GOJRA, PAKISTAN — Ethel Khurshid Gil gingerly held out the charred Bible she pulled from the rubble of her home, using a swatch of cellophane to keep the scorched pages from scattering in the hot wind. "Look how they've destroyed our Bibles!" the 47-year-old Christian Pakistani cried out.
Not far away, charred wood and broken dishes crunched underfoot as Umair Akhlas stepped through his house to point out the blackened bedroom where he and his relatives hid from the mob that firebombed the building, shouting "Burn them alive!"
Akhlas and several relatives escaped. But six, including two children, couldn't breach the flames and died in that room.
"They were screaming Christians are dogs, that we're American agents," Akhlas said. "They look for any reason to do something against Christians."
Pakistan has had its hands full waging war against a Taliban insurgency. Now another troubling crisis simmers. Last week, riots broke out in Gojra, a city of 150,000 in the eastern province of Punjab, after accusations surfaced that Christians at a wedding ceremony had desecrated a copy of the holy Koran.
Police say the accusations were unfounded. Nevertheless, Muslims attacked Christian enclaves in Gojra on July 30 and again Saturday. The second outbreak turned out to be far worse: A mob of more than 1,000 people set fire to more than 40 Christian homes in a warren called Christian Town. All six who died in the flames belonged to Akhlas' family. A seventh family member, Akhlas' grandfather, was killed by gunmen in the mob.
Investigators say several factors stoked the violence. Members of a militant group seized on the accusations to incite Muslims to attack Christian neighborhoods, government officials say. After attackers set fire to Christian homes in the initial violence last week, police had ample time to assert control, but instead allowed street rallies to mushroom into riots.
And there are differing accounts of who initiated gunfire that fueled the violence Saturday. Christians say Muslims fired first; Muslims blame the Christians.
Perhaps the bigger problem for Pakistan is the harsh light the riots have shone on the country's dismal record for protecting the rights of ethnic and religious minorities.
