Shahbaz Bhatti was a Catholic and a Pakistani minister for the defense of minorities who dedicated his life to the “struggle for human equality, social justice, religious freedom, and to uplift and empower the religious minorities’ communities.” He was assasinated yesterday because of his opposition to the country’s blasphemy law:
Farahnaz Ispahani, an aide to President Zardari, said Mr Bhatti’s murder was part of a “concerted campaign to slaughter every liberal, progressive and humanist voice in Pakistan” and called for the country’s federal and provincial governments to speak out and to take a strong stand against these murderers to save the very essence of Pakistan.”
The Vatican condemned the act as “unspeakable” while the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in a joint statement urged the Pakistan government to “bring to justice those guilty”.
To date Pakistan’s president and prime minister have declined to support the campaign to reform the blasphemy law and, according to former PPP information minister Sherry Rehman, have put pressure on its leading supporters to abandon it.
Here is a brief video in which he confesses belief in Christ and says that he is willing to die for his principles:
Bhatti is the second Pakistani official in the past two months to be killed after publicly opposing the draconian blasphemy laws. How many others in that country will be willing to take his place and speak up for religious freedom?
(Via: Douglas Farrow)
March 2nd, 2011 | 10:42 am
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March 2nd, 2011 | 10:49 am
My dearest female friend is Pakistani, a Muslim, and she and her family are just devastated about what is going on there. Her mother explained to me some years ago her horror at how Islam in Pakistan was being hijacked by Wahabism – from Saudi money and the influence of the Taliban. This intolerance will destroy that country, not only for minorities but for the majority. As a Catholic, I can only see Shahbaz Bhatti as a martyr for his faith.
March 2nd, 2011 | 11:43 am
Our State Department should give an official speech opposing the blasphemy law. More attention should be paid to religious freedom in countries that claim to be our allies.
March 2nd, 2011 | 11:59 am
Gosh, why would anyone be crazy enough to look at the world and see “a growing darkness and evil”? You’d have to be some sort of delusional and paranoid egomaniac to think THAT!
March 2nd, 2011 | 12:28 pm
It is easy to praise martyrs such as Mr. Bhatti when our lives are not threatened because of our faith. Unfortunately, the majority in Pakistan and other countries where Christians are persecuted will not be converted by the martyrdom of those Christians. Hatred has hardened their hearts all too well. I say enough! Christians should leave those countries ASAP.
March 2nd, 2011 | 4:11 pm
@Chris, unfortunately, the majority of Christians in countries like Pakistan are living in abject poverty, and couldn’t leave if they wanted to.
March 2nd, 2011 | 4:58 pm
Charles,
Unfortunately, the United States’s policy is to appease the majority-Muslim nations and throw religious minorities in those countries to the wolves. The appeasement hasn’t worked, and the wolves are still hungry.
March 2nd, 2011 | 11:55 pm
WHat about the UN do they not care about ;’freedom of religion’?
What about our western democracies do they not espouse both freedom of religion and ‘the rights of minorities’? certainly Christians in these countries are being told this all the time!
Everyone points to the so called Moslem Brotherhood [and I am far from any proponent of them] yet the Saudi pushing and financing of Wahabism goes unquestioned and even unmentioned. This is the source of Al Quaida and a great deal of the Islamic fundamentalism we see today as well as the growing persecution of Christians. THey are not stupid. Killing Christians has nothing to do with the military ventures of America and other western countries. They are attempting to eradicate Christians from their own homelands [these Christians predate Moslems in most of these countries] as much as they want to drive Israel into the sea.
I still have a great deal of hope for the younger generation in the Arab-Moslem countries who are educated and not buying into this form of fundamentalism. May THEIR tribe increase!
March 4th, 2011 | 1:47 pm
[...] Joe Carter at First Things: Bhatti is the second Pakistani official in the past two months to be killed after publicly opposing the draconian blasphemy laws. How many others in that country will be willing to take his place and speak up for religious freedom? [...]
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