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Three injured in Pak religious festivities
Sunni and Shiite Muslims clashed at a religious gathering Wednesday, leaving three people injured, including a poice officer. The violence erupted near Bhalwal, 125 miles southwest of the eastern city of Lahore, when Sunni residents objected to the sermon of a Shiite cleric, the officials said. "Hey! You can't say that!" "Can, too!" "Can, not!" Both sides threw stones and fired guns. The three injured people, including two Shiites, were treated at a hospital. "Heretic!" "Hypocrite!" "Apostate!" "Infidel! Take that!" "Yee-haw! Ain't we devout! Ow!" Pakistan put police on alert this week to prevent religiously motivated violence against the minority Shiites during the Islamic holy month of Muharram. Muharram is the mourning month for Shiites, when they recall the seventh-century death in battle of Hussein, grandson of Islam's prophet, Mohammed. The Bhalwal clash occurred during the leadup to Friday's observance of Ashoura, the blackest day for Shiite Muslims, who comprise about 10 percent of the world's estimated 1 billion Muslims. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-03-12 |
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