Pro-Israel Christian refugee faces renewed deaths threats, nearly $500K bounty
A Pakistani Christian forced to flee his home country due to blasphemy charges says he is facing renewed death threats and a bounty of nearly $500,000 after he expressed support for Israel online.
Faraz Pervaiz is a Christian refugee who fled Pakistan in 2014 after he and his father posted videos online that were critical of the Pakistani government and Islamic teachings. He currently resides in Thailand, but he says renewed death threats against him have made him fearful that he and his family face a "grave risk of harm."
During a Twitter Space discussion on April 14 named "Jihadi Muhammad," Pervaiz, his younger brother and his father expressed their religious conviction to support Israel, which is at war right now with the terror group Hamas in Gaza.
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The Pakistani Christian "extremist Jihadis" accused him and his family of inciting hatred against Islam.
In an interview with The Christian Post, Pervaiz said that the current bounty on his head is the equivalent of around $478,000. He already had a bounty of about $400,000, but this recent incident led to an increase.
He said the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, the Islamic political party in Pakistan, issued a "Death Fatwa" proclamation, placing a bounty on the heads of each of the three family members.
Pervaiz said that he has also received death threats through applications such as Telegram and WhatsApp.
In addition to the bounty, he said that radical extremist groups are facilitating these threats by offering to provide visas and pay for the tickets of anyone willing to kill him and his family members.
On the same day as the interview with CP, Pervaiz said that he attempted to speak with someone at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He said he has been contacting the agency for help since April 26.
"They said in a very dismissive way that they would pass on the concern," Pervaiz said.
Pervaiz is of the opinion that the agency does not like him because he has publicly criticized Islam. He contends the U.N. has an anti-Israel bias, pointing to reports about United Nations Relief and Works Agency employees aiding in Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre. In an X post last week, Pervaiz stated that "allegations of systematic discrimination and betrayal" by the UNHCR in Thailand cast a "dark shadow" over Pakistani Christian refugees' "hopes for safety and protection."
"Since 2014, the Pakistani Christian community seeking asylum in Bangkok has faced a relentless onslaught of persecution and despair," he wrote. "For years, Pakistani Christians have pleaded with UNHCR Bangkok for fair and impartial treatment, in accordance with the organization's own principles and mandates. Yet, their appeals have fallen on deaf ears, leaving them disillusioned and abandoned in their darkest hours."
In the past, the U.N. has acknowledged Pervaiz's plight, calling on the Thai government to "protect Pakistani Christian asylum seekers from danger." A 2021 U.N. Human Rights Council periodic review stated that "one radical Pakistani civilian released a video calling upon 'every Muslim in this world' to travel to Bangkok, locate, and kill Pervaiz."
Pervaiz said he has supported Israel since his childhood, stating that the Holy Bible instructs him to do so as part of his Christian faith. He highlighted various Bible verses, including Romans 11:25-28, which illustrate God's plan for Israel.
Pervaiz said a Christian friend, whom he could not name due to privacy reasons, asked him recently how God could love a "sinful" nation like Israel. Pervaiz said that, to him, the answer is "simple."
"By the same unconditional love the Lord has toward the Church," Pervaiz said. "Indeed, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. So, there is a simple rule for all believers: We should love what Jesus loves. How is your love for Israel? Just ask God to give you his love for the Jewish people."
On college campuses throughout the United States, students and activists have organized anti-Israel encampments, with demonstrators accusing the Jewish state of committing "genocide" and demanding that university administrators cease support of Israel.
Other activists have coordinated anti-Israel protests at hospitals and Jewish-owned businesses.
"Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East," Pervaiz said.
"On U.S. college campuses, they're holding rallies in support of Hamas," he added. "They have no idea who they are because they are following a radical Islamic ideology. Send them to Gaza, and they will understand within a few seconds who they are supporting."
Pervaiz urged the United States to discover the source of the funding behind the series of anti-Israel protests and to identify the demonstrators and where they are from.
The wave of anti-Israel protests arose following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack against Israel, which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,200 people, primarily civilians, and the abduction of over 240 others.
Reports have also surfaced that Hamas terrorists committed a wave of sexual violence against women on Oct. 7. Amit Soussana, a former hostage, recently came forward and recounted the sexual abuse she endured after she was taken captive during Hamas' Oct. 7 surprise attack.
Hamas is a terrorist group that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007. Israel launched an offensive in Gaza in response to the Oct. 7 attack, which the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says has resulted in the deaths of over 34,000 people. The exact numbers are difficult to verify, however, as the data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Hamas is also known for embedding itself within civilian populations.
Last month, former Fox News Host Tucker Carlson was criticized for interviewing Munther Isaac, the pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem. The interview expressed a critical view of the way Israel allegedly treats Christians.
The pastor that Carlson interviewed has been accused of being sympathetic to Hamas, and during one of his sermons after Oct. 7, Isaac said that he was "shocked by the strength of the Palestinian man who defied his siege."
"We need to understand that Israel is fighting with Palestinians; Israel is not fighting with the Christians," Pervaiz said. "We need to understand this. Of course, the Palestinian Christian is going to support Palestine, not Israel."
He concluded that Christians have a "moral and spiritual obligation to support Israel," asserting that those who do not are on "the wrong side of God."
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
