Blasphemy Law At Pakistan

Calls grow for blasphemy law to be repealed

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. "
- Ephesians 6:12 [NIV]
Pakistan
Momentum is growing within Pakistan to repeal the country’s infamous blasphemy law.
Representatives from different faith groups and human rights activists are concerned about the abuses perpetrated in its name and have called for its cancellation. Currently, the law provides for life imprisonment or the death penalty for those who profane the Quran, or defame the name of the prophet Muhammad. The bill was introduced in 1986 under the dictator Zia-ul-Haq, and has been used as an excuse to unleash violence against religious minorities and target the economic activity and property of others.
Civil and military unrest is widespread across the country. On Wednesday 28 October, a huge car bomb exploded in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar killing over a hundred people. In recent weeks hundreds of others have been killed in similar attacks. One commentator observed, “Pakistan is undergoing a crucial phase in its history: the extremists and insurgents have taken hostage [of] civil society in creating an atmosphere of fear and chaos.”
There are also signs of hope emerging from Pakistan, however, launched by the very church that the fundamentalists want to annihilate. Our commentator reported, “The church, its leaders and the faithful are admirable. They live their faith with courage. They suffer the difficulties of every Pakistani citizen in a country burdened by corruption, violence, terrorism. [They] have ‘a heart full of God’ and loving ‘zeal for the church and the people’.”
Source: International Christian Concern
Prayer points:
1. That more people would speak out in calling for the blasphemy law to be repealed
2. For Christian ministries involved in the region, that God will strengthen them as they work to strengthen the body of Christ in Pakistan
3. That increasingly God would reveal Himself, to bombers and victims alike. Also, pray that those who have been wounded by the recent bomb attacks would know God’s peace and healing as they seek to rebuild their lives.