A 17-year-old Christian boy, Samsoon Javed, has been forcibly converted to Islam and is being held in illegal custody by his Muslim employers in Pakistan, according to his mother, Samina Javed.
Samsoon began working at an LPG outlet owned by Usman Manzoor in November and later transferred to his brother Umar Manzoor’s outlet in July. His parents noticed a change in his behaviour and soon discovered that he had been converted to Islam.
“We were worried about him, but despite our repeated prodding, he wouldn’t tell us anything,” Samina said. “We came to know about Samsoon’s conversion in September when he didn’t come home from work.”
When Samina and her husband visited Umar’s shop, they were told that Samsoon had become a Muslim and didn’t want to live with them anymore. However, when they managed to see Samsoon without Umar’s presence, he appeared scared and under pressure.
Rights activist Napolean Qayyum stated that forced religious conversions are common in Pakistan, often committed under threats of violence or economic coercion. “There’s no age bar on changing one’s religion, but you cannot force anyone to do it, especially a minor child.”
Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian.