LAHORE, Pakistan — A Christian mother believes the employers of her teenage son have forced him to convert to Islam and are holding him against his will.
Samina Javed of Bhadru Minara village in Pakistan’s Punjab province said her 17-year-old son, Samsoon Javed, did not come home from work one day in September. Media sources Christian Daily International and Morning Star News report that she went to his workplace and was told Samsoon had become a Muslim and no longer wanted to live with the family.
The employer would not allow her to see her son, she said.
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A few days later, she did see her son when the employer was not present, but Samsoon seemed afraid.
She said sources told her the employers — who are brothers — had been taking Samsoon to an Islamic spiritual guide and pressuring him to give up Christianity.
“I’m certain that Samsoon is being held by the two brothers against his will,” Samina told the news outlets. “I have seen fear in his eyes. … It’s as if he’s being blackmailed or threatened by them.”
She is trying to rescue her son but is concerned that he may be harmed or made to disappear because of her efforts.
Pakistan is No. 7 on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.
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