Pakistan: The (Muslim) Pakhtun guardians of churches !!!
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od eenj
Oct 3, 2013, 7:26:24 AM10/3/13
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Pakistan: The (Muslim) Pakhtun guardians of churches
Posted by Abdul Alim
ET: KARACHI: Mumtaz
Khan wakes up before the crack of dawn every day and offers Fajr
prayers.
Immediately afterwards, he heads towards St Anthony’s Church in
Karachi. He’s been doing this for the past 12 years.
He’s a guard at
the Catholic parish.
“No religion teaches attacking places of worship,” says the 43-year-old Pathan. “This is what Islam teaches us.”
Khan was born and raised in the meadows surrounding Abbotabad. In
search of greener pastures, he moved to Karachi in 2000 where he
replaced his uncle as security guard at the 75-year-old church.
From dawn till dusk, he sits inside the iron gate. He carefully looks
through the peephole before he opens the gate to let the parishioners
in.
“No Pathan would harm anyone, especially the religious minorities,”
says the tall Khan, proudly claiming. “Those you saw helping the injured
in Peshawar attacks were all Pathans.”
Khan was referring to the Sept 22 twin suicide attacks on All Saints Church right
after the Sunday mass that killed 80-plus worshippers and injured many
more. This incident has brought into question the security at places of
worship.
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