Another Forced Conversion in Pakistan

This is from a short article which I shall quote in full:-

Faisalabad (AsiaNews) – A young Christian woman was kidnapped, raped and forced to convert to Islam by a Muslim man in Faisalabad, Khalil Tahir, chairman of “Adal Trust,” a free legal aid organisation that helps minorities, told AsiaNews.

According to early reports, 18-year-old Razia went to visit her aunt on October 21 but never came home. Her parents went out looking for her but to no avail. They also contacted a Muslim man, Sajid, who had harassed her in the past, but he denied any knowledge of her whereabouts.

Razia did eventually make it home on October 31 in a state of shock. She told her parents that Sajid had abducted her, repeatedly raped her and forced her to convert to Islam. She is currently under medical care.

“The girl’s father went to the police to file a complaint on the evening of Razia’s return, but they were reluctant to register the case fearing that it might get out of proportion because of its religious element,” Khalil Tahir told AsiaNews.

For the time being “that man is free,” he said. “He can do whatever he wants,” he added, “but as a lawyer I’ll do everything in my power to help the family get justice in a Pakistani court.”

This tactic of persecuting the Christians through their daughters is something I have seen reported many times. Apart from Pakistan, this tactic is most commonly used against the Copts in Egypt. I have already reported such an incident here. Other accounts here.

In these parts of the world a family's honour is inextricably bound up with the women of that family. By attacking the women and taking their honour, they are attacking the honour of the entire family.

Also, with her honour lost, the woman will have great difficulty in finding a husband. She is, therefore, unlikely to have a family - thus reducing the Christian population in the next generation. This would seem too far-fetched to be a likely motive, were it not for the pervasive nature of these rapes.

Even if the woman does find a Christian man willing to marry her, she will probably face violent opposition to her marriage from the Muslim population. Having converted to Islam, she is by Islamic law forbidden from marrying a non-Muslim. However, if she renounces Islam she is liable, according to Islamic law, to the death penalty.

This article describes the ways in which Muslim extremists in Egypt pressure Egyptian Christians to convert. The paragraph at the end is particularly worth quoting:-

"These devious tactics to convert Christians to Islam are being used by Muslim extremists. I believe that most Muslims would strongly disapprove of the use of force, pressure and deception to convert Christians to Islam. However, this minority of extremists can do a lot of harm way out of proportion to their numbers because they are well-organised, disciplined and very determined. They are beginning to combine more subtle and sophisticated methods with their traditional propensity to use force. Their aim is to destroy the Christian presence in Egypt. The Egyptian church is a big prize in the eyes of the extremists because it is the largest Christian community in the predominantly Muslim Arab world. Right now the Coptic community in Egypt is being bled in mainly two ways, through conversion to Islam and through migration. The Egyptian government fails to adequately protect the Copts from Muslim extremists and often carries out or condones persecution or discrimination against Christians."