ASIA/PAKISTAN - Land mafia behind Rimsha's case

Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - "The charges against Masih Rimsha are completely false and made up: behind her case there is land mafia. Unscrupulous criminals intend to wrest land from Christians and drive them out from Mehrabadi, a suburb of Islamabad where Rimsha’s family lives. This is why they made up the case, blaming an innocent child." This is what Fr. Francis Nadeem OFM Cap, Capuchin friar in Lahore, Coordinator of the "National Council for Interreligious Dialogue" reveals to Fides. The Franciscan friar, thanks to his work in the field of dialogue, has good friends in the Muslim world that have given him access to such delicate information. Rimsha’s case, therefore, would be exemplary of how the law of blasphemy is manipulated and is used to hit the innocent.
According to the friar, "the police should not have registered a complaint against Rimsha, as she is a minor, and also because Islam provides different procedures in the case of children, as Muslim leaders explain" (see Fides 30/08/2012). Fr. Nadeem, together with the Dominican Fr. James Channan, OP, director of "Peace Center" in Lahore, will lead tomorrow, September 2, in the Church of St. Joseph in Lahore, a prayer meeting where the participation of over a thousand faithful is expected, including "many children who pray for Rimsha ". The meeting will pray and ask for her immediate release, as the child is completely innocent. "If we want peace in Pakistan – he concludes - such abuses must be stopped." (PA) (Agenzia Fides 01/09/2012)