Faisalabad: Christians and Muslims together to combat human rights violations
Faisalabad
(AsiaNews) - A network of "Christian and Muslim" activists to monitor
human rights violations, respect for freedom of expression and association, attacks
against religious minorities and vulnerable groups, to create a "harmonious
and peaceful" society.
This is the objective that emerged during the meeting sponsored by the Human Rights Defenders (HRDS) and by the
activists of the Association of Women for
Awareness and Motivation (Awam) in recent days in Faisalabad, Punjab. The
event was attended by over 50 experts in the field, including aid workers,
religious leaders, journalists, politicians, lawyers and leaders of youth
movements of different schools of thought.
In
the future, this network of activists will be tasked with foiling pre-emptive
attacks against communities or individuals (such as the past events in Gojra,
where the Christian minority was attacked over an alleged case of blasphemy), to
guarantee the right to free expression and assembly, as well as worship. And
it is precisely the "black law" - which punishes with death or life
imprisonment those who desecrate the name of Muhammad or profane the Koran - to
which Naveed Walter refers: "the blasphemy law - he explains - affects
Christians and Muslims, who become
the target of false accusations. The law is often abused to target rivals,
opponents or settle personal vendettas. "
Naseem
Anthony, a Christian activist, told
AsiaNews "It is pertinent for the human rights defenders to act as
arbitrators to mitigate the life threats and control the mob attacks to reduce
damages through early warning system mechanism, and mobilize local influential
to help resolve the conflicts peacefully before they escalates".
The
Christian activist Shazia George, who wants more dialogue and cooperation with
that peaceful and tolerant part of the Muslim world in Pakistan, intends to
fight "against religious extremism and political parties that foment
intolerance." Her
words are echoed by Suneel Malik, for whom "religious intolerance is far
more dangerous and deadly to human civilization than the atomic bomb."
Muslim
activists have also denounced fundamentalism. The
journalist Jahangir Ashfar confirmed that "the religious leaders play a
crucial role in promoting harmony in society and respect for diversity,
avoiding sermons that incite hatred and insult the followers of another
religion." This
view was shared by his colleague, also a Muslim, Iftikhar Ahmed for whom
"human life is precious, so no community should be pursued for the faults
of one individual. It is the task of the activists to resolve tense situations
in a peaceful manner, preserving the lives of innocent citizens. "
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