7/31/2019 Ramadan in Pakistan: TV broadcasts conversions to Islam, minorities protests by Imran Morris(HOW MUSLIM WOR

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WHO NOT FIGHT FOR HINDU FREEDOM ARE CRIMINAL

Subject:Ramadan in Pakistan: TV broadcasts conversions to Islam, minorities protests

by Imran Morris(HOW MUSLIM WORLD CONVERT NON MUSLIM BY FORCE)

In the month of fasting, a popular show broadcasts the conversion of a 20 year old Hindu. In five minutes he embraces

the faith of Mohammed. His former employer: all staged. Protests of Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and Ahmadis. The Dawn

warns such episodes increase the "marginalization" of minorities.

Lahore (AsiaNews) - Pakistan's religious minorities - including its Christian leaders - have strongly condemned the

decision to broadcast the conversion of a young man from Hinduism to Islam. The ceremony was broadcast for

Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and prayer for Muslims, on the private ARY Digital channel on 25 July. Although

the national media - not just television, but also weekly and daily newspapers - are not new to the publication of

material that is "offensive" to other faiths, this is the first time in history that a live conversion of a non- Muslim has

been broadcast, what's more, during a popular television show thus rendering one of the most intimate and sacred

aspects of the human person, public.

Younas Alam, director of the Commission for the rights of minorities in Pakistan, said that after the recent cases of

forced conversions of non-Muslim women, this is "a more direct attack on minorities." Besides, the program

legitimized only Islam as a faith, undermining the others.

Sunil, 20-year old Hindu embraced Islam during a prime time show broadcast during Ramadan (pictured). Originally

from Karachi, the most populous city in the country, the young man took "only five minutes" to change his religion,

under the expert hand of a "Maulvi", a Muslim religious leader.

7/31/2019 Ramadan in Pakistan: TV broadcasts conversions to Islam, minorities protests by Imran Morris(HOW MUSLIM WOR

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Although he claims to have converted to the faith of Muhammad of his "own volition", many remain skeptical and do

not believe his claims. Ansar Burney, Head of the Ansar Burney Welfare Trust at which Sunil worked for six years,

defines the conversion as "staged". And many others speak of a fiction artfully assembled by the presenter and the

authors, only to gain a greater audience share.

Several critics have targeted the show, not only guilty of encouraging Islamic extremists in carrying out forced

conversions, but also of creating a "hostile environment" around religious minorities, including Christians, Hindus,

Sikhs and Ahmadis. A transmission branded as "intimidating" and many have raised direct appeals to the governmentfor action against programs that "incite hatred" among religions. In a nation where minorities are already treated as

"second class citizens", reads an editorial published by Dawn - the leading English-language Pakistani newspaper -

this type of event "only serves to exacerbate conditions of marginalization".