Blasphemy claims triggered mob violence. Can Pakistan move forward?

In the Christian neighborhood of Issa Nagri lie the ruins of a once thriving church – one of more than a dozen that were targeted after rumors spread that a couple of Christian residents in Jaranwala, Pakistan, had defaced the Holy Quran.

On the morning of Aug. 16, an incensed mob wreaked havoc on the building and the adjoining courtyard. Hundreds of Muslim men knocked down the walls, desecrated the nave, burned copies of the Bible, and set fire to the furniture.

“The violence started in a different neighborhood,” recalls resident Rashid Javed. “When people found out what was happening, they started evacuating the area.”