“Bibi has been quoted as saying that the Muslim family often tried to persuade her to convert to Islam.” And she refused. Muhammad said: “Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war…When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these you also accept it and withhold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them…. If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah’s help and fight them.” (Sahih Muslim 4294)
So if Elishba Bibi refused the Muslim family’s invitation to Islam, and did not pay the jizya, it was not just their prerogative, but their responsibility to fight her — hence the beating with pipes.
“Bishop Kevin?”
*Heavy sigh* “Yes, Father Bud?”
“I’m really sorry to bother you with this kind of thing again, but a Christian woman in Pakistan has been beaten with a pipe by two Muslims after refusing to convert to Islam, and she lost her baby.”
*Wearily* “Bud, do I look like the Pakistani police to you?”
“But that’s just it, Bishop Kevin. The police have done nothing. It looks as if, as Muslims, they side with the perpetrators.”
“All right, so what do you expect me to do about it?”
“Well, Bishop Kevin, the next time you have a ‘dialogue’ meeting with Imam Mahmoud down at Masjid Aurangzeb, maybe you could bring it up.”
“Bring it up? What for? He’s a terrific guy, but you know how touchy Mahmoud is. I don’t want to ruffle his feathers — remember that time he harangued me for twenty minutes about the Crusades? Look, let’s just go next week, and smile, and reach out — reach out and get some of that hummus, Bud, it is positively mystical –”
“Bishop Kevin, I’m serious. I was thinking maybe we could craft a statement.”
“A statement? What kind of statement?”
“A statement denouncing the attack on Elishba Bibi — that’s the woman’s name — and calling on Muslims to renounce all brutality and violence against non-Muslim minorities in Muslim countries.”
*Shaking his head* “Father Bud, if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times –”
“I know you’ve told me, Bishop Kevin, but I, well, I just keep hoping for a change.”
“Look, Bud. Nothing is going to change. Forget it. You know what happened the last time I asked for something like your statement. Mahmoud said he condemned all terrorism, especially state terrorism. Wasn’t that good enough?”
“Well, since you asked, no. It wasn’t. By that he just means that he is condemning America and Israel.”
“Bud. Don’t be uncharitable. Don’t be Islamophobic. He said he condemned terrorism.”
“Yes, but you don’t know for sure if he thinks the attacks on Christians even constitute terrorism.”
“Yes, I do. He told me so, and even if it wasn’t in his public statement, I know he’s a standup guy. And remember, Bud, he just got offended last time I asked him to condemn something that radical violent extremist Islamists did.”
“I know. He said you were engaging in collective blame. But that wasn’t the point, Bishop Kevin. The idea was not only to get him to condemn jihad terror and the persecution of Christians. The idea was to get him to start teaching in his mosque and the larger Muslim community that the terrorists’ understanding of Islam is wrong.”
“Bud, you’re just not being realistic. How would you feel if he came here and started telling me what I could teach here at St. Aethelred’s Cathedral?”
“Well, he did, Bishop Kevin. Remember? He gave you all the selected readings for the Qur’an Recitation we had for Outreach last month. And I still wonder why he refuses to reciprocate and have a Bible Reading at Masjid Aurangzeb.”
“Listen, Bud. You can’t push these people too hard. They’re very sensitive to racism and bigotry. You can’t ask them to go around teaching against terrorism and hosting Christian prayers in their mosques. Their memory of colonialism and imperialism is too strong. Heck, the Crusades are a living memory for them! We have to show them we’re not Crusaders. Not imperialists. That we love Islam and embrace it as part of the glorious mosaic of mankind. That we are not living in fear of radical extremist violent Islamist radical extremists. Heck — we have them among ourselves as well!”
“Well, Bishop Kevin, I don’t remember the last time two Christians beat a pregnant Muslim woman with pipes because she refused to convert to Christianity.”
“It happens all the time, Bud. All the time. And in response, we need to adopt a posture of repentance, respect, humility and submission. Above all, we can’t keep nagging them about Muslim persecution of Christians! What would that do to the dialogue? I hope you’ll come with me to the mosque next week, Bud. You’ll see what a kidder Mahmoud is. And the hummus!”
“Pakistani Christian woman miscarries after being BEATEN with a pipe by Muslim brothers,” Catholic Online, November 30, 2014:
A 28-year-old Pakistani Christian woman lost the child she was carrying after two Muslim brothers beat her with pipes. Christian activists in Pakistan have since called for the immediate arrest of the accused.
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) – The attack took place in Christian Colony, Rana Town, in Sheikhupura district of Punjab province November 16. The victim, Elishba Bibi, was three-months pregnant. The accused, Muneeb and Mobeel Gondal, say they attacked her because she had argued with their mother and sister.
Bibi was allegedly beaten with a pipe, stripped and dragged into the street before falling unconscious. She was rescued after her Christian neighbors called police.
Christian activists in Pakistan have since called for the immediate arrest of the accused in the brutal assault of a pregnant Christian woman.
“The suspects also snatched my mobile phone, a gold necklace and 1,000 rupees (about $10 in U.S. dollars), that was my salary,” she said.
Rights activist and Chairman of Human Liberation Commission of Pakistan Aslam Pervaiz Sahotra denounced the attack, saying it was motivated because of Bibi’s religious beliefs.
Sahotra also criticized the police for failing to arrest the suspects after almost two weeks, accusing them of conducting a half-hearted investigation with the intention of exonerating the suspects.
Christian activists protested outside the Lahore Press Club last week to demanded swift and strong action against the suspects and the investigators.Bibi has been quoted as saying that the Muslim family often tried to persuade her to convert to Islam. Christians who filed charges against the brothers have reportedly been threatened.
“We are now receiving reports that Christian families are being told to withdraw the case or face mob violence on false blasphemy charges,” he told reporters….