Pakistani bishops say killing points to threat of forced conversions

Published: 2004-05-10

LAHORE, Pakistan (CNS) -- A Pakistani bishops' commission has taken up the case of a Christian youth allegedly tortured and killed by an Islamic school teacher and students who tried to force the youth to convert to Islam. The National Commission for Justice and Peace said in a May 4 statement that the incident reflects a worrying trend of forced conversions, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. The commission said that "religious intolerance and discrimination is the reason behind the recent incidents where young non-Muslims were forcibly converted and circumcised." It said media reported that 646 non-Muslims converted to Islam between 1999 and 2003 for various reasons. The statement -- signed by Archbishop Lawrence J. Saldanha of Lahore, commission chairman, and Peter Jacob, executive secretary -- said Javed Anjum was held captive at an Islamic school, or "madrasa," in Toba Tek Singh, about 190 miles south of Islamabad. It said a teacher and students at the school tortured Anjum, an 18-year-old commerce student, for five days to force him to convert.

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