This is the right thing to do and thank you, Canada. I always post the Islamists and their latest jihadist exploits, but once in a while, there is a child who is rescued from the clutches of Islam. This is one of them.
(Disclaimer, I disagree with virtually everything the Author of this article endorses because he believes in Islamic Reformation and we know that is impossible, but this one he got right).
WELCOME TO CANADA, RIMSHA MASIH (Tarek Fatah, Sun Media July 2, 2013)
On Sunday, Bhatti took the family to a Catholic Church where Rimsha and her sister went up to the altar and sang Psalm 139 in their mother tongue Punjabi.
(Disclaimer, I disagree with virtually everything the Author of this article endorses because he believes in Islamic Reformation and we know that is impossible, but this one he got right).
WELCOME TO CANADA, RIMSHA MASIH (Tarek Fatah, Sun Media July 2, 2013)
This is
no ordinary child, she is 15-year-old Rimsha Masih, the Pakistani-Christian
girl who was accused of burning pages of the Qur’an and jailed, facing the
death penalty under the country’s infamous blasphemy laws.
Millions
of Canadians across our country celebrated Canada Day on Monday. For most of us
it was an annual holiday, full of fun, food, parties and music.
But few
of us can match the joy and gratefulness displayed in a modest home somewhere
in the Greater Toronto Area by a teenage girl, who has yet to become a
Canadian.
At the
stroke of the midnight hour as the date changed to July 1, this teenage girl
stood up, said a prayer along with 15 of her family and friends, then cut a
cake celebrating her first ever Canada Day.
On
August 16 last year, as she did every other day, Rimsha was collecting
discarded paper from garbage in a slum near Islamabad, when a Muslim neighbour
stopped her, claiming there were burned pages of an Islamic textbook in her
plastic bag, and that this amounted to an “insult to Islam.” Shortly after the
accusation, a Muslim mob went to Rimsha’s home and beat her up before police
took the girl into custody, charging her with blasphemy.
Islamists
in Pakistan wanted to burn the girl alive. The lawyer for the man who accused
the girl of blasphemy told reporters that the girl was “guilty.” Then he
warned: “If the state overrides the court, then God will get a person to do the
job,” reminding everyone of the murder of two Pakistani politicians who had
sought the release of another Christian woman rotting in prison on similar
charges.
Rimsha’s
case triggered outrage across the globe. France “urged the Pakistani
authorities to release this young girl.” In the U.S., New Jersey Democratic
Sen. Robert Menendez and five of his colleagues blasted the blasphemy law of
Pakistan, demanding Rimsha be set free.
But the
real work to save this child of God was done by us — Canadians. In our own
discrete manner, Ottawa exercised quiet diplomacy with Islamabad, where thanks
to President Zardari and also Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhury, Rimsha was
freed from prison and allowed to leave to live in the shadows of our majestic
mountains, wade in the waters of our countless lakes and breathe freedom, the
elixir of civilized people.
Here in Canada, it is the
Canadian group International Christian Voice (ICV) headed by Peter Bhatti (brother of assassinated Pakistani politician Shahbaz Bhatti) that is assisting the girl and her family to integrate in our society.On Sunday, Bhatti took the family to a Catholic Church where Rimsha and her sister went up to the altar and sang Psalm 139 in their mother tongue Punjabi.
The
promise of a new life in our great country is what you have to look forward to,
Rimsha. As long as you live, you will never again have to face the bloodhounds
of Islamism who chased you away. This is Canada’s commitment to you for
blessing us with your presence. For all our flaws, you will soon discover why
“the true North strong and free” is for the third year in a row judged as the
country with the best reputation. Considering how Pakistan treated you, it is
little wonder they were ranked near the bottom.
In your
Punjabi, let me welcome you to Canada: “Ji ayan nun.”
Well written with honesty and compassion. Canadians are wonderful friends and Rimsha can look forward to a peaceful and proseprous life. So glad she lives in your backyard Kelly!
ReplyDeleteRandy, I am as well! What a wonderful story.
ReplyDelete