Christian girl accused of 'blasphemy' over spelling mistake
A teenage girl in Pakistan has been expelled from school and her family forced to relocate after she misspelled an Urdu word, leading to accusations of blasphemy.
Faryal Bhatti, a 13-year-old student at the Sir Syed Girls High School in Abbottabad, misspelled a word during an Urdu exam on 22 September. According to local Christians, Faryal wrote laanat, the transliteration of the Urdu word for 'curse', instead of naat, which means a poem written in praise of Islam's prophet.
The school administration and local Islamists declared that the error was serious enough to violate Pakistan's widely condemned laws against blaspheming Muhammad and Islam. Conviction under Section 295-C of Pakistan's blasphemy law for derogatory comments about Muhammad is punishable by death, though life imprisonment is also possible.
Faryal was allegedly scolded and beaten by her Urdu teacher for the error. The next day, fellow male students and other Muslim representatives staged a demonstration at the school, demanding registration of a criminal case and Faryal's eviction from the area. The girl and her mother apologised, but in a move apparently designed to pacify Muslim cries for punishment, the school expelled Faryal on 24 September. The military quickly took the family away in an ambulance before the situation could turn violent.
According to local Christians, several Christian families in the area are now very concerned for their own security. Shazia Imran, mother to three schoolchildren, said "We keep telling our children not to discuss their faith with anyone in school and to avoid getting into religious discussions with their Muslim class fellows, but this was beyond my imagination." She added that she and her husband were now 'very disturbed and fearful' about their children's future in Pakistan.
Source: Compass News Direct
Please pray:
1. For the safety of Faryal and her family. Pray that they will know God's strength and encouragement
2. For courage for Pakistani Christians, who make up less than 3 per cent of Pakistan's 95 per cent Muslim population
3. For the repeal of Pakistan's blasphemy laws and justice for believers facing false blasphemy charges.
Source: Open Doors UK
