Adil Najam
Christmas greetings to all our Christian readers in Pakistan and elsewhere. On this auspicious day, we at ATP pray for peace and goodwill to all. Last year our Christmas post had carried the picture on the right below. This year we thought that the one of a Pakistani Santa riding a camel would make a good compliment (thanks to Islamabad Metroblog).
Last year we had also done a pictorial on Churches in Pakistan and I hope that our readers might revisit that post. It remains one of my all-time favorite posts on ATP and a particularly apt one to visit today.
More than just the architectural heritage that these living churches represent, they should be a reminder to all of us Pakistani Muslims that to speak about Pakistan (as we so often do) as if all Pakistanis are Muslims is not just factually incorrect it is insulting and alienating to those Pakistanis who are not.Pakistan belongs to all Pakistanis. Equally. Today, December 25, seems like a good day to remind ourselves of this. Not only because it is Christmas for our Pakistani Christian compatriots but also because it makers the birth anniversary of Pakistan’s founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah (more on him later today). For Jinnah, as is clear from his famous August 11 speech, Pakistan is a Pakistan for all Pakistanis. Equally.
Merry Christmas to Christians in Pakistan and all over the world.
May we all work for and find peace and goodwill in our future.
Adil Najam, I think your sentiment is exactly right: “Pakistan belongs to all Pakistanis. Equally.” Let us all work to make this wish a reality.
Your two santa pictures are great. The first one specially. Peace and harmony to all with facial hair. May everyone live in peace.
Merry Christmas to Christian citizen of Pakistan. With more education will come more tolerance and understanding.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all especially our Christian brothers and sisters in Pakistan, Julius Salik in particular.
It is also the birthday of the Quaid, so we remember two Messiahs today one a follower of Hazrat Isa PBUH who created a Muslim state called Pakistan. And the other the Messiah for whom my words of praise are never enough.
Feimanallah Pakistan
Wasim
Merry Christmas to all of the Pakistani Christians and other Christans of the world.
Sikander,
You are absolutely wrong, the minorities are
recognized by the constitution and the people of
Islamic Republic of Pakistan, like any other democratic
country in the world.
You just have to look at the photos of Churches intact,
there are hundred thousands of Churches and Cathedrals
in all over Pakistan
It’s sometimes unnerving to see how some Christian Pakistanis are treated by the Muslim community — I grew up in Islamabad, a city with a fairly large Christian population, and though I knew several well-to-do and well placed Christians, but I also grew up 15 minutes from the “Christian Colony” area, and saw how a large chunk of the Christian population lives.
I’ve grown up in a staunchly Muslim household, and we’ve always been taught that we as Muslims have been entrusted the protection of the Zimmis - the Christians and the Jews who live in our lands - and yet every year there are incidents of Christians being hurt or even killed by ignorant jaahil people.
We - the Ummah - should ensure, that like during the time of the Khulifa Arrashideen, the Christians who live in our Muslim lands, feel secure and protected - and in fact like in Andalus, they flock to our borders and prefer to live in Muslim lands rather than their own. Inshallah.
Merry Christmas to all of the Pakistani Christians on ATP! I agree that this should be a day of introspection and recognition of our minorities and Jinnah’s vision of an equal and united country.