Fearing for safety, Pakistani Christians converting to Islam

Motivated by fear and better economic prospects, at least 20 Pakistani Christians are converting to Islam each week. In recent weeks, a leading Muslim politician who called for modifications to the nation’s blasphemy law was gunned down, and thousands marched through the street of Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city, chanting, “Death to Christians and the friends of Christians.”

“People have no faith in the police or justice system, and the kind of fear that exists now was never there before,” says Peter Jacob, a prominent lay Catholics.

“No one feels safe right now,” adds Nadeem Anthony, a Christian and a member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. “People are scared.”