Baptist Press, May 13, 2011: http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=35296

By Torie Speicher

PAKISTAN — For Americans, the name Osama bin Laden conjures images of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 9/11. For Muslim university students in Pakistan, it is the same.

They’re not proud of him. They don’t align themselves with conservative Muslims. They are, however, concerned about what the future will bring.

They’re ready for a new way of living, a way that allows their country to develop economically and replaces the image of violence that the world sees.

“It’s very painful to talk about Pakistan’s image across the globe. To the best of my knowledge, Pakistan is known as a ‘terrorist’ country,” Ghina Guneta,* a Pakistani university student, said. “Wherever there are any terrorist attacks, Pakistan is held responsible either directly or indirectly.”

In some ways the death of Osama bin Laden is just another day in Pakistan. The news is always reporting the assassination of someone. Tariq Ahluwalla,* a university student in Pakistan, said, “Pakistanis are used to it.”

Students agree that Pakistan has paid a price during the past several years because of the 9/11 attacks and the Al-Qaida movement. For these university students, who should have their whole lives of opportunity ahead of them, it will be difficult to experience another way of living because their passports will keep them from having access to many places in the world.

Cade Rutledge,* an university instructor, said his students regularly talk about the effects of world events on young people in Pakistan.

“These students represent a whole generation of Pakistani youth that are ready for a turning point in their country,” Rutledge said.

This young Pakistani generation wants change so much that they’re even open to discuss issues of faith — such as Christianity. Strict blasphemy laws, however, keep it from moving very far beyond a philosophical discussion in a classroom to taking root in their own lives. Students say there’s a lot of pressure to be good Muslims. “Blasphemy” laws in Pakistan mandate death for people who leave or “insult” Islam. Shahbaz Bhatti, the only Christian in Pakistan’s government, was assassinated March 2 after pushing for reform of these harsh “blasphemy” laws.

HOPE FOR PAKISTAN?

Pakistan is a difficult place for a Christian of any nationality, but it’s especially difficult for Americans. Louis Claman* claimed this is the best time for Christians to show love to Muslims. Afterall, the American added, people are people and naturally drawn to each other.

On a trip in Pakistan, Claman met someone affiliated with a Mujahideen outfit.

“He hugged me and invited me for tea,” the American recalled. “At that time in history, we were not enemies — me, the American Christian, and he, the Muslim Mujahid who fought for the liberation of Kashmir and Afghanistan.”

That day was September 11, 2001. Since they were in an area with no phone, they did not know about the day’s events back in the States.

“Neither of us could have imagined the way the world would change over the coming decade,” Claman said. “Forced to be on the global stage, young men such as this were compelled to choose between a false dichotomy of Al-Qaida or USA.”

Since that time, Pakistan has endured through an earthquake that killed almost 100,000 people and a massive flood that destroyed infrastructure and crops.

“The people are demoralized by chronic poverty, racked by corruption and desperately seeking God,” Claman said.

Isaiah and Josie Gabdon* agreed with Claman and said there is an openness to hearing God’s Word. The couple has worked among South Asian peoples for 16 years and has seen the openness come and go. They claimed that anytime there is a significant event in the Muslim world — like an attack or an uprising — people become more open to talking about life and death issues.

“The conditions in the country (terrorism and economic problems) are leading many Pakistanis to question things and have softer hearts to the Gospel,” Isaiah Gabdon said. “Nearly 70 people have come to faith in recent months.”

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*Names changed

Torie Speicher is a writer serving among South Asian peoples as a volunteer with International Mission Board. Used by permission. www.bpnews.net