Source: Il Sussidiario
August 31, 2014
Pietro Vernizzi
“The root of the attacks against Christians in Iraq,
Pakistan, Syria and Nigeria is the same, and what they have in common is the
ideological matrix that is using religion to impose its own view on
everyone. These persecutions are
stronger where there is political instability.”
Paul Jacob Bhatti, president of the Shahbaz Memorial trust, a foundation
in honor of his brother killed in Pakistan by Islamic fundamentalists on March
2, 2011, highlighted this in a talk he gave at the Meeting di Rimini called
“Witness to Freedom”. The following is from questions that followed the talk.
Q: What is the state
of religious freedom in today’s unstable political situation in Pakistan?
B: In Pakistan there
is a deep instability that is seen not only in the political sphere, but also
in the economic and religious situations,
if we take note of the wide-ranging divisions between Christians and
Muslims. The situation of the
Christians, who belong to the weakest
class, is directly proportional to the general situation in Pakistan. The more unstable the government, the more violence
increases against Christians and the more the number increases of those who
want to impose a radical philosophy on everyone. Besides Christians there are other victims as
well, namely those Muslim sects that are in a less strong position than others.
Q: On what does the improvement
of life for Christians in Pakistan depend?
B: Improvement with
respect to religious freedom will be impossible as long as there is this
instability in the country. The result
is that reforms are impossible to carry out, that there is no follow-through in
making decisions that will stand, and that
even the application of the existing laws is not possible. There are many people of good faith who would
like to live together in peaceful co-existence in Pakistan, but their voices cannot be heard in an
ambience that does not permit them to express their opinions.
Q: What is your
evaluation of what is happening in Iraq?
B: The basis of the
Islamic state is a terrorist ideology and has roots in the entire world. In the name of religion they strike at those
in a weak minority position like Christians.
What is happening in Iraq is reason for a great sense of concern for all
of us who understand Christians in the world as one family, each the daughter
of the same mother, namely the Church.
In Pakistan as in Iraq, in Nigeria and in Syria we see that the
suffering of Christians has the same cause, in so far as people who are in a
weak minority position and who are innocent are killed by Muslims because of
their faith.
Q: Does the
persecution of Christians in Pakistan and in Iraq have a common root?
B: Yes. Because the ideology is the same. And these movements support each whether they
exist in Pakistan or in Syria or Iraq.
This concerns us, because there is also at this moment a great political
instability such that the actual borders between one country and the next are
not at all clear.
...
Q: What can Christians
in the Middle East do in this situation?
B: The Christians of
the Middle East find themselves in a minority position on two counts: first because they are a minority
numerically, second because they have little power as a weak minority. Therefore they need international support to
assist them in getting out of this state of crisis.
Q: In what way can
the West help the persecuted Christians?
B: The West can do
more, and its first task is to make itself aware of the gravity of the problem
and the situation, which should be resolved at the international level. The West is known for its respect for human
rights, and when these rights are violated in this way, its presence can help
not only in protecting those in a fragile position but also in identifying the
underlying causes of the situation and in finding the means to overcome the
crisis.
