Author:
Publication: WorldNetDaily.com
Date: December 17, 2003
URL: http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=36177
Boy abducted, taken to strict Islamic
school where beaten, prepared for jihad
A 15-year-old Pakistani Christian
boy was kidnapped and taken to a strict Islamic religious school where
he was beaten to submission and forced to declare he is a Muslim, according
to an international aid group.
Zeeshan Gill from Sind province
was captured in daylight while on his way home from school Nov. 7, reported
the Assist News Service, or ANS, citing the British-based Barnabas Fund.
Gill ended up in a madrasa where
his captors forced him to say the Islamic creed and declared he is a Muslim.
They warned if he tried to flee or return to Christianity, they would kill
him.
The teen was made to fast daily,
and his captors trained him in the use of guns and grenades, ANS said.
The mosque affiliated with the school
did not inform Gill's mother, Razia, until three days later, the news service
said. She was told her son became a Muslim of his own will and that he
would not return to her.
The mother turned to local court
officials who sent a bailiff to the madrasa to interview Zeeshan. The boy
insisted his conversion was voluntary, but the bailiff decided to order
the school's director to appear in court with Zeeshan Nov. 14.
To his mother's amazement, Zeeshan
testified in court he had willingly become a Muslim and would go home with
her only if she also converted.
The judge turned down Razia's request
to meet alone with her son, stating he was a sensible boy who had a right
to convert, even though he is a minor.
The decision was irrevocable, the
judge said to the boy's mother, and she was now powerless to do anything
about it.
The madrasa allowed Zeeshan to return
home Nov. 20, with an escort, to collect his clothes.
Four days later, the teen was informed
he was about to be sent on a jihad in Kashmir, where he would have to "spread
Islam at 120 kilometers per hour."
Zeeshan's director let him return
home once more to say goodbye, but this time without an escort.
At this point, Zeeshan felt free
to reveal the truth to his mother, ANS said, finally confessing he had
been kidnapped, forcibly converted and held against his will.
The family immediately fled south
where they came in touch with an advocacy group called the Centre for Legal
Aid, Assistance and Settlement, in Lahore.
