Sangla Hill, Pakistan - The enraged mob had already scaled the walls of the Roman Catholic compound in Sangla Hill as Fr Samson Dilawar hurriedly ushered his charges to safety.
Nuns, teachers and 23 terrified schoolgirls crammed into a small upstairs room of the besieged convent as more than 1,500 men, incensed by rumours of Qur'an desecration, swarmed outside. Fr Dilawar watched from the roof as they smashed the altar of the parish church, tore up copies of the Bible and shattered the stained-glass windows. They sprayed fuel over his house and a girls' school next door. Minutes later flames were licking the walls and black smoke filled the sky.
Finally they crashed through the heavy convent door, sending the priest running for safety into the room where nine nuns were praying. "They tried to break the door down but did not succeed. Otherwise we could have all been killed," he said.
The rampage at Sangla Hill earlier this month has shocked Pakistan's Christian community and highlighted the fragile position of religious minorities in an overwhelmingly Muslim country. Two other churches - one Presbyterian, the other Salvation Army - and at least six Christian houses were also destroyed in normally peaceful market town about 140 miles south of Islamabad. Most worrying the violence lasted several hours but local police were unable, or unwilling, to stop it.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, currently on a visit to Pakistan, said the incident had triggered "very sharp tensions" between Christians and Muslims. "My reaction is one of great shock, great dismay that this can still go on" he said last week.
President Pervez Musharraf has also condemned the violence. But human rights campaigners say the incident is partly a result of Gen Musharraf's own shortcomings, most notably his failure to reform regressive laws, and casts doubt on his commitment to "enlightened moderation", his self-declared political creed.
Settling scores
Under Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws desecration of the Qur'an is punishable by life imprisonment while any insults to the name of the prophet Muhammad carry a mandatory death sentence. Because the law can be invoked on the word of just one witness, it is frequently manipulated to settle scores or rouse religious tensions. Last year more than 100 people were charged with blasphemy offences.
"It is used and misused to spread fear and terror," said Hina Jilani, a lawyer with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. "It's a tool to be used against anyone you are in conflict with."
Other laws are more overtly discriminatory. Members of the Ahmadi Muslim sect are forbidden from praying in mosques or reading from the Qur'an and they must vote under a separate electoral system.
Allegations of blasphemy amid a gambling dispute triggered the rampage in Sangla Hill. On the morning of November 11 Yusuf Masih, a Christian cattle trader, was playing cards with a Muslim, Kalu Sunaira, on open ground near the town stadium. An argument erupted, the nature of which is contested. Muslims claim that Mr Masih became angry and set fire to copies of the Qur'an stored in a nearby building. Christians say his opponent, Mr Sunaira, invented the story to distract attention from his heavy gambling debts.
Whatever the truth, news of the alleged desecration spread rapidly. Hours later, after Friday prayers, Sangla Hill's Muslim clerics issued denunciations over their mosque loudspeakers. "They said: 'Come out from your houses for the protection of the Qur'an and your religion'," recalled Fr Dilawar.
The next morning a large mob, estimated at between 1,500 and 3,000, brandishing sticks, hammers and fuel. They appeared to be carefully organised. Many came from surrounding towns, witnesses said. Some wore green turbans of the type favoured by Islamists.
Incitement
They torched the churches using an inflammable orange substance, the traces of which were still apparent last week. Catholic officials blamed the newly elected town mayor and a well-known local councillor for inciting them.
"We've never had anything like this before. I feel broken inside," said Sister Anthony Edward, a 68-year-old headmistress, standing before the charred classrooms of St Anthony's schools. More than 90% of the 450 pupils were Muslim, she added: "People want to bring their children here. They appreciate our education."
Attacks are rare. Christians, Hindus and other religious minorities - who make up 3% of the 150 million population - generally live peacefully alongside their Muslim neighbours. Catholic missionaries have educated some of Pakistan's most influential figures, including President Musharraf and the exiled opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.
Muslims suffer the worst sectarian violence. Hundreds have died in mosque massacres and other violence between Sunni and Shia extremists that has blighted the major cities over recent years. But the strife in Sangla Hill has raised tensions. Christian leaders have demanded "exemplary punishment".
"This was all pre-planned," said the Rev Tajjamal Pervez, standing amid the blackened ruins of the 103-year-old Presbyterian church. "The burning of the Qur'an was just an excuse to attack."
Mufti Muhammad Zulfiqar Rizvi, the chief cleric of the main mosque, said Muslims were angry that up to 30 copies of the Qur'an had been destroyed. "People were very aggrieved," he said. But he denied encouraging the crowd after Friday prayers. "I tried to stop them," he said. "I told them there should be no violence against any religious house. But they would not listen."
Christians blame the Muslim-dominated police for failing to protect them. Although 88 people were arrested after the attacks, none of the alleged ringleaders have been detained. Many feel vulnerable. "If the police cannot protect us in broad daylight then what can we expect?" said Javed Masih, a Catholic who wore a black armband in protest at the ransacking of his house.
Punjab's chief minister, Pervez Elahi, has promised that the culprits will be brought to justice and town's top ranking police officers have been suspended.
Yusuf Masih, the Christian at the centre of the furore, has been jailed at an undisclosed location. "He is being held outside of the city because of security concerns," said Arshad Ali, an acting police supervisor.
The exact causes of the trouble remain murky. Both Christians and Muslims said that they previously had excellent relations. "We even used to attend each other's weddings," said Botta Masih Shindhu, a local Christian leader. Mufti Rizvi echoed the sentiment. "There was so much harmony between the communities; we had love and affection in our hearts," he said. "Now Christians must have faith in us, and we must trust in them."