Even when transgressing the Islamic prohibition on alcoholic drinks, this mob remembers to express hatred and contempt for the unbelievers, the “vilest of creatures” (Qur’an 98:6). From Compass Direct:
November 20 (Compass Direct News) — Armed and drunken Muslims struck two greeters at a Sunday evening service of a church outside Lahore last week, later returning to pelt the building with stones and bricks.
Led by Zulifiqar Akbar Jutt and Asif Ramzan, 10 men broke fluorescent lights and a cross on the outer gate of the Talab Sarai village Nazarene church on November 12, a Lahore-based human rights organization reported.
This is the eighth attack on a Pakistani church confirmed by Compass this year.
The attack on the vacant church occurred while the congregation was lodging a complaint against Jutt and Ramzan for harassing them earlier that day, according to a Center for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) report.
According to Nazarene Pastor Rafiq Masih, prior to the 6 p.m. service, Jutt and Ramzan had approached the church intoxicated, singing swear words to the tune of the church’s hymns.
Two greeters stationed at the church compound’s outer gate intervened when Jutt and Ramzan began harassing Christian women on their way to the evening meeting, the pastor said.
Jutt and Ramzan quickly left when more members of the congregation came outside to investigate the commotion. Two hours later, however, Jutt and Ramzan returned with eight friends as the service was about to end.
“They all were drunk, equipped with firearms and clubs,” Pastor Masih told CLAAS. “Asif [Ramzan’s] mother, Wallayat Bibi, was also with them.”
The Muslim men began to hit Haroon Masih and Ashraf Masih, the greeters who had earlier challenged them, a CLAAS representative told Compass from Lahore.
The entire congregation, approximately 40 families, quickly exited the church, prompting the Muslim men to halt their attack. Pastor Masih urged his congregation to remain calm even as the armed men continued to hurl verbal insults against Christianity and Christian worship.
“They had every intention to use the firearms,” CLAAS coordinator Wasim Muntizar told Compass. “But because the Christians didn’t respond angrily, the situation did not get worse.”