Pakistani Christian bishop: Key to peace is reconciliation

ICC Note

“Only about 3 percent of the population in Pakistan is Christian…It requires great sacrifice to be a member of this minority group.Many are killed for their faith…”
BY Jan Myers 

10/04/2010 Pakistan (Coshocton Tribune)-First and foremost, be a peacemaker in your own context,” said Bishop Mano Rumalshah, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Peshawar in the Church of Pakistan, who spoke at the Coshocton Presbyterian Church worship service Sunday. “Be aware of minorities throughout the world and at home. Politically, apply ethics rather than expediency and pay attention to what your political leaders are doing.”

Rumalshah lives in what President Obama has termed “the most dangerous place in the world” — the North-West Frontier Province in Pakistan. This is the northernmost province in Pakistan, measuring about 29,000 square miles and with a population of about 20 million. Here, smuggling, drug trade, arms dealing and kidnapping are all common occurrences. In this Muslim-dominated country, Rumalshah brings a deep commitment to Christian presence and ministry in the territory of Pakistan that borders Afghanistan, Iran, India and China. The Church of Pakistan is a united church, formed in 1970 as a result of a merger of the Anglicans, Lutherans, Scottish Presbyterians and Methodists in Pakistan. Rumalshah is the Bishop Emeritus of Peshawar, one of the eight dioceses in the Christian Church of Pakistan.

“Only about 3 percent of the population in Pakistan is Christian,” Rumalshah said. “It requires great sacrifice to be a member of this minority group. Many are killed for their faith. Yet the greater attack on the Christian community in Pakistan is the attack of poverty. Citizenship rights are based on religion in Pakistan, and Christians are at the bottom. Christians there live in extreme poverty — the slum of the earth.”

Christians living in the North-West Frontier Province number about 100,000. Most are ethnically Punjabis, the descendants of the camp followers of the British Army during the late 19th century. Many are originally from low-caste communities who converted to Christianity and are mainly employed in menial work. They remain unskilled, poorly educated and an underclass, looked down upon by their fellow citizens. The Diocese of Peshawar covers the entire North-West Frontier Province, making it the largest diocese in Pakistan.

“It is our compulsion to have a purpose with our faith,” Rumalshah said. “In my community, they are menial workers, yet we serve anyone and everyone who needs us. I feel humbly blessed that God has placed us there (in Pakistan). That is the only thing that will lead to reconciliation. We quietly and to the best of our ability do what we can, yet it is a drop in the ocean.”

Rumalshah said the Islam-Christianity issue is a big one.

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“Our purpose is not to show you how desperate we are; rather, it is to share with you our reality,” he said. “We feel it is a privilege to be Christians. My relationship with my God is my choice, and that relationship is the most sacred of human rights.”

Rumalshah said any journey of peace is a costly and sacrificial journey.

“I challenge my people that we cannot fight with guns,” he said. “In my community, we are living among the most ferocious creatures on earth. We can preach silently through our love and service to others. One of my favorite expressions is ‘We must smell the sweat of the enemy.'” That is the ultimate destiny if we want to be a peacemaker. To say ‘we want peace’ can be very hollow and superficial. The word ‘reconciliation’ has become my major focus. What I want to beg of you is a new understanding of those who are different from you — the minority. Pray for them and pray for your own understanding.”

For more information on the Diocese of Peshawar in Pakistan, visit www. Peshawardiocese.org.

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