Islamists behead Sikhs for refusing to convert

Islamists behead Sikhs for refusing to convert

Two Sikhs, Jaspal Singh and Mahal Singh, have been beheaded by Islamic theocrats in FATA of Pakistan. The Sikhs were kidnapped 34 days ago and were told to convert to Islam or face death. Intelligence sources said that their heads were chopped when the two men refused and sent to Bhai Joga Singh Gurdwara in Peshawar. The Sikh community in NWFP and Afghanistan have been under pressure from the Taliban to embrace Islam.
Taliban mercenaries hold two more Sikhs, Gurjit Singh and Gurvinder Singh, in their custody. An estimated 10,000 Sikhs lived in the NWFP and in the tribal belt, particularly Aurakzai Agency, till the Taliban imposed ‘jiziya’ or religious tax on them last year. Most members of the community then fled to cities across Pakistan. I am proud of my brother, he has not been killed, he has attained martyrdom for the honour of Sikh religion. He refused to convert to Islam and preferred to lay down his life,'' an inconsolable Taranjit Singh, cousin of Jaspal Singh told the media. He revealed that the kidnapping of Sikhs by Taliban was not only for money, but also to threaten the small Sikh community of Pakistan to embrace Islam. The Sikh community of Peshawar was ready to mobilize a hefty ransom of Rs 3 crore to save the lives of kidnapped Sikhs. But Taliban had forced Jaspal to cut his hair and convert to Islam. He refused to convert to Islam and was determined to protect his identity. Maulanas in UP, India have condemned the killings as unIlsamic. But generally, Muslims interpret Islam liberally when they are in minority and change their interpretation to harsher, intolerant and violent versions when they become majority.