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Saturday, December 23, 2006

I Was Thirsty and You Gave Me Drink

An organization called Voice of the Martyrs sent this report through a NewsMax e-mail subscription so I can't link you to the original:

Nasir Ashraf, a Christian stone mason, was brutally attacked by radical Muslims just outside Lahore.

While working on the construction of a room at a school near Manga Mandi in Pakistan, Nasir took a break after becoming thirsty. He drew water and drank from a glass chained to a cemented public water tank next to a mosque, which was reserved for "all" poor people. Returning to the construction site, a Muslim man asked him, "Why did you drink water from this glass since you are a Christian?" The man accused Nasir of polluting the glass. The Muslim man yanked the glass off the iron chain, broke it and threw it in a garbage can. The man summoned other radical Muslims to the scene, furiously saying, "This Christian polluted our glass." Hearing this, the incensed mob began beating Nasir, yelling that a Christian dog drank water from their glass.

Nasir Ashraf

The radical Muslims encouraged bystanders to beat Nasir because it would be a "good" deed that would benefit them in heaven. The attackers pushed Nasir off a ledge onto the ground. The impact of the fall dislocated his shoulder and broke his collar bone in two places. This knocked Nasir unconscious and he did not regain his senses until he reached a clinic. A doctor told Nasir that some people had brought him there.

Nasir's father took him home and a VOM representative was alerted about the incident. VOMedical is helping with Nasir's medical treatment and is monitoring his recovery from the attack.

Nice people, those Muslims. One wonders how two monotheistic religions like Islam and Christianity can be so diametrically different in the way they are enjoined to treat "the stranger" in their midst, and what they teach about good deeds and heavenly reward. One is based on loving one's neighbor and the other is based, at least judging by how it is often practiced, on hating anyone who holds different convictions. One is based on doing justice to the poor, oppressed, and weak regardless of their theology, and the other is based, from all appearances, upon breaking their bones and slitting their throats.

One also wonders what the appeal of Islam could possibly be for anyone living in the civilized world.