Rudyard Kipling"
āWhen you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldierā
General Douglas MacArthur"
āWe are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.ā
āIt is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.ā āOld soldiers never die; they just fade away.
āThe soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.ā
āMay God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .ā āThe object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
āNobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
āIt is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
European Court of Human Rights acknowledges that converts to Christianity face persecution in Pakistan
Saturday, May 07, 2022
European Court of Human Rights
Robert Spencer : However, after he arrived in Switzerland, M.A.M., a Muslim, converted to
Christianity and joined the Salvation Army. The Swiss authorities and
courts agreed that his conversion was sincere and that he is an active
member of the Salvation Army in Switzerland.
M.A.M. then based his asylum request on the fact that converts from
Islam to Christianity may be easily accused of blasphemy and arrested
for a crime that is punished by the death penalty under Pakistani law.
Even when they are not arrested and sentenced, converts may be killed by
their relatives, who then are declared not guilty by courts or receive
very mild sentences. In the case of M.A.M., the fact that his brother
was an imam made the risk even higher.
The Swiss authorities and
judges, up to a decision of the Federal Administrative Court of June 2,
2020, rejected the asylum request. They examined several COI (Country of
Origin Information) documents about Pakistan, and concluded that
Christianity is not banned in the country and there is no general
persecution of Christians there. As for blasphemy, they interpreted
Pakistani law in the sense that the crime is committed only by those who
publicly insult or disparage Islam, which was not the case of M.A.M.
M.A.M.
was supported by ADF (Alliance Defending Freedom), the European Centre
for Law and Justice (ECLJ), and Ordo Iuris ā Institute for Legal Culture
in his recourse to the European Court of Human Rights. The latter
examined COI and documents dealing with blasphemy laws and the situation
of converts from Islam to Christianity in Pakistan, including the
European Parliament resolution of 29 April 2021 on blasphemy laws in
Pakistan and the U.K. āCountry Policy and Information NoteāPakistan:
Christians and Christian Convertsā of February 2021. These documents
were published after the Swiss Federal Administrative Court 2020
decision, but describe a situation that existed well before.
The
European Court concluded that the Swiss authorities and courts had
focused their attention on the situation of Christians in Pakistan in
general, but failed to examine the specific situation of Christian
converts from Islam. They are indeed at risk of being either executed on
the basis of the blasphemy laws, as charges of offending Islam are
often trumped-up, or killed by their relativesā¦.
