At Jesus’ Feet

ON MARCH 2, 2011, Clement Shahbaz Bhatti, a Pakistani government official, was pulled out of his car and gunned down by Islamic fundamentalists. Bhatti, a Catholic, was the minister for religious minorities and the only non-Muslim serving in the Pakistani government.

In speaking out against his country’s blasphemy law, which is often wielded against religious minorities, he knew he had made himself the target of the extremists he sought to save his country from. A few weeks before his death he had said, “Pray for me. I am a man who has burned his ships behind him: I cannot and do not want to turn back in this effort. I will combat extremism and I will fight in defence of Christians to the death.”

Shahbaz Bhatti was born in 1968 in Lahore, Pakistan. As a believer in Christ, he committed himself at the age of 18 to support Christians and other minorities, who form less than 5 percent of Pakistan’s population. He created several organisations to achieve this aim. One of the first battles was against the blasphemy law which was introduced in 1986, and which has been used to repress religious minorities, especially Christians.

In Pakistan’s parliament, Bhatti always looked for ways to promote the rights of religious minorities, and when he was appointed to his cabinet post in 2008, he declared, “Jesus is the nucleus of my life, and I want to be His true follower through my actions by showing the love of God for the poor, oppressed, victimized and suffering people of Pakistan”.

At the beginning of this year, after the assassination of Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Pakistan’s Punjab Province (who was also killed for opposing the blasphemy law and for publicly defending the victims of this law), Bhatti travelled to Europe, the United States and Canada to rally international support for religious freedom in Pakistan. Some urged him not to go back to his country because conditions for him there were becoming increasingly dangerous, but he wanted to continue his work.

A few weeks before his murder, Bhatti was warned that there was a plot to kill him. He asked his government for extra security, including a bullet-proof car, but his request was not fulfilled. However, he refused to be silenced. “If I change my stance today, who will speak out? I am mindful that I can be assassinated at any time, but I want to live in history as a courageous man,” he said.

Shahbaz Bhatti never married, and was well-aware that he could be killed at any time. In fact, he taped a video in December 2010 to be shown in the event of his death. Here is the tapescript of the video: “The forces of violent, militant, banned organisations like the Taliban and pro-al-Qaida want to impose their radical philosophy in Pakistan, and whoever stands against their radical philosophy, they threaten them. When I’m leading this campaign against the Sharia law, for the abolishment of the blasphemy law, and speaking for the oppressed and marginalised persecuted Christians and other minorities, these Taliban threaten me. But I want to share that I believe in Jesus Christ, who has given His own life for us. I know what is the meaning of the cross, and I am following the cross, and I am ready to die for a cause. I am living for my community and suffering people and I will die to defend their rights. So these threats and these warnings cannot change my opinion and principles. I will prefer to die following my principle and for the justice of my community rather than to compromise on these threats”.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Pakistan, which met from March 20-25 in Multan, unanimously decided to make a formal request to the Vatican to name Bhatti as a martyr and patron of religious freedom.

Dear Shahbaz Bhatti, I am one of the millions of Catholics who never had the privilege of meeting you. However, I would like to thank you for having shown such a great example of dedication and courage. In particular, I would like to thank you for these words of yours: “I only want a place at the feet of Jesus. I want my life, my character and my actions to speak for me and say that I am a follower of Christ”. Your shining words are an inspiration to me in my ministry. From them my hopes and dreams are strengthened. I hope to embrace you one day, and, like you, to be found worthy of a place at Jesus’ feet.