Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - "It is really shocking that Farooqi Girls High School in Lahore was burned to the ground because a teacher was accused of blasphemy. No one should be allowed to take the law into one’s own hand": This is what Fr. James Channan says to Fides Agency, a Dominican scholar and theologian, Director of the "Peace Center" in Lahore, very busy on the front of interreligious dialogue, commenting on a fire set to a school in Lahore, by a mob of extremists on November 2.
Fr. Channan continues: "The school was 34 years old, was created by a Muslim to educate girls, especially Muslims. At the time they were more than 8,000 girls enolled, now without any education. This type of violence and vandalism demonstrates how easily Pakistani Muslims can indulge in violent acts in the name of religion, for blasphemy against the Prophet. " On the basis of mere allegations and rumors, unverified, "many Pakistani Muslims lose their control and also sense of reasoning, and therefore become violent. A person, an institution, a school can be suddenly transformed into ashes," remarks the Director of the" Peace Center ". All this, he notes, is contrary to the rule of law: "It is regrettable that some Pakistani Muslims take the controversial blasphemy law in their hands and can destroy or kill with impunity all that is in their way: defendants, schools, homes, institutions, libraries, places of worship. This is a sign of a sick mentality. If such incidents happen, the institutions should intervene, no one should be allowed to take the law in their hands."
The priest calls on the government of Pakistan to "start serious investigation of this serious act of vandalism and lawlessness, to do justice to the owner and to the school staff, to ensure that these brutal acts are not repeated in the future." (PA) (Agenzia Fides 06/11/2012)
