Mob violence, lynching, low wages, forced marriage and conversion, debt slavery, and accusations of blasphemy; Pakistan is now considered the 7th most dangerous place for Christians, according to Open Doors, an international organization that supports persecuted Christians worldwide.
In May of this year, an elderly Christian man named Nazir Masih was beaten to death by an angry mob in Punjab, Pakistan. The incident erupted over false accusations that he had defiled the Quran. The mob looted a shoe shop owned by his son and burned down his home, where twelve family members lived. The crowd was caught on video shouting slogans from Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), an Islamic extremist party known for attacks on Christians and Hindus. This latest incident is part of a larger campaign of repression faced by Pakistan’s Christian minority, which comprises only 1.27% of the population, roughly 4.2 million people.
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