Punjab: Christian woman forced to convert and marry her kidnapper

(August 08, 2011) A young Christian woman in Pakistan has been abducted and forced to convert to Islam and marry her kidnapper. Despite a formal complaint, police did not intervene because the author of the crime is a “respectable businessman”. Local Muslim religious authorities claim that the woman’s conversion was legal. The bishop of Islamabad warns that the cases of forced conversion are rising at an alarming rate. Mariam is a young Christian woman from Kahota, a town some 20 kilometres from Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad. She was abducted on Wednesday by one Muhammad Junaid, a local Muslim, who forcibly converted her to Islam and married her. The young woman’s father, Munir Gill, said that Junaid is an important businessman in the area and had asked for his daughter in marriage and he did not accept the request. When Mariam had gone to the market, eye witnesses saw Muhammad Junaid forcefully taking Mariam away. When the parents went to the police to register a case, they delayed the application and showed no interest in the matter. A local Muslim religious leader converted Mariam to Islam and celebrated her marriage with Muhammad Junaid. Later Mariam Gill was interrogated by local officials. She told them that she was abducted and forced to convert and that she has no intention of abandoning Christianity. Bishop of Islamabad Rufin Anthony described the case as “a dreadful incident”. “It is time to take concrete action to guarantee the safety of minorities in Pakistan,” the prelate said.