Pakistani rallies targeting Christians

Pakistani rallies targeting Christians

LAHORE, Pakistan — Anti-war rallies in Pakistan are being used by extremists to stir up violence against the minority Christian community, reports a Christian religious rights group.

Pakistan’s opposition party, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), is publicly calling for jihad against America and non-Muslims, reported Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). Calling Pakistan the citadel of Islam, the MMA condemned any attack on Iraq as a Christian crusade against Islam and declared that it was the responsibility of every good Muslim to kill infidels.

The MMA, a coalition of radical Islamic parties, includes the governments of two of the four provinces in Pakistan, including one that borders Afghanistan. The coalition is widely believed to have close links with the Al Qaeda terrorist group and the radical Taliban party of Afghanistan.

Maulana Fazal-ul Rehman, the secretary-general of the MMA, added, “Those who are supporting infidels will face our wrath. Jews and Christians are our enemies; they cannot be our friends. Our jihad is against all these infidels. This is not a war against Iraq but against Islam; and if the war will break, then Muslims will participate in this Holy War.”

CSW reports that Christians in Pakistan are particularly targeted because Islamic militants believe that by killing them, they are striking at Christian America and the West.