Rashid and Sajid Emmanuel Martyred
July 20th, 2010 by Sean
Rashid Emmanuel of Faisalabad Pakistan first made contact with our ministry on September 10, 2007 by offering to translate our homepage into Urdu (the language of Pakistan). We discussed the kingdom of God a bit and then in late November we sent him our standard “evangelism package” including books, tracts, the current Glad Tidings issue, and a letter. Over the next year we had sparse communication including a phone call on January 28, 2009. We were limited in how we could work with Rashid and his ministry, primarily sending him materials and referring him to our websites. In particular, he enjoyed christianmonotheism.com). He wrote:
Thank you very much for your kind reply. I am really blessed to visit on your new website. I am really happy to know that any one can watch, listen or read and download any file on his computer. You are doing great work by media for Lord Jesus Christ. I am praying that God provide all your financial needs to spread the Word of God in all major languages of the world. I believe whole material on your website will be blessings for me and my whole team members.
About the same time (Jan. 2009) I discovered that a dear brother who shares our faith in Australia, Stephen Cook, was active in Pakistan. As a result, I referred Rashid and my other Pakistani contacts to him. At this point our relationship tapered off as Rashid began working in earnest with Steve. Over the past two years Rashid had risen to become the national coordinator for the work in Pakistan. He and his brother did evangelism, teaching, and cared for orphans. 
On July 15th, I received the following email from Steve:
The Christian community in Pakistan is under threat from extremist groups again; my good friend Pastor Rashid Emmanuel and his brother Sajid are illegally charged with blasphemy based on fabricated evidence. More information is attached.
Muslim mobs are calling for the death sentence. We urgently need your support in bringing this to the attention of people who can intervene.
Please go the website for the Asian Human Rights Commission (http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2010/3503/) and support their appeal by sending messages to the President of Pakistan and others. This is easy to do. All you have to do is to click on “Send an appeal letterâ€, complete your details, edit the draft letter if you wish to, and then submit it. Your email will go the President, the Prime Minister, the Governor of Punjab, the head of the Police, and others.
If you would like more information, including what else you can do to help, please read the attached newsletter or contact me.
Steve [[click here to read attached newsletter explaining the situation in detail]]
Then on July 17th I received the following encouraging update:
I have just been speaking with one of our pastors in Pakistan to get the latest information on the crisis there.
Pastor Rashid and his brother Sajid have been moved by the police to an undisclosed location and they believe it is outside Faisalabad. They believe this is a good thing as it was not safe for them in the Police Station. They have been told that Rashid and Sajid are safe.
Although they have not been shown the report from the handwriting analyst they understand that the report indicated that there is no evidence that Rashid or Sajid wrote the document which is allegedly blasphemous. That means there is no case against them and this move to a safer location may be the first step in releasing them. If they were released from the Police Station their lives would be in great danger and it’s likely the Police will release them from a secret location.
So the danger is certainly not over yet but the family and other Pastors are optimistic that they will be released when things calm down a little.
They are very grateful for everyone’s prayers and all the letters and emails that have been sent to the Pakistan political leaders. Rashid and Sajid’s family is in hiding and moving from place to place. All the Christians in the district are living in fear at the moment. They are encouraging us to keep up the writing of letters to the President of Pakistan and other political leaders as this helps to keep the pressure on the police to do the right thing.
To send appeals to Pakistan’s political leaders go to the website for the Asian Human Rights Commission (http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2010/3503/) and support their appeal by sending messages to the President of Pakistan and others. This is easy to do. All you have to do is to click on “Send an appeal letterâ€, complete your details, edit the draft letter if you wish to, and then submit it. Your email will go the President, the Prime Minister, the Governor of Punjab, the head of the Police, and others.
Stephen
On July 18th, we prayed for Rashid and Sajid as a church asking God to deliver them from this persecution. Sadly, yesterday, July 19th, I received the following:
I have just received some terrible news. We are in deep shock here.
It has been confirmed that Pastor Rashid and his younger brother Sajid were attacked and killed by Mullahs in during a Court appearance this morning. From the account I’ve received so far it seems they were gunned down by Muslim fanatics in the area of the court. They both received several bullet wounds and were taken to hospital, but their deaths have been confirmed.
Everyone is obviously deeply distressed.
Apparently this atrocity occurred about 2.00PM Pakistan time, which was 7.00PM Sydney time and 5.00am Atlanta time.
The Police deemed another Court appearance necessary to get a Magistrate’s approval to release them. They must have been aware of the dangers involved in doing this, and the fact that they had inadequate security suggests to me that this may have been a set-up.
The gunmen apparently escaped into the crowd and there have been no arrests so far.
I believe there will be a special place in the Kingdom of God for those who have given their lives for their testimony of Jesus.
Please pray for their families and churches and all the Christians in the area.
Steve
Rashid and Sajid were falsely accused of criticizing Islam. They were arrested under this pretext and once their enemies knew their case would not stand up in court they took matters into their own hands, gunning down these two men of God. What is one to say at such a tragedy? How should a Christ follower respond to this? Here is what Jesus said:
(Luk 6:22-23 ESV)
22 ¶ “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!
23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
(Mat 5:43-48 ESV)
43 ¶ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
(Joh 16:1-3 ESV)
1 ¶ “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.
2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.
3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.
These Scriptures are our guide in this terrible time. We cannot “repay evil for evil” (Rom. 12.17) nor avenge ourselves but we must leave it to God to judge (Rom 12.19). This is a great challenge to us as people who knew the Emmanuels and their selfless God-honoring service. They knew full well that their lives were on the line. Just a year ago a Christian village was attacked under the exact same circumstances in which half a dozen were literally burned alive. The Emmanuels wept over this tragedy but they did not allow it to intimidate them into quitting. The message was clear. Do not speak in that name in this Muslim country! Yet, what did Rashid and Sajid do? They cared for those who suffered the Gojra attack and then kept right on serving God and preaching Christ.
At a time such as this we must honor the dead, realizing that to them was bestowed the highest honor–dying for Christ. But, what can we do to honor them? We must preach. We must open our languid mouths and share the message with our fellow Muslims, Hindus, Agnostics, etc. Who will replace them in Pakistan, Australia, Canada, America? Who will go?
(Rom 10:13-15 ESV)
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 ¶ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent?
Consider yourself sent.
I very much appreciate these comments. I too am shocked and saddened by these horrible events, but am praying that the good that comes is greater boldness and zeal with the truth that these godly men both lived and died for.
This is so tragic. We mourn for these men’s lives, never having met them. It makes us question the depth (or shallowness) of our own faith in our one LORD God…is it deep enough that we would risk our very lives to proclaim this faith to others? Some can’t even make it out of bed on Sunday morning to attend church. Not to be negative, but I somewhat doubt that they would die for the God in whom they profess to believe.
Here in the States, we can speak so freely, yet how often do we remain silent about our God and His Son, Jesus? We take so much for granted here, and do not appreciate the freedoms, nor take the opportunities that our nation has provided us, to speak about our Lord Messiah King to anyone who will listen.
Thanks Sean for sharing this. We should all support Asian Human Rights Commission. Christians are being persecuted in so many countries in the world, Russia, Uzbekistan, North Korea, China, Sudan (just to name a few).
The facts are that over 150,000 thousand Christians are martyred worldwide ever year. Let us stay awake, pray for our brothers & sisters worldwide regarding these issues. And let’s take a stand TODAY, while we have today and be not ashamed of the gospel of the kingdom. Lets love and support one another like never before, because the time is getting closed to Jesus Return
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Rom. 8:18)
I kept in touch with pastor Rashid through FB. Last time I chatted with him he was full of zeal and love for the planned visit of brothers Stephen Cook and Anthony Buzzard in November. He expressed his great love for the brethren and faith for the Gospel which God the Father has graciously revealed unto all of us likeminded christians.
My body literally trembled at the sad news of their murder. Feelings of remorse, sadness, anger and every other “human” emotion ran through my soul. I thank God for the support of my family in reminding me to always let the fruits of the spirit take over me and not those negative human traits we all fight to repress.
After much crying, and praying and thinking I can only say this…
May their light shine before men in such a way that they may see their good works, and glorify the God and Father of our lord Jesus throughout this dark world. Mat 5.16
RIP brethren…we will see you again!
In the last email I received from Rashid he was very excited about another baptism program they’d planned. He wrote “I and my team members prepared more then 40 new believers for Baptism, Praise the Lord! We want to do this Baptism program in second or third week of July 2010.”
This week we should have been celebrating with them and the angels in heaven. Instead, we are mourning the loss of two devoted servants of God “of whom the world was not worthy” (Heb 11:38).
Just a month or two ago we rejoiced with them when they baptised 67 people in one day!
I loved getting emails from Rashid. He was always positive and excited and would send me photos of everything they did, whether it was baptising new believers, distributing Bibles, taking food and clothing to impoverished or persecuted people, or teaching at seminars. He was a gentle, compassionate man. His dedication to God was inspiring to me. I will miss him a great deal. The world is a poorer place without him.
We can be confident that Rashid and Sajid will receive the reward promised to martyrs (Rev 6:9-11).
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” Isa 52.7
@ Stephen Cook…..
Stephen, what happens now, in Pakistan? As these two were co-ordinators for all Christian works in Pakistan, will it all fall apart? I know a Christian there, who is already entirely “underground”, not by own choice…..
“CRUCIFIED”– A Meditation by Michael Mattison
July 19, 2010.
Jesus was crucified again on this date.
He will say at his return, “Inasmuch as you did it to…My brethren, you did
it to me.” (Matthew 25:20.)
These words will be said to the blessed as they inherit the kingdom.
But they will also be said to those who persecuted the blessed.
Persecutors today don’t use crosses and spears, they use guns.
The bullets which pierced the bodies of Rashid and Sajid Emmanuel
killed hearts which had Jesus living in them.
Jesus said in John 16:2,3: “Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills
you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do
to you because they have not known the Father nor me.”
He also said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
(Luke 23:34.) Minds that think they are stamping out blasphemy as they commit a murderous blasphemy truly do not know what they are doing.
The only way God forgives is through His Son.
Pray that the mullahs and Muslims will accept His Son as Rashid and
Sajid did. As those two now rest in peace, pray for their families
and follwers as they hide for their lives.
(Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version.)
by Michael Mattison
Sean
Beat me to it, was about to post it. 🙂
@ Ma Sands
Such tragedy affects all Christian groups in Pakistan and it is a horrific and shocking act of violence which has resulted in their deaths. But they were co-ordinators for their own ministry group and there are other groups, committed and dedicated to preaching the Gospel and this work or spreading the light of the Gospel will not stop
Ma Sands
At this point, no decisions have been made as to who will replace Pastor Rashid as the pastor of his church and the point man in Pakistan.
http://www.persecution.com/public/newsroom.aspx?story_ID=Mjc4
Following is one of the last messages I got from Pastor Rashid, answering my question: what about the Gospel?
May his hard work and sacrifice help us keep the faith till the end!
Sean: Do you have any updates on how is going to continue their work? I am fully trying to get in touch with churches and groups from Pakistan. Our ministry is already working in India and we would like to bring some aid and minister in Pakistan.
George
George,
Please contact Stephen Cook since he is coordinating the work in Pakistan. stephen.cook@optusnet.com.au
[…] their family were provided by an Australian evangelist named Steve Cook: in an an email update sent to a blog just before their murders, he wrote that “Rashid and Sajid’s family is in hiding and […]
Thanx for the update.
For those who had Pastor Rashid on Facebook there are various individuals and even groups contacting people who knew them. Be careful, their not all legit. As Sean said, contact Stephen Cook in Oz.
RIP brethren!
Thank you ,my prays are for the outreach of GODS magnified Word to the darkest areas of the world.I know I can not die at this point in time for many reasons.I take care of a widow my MOM,I want these last few yaers before the return to be her most care free!Sean you and your family are in my prayers,does hte little one sleep all night.Love gw
Incident of Joseph Colony Bandami bagh Lahore, Pakistan. Injured the Christians hearts.
When I heard about the incident I couldn’t stay in my house at Faisalabad so, I went to the Lahore and visited the Joseph colony and saw the burnt houses near about 250 and miserable condition of the Christian people. I have no words to explain my feelings about the people who were weeping with this grief. When I came to know that the base of this incident was a hard talking among the Christian and Muslim Youth in a Snooker Club. Where a Christian boy Sawan Masih was blamed that he talked about Prophet Muhammad. A Muslim boy went to the Masque and announced to the Muslims come forward and attack on the Christians houses. The Government of Punjab was aware about it but they couldn’t protect the houses. I also came to know that Punjab police asked the Christian to leave their houses. It seems that police was not able to protect the Christian people or didn’t want to protect. It shows the sincerity of the government to words the Christians. At present all the Christians in Pakistan are worried about them and are feeling insecure. I request all the Christians all over the world to pray for the Christians in Pakistan specially for the habitant of Joseph colony. I also request to help them to fulfill their needs. They need Clothes, shoes, food, water, milk and home things.
Aleem Sagar John,
Vice President
Lovers Of God Ministries Pakistan.