Radical Islamic extremists attacked and looted households belonging to Christians in the Joseph colony in Lahore, Pakistan in March and many Christians were hurt, nine of which were hospitalized with severe injuries.
Aim4Faith Ministries, has now stepped in to support the families in the Lahore area by distributing bibles, according to an email they sent.
Families are apparently still living in fear of more attacks by the Muslims and they have stopped going to work or even going out to buy basic necessities, according to Aim4Faith.
An email from Aim4Faith says that children are still in fear after watching their homes burned and they are not going back to school for fear of more violence.
Apparently the incident started because of a small argument that Sawan Masih, a Christian, had with a Muslim barber named Imran. According to reports, they were having a heated debate in the streets and the community thought that they had calmed down the situation but later it was continued by Muslim extremists.
Imran reportedly later went to see some Muslim religious leaders and reported to them that Masih had blasphemed the Muslim prophet Muhammad. Upon hearing this, the Muslim religious leaders went to the police station and demanded that Masih be put to death under section 295C of the Blasphemy law.
Masih was apparently later arrested and taken to jail on charges of having broken section 295C of the Islamic law.
However, later on, some Muslim extremists, started to spread rumors that Masih had been released from jail. They even went so far as to announce on loudspeakers that one who had committed blasphemy had been released by police.
Apparently, more rumors started that Christians had desecrated the prophet Muhammad and anger began to rise within the Muslim community. Muslim clerics, Mullahs, began making threats to Christians in nearby villages and preached revenge and hatred for the insult to the Islamic faith, according to reports.
The next day a large crowd of Muslims descended on Joseph Colony and began the attacks, apparently many of them carrying sticks, baton, clubs, chemicals with which to make fires and even guns.
As the police made a half-hearted attempt to control the situation, many of the Christians fled from their homes. The mob apparently burned and looted 255 Christian homes and businesses along with two small churches.
By the time police reinforcements arrived the damage had already been done.
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