Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN (ANS) -- A Pakistani Christian couple along with his wife and children are facing death threats from an extremist Islamic organization and radical Muslim families.
According to a source in Pakistan, the death threats came after Raheel Arif began preaching the gospel to Muslim students and others.
The source also told ANS that there was a failed attempt to kidnap one of the couple's children. While Arif and his family attempted to find a safe place of refuge they found that wasn't possible, as their assailants have many connections within Pakistan. There was also an attempt made to burn their house.
The source told ANS that when the family attempted to file a complaint with law enforcement, they were told to "make peace" with their attackers.
Arif, the source said, has also been repeatedly mistreated by Muslim teachers and administration in the school in which he worked for many years.
Arif, the source said, has also been repeatedly mistreated by Muslim teachers and administration in the school in which he worked for many years.
Arif was also demoted from his position as vice principal, during a change in the administration of the school.
His attempts to complain, the source said, went unheard by the school administration.
The source told ANS that Arif was very badly treated by the school principal and others in positions of authority in the school because he was the only Christian there.
The source said, "He is ... concerned for his students, who are left with incompetent teachers, preaching religious hatred and intolerance."
The source said Arif and his family have now abandoned their home due to continued pressure from an Islamic extremist organization, his radical Muslim colleagues, and fear of another attack on him and his family.
The source said Arif and his family have now abandoned their home due to continued pressure from an Islamic extremist organization, his radical Muslim colleagues, and fear of another attack on him and his family.
| 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. |  |
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