A Muslim mob went on a rampage Wednesday, attacking a Christian area in eastern Pakistan, burning and ransacking homes and churches.?
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The attacks in Jaranwala, in the district of Faisalabad in Punjab province, erupted after some Muslims living in the area claimed that local Christians had torn out pages from a Quran, thrown them on the ground and written insulting remarks on others.?
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On Thursday, government officials condemned the violence and police arrested more than 100 Muslims, while protests were held in several cities calling for Christians to be protected.?
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The crowds were incited to protest by Muslim clerics who used mosque loudspeakers to spread news of the allegations.?
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Pastor Javed Bhatti was roused from his sleep by the mosque’s loudspeaker – not the usual Islamic call to prayer, but a thundering call to protest against alleged blasphemy by Christians.?
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Instinctively, he gathered his family and ran to the street, where fellow Christians were already spilling from their homes into narrow alleyways.?
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As panic spread across the neighborhood, Muslims also rushed to the streets to warn and shelter their Christian neighbors, and pinned Quranic verses to the doors of Christian homes to prevent them from being targeted, residents of both faiths told AFP.
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