2 Important Persecution Stories from the News

Pakistan

Quite a bit of coverage has been given to the sad case of Rimsha Misrak, a Christian girl in Pakistan who is accused of blaspheming Muhammad.  She remains in jail, and her family is in protective custody.  I have read some reports which say Rimsha is 11, but this story reports that she is 12.  (Does it matter?)

Her crime is blasphemy. Supposedly, she defamed pages of the Quran, possibly by burning them.  The BBC reports,

The crowd wanted to burn her alive, this is a condemnable act and a clear violation of human rights.  She is an innocent child – she doesn’t even know what she did. She is in a state of shock.

Many will say that no one is ever actually killed under the law, but the truth is that 46 people who have been charged were killed by mob violence either before or after their trials (see here).  If Muslims are peace-loving and value human life, then surely they will decry not only this incident but also Pakistan’s horrendous law 295 which encourages such behavior.

Egypt 

In Egypt, Christians and others protesting the new Muslim Brotherhood government are in fact being crucified (See Here). Crucifixions are not unheard of, but they are almost certainly a religious statement as much as a punishment. If one wished only to kill dissidents, a bullet would work just fine. The extra labor involved in setting up a crucifixion must be to make a point.

I think the point being made is this: If you wish to follow Christ, then follow him—all the way to the cross.  In an ironic way, the executor ends up making the same point Christ made in Luke 9:27,

And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.