04/26/2021 Pakistan (International Christian Concern) – According to Morning Star News, a mentally ill Christian man was forcefully converted to Islam by members of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), an Islamic extremist party in Pakistan. The man’s family now fears they will be the targets of extremist violence if they do not convert to Islam.
Adnan Bashir, age 40, reportedly wandered into a TLP sit-in protest on April 14 in Gujjar Khan, located in Pakistan’s Punjab Province. While among the protestors, Bashir was forced to publicly recite the Kalima, an Islamic proclamation of faith, and was “converted” to Islam. According to Bashir’s brother, Fayyaz, Bashir was renamed Khadim Hussain after his “conversion”.
Following the “conversion”, Bashir denied converting to Islam in front of his family. When he later met with Safdar Chaudhry, Chief Executive of Raah-e-Nijaat Ministry, he claimed that he was still a Christian and had not converted to Islam.
Morning Star News reports that Bashir was hospitalized for mental illness in 2018. After his release from the hospital, the family decided to support Bashir and his family due to the mental stress created by working.
Since Bashir’s “conversion”, videos of the incident have been published to social media. Bashir’s family has received calls from Muslim acquaintances and other unknown callers.
“The callers congratulated us over Adnan’s conversion and asked when the rest of us would embrace Islam,” Fayyaz told Morning Star News. “Some others are threatening us with serious consequences in case we ‘force’ Adnan to revert, warning that apostasy is punishable with death in Islam.”
“Our lives have become miserable due to the threats and surveillance by TLP activists,” Fayyaz continued. “We can neither seek help from the police or an y other government or religious leader, because everyone is fearful of the TLP, and also because this matter can easily be turned into a religious issue.”
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