Islamic Extremism Sparks Slaughter, Attacks, Murder of Christians in Pakistan

A persecution watchdog is warning about the dire state of persecution in Pakistan, calling it "one of the most difficult countries to be a Christian." David Curry, CEO of Global Christian Relief, told CBN News Pakistan's blasphemy laws — regulations restricting slights against religion — can lead to mob violence and evils perpetuated against Christians. "They have very strong blasphemy laws, which I describe as vigilante laws that give any extremist the ability to make an accusation against a Christian that they have offended in some way Mohammed," Curry said. "And then rile up a mob to attack them, and [in] many cases kill them." He said some rely on these blasphemy laws to imprison and dole out the death sentence to Christians, often relying on fraudulent claims to make their case. "In all these years I've been doing this, I don't remember a case that seemed at all legitimate," Curry said. "It's just very common that there are false charges brought." Despite the chaos, Curry hopes Pakistan eventually curbs the misuse of these laws and the targeting of the Christian religious minority within its borders. "I still have a sliver of hope that it has the possibility, as a democracy, as a country that ... has some systems that still work, of being a real light in that region," Curry said, expressing a semblance of hope. "But, for now, what we have is a group that has been moving towards ... the rule of Islamic extremism." Curry shared the story surrounding a group of people who were placed on death row for purportedly sending "texts claiming that Muhammad wasn't God." He said one of the most remarkable facets of the case was that these messages were purportedly sent in English while the accused were "illiterate." "They didn't even have a cell phone," Curry said. "So, everything about the accusation was clearly and patently false."