When tragedy strikes, many often turn to prayer. However, it is prayer that caused this tragedy in the first place. For many the act of going to a religious service is an ordinary thing, but for many others, it can become a stressful event.
The Night of Easter Sunday, an explosion near a park in the city of Lahore killed at least 70 people and injured hundreds more. Of the 70 killed, most were women and children. The explosion happened at the main gate to the park, Gulshan-e-Iqbal. Many Pakistani Christians were gathering at the park to commemorate the Easter holiday after regular church programs. Taliban group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar has since claimed responsibility for the attack. The group made it known that, “The target was Christians,” said a spokesperson for the Ehsanullah Ehsan faction. The group also contacted multiple media outlets on Sunday. The attack was clearly a message, one that struck a chord with many Christian worshippers.
Christians are the largest non-Muslim religious (minority) group that resides in Pakistan. Most Pakistani Christians live in Punjab. Lahore is the capitol of Punjab, which is Pakistan’s political capitol. Many Roman-Catholic and half Protestant churches exist in the province. It’s the wealthiest province of the country and home to Pakistan’s Prime Minister; Nawaz Sharif. The message it seems, was for him, “He can do what he wants but he won’t be able to stop us. Our suicide bombers will continue these attacks.”
Before Pakistan’s independence, it was under European rule. These were times of extreme colonialism, poor ruling, and corruption. For these reasons Christianity in Pakistan is often viewed as a negative thing, despite the government’s actions to be more tolerant of other religions. The reason Christians exist in Pakistan is due to the invasion of space by Christian missionaries. So, not only are Pakistani Christians a minority (they make up around 1.5-2% of the religious population), but their religion is associated with troubling times for the entire nation. The symbolism of the attacks occurring on Easter Sunday could imply that Christ hadn’t risen, as otherwise stated by the Christian religion. These attacks allowed religious extremists to take drastic actions in an attempt to diminish another religions significance as seen here.
United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron and United States White House National Security Spokesman Ned Price both condemned the attack and the hashtag #PrayForPakistan was created on Twitter. Facebook turned its emergency check-in services on again, like they did for the attack in Brussels. Malala Yousafzai tweeted a statement from her human right’s account ‘Malala Fund’ saying that, “[…] Every life is precious and must be respected and protected.” Punjabi officials also condemned the attack on Facebook, “[…] CM extended his sympathy and condolence with the bereaved families.” Prayers have gone out and many others are attempting to lift the spirits of both families of the deceased and survivors however, will this be enough?
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