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Pakistan (MNN) — Pakistani police have reportedly arrested one of the masterminds behind December’s deadly school attack in Peshawar.
According to multiple reports, 27-year-old Taj Muhammad was captured yesterday in an Internally-Displaced Persons (IDP) camp. Muhammad is allegedly a “commander” of one of the Taliban splinter groups that raided the army school.
Suicide bombers killed 150 people when they raided the school; 133 of those victims were children.
The Aftermath
The school attacks didn’t stop with the New Year, even though Pakistan’s government reportedly “buckled down” on terrorism and equipped teachers as an extra line of defense. At the end of January, Charlie Hebdo protestors raided a Christian school and called for its closure.
Today, they have a new, yet similar, target.
Women are increasingly turning to the Lord in Pakistan and are vocally eager for spiritual growth, but often find it difficult to be discipled due to the cultural taboo of church leaders like pastors and teachers (traditionally men) from personally interacting with them. FMI’s new Women’s Discipleship Initiative aims to help the whole church mature together by identifying and empowering qualified women to train other women.
(Picture, caption courtesy of FMI)
“Terrorist groups now are targeting schools that are for girls,” shares Bruce Allen with Forgotten Missionaries International. “They want to keep the female population uneducated.”
Women reportedly comprise 50% of Pakistan’s total population. By keeping women “in the dark,” terrorists are effectively immobilizing a significant populous.
Terrorists aren’t the only ones targeting Pakistani women, Allen explains. According to FMI’s National Director, women are “overlooked in this society; basically invisible.
“She cannot interact with unrelated males, even in an indoor situation, in a home,” Allen says, relaying insight from FMI’s National Director.
“Many of [the] Christian pastors still perpetuate those problems–unintentionally, of course, but because of cultural taboos, they’re not focusing on developing women. More women than men will be attending a church service, and yet, their specific needs are still being overlooked.”
FMI is combating Pakistan’s social tradition and the agenda of radical Islam by changing the way the Church treats women.
Women’s Discipleship Initiative
With a new discipleship initiative, the ministry is teaching Christian women how to share the Gospel and disciple new believers.
“Because it’s in a home, and not in a church, her Muslim neighbors are coming. They’re curious about, ‘What is Christianity? I want to learn more,'” shares Allen.
Christian worshipers sing as they begin to gather in the courtyard of one church member’s home. This congregation of more than 50 members currently has a five-to-one ratio of adult women-to-men. FMI’s new Women’s Discipleship Initiative aims to help the whole church mature together by identifying and empowering qualified women to train other women.
(Photo, caption courtesy of FMI)
The program is still getting off the ground. At FMI’s Web site, you can help by equipping more women for evangelism and discipleship.
First, click the “Make A Donation” button in the middle of the screen. Then, select “Women’s Discipleship Initiative” from the drop-down list.
“Every time there’s a need, it represents an opportunity to meet people exactly where they [are]. And that’s what Christ does for us,” Allen summarizes.
Most importantly, keep praying for the people of Pakistan. Pray that believers and innocents are protected. Pray that the Gospel will advance to new levels through this new FMI initiative.
