Christians in Pakistan ‘give children Islamic names to avoid abuse in school’


October 4, 2019

Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that Christian children and other faith minorities were using different names to prevent them from being subjected to abuse.

He said: “Many minorities give their children Islamic names so they will not be singled out as Christians and become potential targets for discrimination in primary or secondary schools or at the college level.

“In many cases, minority students do suffer abuse in public schools.”

Bishop Shukardin spoke out against textbooks in state-run schools, saying: “The minorities are considered infidels and they are depicted negatively in textbooks, which promote prejudices against minorities.

“The fundamentalists believe that Islam is the only complete religion – that salvation is only found in the Qur’an as the last holy book.”

Bishop Shukardin said the febrile atmosphere whipped up by extremists has put pressure on minorities – including Christians.

The bishop said: “Most of the minorities, and in particular Christians, are afraid of attacks and persecution.”

He described how Christians in Pakistan suffer as a result of extremists falsely associating them with the West.

Bishop Shukardin said: “If the West strikes against Muslims anywhere in the world, enraged fundamentalists in Pakistan often attack the churches.”

But it is not just Christians who are attacked by extremists, he explained – moderate Muslims and other religious minorities are at risk too.

He said: “There are far more attacks on mosques than on churches – fundamentalist Muslims killing moderate fellow Muslims.”

Bishop Shukardin also highlighted problems about kidnappings and forced conversions and marriages, echoing concerns made in an ACN interview last week by Archbishop Sebastian Shaw of neighbouring Lahore archdiocese.

The bishop said: “Muslims believe that converting one person to Islam earns them eternal life. If an initial effort fails, people turn to kidnapping.

“Kidnappings and forced marriages are most common in rural areas, where people have little education.”

Both Archbishop Shaw and Bishop Shukardin stressed the importance of education in a country where clergy have prioritised the provision of Church-run schools and colleges.

He said: “We also need resources to help needy families send their children to college, which many cannot afford to do – let along enabling them to pursue advanced degrees.

“Education is key for every nation trying to transform society.”

ACN last year funded more than 60 projects in Pakistan, including the construction of churches, training of Sisters and other religious as well as emergency aid.

Source : Catholic Herald.



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Post


Notice : The source URLs cited in the news/article might be only valid on the date the news/article was published. Most of them may become invalid from a day to a few months later. When a URL fails to work, you may go to the top level of the sources website and search for the news/article.

Disclaimer : The news/article published are collected from various sources and responsibility of news/article lies solely on the source itself. Vedic Upasana Peeth or its website is not in anyway connected nor it is responsible for the news/article content presented here. ​Opinions expressed in this article are the authors personal opinions. Information, facts or opinions shared by the Author do not reflect the views of Vedic Upasana Peeth and Vedic Upasana Peeth is not responsible or liable for the same. The Author is responsible for accuracy, completeness, suitability and validity of any information in this article. ​
© 2021. Vedic Upasna. All rights reserved. Origin IT Solution