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8 - Christians in Pakistan and Afghanistan

Responses to Marginalization from the Peripheries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2018

Daniel Philpott
Affiliation:
University of Notre Dame, Indiana
Timothy Samuel Shah
Affiliation:
Georgetown University, Washington DC
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Summary

Violence, persecution, and discrimination are commonly associated with Christian minorities in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. In these two Muslim majority countries, political instability, corruption, and lack of oversight creates an environment that is ripe for radicalism and violence. Church bombings, suicide bombings, assassinations, and targeted killings are common in both nations which are rife with ethnic, tribal, linguistic, and sectarian distinctions. In this paper, I discuss the challenges facing Christians in Pakistan and briefly engage Afghanistan were comparisons are helpful to the context of Christian persecution in the region. I complicate the religious landscape and argue that Christians experience persecution for several reasons that are not limited to religion but also include socio-economic, ethnic, and caste issues. Next, I describe how Christians respond to persecution, discrimination, and violence and the strategies they utilize to contend political space and negotiate religious boundaries and social restrictions. While Christian persecution is a reality in Pakistan and Afghanistan, so is Christian resilience. These communities, while small and disenfranchised, are sociopolitically engaged and vigorous in their resistance to oppression.
Type
Chapter
Information
Under Caesar's Sword
How Christians Respond to Persecution
, pp. 229 - 258
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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