LET US NOT FORGET ASIA BIBI AND THE HEINOUS PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS BY ISLAM!

It will soon be going on five years that Asia Bibi has been incarcerated in the Muslim nation of Pakistan, awaiting her fate after having been convicted in a Pakstani court for the crime of "blasphemy."  If you feel that the word blasphemy has an antiquated ring to it, you may not be far off the mark.

It was during 1983, while walking down a street in downtown Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that it dawned on me that I was living in a 15th century environment.  Indeed, to give the reader an idea as we start off the year 2014, the corresponding date by the Islamic calendar would be the year 1435.  If we compare the Christian world view of 2014 to the Muslim world of 1435, archaic is another word which would likely come to mind.

While doing farm work in 2009, Asia Bibi was set upon by fellow workers, who claimed that she insulted the Prophet Mohamed.  Asia was dragged through the streets of her village by fanatical Muslims and ultimately charged with blasphemy.

The governor of Punjab province in Pakistan took a calculated risk when he spoke out against religious intolerance and opined that Asia should be freed from prison and that the charges against her should be

ASIA'S FAMILY

discarded.  Symptomatic of the Islamic bigotry that prevails in Pakistan, the outspoken governor, Salman Taseer, was assassinated by his own security detail.

Even Pakistan's minority affairs minister, Shabaz Bhatti, was shot down and killed by Muslim thugs determined to silence anyone speaking out for toleration in Pakistan.

In the meantime, Asia Bibi languishes in a squalid prison cell, subject to the barbarities of her Muslim captors.  A mother of 5 under sentence of death, Asia has kept up a strong affirmation of her faith while proclaiming that in no way did she blaspheme Mohamed.  Her family, which had frequently visited her, has now reportedly gone into hiding.  In prison, Asia has been assaulted by the police and is very much aware that other Christians  imprisoned for their beliefs in Pakistan have mysteriously died.

Christians in Pakistan, as is true for Christians in other Muslim countries, are openly discriminated against, denied decent employment opportunities and risk death for merely worshiping together.  Muslim clerics in Pakistan frequently place bounties on the heads of Christians who, for one reason or another, are considered to have disrespected Islam.

During 2013, more than 2,200 Christians were martyred, most of them at the hands of Muslim persecutors.  The persecution continues throughout the world, and Christians continue to suffer on many fronts.  Despite that, our own government continues in actively supporting authoritarian Muslim regimes.  Pakistan, for example, received more than 1.6 billion in aid during 2013 from the U.S., most of it in the form of military aid.  U.S. Christians should be asking just how much of that sum is going to support the persecution of their coreligionists.

Asia Bibi is a symbol of Christian fortitude and devotion, and we must nor forget her.  The least we can do is continue to call her plight to the attention of our own government and to bring pressure on the renegade Muslim government of Pakistan.

The email address of the Pakistani embassy in Washington is:  info@embassyofpakistanusa.org

Let us pray for Asia!

Deo Vindice!

God bless Texas and may the Lone Star State remain forever red!