Abstract
In “Marked by the Cross: The Persecution of Christians in Pakistan”, Edwina Pio and Jawad Syed argue that Christians in Pakistan are trapped between their religious faith and Islamic extremism and are the victims of persecution. Christians have deep roots in Pakistan dating from the nineteenth century, and most are in the grip of economic and political poverty. They also bear the brunt of anti-Western sentiment in the world of Islam. In current-day Pakistan, mob violence resulting in injury and death, burning and killing of individuals, shooting during church services, rape, sexual abuse, kidnapping and forced conversion are some of the atrocities experienced by adherents to the Christian faith. Discrimination takes place against a background of religious extremism, the violation of minority rights, and often state-sanctioned jihadist discourse, with powerful figures remaining silent on issues of religious persecution and violence. Pio and Syed argue that while Christians in Pakistan do not have to pay the jizya and in theory are allowed to practice their religion, Islamic sharia law, including but not limited to the blasphemy law, facilitates their discrimination and constant persecution in their homes and places of worship.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Amir, A. (2014, November 7). What should Pakistani Christians do? The News. Available at: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9-282746-What-should-Pakistans-Christians-do
Ballard, R. (2012). The Christians of Pakistan: A historical overview and an assessment of their current position. Manchester: Centre for Applied South Asian Studies.
Bari, S. (2009, January 22). The state and status of women. The News.
BBC News. (2013, September 23). Who are Pakistan’s Christians? BBC News, Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-24201241
Benjamin, L. T. (2014). The life of a Christian in Pakistan. GMA Blog. Available at: http://gmablog.org/2014/10/12/the-life-of-a-christian-in-pakistan/
Blood, P. R. (2009). Pakistan-U.S. relations (Congressional Research Service). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service.
Catholic News Agency. (2012, January 13). Bishop denounces government bulldozing of Pakistan church and school. Catholic News Agency.
Cowasjee, A. (2000, July 9). The sole statesman—4. The Dawn. Available at: http://www.dawn.com/news/1072307
Dawn. (2010a, December 26). The Christian contribution. Dawn. Availble at: http://www.dawn.com/news/593854/the-christian-contribution-2
Dawn. (2010b, December 8). High profile blasphemy cases in the last 63 years. Dawn. Available at: http://www.dawn.com/news/589587/high-profile-blasphemy-cases-in-the-last-63-years
Dilawri, S., Salim, A., Saleem, M., & Ishfaw, H. (2014). Searching for security: the rising marginalization of religious communities in Pakistan. London: Minority Rights Group International.
el-Gaili, A. T. (2004). Federalism and the tyranny of religious majorities: Challenges to Islamic federalism in Sudan. Harvard International Law Journal, 45(2), 511–521.
Gabriel, T. (2008). Christian citizens in an Islamic state: The Pakistan experience. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.
Gregory, S. (2012). Under the shadow of Islam: The plight of the Christian, minority in Pakistan. Contemporary South Asia, 20(2), 195–212.
Guerin, O. (2010). Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi ‘has price on her head’. BBC. Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-11930849
Hashim, A. (2014, November 5). Pakistani Christian couple killed by mob. Al Jazeera. Available at: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2014/11/pakistani-christian-couple-killed-mob-2014115154959911691.html
Hephaestus Books. (2011). Christian schools in Pakistan. London: Hephaestus Books.
Home Office. (2015). Country information and guidance—Pakistan: Christians and Christian converts. London: Independent Advisory Group on Country Information (IAGCI).
ICN (Independent Catholic News). (2013, July 15). Pakistan: Christian sentenced to life imprisonment for ‘blasphemous text’. ICN. Available at: http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=22951
Jafri, O. (2013, December 23). Is that Santa at the door? No, its the Shia community of Multan. The Express Tribune. Available at: http://tribune.com.pk/story/649581/is-that-santa-at-the-door-no-its-the-shia-community-of-multan/
Jillani, S. (2015, September 1). New cross symbolic for Pakistan’s Christians. BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-33929859
Jinnah, M. A. (1948). Quaid-i-Azam Mahomed Ali Jinnah: Speeches as Governor-general of Pakistan, 1947–48. Karachi: Pakistan Publications.
Kahn, P. (2005). Putting liberalism in its place. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Khan, S. (2012). The blasphemy laws: A Pakistani contradiction. Available at: http://www.wpsa.research.pdx.edu/meet/2012/khan.pdf
Khan, M. S., & Rafi, G. (2014). Religion, politics and the Christians of Pakistan: Is KPK a better option to live? Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 21(6), 975–983.
Lucie-Smith, A. (2015, March 19). Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti wants churches destroyed – it’s time for the West to rethink relations. Catholic Herald. Available at: http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2015/03/19/how-can-the-west-keep-up-good-relations-with-saudi-arabia-when-its-chief-religious-leader-wants-churches-destroyed/
Malik, I. H. (2002). Religious minorities in Pakistan (Vol. 6). London: Minority Rights Group International.
Malik, J. (2008). Madrasas in South Asia. Teaching terror. Oxon: Routledge.
Minority Rights Group International. (2010). State of the world’s minorities 2010. London: Author. Available at: http://www.minorityrights.org/6138/state-of-the-worlds-minorities/stateof-the-worlds-minorities-2008.html
NA (National Assembly). (2012). The constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Available at: http://www.na.gov.pk/uploads/documents/1333523681_951.pdf
Nayyar, A. H., & Salim, A. (2005). The subtle subversion: The state of curricula and textbooks in Pakistan. Islamabad: Sustainable Development Policy Institute.
Neil, S. (1970). The story of the Christian church in India and Pakistan. New York: Eerdman Press.
O’Brien, J. (2006). The construction of Pakistani Christian identity. Lahore: Research Society of Pakistan.
O’keefe, M. (1998, October 25). Violence, injustice keep Pakistan’s Christians living in fear in Lawless society. Available at: www.rider.edu/files/CCM-Violence.pdf
Open Doors World Watch List. (2015). Christian persecution in Pakistan. Available at: http://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/pakistan
PCP (Pakistan Christian Post). (2013, September 17). A Christian killed by throat cutting in Pakistan on accusation of blasphemy. Available at: http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/headlinenewsd.php?hnewsid=4482
Pinault, D. (2008). Notes from the fortune-telling parrot: Islam and the struggle for religious pluralism in Pakistan. London: Equinox.
Preston, P. (2011, March 2). Shahbaz Bhatti’s assassination is a bleak counterpoint to Cairo. The Guardian.
Raina, A. K. (2014). Minorities and representation in a plural society: The case of the Christians of Pakistan, South Asia. Journal of South Asian Studies, 37(4), 684–699.
Rodrigues, M. (2013). Goans of Pakistan. http://www.goansofpakistan.org/milestone.htm
Ross, R. (2012). Blasphemy and the modern, “secular” state. Appeal, 17(3), 3–19.
Shaukat, A. (2013, October 6). Human chain formed to protect Christians during Lahore mass. Express Tribune. Available at: http://tribune.com.pk/story/614333/muslims-form-human-chain-to-protect-christians-during-lahore-mass
Sookhdeo, P. (2002). A people betrayed: The impact of Islamization on the Christian community in Pakistan. Fearn: Isaac Books.
Syed, J. (2008a). Pakistani model of diversity management: Rediscovering Jinnah’s vision. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 28(3/4), 100–113.
Syed, J. (2008b). The representation of cultural diversity in Urdu-language newspapers in Pakistan: A study of Jang and Nawaiwaqt. South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 31(2), 317–347.
The News. (2014, November 8). Christians in Punjab keep on suffering heavily. The News. Available at: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-282940-Christians-in-Punjab-keep-on-suffering-heavily
USCIRF (United States Commission on International Religious Freedom). (2013). Religious Freedom Report on Pakistan 2012–13. Full text of the report. Available at: http://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2013%20USCIRF%20Annual%20Report%20(2).pdf
Walbridge, L. S. (2003). The Christians of Pakistan: The Passion of Bishop John Joseph. Oxon: Psychology Press.
Walsh, D. (2011, December 11). Pakistan: Bombs, spies and wild parties. The Guardian.
Washington Post. (2015, May 19). Pakistani business man Parvez Henry builds a hug bulletproof cross in Karachi. Available at: http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/middle-east/68658066/Pakistani-businessman-Parvez-Henry-Gill-builds-a-huge-bulletproof-cross-in-Karachi.
World Bank. (2014). Pakistan: Total population. World Bank Country Data. Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/country/pakistan
Zaidi, S. A. (1988). Religious minorities in Pakistan today. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 18(4), 444–457.
Zaidi, A. (2011). Christian sportsmen who represented Pakistan. The News. Available at: http://blogs.thenews.com.pk/blogs/2011/12/christian-sportsmen-who-represented-pakistan/
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2016 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pio, E., Syed, J. (2016). Marked by the Cross: The Persecution of Christians in Pakistan. In: Syed, J., Pio, E., Kamran, T., Zaidi, A. (eds) Faith-Based Violence and Deobandi Militancy in Pakistan. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-94966-3_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-94966-3_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-94965-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-94966-3
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)