By: Dibin Samuel
Although numbering less than 400 in Srinagar, the Christian community has made tremendous contributions to the fields of education, healthcare and social development.
(AP) In yet another diktat imposed without sufficient facts, a Sharia court in Srinagar has issued a fatwa against three Christian priests ordering them to leave Jammu & Kashmir.
On Thursday, the self-proclaimed Sharia court issued a decree seeking the expulsion of pastor of All Saints Church in Kashmir C M Khanna; Dutch Mill Hill missioner Jim Borst; and Gayoor Messah, pastor of the Noor-e-Hayat (Light of Life) evangelical church.
Nasir-ul-Islam, a deputy of grand Mufti Bashir-ud-din, told reporters that the Sharia court had found the pastors guilty of alluring Muslim youth in Kashmir to Christianity.
"Pastors Khanna, Messah and Fr Borst were directed to leave the valley forthwith for their involvement in conversions in the valley," Nasir said.
In addition to the three priests, an investigation is also probing the principal of Tyndale Biscoe School, Parvez Samuel Koul. The school, serving people in the rural area of Tanmarg, belongs to Church of North India (CNI) and serves some 500 students, all Muslim
Thursday's decree reportedly has also asked the state government to monitor the activities of the local missionary schools where a majority of the students were Muslims.
“These schools should include a period for Islamic education in their daily teaching programmes and a prayer written by poet Iqbal should be part of the school assembly prayers at these schools,” the decree said.
The decree follows last November's arrest of Pastor Khanna of the All Saints Church in Srinagar.
Pastor Khanna was in the dock after a CD surfaced in Srinagar, which purportedly showed his involvement in performing conversion of youth.
The CNI pastor said the young men converted of their own will and without his persuasion.
Earlier, Bishop Pradeep Kumar Samantaroy, head of the Diocese of Amritsar for the Church of North India, expressed that the allegations were fabricated and no material benefits were offered to anyone desirous of baptism.
Bishop Samantaroy said the Muslim youths were coming to Church for more than one year and they had voluntarily expressed their desire for baptism.
In the wake of Pastor Khanna's arrest, a fact finding team went to Srinagar and interviewed Church personnel, Ulema, school, authorities and the police.
The delegation, that included National Commission for Minorities vice-chairman Dr H T Sangliana and Christian activist Dr John Dayal, found no evidence of force or fraud in baptisms that have been carried out over a period of time.
While meeting with the Grand Mufti, the team conveyed that their final intention was to see that peace was maintained, that the Christian community was not threatened and that its security, as those of the schools and other institutions, was assured.
Although numbering less than 400 in Srinagar, the Christian community has made tremendous contributions to the fields of education, healthcare and social development.
