Marching for Justice and Religious Freedom

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

Neville Kyrke-Smith and Wilson Chowdhry submitting petitions to 10 Downing Street.

LONDON (ANS) -- Petitions calling for action to protect Christians and other minorities in Pakistan have been submitted to the British Prime Minister's residence, London's 10 Downing Street.

According to a news release from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the documents with names of more than 2,000 people were presented at Number 10 by an ecumenical delegation which included Neville Kyrke-Smith, UK director of Aid to the Church in Need.

ACN said the visit to the Prime Minister's residence on July 2 came at the climax of a two-mile protest march highlighting human rights violations in Pakistan.

A Scottish bagpiper led the protest with tunes such as Amazing Grace!

Both the march and the petitions called for reforms to Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws, which impose sentences including execution and life imprisonment for offences against Islam.

ACN said Pakistani authorities have been widely criticized for inaction over widespread abuse of the laws and the petitions called for improved law enforcement.

Earlier this year, ACN said, Punjab governor Salman Taseer and federal minorities' minister Shahbaz Bhatti were killed after criticizing the controversial legislation and related mob violence.

ACN said tributes to Shahbaz Bhatti were paid at the event, which was organized by Wilson Chowdhry and the British Pakistani Christian Association and involved Aid to the Church in Need as well as Christian Concern. Sikh, Hindu and Muslim representatives also took part.

ACN said keynote speeches were given by Chowdhry, Andrea Minichello-Williams of Christian Concern, Manoj Raithatha of the Evangelical Alliance, Alan Craig, leader of the Christian People's Alliance, Alison Ruoff, a member of the Synod of the Church of England, and the Rt Rev Michael Nazir Ali, former Bishop of Rochester, who is of Pakistani origin.

Speaking outside 10 Downing Street, ACN reported Kyrke-Smith said, "We are at one with those who are persecuted in Pakistan and all those who suffer in connection with the Blasphemy Laws. As things currently stand, these are blasphemous Blasphemy Laws."

He added, "We ask the government of David Cameron to ensure that religious rights are an essential part of discussions with other countries."

ACN said his comments came after the British government was criticized in March for plans to increase UK aid to Pakistan, in spite of an upsurge in reports of increased human rights' violations, especially minorities.

ACN said more than 300 people took part in the march which started with a prayer service and speeches outside the High Commission for Pakistan in London's Lowndes Square, where a copy of the petitions was handed in.

The petition signatories include Scotland's Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh.

Speaking before submitting the petition, ACN reported Chowdhry said, "The Pakistan government has got to realise the horrendous human rights abuses recorded in their country."

ACN said Imam Dr. Taj Hargey, from the Muslim Educational Center of Oxford, condemned Pakistani extremists carrying out violence in the name of the Blasphemy Laws.

Quoting sources showing the Prophet Mohammed's respect for Christians, ACN reported he said, "The people who carry out such violence malign my faith and bring it into disrepute. They stand for everything I am against."

Bishop Nazir Ali said, "The Blasphemy Laws are being used against Christians and people like the Ahmahdis (a religious group with Islamic roots).

ACN said he added, "The Blasphemy Laws are bad laws. The laws have destroyed Pakistan's reputation in the international community."

ACN UK's John Pontifex, who has traveled widely in Pakistan, told the marchers, "The only way change can come to the people of Pakistan - especially minority groups - is if the Blasphemy Laws are amended."

For additional information about Aid to the Church in need, visit www.acnuk.org

 

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Jeremy Reynalds is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, a freelance writer and also the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter,http://www.joyjunction.org He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "Homeless in the City." Additional details on "Homeless in the City" are available at http://www.homelessinthecity.com. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds atjeremyreynalds@comcast.net.