Innocent Christians

I wonder if Pastor Terry Jones even thought about the consequences of his words before he opened his mouth?

I am not talking about the unsurprising hysterical reaction form the Muslim world. We know better than to expect a different response. I am not even talking about the potential danger that he caused for the peace keeping or peace seeking troops stationed in the regions like Afghanistan and Pakistan.

No, I am talking about people I know and communicate with often. I have many new friends on the internet and some of them happen to be these innocent, unprotected Christians, who live in Pakistan. It is a completely different situation when you 'know someone' there. They tell me of the hysterical responses to just about anything that the West says or does. These are real situations that can quickly turn to violence and threaten the lives of thousands of Christians who live there. My friends live with an unhealthy awareness of the mood of the Muslim majority and any activity or 'reprisals' that may occur. They have become in effect the punching bag of the Muslims fanatics who operate above the law and outside of the law. They live in areas where the graffiti on the walls is 'Al Qaida Forever' or 'Taliban Forever'.

These friends of mine are peace loving people and have even formed an organisation called the Muslim Christian Cooperation Forum that promotes peace and inter faith harmony. Unfortunately, there is no way to reason with fanatic mobs and the group is forced to cower in the face of fanatic Muslim mobs that are instigated by fanatic clerics with alternative agendas.

When Pastor made his statement - my friends in Pakistan held a meeting and condemned his proposed act of burning the Koran. I would like Pastor Jones to know that the extremist response to his actions was a threat to burn all the Christian neighbourhoods in Pakistan. How can it be that this threat did that not make the news?

My friends were helped by their liberal Muslim friends to take shelter outside of their homes to avoid any confrontations with angry mobs. Christian leaders left remote churches and sought the safety in the major cities. The police and government forces do not have a great reputation for being able to protect anyone.

The situation is a powder keg. As recent history shows - it only requires the irresponsible action of a simple pastor to spark protests. What if the 'spark' is greater and triggers riots and mob action against the innocent Christians, stuck in their Christian neighbourhoods. Will the Christians in the West be ready to step in and save them? Like the Israeli's who 'rescued' Jews from multiple Muslim countries. Do the Christians in the West have a plan?

As my friend says - 'Thank God that the issue resolved itself peacefully'. But what about next time?