Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s “last Jew” “experiences anti-Semitism on a regular basis”
Why on earth is this guy living in Pakistan? He should move to Israel! His life is in mortal danger.
Shouldn’t Fishel Benkhald be showered with displays of Islamic tolerance? H.R. McMaster and Pope Francis need to go to Pakistan and explain to the Pakistanis how they’re misunderstanding their peaceful, tolerant religion.
The Qur’an depicts the Jews as inveterately evil and bent on destroying the well-being of the Muslims. They are the strongest of all people in enmity toward the Muslims (5:82); they fabricate things and falsely ascribe them to Allah (2:79; 3:75, 3:181); they claim that Allah’s power is limited (5:64); they love to listen to lies (5:41); they disobey Allah and never observe his commands (5:13). They are disputing and quarreling (2:247); hiding the truth and misleading people (3:78); staging rebellion against the prophets and rejecting their guidance (2:55); being hypocritical (2:14, 2:44); giving preference to their own interests over the teachings of Muhammad (2:87); wishing evil for people and trying to mislead them (2:109); feeling pain when others are happy or fortunate (3:120); being arrogant about their being Allah’s beloved people (5:18); devouring people’s wealth by subterfuge (4:161); slandering the true religion and being cursed by Allah (4:46); killing the prophets (2:61); being merciless and heartless (2:74); never keeping their promises or fulfilling their words (2:100); being unrestrained in committing sins (5:79); being cowardly (59:13-14); being miserly (4:53); being transformed into apes and pigs for breaking the Sabbath (2:63-65; 5:59-60; 7:166); and more. They are under Allah’s curse (9:30), and Muslims should wage war against them and subjugate them under Islamic hegemony (9:29).
“Pakistan’s ‘last Jew’ Fishel Benkhald complains of anti-Semitism,” by Sattar Khan, DW, November 22, 2017 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
Fishel Benkhald tells DW he has faced immense social discrimination in Pakistan following his registration of Jewish faith, but he will continue to raise voice for the rights of religious minorities in the country.
Dubbed “Pakistan’s last Jew,” Fishel Benkhald, a resident of the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, was originally registered as a Muslim and was named Faisal Khalid. After several months of bureaucratic struggle and paperwork, he was finally recognized by the Islamic country’s authorities as a Jew in March this year.
Benkhald: ‘It is my religious right to visit the holy sites in Israel.’
Benkhald claims he was born to a Muslim father and a Jewish mother. The South Asian country’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) usually does not entertain requests for changing religion on the basis of mother’s faith. But the unprecedented decision by authorities to change his religion on the national identity card made the 29-year-old ecstatic. But since then he has been facing hostility in Pakistan, Benkhald told DW.
“When my landlord learnt about my Jewish identity, he asked me to vacate the apartment where I had been living for months,” Benkhald said. “Obviously, he did not tell me why he took that decision, but I could sense it was because of my new religious status,” he added.
Benkhald lives in Karachi’s middle-class neighborhood, Korangi, and works in the mineral ore supply business.
“I rented another apartment in the same area because my children’s school was in the vicinity. But I had to vacate that place as well, as the new landlord also learnt about my Jewish identity,” Benkhald said.
Benkhald noted that his mother and father had met in Karachi and had a love marriage. He claims his maternal grandparents were Jews. “My father was a secular Muslim and he had no objection to my mother’s faith. My mother never practiced Islam; however she was registered as a Muslim. In her heart, she was always a Jew. She taught me many things about Judaism.”
Disowned by society and relatives
According to Pakistani media reports, there are about 745 registered Jewish families living in Pakistan. At the time of Pakistan’s independence from British rule in 1947, the number of Jews, as well as those of Christians and Hindus, was much higher. But the Islamization of the country, especially since the 1980s, forced the members of religious minorities to either convert to Islam or flee the country.
Islamic extremism has increased manifold in Pakistan in the past few years, and religious hardliners often fan anti-Semitic sentiment that is mostly aimed at Israel. Benkhald said he experiences anti-Semitism on a regular basis.
“The society’s attitude toward me changed completely after I got myself registered as a Jew,” Benkhald told DW.
“Even my four brothers disowned me and declared me an apostate,” he said.
