Christian singer beaten in Islam conversion attempt
The singer is A. Nayyaf, well known in the country; the National Commission for Justice and Peace has written to the Minister of Religious and Minority Affairs.
Lahore (AsiaNews) The move to rob a famous Christian singer in Pakistan became an attempt of forced conversion to Islam. The incident took place on 18 February in Lahore, Punjab. When he was returning home at night, the Christian, A. Nayyar, was stopped by six men who wanted to rob him. When the criminals recognized him, however, they started to beat and insult him, demanding that he recite the Salama-Tayyaba, the Islamic profession of faith.
After they robbed and injured him, the assailants fled, leaving Nayyar on the ground. Residents of the area, who had heard shouting, went to help the singer.
The singer, according to the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) an organ of the Pakistani Church tackling human rights has no intention of taking legal action against the as yet unidentified perpetrators. According to Waseem Muntazir, a friend of the singer, they were amateur criminals, because otherwise "they would have done much more".
Nayyar, who performs many national songs apart from Christian lyrics, is very popular among Muslims too.
After the incident, the NCJP wrote a letter to the Religious and Minority Affairs Minister, calling on him to tackle such episodes and to seek to educate the people in religious respect.
.png)
