October 2023 Persecution Magazine

Much of the world was shocked by the nightmare
that descended on a Christian community in
Pakistan this August. The dust has long settled,
and the world has all but moved on. Yet hundreds of
Christian families and pastors are still picking up the
pieces, trying to regain a foothold in the world that
they lost. And we are there to help them.
The tranquility of the quiet, Christian suburb of
Faisalabad, Pakistan was shattered when 5,000 radical
Muslims descended upon Jaranwala in a rampage.
They set 26 churches ablaze, along with 196 homes,
and many businesses. The scale of destruction is
difficult to fathom, and it was a stark reminder of the
precarious situation faced by Christians and other
religious minorities in Pakistan.
The uproar began when a Muslim man, driven by
malice, made a false blasphemy charge against
a Christian teen. It was a petty dispute over a
business transaction that spiraled into a nightmare.
The allegation was the spark, but the dry tinder of
communal tension had been growing far too long.
Word of the blasphemy charge quickly spread beyond
the boundaries of Jaranwala.
Angry mobs from afar descended upon the community
with a fervor that defied reason. Witnesses recounted
the chilling sight of men on motorcycles, laden with
flammable materials, setting homes, churches, and
businesses ablaze. The streets that once echoed with
hymns and prayers now bore witness to an inferno
fueled by intolerance.
The attackers’ rage went beyond the false blasphemy
charge; it was a collective belief by some that Christians
were undermining Pakistan’s identity as a Muslim
nation. Many among the mob were not even familiar
with Jaranwala, but they came to destroy it. Others
believed that Christians were undermining Pakistan’s
identity as a Muslim nation.
The government has promised relief and began to
distribute checks to Christians to offset their losses.
It certainly won’t be enough to rebuild their homes.
More than 100 attackers were arrested in a nod to
justice.
We asked two members of our team to give their
assessment of the destruction. Here were their
responses:
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