Washington, D.C. – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on June 3, fourteen Muslims attacked a pastor, his pregnant wife, and his brother in Sahiwal, Pakistan.

Mumtaz Masih, pastor of the Full Gospel Church of Pakistan, and his wife Noreen came under attack after Muslims accused them of evangelism.

Imam Maqsood Ahmed allegedly led the assault, [...]]]> Washington, D.C. – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on June 3, fourteen Muslims attacked a pastor, his pregnant wife, and his brother in Sahiwal, Pakistan.

Mumtaz Masih, pastor of the Full Gospel Church of Pakistan, and his wife Noreen came under attack after Muslims accused them of evangelism.

Imam Maqsood Ahmed allegedly led the assault, injuring the pastor’s legs and his wife’s hands and belly. The younger brother of the pastor was ambushed when he went to get medical help for his wounded brother and sister-in-law.

The Christians complained about the attacks to the police, but the police took no action against the perpetrators.

ICC’s Regional Manager for South Asia, Jonathan Racho, said, “We strongly condemn the violence against pastor Mumtaz and his family. Pakistani Christians come under attack from Muslims for expressing their faith in Christ. In our conversation with Pastor Mumtaz and many other persecuted Christians in Pakistan, the persecuted believers have repeatedly told us their determination to stand for their faith despite the persecution.”

Please contact the embassy of Pakistan in your country and ask the Pakistani officials to bring the perpetrators of the attack against pastor Mumtaz and his family to justice.

Pakistani Embassies:

USA:       (202) 243-3254 (phone), (202) 686-1534 (Fax)
Canada: (613) 238-7881 (phone), (613) 238-7298 (Fax)
UK:         0870-005-6967 (phone)

Washington, D.C. – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that police arrested Imran John, a 22-year-old shopkeeper, for blasphemy on July 1 in Faisalabad, Pakistan.

Imran was arrested after he was accused by Haji Liaqat, a neighboring Muslim shopkeeper, of burning pages of the Qur’an. Imran had been cleaning his [...]]]>

A typical shop in Faisalabad, Pakistan

Washington, D.C. – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that police arrested Imran John, a 22-year-old shopkeeper, for blasphemy on July 1 in Faisalabad, Pakistan.

Imran was arrested after he was accused by Haji Liaqat, a neighboring Muslim shopkeeper, of burning pages of the Qur’an. Imran had been cleaning his small grocery shop and took the trash out to the street to burn – a common method of disposing of garbage in Pakistan. Haji saw him doing this, and went and told some other Muslims that Imran had desecrated the Qur’an.

Immediately a crowd of Muslims gathered, grabbed Imran, and started beating him. Some bystanders, both Christian and Muslim, ran up to help and called the police. The police soon arrived and took Imran into custody.

Hundreds of Muslims gathered later that day after imams announced over mosque loudspeakers that a Christian had blasphemed Islam. The mob blocked roads, burned tires, and demanded that Imran be put to death.

Karamat Gill, a Christian social worker from Imran’s neighborhood, told ICC, “We have lived in the area peacefully with Muslims for decades and nothing like this has ever happened here. There must be a conspiracy behind this.”

Christian leaders are urging calm and asking Muslims to let the police investigate the matter. The Christians maintain, though, that the police arrested Imran after the mobs gathered, conducted no investigation, and are holding him with no proof.