ABSTRACT
In May 1998, John Joseph, the first native Pakistani Catholic bishop, shot himself in front of the courthouse where a Christian had been sentenced to death for blasphemy. This book tells the story of the Christians in Pakistan, with Bishop Joseph as its centrepiece. It is an account of outcastes who sought hope through Christianity, but who now find themselves victims of a struggle to define Islam in Pakistan. The majority of Pakistani Christians are descendants of untouchables converted to Christianity in the late 19th century. In Pakistan a minority religion is linked with low status, perpetuating the Indian Hindu caste system even though the Muslim majority has disassociated itself from all things Hindu and Indian. The book also deals with enculturation in the Pakistani church, the rise of native clergy, conflicts between the local church and Rome, the rise of 'fundamentalist' Islam and the position of women in society and church.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|101 pages
From Exodus to Bondage
chapter Chapter One|18 pages
The Raj, the Missionaries, and the Christians
chapter Chapter Two|16 pages
Pioneers
chapter Chapter Three|12 pages
Both Christian and Pakistani
chapter Chapter Four|9 pages
From Rome to Pakistan in the 1960s
chapter Chapter Five|11 pages
The 1970s: A Time for Hope and Violence
chapter Chapter Six|12 pages
The 1980s: The Rule of Zia and The Militants
chapter Chapter Seven|21 pages
Blasphemy
part II|145 pages
The World of the Bishop