A Candle in the Darkness: The Life of Shahbaz Bhatti
Céleste Perrino May/June 2026A new graphic novel shares lessons in compassion and courage for the next generation of religious freedom advocates.
Shahbaz Bhatti was 13 years old when he became convicted of his life’s purpose: to serve the poor and the persecuted. He was 42 when he was assassinated for persistently doing exactly that. The years in between are a testament to a life of single-minded dedication to his calling. They are also an invitation to pass the flame of a fallen hero and carry on Shahbaz’s crucial mission: working toward a future free from persecution and violence for everyone.
Shahbaz’s older brother, Peter, recounts that even as a young child, Shahbaz befriended the most vulnerable people in their village of Khushpur, in the northeastern part of Punjab province, Pakistan. He used his pocket money to help his classmates with their school fees, books, and clothing. He even took food from home and shared it with those less fortunate. During a church service in their village on Good Friday when he was just 13, Shahbaz was completely moved, Peter says. “He said, ‘My Jesus Christ gave His life for my salvation and redemption. I want to follow Christ and stand with the marginalized and oppressed communities of my country and of my community.’ ”
Peter remembers how Shahbaz “organized one small group in the village with his school fellows. It was called Christian Liberation Front. He said that it was not like other organizations. ‘We want to liberate the Christians from their persecution, from their vulnerability, and from their suffering. Then they can be treated equally; everyone will have equal rights.’ That’s the kind of liberation he was looking for.”
One of his earliest civil battles was against the idea of a new identity card that would identify religions by color. Shahbaz opposed this change, because, as Peter recalls, he believed that all citizens of Pakistan are equal and the new cards would make it easier to discriminate against minorities. “Shahbaz believed that as a citizen of Pakistan, religion had nothing to do with our ID; we are all citizens of Pakistan. He opposed it from the beginning; at that time, he was the only one. And by the grace of God, he successfully defeated that proposal.”
All Pakistanis Are Equal
Pakistan’s religious composition is overwhelmingly Muslim—some 97 percent comprised mainly of Sunnis but also Shias. Among minorities, Hindus, Christians, Ahmadiyyas, Sikhs, Zoroastrians (called Parsis), and other groups primarily comprise the tiny remainder. In the early years Shahbaz focused predominantly on supporting Christians. Later he embraced all those who were persecuted, even those in the majority. He believed that all people should be treated equally regardless of their religious beliefs.
Eventually, as other religious minorities observed his work, they wanted him to represent them as well. Peter says that in 2002 the religious minorities in Pakistan gathered and chose Shahbaz to be their leader. “Instead of Christian Liberation Front, they changed the name to All Pakistan Minorities Alliance [APMA], and he was unanimously chosen as chair of the organization.”
Shahbaz committed his life to standing up for the rights of all Pakistanis; he did not differentiate between the majority and the minority. He demonstrated this empirically in 2005 following a devastating earthquake in Pakistan that registered 7.6 on the Richter scale and resulted in significant destruction that cost the lives of 73,000 to 87,000 people and left 3.5 million homeless. Shahbaz, then leader of the APMA, made a conscious choice to bring aid to all in need, making no distinction between religions. For this compassionate choice, the APMA later received official recognition from state authorities.
The irony of the religious intolerance existing in Pakistan today is that the country was created because of religious and political differences between Muslims and Hindus in British-ruled India. Minority Muslims were concerned about their rights in the predominately Hindu India. In his first presidential address to the First Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947, Muhammad Ali Jinnah declared, “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State.” Sadly, his vision crumbled over the years.
Islamization and the Shadow of Sharia law
From Pakistan’s inception, successive governments have worked with varying degrees of success to institute Islamic laws, known as Islamization, as well as Sharia law, which is a set of loosely defined laws and principles for Muslims to live by that they believe are divinely inspired rather than simply secular. Shahbaz worked tirelessly against the enactment of these laws, seeing them as a significant and direct threat to religious freedom. In 1998, when Nawaz Sharif was the prime minister of Pakistan, Sharif attempted to institute Sharia law.
Peter says, “Shahbaz was very upset. He began campaigning all over Pakistan. And by the grace of God, he was able to convince a lot of major organizations and political parties. Slowly, slowly with his convincing, they were able to defeat Sharia law in the Senate.”
On November 2, 2008, Shahbaz was elected federal minister for minority affairs, making him the only Christian in the federal cabinet. AsiaNews reported that “after taking the oath of office, the minister-elect said that he accepted the post for the sake of the ‘oppressed, down-trodden, and marginalized’ of Pakistan, and that he has dedicated his life to ‘struggle for human equality, social justice, religious freedom, and to uplift and empower the religious minorities’ communities.’ He added that he wants to send ‘a message of hope to the people living a life of disappointment, disillusionment and despair.’ ‘Jesus is the nucleus of my life,’ says Bhatti, ‘and I want to be His true follower through my actions by sharing the love of God with poor, oppressed, victimized, needy and suffering people of Pakistan.’ ”
Among his accomplishments was addressing the rampant discrimination that made it difficult for minorities to seek government jobs or win elected office. In a little more than two years he was able to establish a 5 percent government job quota for minorities and the reservation of four senate seats for minorities to promote interfaith harmony and give minorities a voice. Shahbaz was also instrumental in establishing August 11 as National Minorities Day. “This is national government recognition of the role that minorities have played in the development and progress of the country,” says Shahbaz’s nephew, David Bhatti.
Battling Blasphemy Laws
As early as 1992 Shahbaz launched a national campaign against the blasphemy laws that impose severe penalties for offenses against Islam. These laws were strengthened by Zia-ul-Haq, president of Pakistan from 1978 to 1988, when he added mandatory death sentences for blasphemy against Islam’s founding prophet, Muhammad. They continue to be controversial and are frequently used as the basis for mob vigilante violence to settle personal scores, remove those who have political views not aligned with the majority, or silence anyone advocating for religious freedom for minorities. While often employed against minorities, the blasphemy laws are also used by Muslims against other Muslims.
Blasphemy law violations are invoked for the slightest offense, or no offense at all, but only a fraction make their way to court. Many cases of mob justice are reported in which the accused are murdered violently, sometimes in the presence of police, before their cases ever have a chance to be heard. Later they are determined to be innocent, but for the accused and their family, this vindication comes much too late. An accusation of blasphemy is almost worse than death, as it taints family members as well, destroying their lives and their freedom.
Shahbaz started an international campaign against the blasphemy laws. This had the immediate effect of increasing the death threats against him. While Shahbaz was no stranger to death threats, receiving his first when he was in university, they never deterred him. He did not deviate from the path he chose despite being under constant pressure to choose a safer direction, one that would not stir up controversy. During a visit to his brother Peter in Canada, Shahbaz met with then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who offered him asylum. Shahbaz refused.
His life of unwavering commitment to his mission was not without personal sacrifice. He chose to speak on behalf of his suffering brothers and sisters rather than pursue a lucrative career. Even his personal safety was secondary to his mission; his life was in constant danger, something he acknowledged and accepted. He spoke publicly about the certainty of his violent death, knowing it was simply a matter of when it would happen. In an interview with the BBC four months before he died, he said, “I’m ready to die for a cause. I’m 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.”
A Candle Violently Snuffed Out
On the morning of March 2, 2011, Shahbaz was on his way to work. He had just left his mother’s house in a residential area of Islamabad when his car was surrounded by three gunmen and sprayed with bullets. His driver was left unharmed, but Shahbaz was declared dead on arrival at nearby Shifa hospital. It’s unclear why he had no protection detail or was not provided with an armored car, though this was hardly a guarantee of safety. Only two months previously, Punjab governor Salman Taseer, a Muslim and also a strong advocate of abolishing Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, was shot and killed by one of his own bodyguards.
Tehrik-i-Taliban, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the assassination. “ ‘This man was a known blasphemer of the Prophet [Muhammad],’ said the group’s deputy spokesman, Ahsanullah Ahsan. ‘We will continue to target all those who speak against the law which punishes those who insult the prophet. Their fate will be the same.’ ”
The world, united in shock, reacted unanimously with condemnation and sorrow. Time passed, but Shahbaz was not forgotten. Fifteen years after his assassination, it is more important than ever that we do not forget the purpose of his life and the importance of that for which he fought so fiercely and so tirelessly.
More Than a Superhero
This year, in an effort to encourage everyone, but particularly young people, to become involved in Shahbaz’s mission, a special tribute to his life and work was debuted on the fifteenth anniversary of his assassination with the release of a graphic novel, Blood and Water: The Life and Martyrdom of Shahbaz Bhatti. The project is the brainchild of Knox Thames, an international human rights lawyer as well as the first special advisor for religious minorities at the U.S. Department of State, who worked closely with Shahbaz and counted him as a friend.
“I wanted to bring Shahbaz’s story to a broader audience,” says Thames. “And this anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on what he did and challenge ourselves to live up to his example. But also it provides a new way to remind people of his sacrifice and of the need for us to redouble our efforts. Shahbaz has been gone 15 years, but the problem hasn’t gone away in Pakistan or around the world.”
Thames, who had been wanting to tell Shahbaz’s story for some time but was unsure how he wanted to do it, was working with MORE Productions, a subsidiary of the Clapham Group, which bring stories of faith into public media. They suggested a graphic novel. The idea formed of telling the story in a way that would appeal to a younger generation.
“I’ve got two sons, 18 and 17,” Thames said, “and I write on these issues all the time. But it wasn’t until I had the graphic novel in my hand that they said, ‘Oh, Dad, I want a copy of that.’ ” The Templeton Religion Trust provided underwriting, and the project gained momentum.
MORE Productions introduced Thames to author Matt Yocum, who was retiring from the Air Force but had spent time in Pakistan and had done some writing on the side for Marvel Comics. Yocum loved the project. “I think it’s a helpful reminder to the Western church that people facing persecution is not just in the past; it’s also in the present. We take for granted the freedoms that we have, certainly in America.”
A major decision Yocum faced early in the project was deciding who would narrate the story. “We chose people who represented our audience, which are his niece and nephew. Nitasha and David Bhatti mostly grew up in Canada because their father, Shahbaz’s brother Peter, had left Pakistan. But every year they visited Pakistan, and in their home they spoke Urdu. So in the book I get to take the audience into Pakistan when they travel. At the end I reveal some of what they were inspired to do by Shahbaz’s life. Hopefully that’s inspiration for the younger generation.”
“Comics is a unique, singular medium,” says Yocum. “It’s not film; and it’s not prose. The story is told with both visuals and words. And the question is always, as you’re scripting the page, when do you tell the story through images? When do you tell the story through words?”
Because of this collaboration between author and illustrator, it is crucial that they work well together. “A comic is not story alone, and it’s not art alone; it’s a marriage of the two. Choosing the right artist was crucial. And I truly believe God was a factor in this.”
Yocum met Jordan Holt, freelance illustrator and associate professor of graphic design at Lee University, at a comic convention. “He was just a dream to work with,” says Yocum. “The level of authenticity was unbelievable.”
“I don’t know much about Pakistan from personal experience,” says Holt, “so I felt an obligation to try to understand Pakistan’s aesthetic culture. I watched YouTube videos where people give tours around Kushpur, which is Shahbaz’s village. I looked up what kinds of cars people would drive back then. I spent time studying family photos provided by his brother, Peter.”
“Ultimately the book is about Shahbaz,” says Thames, “but it’s also about how do Christians, how do people of faith, do everything they can to ensure that people don’t have to live in fear of violence or discrimination for what they believe? Are you talking to your member of Congress, your senator? Are you praying and working with your own faith community to advocate for respect for this God-given fundamental right? The ultimate goal is that people don’t have to live in fear of discrimination or violence for how they pray or what they believe. And it’s going to be a generational-long effort, because the reality of religious persecution is so widespread, impacting Christians and every faith community somewhere.”
The Legacy of Shahbaz Bhatti
There is no danger that Shahbaz’s legacy will fade over time. It continues in the victories he secured for equal rights and religious freedom. Shahbaz’s brother Paul Bhatti, who resides in Italy, took over Shahbaz’s position in the APMA. He developed the Shahbaz Bhatti Complex in Pakistan, which houses a factory of 50 to 60 workers being trained to work independently, a hospital that offers free treatment for everyone, especially women and children, and a community center for interfaith harmony programs. In Canada, Peter runs the International Christian Voice. “It was Shahbaz’s vision to give us an international trade forum where we can raise our voice, which we are unable to raise in Pakistan. We are committed to continue his legacy, and we sponsor refugees in Shahbaz’s name. More than 300 refugees have arrived since 2016, people who are suffering because of their beliefs.”
Joel Kyari, a trustee for the British Asian Christian Association, summed it up well during a memorial service for Shahbaz when he said, “The assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti served as a wake-up call to the entire world. It serves as a stark reminder of the injustices that can plague society if we remain silent in the face of evil. His life and martyrdom have become catalysts for change, inspiring numerous humanitarians. I firmly believe that his legacy will one day contribute to transforming Pakistan into a nation in which equality and justice prevail.”
Will We Stand With the Persecuted?
How can those who live far removed from Pakistan, or other places where religious liberty is threatened, carry on Shahbaz’s work and mission?
Government: Support the legal protection of religious freedom by letting your local and state representatives know it is important to you.
Advocate for interfaith harmony: Respect the rights of others to worship as their conscience dictates.
Support the vulnerable: Assist vulnerable minorities in whatever way you are able, whether financially or tangibly.
Educate: Teach others about the importance of religious freedom and be willing to learn more so you can do more.
Break the silence: Speak up against religious discrimination or persecution when you witness it, and challenge misinformation, which is rife in the media and colors the opinions of many.
Pray: Ask God to protect Christians and people from other faiths who are persecuted for their beliefs, and to show us how to respond.
“We’ve got to find new ways to get the next generation engaged,” says Thames, “and inspire Christians and non-Christians alike to understand what’s happening, what’s possible, and how they can respond and not ignore it.”
The Meteoric Rise of the Graphic Novel
Graphic novels and comics are words used to describe the same medium for storytelling: books that use illustrations in conjunction with text to convey a story. People often make the erroneous assumption that comics are for children and graphic novels treat more serious adult themes, but this is not accurate, making the distinction a matter of semantics. As a medium, graphic novels have experienced extraordinary growth, exploding in popularity as the world becomes ever more visually dominant. The Library Journal reports that “since 2019, sales of graphic novels have risen more than 100 percent. While that growth has leveled off, graphic novels are now the third best-selling genre (35 million books sold) in the U.S. and Canada, behind only general fiction (49 million) and romance (36 million).”
“They’re rapidly becoming one of the primary mediums of the younger generation,” says Yocum, “which is consuming both fiction and nonfiction in massive numbers through comics and graphic novels. As an example, when you go into Barnes & Noble today, where there was one shelf with comics there is now row upon row of comics. It takes reluctant readers and makes them readers. That’s one of the beauties of comics.”