However, World Mission’s Greg Kelley says it may not be over.

“What we’re hearing is that Christians right now all across this country are terrified. They’re literally terrified because what they’re hearing is that Muslims are planning similar attacks in other cities.”

The Minar of a Masjid in Faisalabad, Pakistan. (Photo courtesy of Asfand Yar/Unsplash)

The Pakistan government has arrested nearly 150 people connected to the mob and deployed more than 6,000 police to the area. But is it enough to stop more coordinated attacks?

Kelley says, “Let’s not forget, this is the second most populated Muslim country in the world and you have 135 million people living in that country. It’s about 1% Christian. So this is a massively highly-concentrated Muslim community, and the scary part about it is how quickly that mob can be mobilized.”

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“They’ve lost everything,” says Kelley. “There’s opportunities to sow into organizations like World Mission and others who will be responding to this tragedy.”

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Also, Kelley says, “We can pray for church leaders who are going to be intimidated and be shying away from preaching the Gospel with boldness, but that’s exactly what we need from them right now in Pakistan.”

Header photo courtesy of World Mission.

Yesterday, a mob of hundreds of people stormed the predominantly Christian neighborhood Jaranwala in Faisalabad. So far, at least five churches have been burned as well as many believers’ homes.

Nehemiah with FMI says, “Before they burned these churches and houses, they tortured Christians, they vandalized and they demolished everything. While I’m talking to you right now, riots continue in Jaranwala in the same city and radical Muslims have blocked all major highways.”

Pakistan (Photo courtesy of FMI)

Videos show some local police, rather than stopping the violence, actually joined the protestors. Other police, “even if they’re not part of the riots, they are just standing there alongside with these mobs and watching them burning these churches and then vandalizing everything.”

The Gospel is needed more than ever in Pakistan.

Nehemiah asks, “Please pray for FMI partners because we have partners in the same city. I was able to connect with him and, of course, he was scared, he was afraid. But he’s still standing on the ground and…he is serving in this very, very difficult and dangerous situation.”

Ask God also for protection over churches and Christians in Faisalabad.

Header photo of the Minar of a Masjid in Faisalabad, Pakistan. (Photo courtesy of Asfand Yar/Unsplash)

Pastor Rashid Emmanuel and his brother, Sajid Emmanuel, were leaders of United Ministries Pakistan. Earlier this month, were accused of blasphemy–a crime potentially punishable by death.

Sources say that the complainant in the case, Khurram Shehzad, claimed that one of his employees had been handed a pamphlet which contained disrespectful comments about the Prophet Muhammad. The pamphlet had the addresses and phone numbers of the Emmanuel brothers listed on it and was also apparently signed by the two.

After the two brothers were taken into custody, violence broke out against Christians in the Waris Pura slum–a mostly Christian area. According to the BBC, several hundred demonstrators stormed the village, demanding that the brothers be killed.

The brothers were kept safe, however, until July 19 when they had a court appearance for the case. According to Compass Direct News, handwriting specialists confirmed in court that the brothers had not signed the pamphlets. Spokesman for the Pakistan Minorities Democratic Foundation Atif Jameel just appealed to common sense. "No one in his right mind would issue a derogatory pamphlet against the Prophet and put his name and address on it," Jameel told BBC.

Despite proof that the men had been framed, when the court adjourned, an unidentified man opened gun fire. Shots hit both brothers and a policeman escorting them. The two brothers were killed, and the police officer remains in critical condition.

Several sources confirm that rioting broke out after the shots, beginning with outraged Christians throwing rocks at Muslim shops and hurling insults at extremists. Many Muslims retaliated, causing violence that lasted for hours and destroyed the shops and homes of many Christians.

This is not the first time that men have been killed by extremists after being accused of blasphemy. The blasphemy laws are reported to have been used to settle personal matters frequently in the past. But as a result of ongoing violence, many Christians and organizations are calling for the laws to be repealed. Minorities Concern of Pakistan as well as Human Rights Focus Pakistan are among the groups advocating for the laws' repeal.

Christians may still be in danger in the aftermath of this terrible incident. Pray that believers would be kept safe and that they would not hesitate to reach out to non-believers, despite recent events. Pray also for blasphemy laws to be repealed so that Christians may not be victims to such atrocities in the future.