This slum on the outskirts of Pakistan’s capital looks like many others ringing it, with dirt roads and cement-block homes, until a passer-by sees a simple black banner bearing a Bible verse about Jesus Christ’s resurrection.
The Christian Colony on the edge of Islamabad is home to many Christians who once lived elsewhere in the capital, but fled in fear after a string of blasphemy allegations and killings. In this country of 180 million people, where Islam is the state religion and 95 percent of people are Muslims, Christians represent just a sliver of the population.
In this Friday, Feb. 6, 2015 photo, illiterate Pakistani Christians pray during a writing and reading class taught by a pastor and volunteers at a makeshift church in a slum on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
Most face daily discrimination and eke out a living by holding low-paying jobs, like street sweeping. However, they’ve carved out their own lives in a country that faces near-daily attacks by Islamic extremists.
“I wish to save my people by providing them faith and some education,” said Pastor Orangzaib Maseeh, who teaches locals how to read at his simple, open-air church. “I want them to have a life of a normal person. They used to have one.”
That normal life for many disappeared in August 2012. Authorities at the time arrested a young Christian girl over accusations she burned pages of the Quran. Christians fled, later settling in this vacant spot of land where they’ve built homes out of concrete blocks and plastic sheeting. The girl was later freed and a local cleric accused of planting burned Quran pages in the girl’s bag.
In this Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015 photo, Pakistani Christian bride Dunya Yacob, 24, is carried by her cousin to her groom’s makeshift home to attend her wedding ceremony at a slum home to Christian families on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
Under Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws, anyone convicted of insulting Islam or the Prophet Muhammad can be sentenced to death. However, some Muslims often take the law into their own hands, killing those suspected of blasphemy and attacking Christian neighborhoods or others accused of blasphemy. Some blasphemy allegations also have been made to settle personal scores.
Residents in this area say they are always fearful that the city government may push them out and reclaim the land.
Yet despite those worries, life goes on for Christians here, including Dunya Yacoub, who held her wedding in the dark confines of one concrete-block home.
“Since I was a little girl, I dreamed of the day I would get married and put on a nice dress and have a nice party with a lot of people,” the 24 year old said. “But today, my dream didn’t turn the way I imagined it, but there is nothing I can do about it. This is how our lives look like today, and we have to adapt.”
Here are images by Associated Press photographer Muhammed Muheisen of daily life for Christians living in a slum in Islamabad.
In this Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015 photo, Pakistani Christian Shanaz Rafiq, 28, left, and her husband Rashid Rafiq, 32, stand in front of a pastor during the baptism ceremony of their son, at the Salvation Army Church in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015 photo, a 5 day-old Christian infant who was named Ashber following his baptism ceremony, is celebrated by relatives at the family’s home, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015 photo, Pakistani Christian Shanaz Rafiq, 28, right, sits on a chair holding her 12 day-old son, during his baptism, at the Salvation Army Church in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015 photo, Pakistani Christian Shanaz Rafiq, 28, rests on her bed holding her 5 day-old son who was named Ashber after his baptism ceremony, upon her arrival from a hospital to her home in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Monday, Feb. 2, 2015 photo, a Pakistani christian youth talks with a neighbor through curtains around his makeshift home at a slum home to Christian families on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Monday, Feb. 2, 2015, photo, a Pakistani Christian vendor prepares meat on a grill to customers in a Christian neighborhood in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 photo, Pakistani Christian Arshad Massi, 33, showers in a makeshift bathroom in a slum home to Christian families on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015 photo, Pakistani Christian bride Dunya Yacob, 24, center, surrounded by family members while having her makeup done on her wedding day in a makeshift tent at a slum home to Christian families on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015 photo, Pakistani Christian bride Dunya Yacob, 24, and her groom Indriaz Liaqat, 27, sit during their wedding ceremony in a makeshift home at a slum home to Christian families on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. “Since I was a little girl, I dreamed of the day I would get married and put on a nice dress and have a nice party with a lot of people,” the 24 year old said. “But today, my dream didn’t turn the way I imagined it, but there is nothing I can do about it. This is how our lives look like today and we have to adapt.” (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015 photo, biblical pictures are hung on a wall of Pakistani Christian Rashid Rafiq’s home in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Friday, Feb. 6, 2015 photo, Pakistani Christians pray before starting class at a makeshift church in a slum home to Christian families on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015 photo, Pakistani Christian men play cards at a slum home to Christian families in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015 photo, Pakistani Christians pray during Sunday Mass in a makeshift church in a slum home to Christian families on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Monday, Feb. 2, 2015 photo, Pakistani Christians hang their laundry outside their makeshift tent in a slum home to Christian families on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015 photo, Pakistani Christian children play in a slum home to Christian families on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015 photo, banners show Former Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, top right, and his late wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, as an elderly Christian man holds his grandson’s hand at a slum home to Christian families on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015 photo, Pakistani Christian Basharat Bhatti, 43, center, sits with his family gathering around a fire to warm themselves from the evening cold, outside their makeshift tent at a slum home to Christian families on the outskirts Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
Spotlight is the blog of AP Images, the world’s largest collection of historical and contemporary photos. AP Images provides instant access to AP’s iconic photos and adds new content every minute of every day from every corner of the world, making it an essential source of photos and graphics for professional image buyers and commercial customers. Whether your needs are for editorial, commercial, or personal use, AP Images has the content and the expert sales team to fulfill your image requirements. Visit apimages.com to learn more.
Written content on this site is not created by the editorial department of AP, unless otherwise noted.
AP Images Blog 