{"id":1280,"date":"2011-05-04T06:40:49","date_gmt":"2011-05-04T10:40:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars\/?p=1280"},"modified":"2011-05-04T11:01:45","modified_gmt":"2011-05-04T15:01:45","slug":"christian-shop-owner-killed-schools-closed-in-pakistan-called-an-easy-target-for-bin-laden-reprisals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars\/2011\/05\/christian-shop-owner-killed-schools-closed-in-pakistan-called-an-easy-target-for-bin-laden-reprisals.html","title":{"rendered":"Christian shop owner killed, schools closed in Pakistan, called an “easy target” for bin Laden reprisals"},"content":{"rendered":"

A\u00a0Christian shopowner in Pakistan has died in\u00a0an apparent reprisal\u00a0for the death of Osama bin Laden, according to Asia News.<\/em><\/p>\n

Christian institutions, schools and organizations\u00a0throughout Pakistan have closed down\u00a0Wednesday for fear of attacks. The retired Archbishop of Lahore,\u00a0Lawrence John Saldanha,\u00a0called\u00a0for greater protection for Christians, calling them an \u201ceasy target.\u201d\u00a0<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n

Many\u00a0Pakistani Christians are worried\u00a0that the operation by U.S. Special Forces that led to the death of Osama Bin Laden could spark a negative reaction by Muslims against the\u00a0Christian minority.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Younas Masih, a Christian shop owner in Faisalabad\u2019s Chak Jhumra district, was shot dead Wednesday, according to Asia News.<\/em> Two men entered his business to buy cigarettes and shot him in cold blood after an argument broke out.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE to read related story of fears of reprisals in Nigeria and Pakistan<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Another Christian, also called Younas Masih, died last week in prison from injuries he sustained at the hands of fellow inmates. He\u00a0had been\u00a0in prison since 2005 when he was arrested on blasphemy charges. In 2007, he was convicted and sentenced to death. In prison, he has had to endure threats by other prisoners, according to his family.<\/p>\n

Following his death, prison authorities denied any responsibility.\u00a0Father Mark Lucas, a priest in Faisalabad, blamed officials for not stopping inmates who threatened him repeatedly and for allowing them \u201cto reach him.\u201d It also appears that Masih was not provided with proper medical care and died from an excess loss of blood on his way to hospital.<\/p>\n

Violence against Pakistani Christians has grown in recent months. The only Christian member of Pakistan’s national cabinet was assassinated after he called for leniency\u00a0for Aasia Bibi, a mother of five sentenced to death for blasphemy after telling a co-worker “Jesus died for me, what has Mohammed done for you?”\u00a0A state governor and member of the national parliament\u00a0who took up her cause was also assassinated after he called for the blasphemy laws to be repealed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Pakistani TV on Tuesday, the extremist group Pakistan Tehrik-e-Taliban dismissed the U.S. operation as a sham, saying that as far as they are concerned Osama is still alive. Retired Pakistan Inter Service Intelligence chief Hameed Gul also cast doubts about the operation and U.S. claims, saying that in the footage shown on TV channels Bin Laden looks too young. Analysts were divided. Some said al-Qaeda will be weakened by Bin Laden\u2019s death. Others feared an escalation in violation in response to the loss.<\/p>\n

\n

Debbie Lee\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
  • To read about the death of a Christian Pakistani in retaliation CLICK HERE<\/a><\/a>CLICK HERE FOR How should Christians react to bin Laden’s death<\/a>?<\/span><\/span><\/a>To watch the video of the President’s statement, CLICK HERE<\/a><\/a><\/a>READ HERE as Beliefnet’s Jim Fletcher asks if all Muslims are\u00a0evil<\/a><\/a><\/a>To\u00a0consider\u00a0the heart-felt thoughts\u00a0of <\/strong>Debbie Lee, mom of the first Navy SEAL killed in Iraq, CLICK HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/a>CLICK HERE to read bestselling author Linda Howard’s reaction<\/a><\/a>To consider the thoughts of Beliefnet’s Kirsten Jackson, CLICK HERE<\/a><\/a><\/a>CLICK HERE to watch the reaction of New Yorkers at Ground Zer<\/strong>o<\/strong><\/a><\/a><\/a>CLICK HERE for photos and the text of the President’s statement<\/a><\/a><\/a>To read the reaction of Beliefnet’s Ryan Gaffney CLICK HERE<\/a><\/a><\/a>CLICK HERE to read Beliefnet writer\u00a0Donna Calvin’s reaction<\/a><\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/li>\n
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    <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A\u00a0Christian shopowner in Pakistan has died in\u00a0an apparent reprisal\u00a0for the death of Osama bin Laden, according to Asia News. Christian institutions, schools and organizations\u00a0throughout Pakistan have closed down\u00a0Wednesday for fear of attacks. The retired Archbishop of Lahore,\u00a0Lawrence John Saldanha,\u00a0called\u00a0for greater protection for Christians, calling them an \u201ceasy target.\u201d\u00a0 Many\u00a0Pakistani Christians are worried\u00a0that the operation by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[148,83,147],"tags":[150,378,389,411,412,413],"class_list":["post-1280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anti-blasphemy-law","category-inspirational","category-pakistan","tag-aasia-bibi","tag-islam","tag-muslim","tag-osama-bin-laden","tag-pakistan","tag-persecution"],"yoast_head":"\nChristian shop owner killed, schools closed in Pakistan, called an "easy target" for bin Laden reprisals - On the Front Lines of the Culture Wars<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars\/2011\/05\/christian-shop-owner-killed-schools-closed-in-pakistan-called-an-easy-target-for-bin-laden-reprisals.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Christian shop owner killed, schools closed in Pakistan, called an "easy target" for bin Laden reprisals - On the Front Lines of the Culture Wars\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A\u00a0Christian shopowner in Pakistan has died in\u00a0an apparent reprisal\u00a0for the death of Osama bin Laden, according to Asia News. Christian institutions, schools and organizations\u00a0throughout Pakistan have closed down\u00a0Wednesday for fear of attacks. The retired Archbishop of Lahore,\u00a0Lawrence John Saldanha,\u00a0called\u00a0for greater protection for Christians, calling them an \u201ceasy target.\u201d\u00a0 Many\u00a0Pakistani Christians are worried\u00a0that the operation by…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars\/2011\/05\/christian-shop-owner-killed-schools-closed-in-pakistan-called-an-easy-target-for-bin-laden-reprisals.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"On the Front Lines of the Culture Wars\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-05-04T10:40:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-05-04T15:01:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Christian shop owner killed, schools closed in Pakistan, called an \"easy target\" for bin Laden reprisals - On the Front Lines of the Culture Wars","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars\/2011\/05\/christian-shop-owner-killed-schools-closed-in-pakistan-called-an-easy-target-for-bin-laden-reprisals.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Christian shop owner killed, schools closed in Pakistan, called an \"easy target\" for bin Laden reprisals - On the Front Lines of the Culture Wars","og_description":"A\u00a0Christian shopowner in Pakistan has died in\u00a0an apparent reprisal\u00a0for the death of Osama bin Laden, according to Asia News. 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