By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent
A Christian husband and his pregnant wife were beaten and then burned to death Tuesday by a mob of angry Muslims at a brick kiln in Chak village, Punjab Province, Pakistan, according to International Christian Concern.
Incited by Islamic clerics who falsely claimed that the couple had committed blasphemy by burning pages of the Quran, Shahzad Masih, 28, and his wife, Shama Bibi, 25, were trapped in a factory office for days before being horribly murdered by Muslim vigilantes in a kiln.
"On November 1, the couple was locked up at the owner's office. They were tortured for three days and then accused of desecrating the Quran," Haneef Masih, a local Christian, told ICC. "The clerics made announcements though the mosque's amplifiers and instigated the Muslims to kill the blasphemers."
A mob of more than 500 Muslims had violently removed the couple from the room where they had been held, stoned them and then tied them to a vehicle and dragged them to the brick kiln where they were apparently burned alive.
According to Barnabas Aid, five policemen tried to intervene, but were unable to stop the massive Muslim mob.
The couple had four children -- two boys and two girls -- and Bibi was also five months pregnant.
"The brutal killing of Shahzad and Shama once again highlights the extreme danger of religious fanaticism that Christians in Pakistan face on a regular basis," said Todd Daniels, ICC regional manager. "The accusation of blasphemy can be used for any dispute and can often prove deadly as it did today, inciting a mob to brutally murder this young couple."