingdom.

Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va, told FoxNews.com he will press the U.S. ambassador in Riyadh and the State Department to assist the arrested Christians.

“I hope our government will speak up,” said Wolf, adding that the anti-Christian raid was not surprising given that the Saudi regime “did not want our soldiers to wear crosses during the Desert Storm” operation in 1991 to stop Iraqi jingoism. (Continue Reading.)

For more on the Islamic view of non-Muslims, watch this:

Boko Haram Survivor Deborah Peter Describes Execution of Her Father and Brother for Refusing to Convert to Islam

How many Christians must be slaughtered in the name of Allah before we are finally allowed to discuss Muhammad's teachings about Christians?

Boko Haram Survivor Deborah Peter

International Business Times—Her father and brother were martyrs for the Christian faith, a Nigerian girl who survived the Boko Haram slaughter of her family told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday. Deborah Peter, 15, recounted surviving a 2011 attack on her hometown by Boko Haram terrorists.

Peter is from Chibok, the northeast Nigerian town where close to 300 schoolgirls were taken captive in April by Boko Haram. She told U.S. House lawmakers how her brother and father were shot in front of her and the attackers put her between their dead bodies, threatening to kill her if she did not keep quiet.

In her statement, Peter recalled how her brother and father were killed on the night of Dec. 22, 2011, when their home was invaded by Boko Haram. She said her brother had told their father not to come home because they had heard gunshots outside the house. But the father had told him not to worry since because "it was not the first time he had come home when people were fighting."

"At 7:30 p.m., three men knocked on the door. My brother answered the door because he recognized one of the men as a Muslim in our community. The men asked where my dad was and I told them that he was in the shower. The men waited. After three minutes, they went into the bathroom and dragged my dad into the main room. They said that my dad was wasting their time and that they did not have time to wait on him. The men told my dad that he should deny his Christian faith. My dad told them that he would not deny his faith. They said that if he did not deny his faith they were going to kill him. My dad refused, saying that Jesus said whoever acknowledges Him in front of man, He will acknowledge in front of God; and whoever denies Him in front of man, He will deny in front of God in heaven. My dad said that he would rather die than go to hellfire. After he told the men that, the men shot him three times in his chest.

"My brother was in shock. He started demanding, 'What did my dad do to you? Why did you shoot him?' The men told him to be quiet or else they were going to shoot him too. Then, the men discussed whether they should kill my brother. One of the Boko Harams said they should kill Caleb, my brother. The second man said that he was just a boy and that he was too young to kill. But the third man said that they should make an exception in this case because Caleb will only grow up to be a Christian pastor. Caleb asked me to plead with them for his life but they told me to shut up or they would kill me too. The leader agreed that they should kill him and shot my brother two times. My dad had still been breathing but when he saw them shoot Caleb, he died.

"I was traumatized. A nearby pastor paid for me to get out of town when he discovered that Boko Haram said they made a mistake by not also killing me. Boko Haram decided later that they should have killed me because I am the daughter of an apostate Muslim mother who converted to Christianity. So the pastor paid for me to get out of that region.

"I fled and Jubilee Campaign helped me come to a 9/11 child survivors of terrorism camp in America. On May 15, 2013, that pastor, Rev. Faye Pama, was killed by Boko Haram in front of his kids." (Continue Reading.)

Wall Street Journal: The Middle East War on Christians

Christians in the Middle East are experiencing precisely the sort of oppression promoted by Muhammad and the Qur'an. When these Christians speak out, they are abused or killed. This means that their only advocates are people like us. But when we speak on their behalf, we're labeled "racists," "bigots," and "Islamophobes."

Wall Street Journal—This week, as Jews celebrate the Passover holiday, they are commemorating the Bible's Exodus story describing a series of plagues inflicted on ancient Egypt that freed the Israelites, allowing them to make their way to the Holy Land. But over the past century, another exodus, driven by a plague of persecution, has swept across the Middle East and is emptying the region of its Christian population. The persecution is especially virulent today.

The Middle East may be the birthplace of three monotheistic religions, but some Arab nations appear bent on making it the burial ground for one of them. For 2,000 years, Christian communities dotted the region, enriching the Arab world with literature, culture and commerce. At the turn of the 20th century, Christians made up 26% of the Middle East's population. Today, that figure has dwindled to less than 10%. Intolerant and extremist governments are driving away the Christian communities that have lived in the Middle East since their faith was born.

In the rubble of Syrian cities like Aleppo and Damascus, Christians who refused to convert to Islam have been kidnapped, shot and beheaded by Islamist opposition fighters. In Egypt, mobs of Muslim Brotherhood members burn Coptic Christian churches in the same way they once obliterated Jewish synagogues. And in Iraq, terrorists deliberately target Christian worshippers. This past Christmas, 26 people were killed when a bomb ripped through a crowd of worshipers leaving a church in Baghdad's southern Dora neighborhood.

Christians are losing their lives, liberties, businesses and their houses of worship across the Middle East. It is little wonder that native Christians have sought refuge in neighboring countries—yet in many cases they find themselves equally unwelcome. Over the past 10 years, nearly two-thirds of Iraq's 1.5 million Christians have been driven from their homes. Many settled in Syria before once again becoming victims of unrelenting persecution. Syria's Christian population has dropped from 30% in the 1920s to less than 10% today.

In January, a report by the nondenominational Christian nonprofit organization Open Doors documented the 10 most oppressive countries for Christians; nine were Muslim-majority states noted for Islamic extremism, and the 10th was North Korea. These tyrannical regimes uphold archaic blasphemy and defamation-of-religion laws under the guise of protecting religious expression. In truth, these measures amount to systematic repression of non-Islamic groups.

Last year in Saudi Arabia, two men were prosecuted for the "crime" of converting a woman to Christianity and helping her flee the Islamic kingdom. According to the Saudi Gazette, one of the men, a Lebanese, was sentenced to six years in prison and 300 lashes, and the other man, a Saudi, was sentenced to two years and 200 lashes. Those are relatively mild sentences in Saudi Arabia, where conversion to another religion is punishable by death.

The "justice system" in other Islamic nations is not particularly just for Arab citizens, but it is uniquely oppressive for Christians. Radical Islamists in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa are using an ancient law called the "dhimmi pact" to extort local Christians. The community is faced with a grim choice: pay a tax and submit to a list of religious restrictions or "face the sword." (Continue Reading.)

Nun Reports Genocide of Christians in Muslim Countries

"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Nine of the Ten Countries Ranked Most Oppressive Towards Christians are Muslim Countries

But if you say there's a problem, you're a racist, Islamophobic, hate-mongering bigot.

WASHINGTON – Nine out of the ten countries ranked the most oppressive for Christians to live in were due to Islamic extremism, according to Open Doors' annual World Watch List, which was released Wednesday.

With the exception of North Korea – ranked No. 1 for the 12th year in a row – every other country on the top 10 list had as its source of persecution, Islamic extremism. North Korea's persecution of Christians was due to communist oppression and dictatorial paranoia, explained Open Doors in its 2014 World Watch List. According to the report, the countries with the most extreme persecution besides North Korea are: Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Pakistan, Iran, and Yemen, respectively.

Open Doors announced the rankings for its 2014 World Watch List, which documented the 50 nations least tolerant of their Christian population, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The Christian persecution watchdog group's methodology involved measuring the level of Christian freedom found in five spheres of life: private, family, community, national, and church. A sixth sphere regarding degree of violence also factors in to the rankings. (Continue Reading.)

To understand why Muslim countries are so oppressive, click here.

Number of Christians Killed for Faith Doubled in 2013

Reuters is reporting that the number of Christians murdered for being Christian increased dramatically from 2012 to 2013, and that the people responsible for most of the killing are followers of the only religion we're still not allowed to question or criticize.

Meanwhile, many Christians in the West are too busy or too cowardly to say much in defense of the persecuted church. But as Dietrich Bonhoeffer pointed out, "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act."

LONDON (Reuters) — Reported cases of Christians killed for their faith around the world doubled in 2013 from the year before, with Syria accounting for more than the whole global total in 2012, according to an annual survey.

Open Doors, a non-denominational group supporting persecuted Christians worldwide, said on Wednesday it had documented 2,123 "martyr" killings, compared with 1,201 in 2012. There were 1,213 such deaths in Syria alone last year, it said.

"This is a very minimal count based on what has been reported in the media and we can confirm," said Frans Veerman, head of research for Open Doors. Estimates by other Christian groups put the annual figure as high as 8,000.

The Open Doors report placed North Korea at the top of its list of 50 most dangerous countries for Christians, a position it has held since the annual survey began 12 years ago. Somalia, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan were the next four in line.

The United States-based group reported increasing violence against Christians in Africa and said radical Muslims were the main source of persecution in 36 countries on its list.

"Islamist extremism is the worst persecutor of the worldwide church," it said. (Continue Reading.)

To learn about jihad, click here.

Iran Continues Crackdown on Christian Churches and Pastors

It's open season on Christians in the Muslim world. Meanwhile, Muslim groups like CAIR and ISNA continue to complain about "Islamophobia" in the West (where "Islamophobia" usually means that some people quote Muslim sources as they criticize the teachings of Muhammad).

FoxNews—Government agents shut down Iran’s largest Persian-language Pentecostal church Monday, just one week after one of its pastors was arrested and hauled away midway through a worship service.

The closing of Central Assemblies of God church in Tehran is the latest case of the Islamic Republic’s leadership cracking down on Christians ahead of the June 14 presidential election to replace President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Leaders appear especially wary of groups deemed dangerous to their power base, including growing Christian churches, according to Iranian Christians and rights groups who spoke to BosNewsLife, a news agency that specializes in the plight of Christians in Middle Eastern nations.

"These incidents appear to be an attempt to stop worship services from being conducted in Farsi, the language of the majority of Iranians," George Wood, general superintendent of the AoG in the U.S., told the service. "Services are allowed in Armenian, a minority language that most Iranians do not speak or even understand."

On May 21, authorities grabbed Pastor Robert Asserian while services were under way. They have not told parishioners where he is being held.

"Before going to the church, authorities raided Pastor Asserian’s home, where they confiscated a computer and several books,” Wood said. “Then, they found Pastor Asserian at the church leading the prayer service, immediately arrested him and announced the church’s imminent closure."

Christian groups fear a further erosion of what little tolerance of religious diversity has existed in Iran. Some estimates place the number of Iranian Christians, many of them converts from Islam, at about 100,000, in a nation of 75 million. (Continue Reading.)

Muslim Mob Tortures Christian Woman

The mob was upset over Seema Bibi's view of Islam. I'm sure torturing her and parading her through the streets changed her perspective.

Perhaps President Obama will apologize on behalf of the woman for upsetting the mob.

Of course, Muslim organizations like CAIR and ISNA would be happy to speak out for persecuted Christians, if only Muslims weren't so busy complaining about Islamophobia here in the West.

Lahore: A Christian woman was brutally tortured and paraded in the streets of a village in Pakistan's Punjab province by a mob for her alleged "anti-Islam views", local residents and police officials said on Friday.

Some 30 residents of Kot Meerath village of Sialkot district, 80 km from Lahore, dragged Seema Bibi out of her house on February 26 and paraded her in the streets after shaving her head.

She was targeted by the mob for her alleged "anti-Islam views", members of the Christian community said.

Following the assault, Seema Bibi and her family left the village to save their lives, local residents said.

"She and her family had been facing threats from a group of extremist villagers. She left the village as she had no other option," said Aslam Masih, a resident of Kot Meerath.

Regional police chief Muhammad Amin told reporters that 26 people had been arrested on charges of torturing Seema Bibi and a case had been registered against them. (Read more.)

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: The Global War on Christians in the Muslim World

At last, the mainstream media has stopped complaining about imaginary "Islamophobia" long enough to discuss actual persecution.

NEWSWEEK--We hear so often about Muslims as victims of abuse in the West and combatants in the Arab Spring’s fight against tyranny. But, in fact, a wholly different kind of war is underway—an unrecognized battle costing thousands of lives. Christians are being killed in the Islamic world because of their religion. It is a rising genocide that ought to provoke global alarm.

The portrayal of Muslims as victims or heroes is at best partially accurate. In recent years the violent oppression of Christian minorities has become the norm in Muslim-majority nations stretching from West Africa and the Middle East to South Asia and Oceania. In some countries it is governments and their agents that have burned churches and imprisoned parishioners. In others, rebel groups and vigilantes have taken matters into their own hands, murdering Christians and driving them from regions where their roots go back centuries.

The media’s reticence on the subject no doubt has several sources. One may be fear of provoking additional violence. Another is most likely the influence of lobbying groups such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation—a kind of United Nations of Islam centered in Saudi Arabia—and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Over the past decade, these and similar groups have been remarkably successful in persuading leading public figures and journalists in the West to think of each and every example of perceived anti-Muslim discrimination as an expression of a systematic and sinister derangement called “Islamophobia”—a term that is meant to elicit the same moral disapproval as xenophobia or homophobia.

But a fair-minded assessment of recent events and trends leads to the conclusion that the scale and severity of Islamophobia pales in comparison with the bloody Christophobia currently coursing through Muslim-majority nations from one end of the globe to the other. The conspiracy of silence surrounding this violent expression of religious intolerance has to stop. Nothing less than the fate of Christianity—and ultimately of all religious minorities—in the Islamic world is at stake. (Read more.)

Christian Family Flees to Escape Muslim Persecution . . . in Denmark

The glories of multiculturalism. Muslims immigrate to Denmark, and they come from countries where it is perfectly acceptable to harass and persecute Christians. Their new government refuses to criticize their cultural practices (since that would be intolerant), so the practices continue.

DENMARK--The Iranian-born leader of the Free Church "Church of Love," Massoud Fouroozandeh has moved out of the Odense district Vollsmose with his family to a small town at a secret location. This happens after the family has had two cars smashed because a Christian cross was hanging inside them.

"I was told by young people in Vollsmose that I should not drive into the area with the cross hanging in the car. Then our car was smashed and burned and the seats cut up. Since then the side windows in our new car was smashed three times," he says.

After the vandalism Fouroozandeh Massoud and his wife dare no longer let their children play on the playground in Vollsmose.

"They do not wear a headscarf, which 99 percent of the other children do, so they attracted too much attention, and it was not safe to send them out to play. So we moved very far away from Vollsmose," he says. (Read more.)

How long do you think it will take Kim or Kangaroo to say, "They deserve it! Being filthy Christians in a Muslim neighborhood, what do you expect! Allahu Akbar!"?

Pakistani Christians Face Alienation, Discrimination

I'm sure Western Muslims would like to speak out against such persecution, but they're too busy complaining that a home-improvement store isn't funding their TV program.

Time Magazine: Persecution of Religious Minorities in Indonesia "Relentless"

I'm totally confused. Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance. I know it's a religion of peace, because our leaders and the media keep saying it over and over again. So now I'm stuck trying to figure out why Muslims are persecuting and killing non-Muslims in Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Nigeria, Indonesia, and everywhere else Muslims have control over a large area. Don't these Muslims know that Islam is defined by the media, and not by Muhammad's commands?

INDONESIA--A year ago Barack Obama returned to Indonesia, where he lived as a boy, as President of the United States. In a speech at the University of Indonesia, he reminisced about catching dragonflies, flying kites and running through rice paddies in the Jakarta of his youth. "Indonesia is a part of me," he told the audience, while lauding the nation and its people for their new democracy, commitment to the rule of law and tolerance for religious diversity. Obama's affection for Indonesia is understandable. But as he prepares to go to Bali on Nov. 19 for the East Asia Summit, he needs to ditch the nostalgia and deliver a stern message to his onetime home for not living up to its purported ideals.

A key measure of the level of justice and compassion in any society is how it treats its minorities — often its most vulnerable citizens. On that score, Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, is failing. In the past year, public violence against religious minorities, who together make up about 12% of the 240 million population, has been relentless: there has been a slew of incidents, from burnings and bombings of churches to attacks by radical Muslims on moderates. The authorities appear unable or unwilling to firmly intervene.

That seemed to be the case when I was in a packed courtroom outside Jakarta a few months ago. On trial were 12 men charged in connection with a mass assault early this year on members of the peaceful Ahmadiyah sect. Ahmadis believe that their Indian founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) was also a prophet, after Muhammad — a claim orthodox Muslims find heretical. This plus other differences have made Ahmadis a target for hard-liners in Pakistan, Bangladesh and, of late, Indonesia too. The attack on the Ahmadis was brutal. A hundreds-strong crowd gathered at opposite ends of a remote rice-farming village on the western edge of Java and converged on an Ahmadi home. The people inside were surrounded and attacked with machetes, sharpened sticks and stones. Three men died; five were badly injured.

At the trial, before the judges entered the chamber, an Islamic cleric in a white robe stepped from the gallery and led the courtroom in prayer. Those inside — plus many more pressed against the outside gate — prayed for the mob, not those killed. People in the crowd told me the Ahmadis had it coming, that the mob was provoked and the violence spontaneous.

One of the accused, 17-year-old Dani bin Misra, was filmed smashing an Ahmadi man's skull with a rock. He and the other defendants were convicted of "participation in a violent attack that results in casualties." Dani was sentenced to three months' jail. The rest, including two clerics, received five to six months. (By contrast, an Ahmadi got six months for wounding an attacker when defending a family's property.) Said New York City — based Human Rights Watch: "The trial sends the chilling message that attacks on minorities will be treated lightly by the legal system." (Read more.)

Testimony at U.S. Congressional Hearing on the Persecution of Copts in Egypt

Christian Evangelist Mussie Eyob Faces Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia--An Eritrean Christian is facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia after being arrested for sharing his faith with Muslims.

Mussie Eyob was detained by the authorities at a mosque in Saudi's second largest city, Jeddah, on 12 February. He had gone there to meet and talk with local Muslims after speaking about Christianity at the Eritrean Embassy for three days. Eyob was arrested for preaching to Muslims, an offence that carries the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.

Eyob, who was initially assumed to have mental health problems, was examined by doctors, who confirmed that he is fit for trial and sentencing. He was then transferred to the notorious high-security Briman Prison. His family are very concerned for his welfare there.

They visited Eyob on 20 March and found that he had lost weight, though he was in relatively good spirits. He said that he is ready to die for his faith in Christ.

Eyob, who committed to follow Christ just over two years ago, felt compelled to share his faith with local Muslims, despite the danger.

Saudi Arabia is a strictly Islamic country that follows an extreme and puritanical version of Islam, Wahhabism. The country claims that the Quran is its constitution and that all its laws and regulations are promulgated in line with sharia, which prescribes the death penalty for converts from Islam. Consequently most converts keep their faith secret.

All forms of public religious activities other than those consistent with the government's own interpretation of Sunni Islam are banned. The government has stated that expatriate Christians, of whom there are many in Saudi Arabia, are free to worship in private. But the religious police (mutawaah) sometimes raid private worship services.

The country has one of the highest rates of executions in the world. In late 2009, Amnesty International denounced the presence of at least 141 people on death row in Saudi Arabia, including 104 foreign nationals. (Source)

Some Pakistani Christians Converting to Islam out of Fear

This is the goal of subjugating non-Muslims. If enough persecution and abuse is heaped on them, some of them will convert to Islam. Unfortunately, Muslim groups like CAIR and ISNA are so busy complaining about imaginary mistreatment of Muslims in the West, no one manages to defend the Christians being raped, tortured, burned, and killed in Muslim countries.

LAHORE, PAKISTAN—Dog-eared and tattered, the blue book is an inch thick and sits on a dented metal table in the corner office of Jamia Naeemia, an Islamic school tucked in a scattering of cement-walled homes and roadside shops.

Many believe the book offers the promise of safety and perhaps even a better chance at prosperity.

The book is a registry used to document religious converts to Islam and officials at Jamia Naeemia say business is brisk nowadays.

At least 20 to 25 former Christians adopt Islam each week by pledging an oath and signing a green and white document in which they accept Islam as “the most beautiful religion” and promise to “remain in the religion of Islam for the rest of my life, acknowledging that blessings are only from God.”

Human rights advocates say it’s no surprise some of Pakistan’s 3 million Christians are adopting Islam. These are vexing and dangerous days for the country’s religious minorities.

Last autumn, politician Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab, Pakistan’s most prosperous province, began to campaign on behalf of a Christian woman named Asia Bibi, who had been sentenced to death for blasphemy. On Jan. 4, with debate over the future of Pakistan’s blasphemy law at a fever pitch, Taseer was gunned down by one of his personal security guards.

Public reaction to Taseer’s assassination was stunning.

Pakistan’s lawyers, praised just three years ago for saving this country’s independent judiciary, showered Taseer’s assassin with rose petals on his way into court. A rally to celebrate his death attracted 40,000 in Karachi and thousands more posted tributes to the killer on their Facebook accounts.

“To be honest, I felt good when I heard he was dead; we got rid of him,” said Raghib Naeemia, an iman at Jamia Naeemia. “It’s very clear in the Holy Qur’an that if you say something nasty and harsh about the Holy Prophet, then you become a maloun (cursed) person. And we are supposed to round up those people and kill them very harshly.”

While Taseer was among several high-profile politicians who have argued the blasphemy law should be amended, human rights workers say the real issue is how often the law is misused.

An allegation of blasphemy shouted in the streets can, in an instant, whip a crowd into a frenzy and lead to assaults and dubious arrests.

In one recent example, a Shiite Muslim doctor last month was confronted in his Hyderabad office by a pharmaceutical salesman. After telling the supplier he wasn’t interested in buying anything, the salesman persisted, according to local news reports. The doctor tossed the salesman’s business card in a trash bin.

But because the salesman’s name was Muhammad — the same as the Muslim prophet — he complained to religious leaders that tossing his card the garbage was blasphemy.

The doctor was dragged out of his office and beaten by a mob. Then he was arrested by police and charged with blasphemy.

“No one feels safe right now,” said Nadeem Anthony, a Christian and a member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. “People are scared.

If you want something from your neighbour or you are angry at him, you say blasphemy and that’s it.”

In the most famous case, the one that has transfixed the nation and led to Taseer’s killing, centres on Bibi, a resident of the Punjabi village of Ittanwali, west of Lahore.

While working in the fields last June, she was sent to fetch water. When some of the other woman refused to drink it because it had been carried by a Christian, a spat ensued about the merits of both religions. The other women later went to a cleric and complained that Bibi has blasphemed the name of the Prophet Muhammad.

A complaint was filed and Bibi was charged, convicted, and given a death sentence.

The spirit of McCarthyism hangs in the air like the clouds of dust that swirl though this historic city’s poor neighbourhoods.

In Lahore last week, a Christian woman got into a heated argument with her sister-in-law, a Muslim. The Muslim woman went outside their home and cried out that her relative had blasphemed against Islam. A group of protesters stormed into the home and beat the woman. One of the ringleaders later bragged that his own wife had hit the woman the hardest.

“Her hand is so swollen that she hasn’t been able to make rotis,” he told the Express Tribune newspaper.

The Christian woman and her husband are now in hiding, the paper reported.

One of the results of this wave of anti-Christian activity unfolded on a sunny afternoon this week. Azra Mustafa, a 45-year-old housemaid, shuffled into the Jamia Naeemia and asked to speak to an imam. A recent convert to Islam, the housemaid and mother of six needed to get the proper documents to prove to her neighbours that she was no longer a Christian.

“It feels great,” she said. “I moved to a Muslim neighbourhood and now I feel like we are one family.”

Each day, Mustafa, whose husband remains Christian and now lives separately from his wife and children, wakes up to attend 5 a.m. prayers before she leaves for work four hours later. By the time she returns home at 7 p.m. from a job that pays her 2,500 rupees ($28) a month, darkness has fallen over her one-room home. After dinner, a teacher comes to her home to give Mustafa and her children 90-minute lessons on Arabic and the Qur’an.

Asked if she felt safer in the wake of her conversion, Mustafa replied, “of course.” (Read more.)