insert witty title here

Another news item of religious enlightment...I've taken the liberty of emphasizing the interesting bits.

Muslim crowd angry at alleged Qur'an desecration burns 2 churches in Pakistan

LAHORE , Pakistan (AP) - A crowd of about 1,500 Muslims attacked and burned two churches in eastern Pakistan on Saturday following reports that a Christian man had desecrated Islam's holy book, the Qur'an, police said.

A school, student hostel and the home of a priest were also torched in the incident near the town of Sangla Hill, about 130 kilometres northeast of the major eastern city of Lahore, said area police official Ali Asghar Dogar.

The attacks came a day after a local Muslim resident accused Yousaf Masih, a Christian, of burning a one-room Islamic school along with copies of the Qur'an.

Dogar said no one was injured in the attacks, which were being investigated. About two dozen people had been arrested, he said.

Protesters also burned tires on village roads and blocked traffic for several hours.
Shahbaz Bhatti, head of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, which promotes the rights of minorities in mainly Sunni Muslim Pakistan, denied the charges and condemned the attacks.

"No Christian burned copies of the Qur'an," he said in an interview. "No Christian even can think of doing it," he added. "We have maximum regard and respect for the Qur'an and Islam's Prophet Muhammad."

Local Muslim leaders used mosque public address systems to urge Muslims to attack the churches, Bhatti said.

Dogar said police were also investigating the Friday night burning of the Qur'an school.

"Some people told us last night that it was done by Yousaf Masih, and we have registered a case against him," Dogar said. Another police official, Pervez Rahim, said Masih had been detained as part of the investigation.

However, Dogar said the allegations against Masih were apparently levelled by people who lost money while gambling with him on Friday.

"We don't know who is right and who is wrong, but the fact remains that hundreds of people today attacked two churches and burned them," he said, adding that the situation was "now under control."

Pakistan is an Islamic country where non-Muslims comprise just 3 per cent of the 150 million-plus population.

The country's Christian minority generally coexists peacefully with the Muslim majority, although there have been occasional attacks on churches and Christian clergy by Islamic extremists railing against Western influence in Pakistan.

Perhaps I'm just being cynical but based on my observations of human nature, I think the disgruntled gambler theory is probably accurate. Nevertheless, they only sparked the flame...the mob's religious intolerance had to already be smouldering. I leave you with this quote:


"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction" ~ Blaise Pascal


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