Paul Bhatti Takes Up His Fallen Brother’s Standard

At the conference in Rome last month, “Under Caesar’s Sword: Christians in Response to Persecution,” (see recent post)  one of the most riveting speakers was Paul Bhatti of Pakistan, brother of Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan’s first Federal Minister of Minority Affairs, a Christian, who was slain by extremist Islamic militants on March 2, 2011.  Now, Paul Bhatti is in the news for opposing Pakistan’s blasphemy law in the aftermath of three death sentences being handed down against people accused of defaming the Prophet Muhammad.  See the story here.  Note how Bhatti speaks of religious freedom in the language of peacebuilding and reconciliation.