Churches are burning in Pakistan as Christians face extreme persecution

In the last 30 years, the number of countries where Christians face extreme levels of persecution has almost doubled. As the United Nations marks the international day for commemorating victims of religious persecution, Daniel McIlhiney explains what has been happening in Pakistan, and how Christians can pray

Last week, two Christian brothers were accused of blasphemy in Jaranwala, Pakistan. This resulted in the large-scale destruction of the Christian community in that area. It was alleged that pages of the Qur’an were found with offensive slogans scrawled in red pen across the Islamic scriptures. However, those who made this accusation also claimed that the two brothers included their names, addresses and national identity card numbers in their desecration – quite why they would have included such incriminating information is, as yet, unclear.

The local Muslim community, led by local, armed clerics, proceeded to burn down historic churches in the area, torch and loot Christian homes and property and desecrate a Christian graveyard; countless people were forced to flee in fear of their lives. The attack lasted for ten hours with, according to local leaders and journalists, minimal intervention from the police.