Author: Editor

It is with dismay and disdain that I hear of the persecution of our Shi’ite brothers in Pakistan – a small Muslim minority. The Shia community of Karachi has been ravaged by 3 separate bomb attacks, in a spate of sectarian violence covering just 3 days from the 26th – 28th December. The Ashoura festival and Muharram celebrations, for Shia Muslims have been tarnished by the recent terrorist activity. The intensity of the situation culminated in a Shia led riot that has decimated the local commercial precinct. Shamefully it would seem that the Pakistan Government has tried to delay or…

Many of you will be unaware that Pakistan once had a thriving Jewish Community. In particular the City of Karachi boasted a number of Synagogues and at least a 3000 strong fellowship. A former synagogue and graveyard still exist in Karachi for which attempts are being made to preserve them as part of the heritage of Pakistan. There remains one openly Jewish person named Fischel Benkhalid and around 900 Jews who present themselves on the National Database and Registration Authority’s census database.  However, they choose to indicate their faith as Muslim on their ID documents to thwart persecution. During the…

From The Sunday Times March 15, 2009 My Imam father came after me with an axe Hannah Shah had been raped by her father and faced a forced marriage. She fled, became a Christian and now fears for her life We are all too familiar with the persecution of Christians in countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan. Yet sitting in front of me is a British woman whose life has been threatened in this country solely because she is a Christian. Indeed, so real is the threat that the book she has written about her experiences has had to…