WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 /Christian Newswire/ -- Attacks by Al Qaeda-linked Muslim extremists that destroyed two Christian villages in Pakistan are the latest in a wave of anti-Christian violence in the Muslim-majority country. The Institute on Religion and Democracy is commending Christian leaders who have condemned these attacks and challenges those who have remained silent to show solidarity with Pakistan's Christians.

The Christian village of Korian, in Punjab province, was destroyed by a 2,000-person mob on July 30. Armed with firearms and explosives, the mob burned the churches and the homes of about 100 Christian families, and stole livestock after one family was accused of desecrating the Koran.

On August 1, the same accusation sparked an attack on Christians in the northeastern Punjab town of Gojra. Three Christian women and a child were burned alive as extremists set fire to houses. Fourteen Christians were killed in the attack, according to Compass Direct News Service.

The Associated Press reports that members of a banned Sunni group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and Al Qaeda-linked Lashkar-e-Jhangvi were arrested as suspects. And an independent Pakistani human rights commission has posited that it was not a spontaneous riot.

IRD Religious Liberty Director Faith J.H. McDonnell commented:

"The UN demands international prohibitions of the 'defamation' of Islam to protect Muslims from hurt feelings, but these attacks, which hurt Christians' actual physical lives, go on and on.

"Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the World Council of Churches, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Southern Baptists all have voiced support for Pakistan's Christians. We commend them and urge other church groups, like the National Council of Churches and the National Association of Evangelicals, to speak out. They who speak passionately about torture, health care reform, and global warming surely should see that the slaughter of innocent Christians in Pakistan is a 'justice issue'.

"IRD urges churches and individuals to act – write to newspapers and blogs or to the Embassy of Pakistan, invite Pakistani American Christians to speak to your church, participate in a rally or demonstration, ask Congress to condemn the attacks.

"We cannot just pay lip service to the idea that Christians facing persecution in Pakistan are our brothers and sisters. We have to behave as if they are. We should see these attacks on the worldwide Church as attacks on members of our own family."

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