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Ramadan Posted on 08/24/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (5)

Ramadhan has begun. Around the world Muslims are fasting from sun rise to set. While the Muslims declare to the world through word& deed that from sun rise to sun down they will obstain from food, drink& smoking, their fasting is imposed on non Muslims around them. Where on one hand we would gladly be respectful of their faith and not tempt them by taking our freedom to an abusive level, we do not appreciate the fact that we are watched and observed closely, in schools, colleges and even while driving on the road or at the work place. Remember last year when Mrs Zia snapped at me for stirring my cup of tea? This time Ramadhan comes at the same time as our Crisis as Christians in Pakistan. In the wake of the Gojra violence our Muslim neighbours are on a holy and righteous journey to please Allah and earn brownie points to go to heaven. All the while we are still mourning for the lives lost in the violence and the damage done to Christians because of the injustice of laws such as the blasphemy law which makes us vulnerable targets. But while this crisis ensues, let us not forget that as always the beginning of Ramadhan brings with it endless opportunity to discuss our understanding of fasting. Normally our Muslim friends will talk to us about fasting and ask us whether we fast as well, if we do how long does one fast for, is it really 24 hours like we were taught in Catechism in school or not and whether all Christians have to fast like all Muslims and whether there is a difference between ‘sects’ and how they ‘fast’. Of course discussions like this lead to questions like ‘What is a denomination? Do you hate people of differing church background? What is a cult? Do you believe that members of another denomination will go to hell? Do you believe that if you do not fast you will go to hell? To me all these are opportunities. Opportunities not to be ignored and lost. How great the opportunity to be able to say that no I am not compelled by a religious code to fast, I am not compelled by my pastor to fast, no I will not go to hell for not fasting. In fact my faith is in Christ and all the things I do I can do because either His Holy Spirit compels and leads me to do them and my joy is in obeying or then even if I am led by Him to do something which may not seem easy to me as Maaria, then by His Holy Spirit He will give me His Strength to achieve and obey His calling and direction as with all things and every day and all that lies on the path I walk. I am able to talk about Lent and able to share with them that this is all an act of a closer walk with Jesus, a reminder to us that before His public ministry Jesus went into the wilderness, led by the Spirit, and set Himself apart to be alone with His Father. As I share with my friends about these things I am able to talk about the temptations Jesus faced and explain what I mean by ‘The joy of the Lord is my strength’ and by ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’. I am able to share with them about the idea of quietness and intimacy with Jesus. A fast and a period of abstinence is a time to draw close to Jesus, not to earn brownie points with Saint Peter for when I stand at the pearly gates. It is so that I can be so close to my first love, Jesus, that I am able to forgive when my brothers and sisters are persecuted, when I am not given full rights as a believer, when I must suffer for the Gospel.

Are there any Mariums in your neighbourhood? Posted on 08/18/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (3)

The heat shows no signs of losing its intensity, having only been worsened by the humidity from the monsoon rains. Every so often a beautiful cool breeze will lighten the air, make it possible to breathe and then bring a torrent of rain. The suffocation of the humidity soon robs us of the memory of the first drops of rain that hit the dry heated terra cotta earth at the beginning of the rainy season. It stifles any desire to do anything, go anywhere or even want to study. College starts soon, and any time now I need to finish my project proposals for the next year. With college having been shut down so abruptly we were not really given a chance to sit with tutors and decide what we will be doing this year. In fact I hear that some of the teachers have left as a protest that the college administration are not making the head scarf obligatory, others have left for unknown reasons, but it is pretty obvious that fear of terrorism and threats to the college will keep a lot of people away. Marium, a friend from college, is getting married in October so she has decided to leave and will continue her education in the US which is where her 'intended' lives. Unlike most of the girls in college she was given the choice to say yes or no to the proposal- but not without the reminder that this was a good proposal, the boy comes from a good home, lives in the US, is a doctor, his own home in LA and is serious about his faith. Every thing about Mohsin was wonderful, except that wonderful Muslim actually told Marium that he was not too keen on the headscarf! That had really put a spanner in the works. It took her weeks to consider the proposal and she did finally with the conviction that this marriage was her chance to bring true Islam to Mohsin. All I did was sigh as she talked to me, there was nothing I could say- anything I would say could be misconstrued as a criticism of Islam or make her decide otherwise. At least in the US I can hope she will meet Christians like you, faithful believers who have prayed for the men and women of my country. I can pray she will flip channels and come across the powerful voice of faith on TV. Is there a Marium coming to your neighbourhood? Is there a Marium in your neighbourhood? Someone from Pakistan or Afghanistan or Iran or India, a new bride in your home town who is new to the country. We may have all the veggies and all the sauces and pastas in our shelves, though we get all the cosmetics and brand names in our shops, the weather, the TV, the accents, the smells, the sounds, those change for people like Marium. Someone who will feel lonely in her new neighbourhood, who will not know the name of the butcher at the local Tesco or the Pathmark, or the Vegetable Seller at the super market, someone who will not be used to the cold of the winter or the long hours of sunlight, someone who will miss the smell of Chambeli (jasmin) and the glow of the fire flies after a monsoon rain. Someone who will need a friend? Is there someone who you can take Jesus to?

Winds of Persecution and Winds of Prayer Posted on 08/11/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (4)

Every day we hear more details of the Gojra incident. We are still trying to fathom what happened. In a sense we are all still in shock at the horror of what happened. A horrific and painful event that has left us, as Pakistani Christians wondering where we fit and who we are. Our identity has been questioned and we have been reminded many times over that we are seen as a 'pitty case', a cause, a community in Pakistan rather than Citizens of Pakistan. It has left us paranoid. What will I do next that could aggravate the situation and make my Muslim neighbours angry enough to violate our rights and our lives. As a Christian I have the hope that because He lives I can face tomorrow. As Christians we know that no matter what our times are in his hand and no matter what happens to my life I can only go when it is His time and I believe that even if I am killed or persecuted His name will be given glory. So while we are alive I want to make every moment count, I want to ask you to pray for us Christians that our faith in Jesus, our relationship in Jesus will mean more and more every day and will shine for the world to see every single day. I want to see Jesus lifted high, I want this to count. I want to forgive those who did this, but I want at the same time to ask you to pray that we will be prepared for that which lies ahead, that if they come to kill us, we may not die for nothing, but that we may die for Christ, we may suffer for what we believe with a passion. We cannot stand through this storm alone. It has brewed in our parts but the winds are blowing all over the world. Islam is making headway through the world. That is not my fear, because it does not have a leg to stand on before the truth of Christ. What I do fear for is the emptiness in the post modern world where the love for Christ has faded into the background and so it is easy for Islam to become so popular and appear so conducive. Christianity has become old and iconic to their senses, almost like dusty old history- but my prayer is that the history lesson would be replaced by a passion and a fire that would spread through the nations as Jesus name be lifted high and shine through all the world so your brothers and sisters in Pakistan would be strong as the winds of persecution blow over us.

Rumours and Real Time Posted on 08/06/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (3)

The world had so much to say about Musharraf but today if we have marginally freer press who is talking about Christians in Pakistan and if we have a press that is challenging the hatred and the violence that Pakistan's Christians are facing, then it is thanks to him. He allowed them to ask questions and seek accountability. When they were able to seek accountability from their leaders they were emboldened and today in that same bold new indentity they have whispered among themselves and spread a rumour amomg the people of Pakistan. A rumour that Pakistan has a growing extremist problem and that some Muslims do not like Christians. Where some are only whispering and spreading the rumour, others are bodly declaring on TV falsities and old wive's tales about Christians in Pakistan being from the Untouchable Cast, the Choora Cast which is the sweaper cast. Others shout out that we are alligned with the West and that we have been manipulated so we cry 'Victim at this time and make Islam look bad. Some say this was a mob incident peculiar to South Asia. And here I am writing to you. While they have the news channels and papers in Pakistan to insinuate and spread rumours, I have this blog. Those who sit in a press office or in front of a camera in a TV studio in Pakistan do not do so lightly. Like me they must count the cost. They count it for asking questions about Islam in a way that suggests their faith have been mis founded. For that they could be killed. Yet they are beginning to find the courage to whisper and if something else to spread rumours about the truth. Here I am, not having the courage even to whisper. These are no rumours. What I share with you, the suffering of our brothers and sisters and the tragedy of such acts of violenece is the truth. What I share with you is always in real time. While I want to impress on you that our suffering is in real time I also want to encourage you to join with us across time, in the hope of eternity and raise up those who have been so brutally attcked and persecuted at this time. My heart weeps for our brothers and sisters who have suffered because they bore the knowledge and truth God gives us.I ache to be able to be there and hold the mothers and children close and weep with them and pray with them and trust the hand of our God. Thank you for your prayers without which we would not be able to stand firm. Pray for Christian ministers and leaders and those who are using this opportunity to come out and speak with boldness for the rights of their people and condem the tragedy. All I ask of you is that you cover us in prayer. God bless

Who will comfort them and weep with them and feed them? Posted on 08/04/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (5)

Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. For the last few days I have not blogged, not because I have neglected to come to you on behalf of our wounded suffering brothers and sisters because I have nothing to bring to you but the tale of these ashes from Gojra, the city where Christians were attacked after a false accusation that Christians were desecrating the Koran. Do you remember what I told you about newspapers and how careful we have to be about the way we keep newspapers and how we use them because of the risk of a blasphemy charge being brought against us. As I was writing those words to you a whole episode of false accusations and charges was unfolding and my people my brothers and sisters were being instigated in a nasty and ugly case which was to end in the destruction of a Christian dwelling in Pakistan. Since hearing the news I have wept and wept and wept before the Lord. Seeking his face for our people. Asking the questions that have been breaking my heart. Who will comfort these brothers and sisters who mourn. The Muslim man from Swat who ran an orphanage in the region was comforted by a CNN reporter just months ago as he wept for the situation there. But then he was connected to the BIG STORY about the Taliban the aggressors against America. So that man was an important part of that drama. The brothers and sisters in Gojra who were killed and wounded and hurt and attacked for their faith are not quite so important. They do not measure up to Michael Jackson and his children, nor do they stand anywhere in the world politics. Do not expect to hear much about us. We are suffering, we are being made to bear the mark of persecution because of our faith. At this time we need you. We need you stand in the gap for those who are now homeless, those who need medical care, those who have lost family. Stand before the gracious Lord and intercede for your family in Pakistan. Times are bad and we cannot cope without your prayers. Pray that God will raise people and resources to meet the needs of these displaced peoples.