Words of a Martyr

Today in Pakistan, a fellow Christian died at the hands of extremists who wished to silence his voice.  Until today, I did not know the name of the martyr, Shahbaz Bhatti, who held the important position in the Pakistani government as minister of minorities.  So what made Bhatti so hated that people would take his life?  He advocated to change the “blasphemy laws” within Pakistan.  In this country, if people are caught speaking words against the Koran or against the prophet Muhammad, it is punishable by death!  And Bhatti believed that these laws were used to persecute minorities,including many Christians, within Pakistan.

Bhatti had good reason to believe this.  A high profile case involved a simple village woman named Asia Bibi.  This 51 year old woman was working with Muslims in a rural community when an argument erupted.  They claimed that she denigrated the name of their prophet and she is still being detained in a Pakistani prison with a death sentence still pending.  It is these kinds of cases that Bhatti publicly denounced as wrong and unjust.

Bhatti regularly received death threats.  And he made made these eerie statements recently in an interview.

Bhatti was gunned down today by assassins who waited outside his home.  Weeks earlier, Bhatti had asked the government for an armored car and increased security.  They had denied his request.  His killers filled his car with bullets and left leaflets on the ground warning against the overturn of the blasphemy laws.

I thank God for the life of this courageous man.

It is better to die for a cause that will ultimately succeed than to live for a cause that will ultimately fail.