One, Amir Masih, was a contract sweeper working on the embassy grounds when the attack happened. "Sweepers" is the name given to the caste or class to which most of Pakistan's Christians belong.
The Christian mission in the Indian subcontinent has generally appealed to the poor, untouchables and low-caste people since colonial times. This still characterizes the church in both India and Pakistan, although there are also middle-class people among Christians, especially in leadership. This is partly because they have had access to Christian schools, which ensured that even the poorest received an education. This enabled at least some of them to climb up Pakistan's social ladder, especially after the declaration of the Pakistani state. Although Pakistan was created as a state to provide a sanctuary for Muslims, it has also generally been characterized by a high degree of religious freedom.
However, freedom of religion has come under pressure in recent years, especially due to the infamous blasphemy laws that are often misused to get Christians into trouble. If a Christian gets into an argument with his Muslim neighbor over the right to a piece of land, accusing him of referring to the Quran or Islam's founder Muhammad in derogatory terms is a convenient way to embarrass the Christian.
There are now many examples of Christians who have been tried for blasphemy, which is punishable by death. In many of these cases, there have also been convictions for blasphemy, while appeals to higher courts have usually ended in acquittal. However, these cases take many years to resolve and many Pakistani Christians have spent years in prison before they are finally acquitted. Often they are then forced to seek asylum abroad because Islamic extremists, unhappy with the court's acquittal, will take the law into their own hands and kill the acquitted person.
For a time, Pakistan also had a very special election law. According to this, Muslims could only vote for Muslim candidates for parliament, Christians only for Christians and Hindus only for Hindus. This law was abolished a few years ago, which was a big step forward according to Christian human rights activists.
In general, churches in Pakistan also enjoy a high degree of freedom compared to other parts of the Muslim world. For example, it is easier there than in many other parts of the Middle East and Asia to get permission to organize open-air Christian meetings and services.
Where you will probably see an increasing problem is in the relationship with people who convert from Islam to Christianity. It hasn't been totally unheard of so far, but with the increasing Islamization of society, it will become increasingly difficult for families, the local community and the authorities to accept people changing faith. As a result, the churches that are growing are mainly made up of Christians converting from one Christian denomination to another. New converts from Islam, on the other hand, are very few in each congregation.
The Christians that the Danish European Mission works with in Pakistan generally say that they have felt well treated by the government during the time General Musharraf has been president. He was behind the amendment of the election law, but he has not managed to abolish the blasphemy law despite a certain amount of international pressure.
One of the things Western governments should encourage Pakistan's new government to do is to abolish the blasphemy law. However, this is a sensitive issue as it could be the death knell for a moderate government if it creates an image that could be interpreted as anti-Islamic by the Muslim masses.
The Christian churches in Pakistan contribute positively to society through their institutions, not least the schools they run, where Christians and Muslims attend school side by side. Only in religion classes are students separated according to their faith. In many cases, school administrators work well with local Muslim religious leaders, many of whom are also moderate.
A special chapter is the situation of women. There are many relatively liberated women, but in many cases poor women, regardless of faith, are seen as easy victims to be sexually abused by men who are somehow in a position of power over them. This is especially true of poor girls from Christian families who work as domestic workers in better-off families. Poverty is the main problem, but on top of that, as infidels, they are considered by some Muslims to be slaves and thus the property of Muslim men to do with as they please.
Many young girls are driven to suicide because of the shame inflicted on them and their families through such violations, even if it was completely innocent. The churches can step in and help these young women earn an income by working independently from home, including sewing clothes. The Danish European Mission's partner in Pakistan, for example, is setting up sewing schools for these young women, which in some cases are also attended by young Muslim women in similar situations. Over the course of a year, they learn enough to be able to earn a better income than working as domestic workers. In addition, they can work in the much more protected situation of being able to work at home.
