Source:  Church of England Newspaper

December 15, 2011

By George Conger

Fears of an anti-government rising by Muslim extremists prompted the imprisonment of an Anglican priest in Kashmir, an investigation by the All India Christian Council has found.

In an 8000-word report paper released on 5 Dec 2011, the All India Christian Council stated that the Rev. C.M. Khanna, the vicar of All Saints Church in Srinigar, was arrested to placate Muslim leaders, angered by his baptism of seven young Muslim men. The baptismal liturgy's call to renounce Satan and all his works and make amendment for one's past life was "blasphemous," local mullahs charged.

On 19 Nov, police arrested Mr. Khanna and charged him with "fomenting communal strife." The arrest followed the circulation of a mobile phone video of a baptismal service he conducted for seven Muslim men. The priest has since been released from prison on bail on 1 Dec, and warned neither to leave the state nor to baptize any more Muslims.

According to the All India Christian Council report, Mr. Khanna had been wary of baptizing Muslims for fear of an agent provocateur seeking to discredit the church. He had also turned away those who sought financial assistance and offered to convert to Christianity in return for cash. While Kashmir has no anti-conversion laws, the small Christian community in Srinigar (300 Anglicans and 100 Roman Catholics) has sought to avoid confrontation with the Muslim majority.

However, the seven young men had been attending the church for ten months and displayed "great piety," Mr. Khanna told investigators. "He was convinced of their motives. But even then, he questioned them and explained the difficulties they could face. They were firm in their new faith and insisted that he baptise them." . . . 

Read the entire article here.