#pakistan - Where religious extremism, hatred & intolerance rules #Jesus #Christianity

In Pakistan, when it comes to messages of moderation and tolerance, it seems few are listening.

For Pakistan's myriad numerically small religious minorities - Christians, Hindus, Ahmadis and scheduled castes - another defender of their shrinking rights has been silenced and there are fewer such voices left.

This has been a problem for Pakistan for as long as it has existed. For nearly 64 years the country has wrestled with the question of whether it was founded as a secular nation for the Muslims of the British subcontinent, or as an Islamic state.

Over the past six decades, through the influence of military dictators and Islamic fundamentalist parties and through the violent persecution of minorities, Pakistan has become an increasingly hostile home for its non-Muslim citizens.

The persecution of minorities has waxed and waned in Pakistan. It has taken on new forms, and found new targets. On a daily basis it is manifested in exclusion from schools, the denial of promotions, or even a job to begin with, and being frozen out of the property market. But with increasing regularity, violence flares into new incidents of brutality, sparked usually by an offence against Islam, real or imagined.

In 2009, in the Punjab town of Gojra, eight Christians were burnt alive by Muslim extremists who set fire to houses and a church, allegedly after rumours a Koran had been desecrated.

Last year, 86 Ahmadis were killed in simultaneous attacks on two of their mosques in Lahore by extremists who regard all Ahmadis as "Wajib-ul-qatl" - fit to be killed.

Now, it is feared Pakistan's blasphemy legislation, made steadily more draconian over recent years, could be the latest spark to ignite violence between Muslims and minorities.

International concerns over a "growing culture of extremism" are too late. ''We are already seeing the maximum manifestations of violence against minorities, against the state, and against other Muslims whose views are not compatible with theirs."

Islamist views are widely tolerated within mainstream political parties.

And the silence that surrounds violent extremist attacks, the tacit approval for fear of being next, emboldens the killers to kill again with impunity.

For all the stern speeches to Parliament, the Pakistani government has done little to protect moderates.

Instead of pursuing violent extremists, the government advises their targets to get more protection.

Many from Pakistan's minority communities see little hope in carrying on the fight.

Those with the means have left, or are leaving, Javed says. Those without shrink further into the margins of Pakistani society.

Pakistan is country "in the grip of terrorists", a place where minorities find themselves outcasts in their own land. "They are leaving in droves. They are migrating out of Pakistan because they see no future for themselves and their children in this country.

"They see a government with no commitment to the rights of minorities, and frankly, it's become a security issue; they fear for their lives now.

"Previously it was just jobs and education and opportunities, now their very survival is at stake."

Parishioner Xavier William says the number of practicing Christians in pakistan, or even just those prepared to openly declare their faith, gets smaller with every passing year.