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Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves…defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Proverbs 31:8-9 NIV

I met Dr. Emanuel Adil Ghouri when he applied for membership in Southern Christian Writers. He became our first international member. As I welcomed him into our organization, I wondered how we could help a writer living in Pakistan.

My concern proved unnecessary. We helped each other. I edited the English editions of his books, Christian Daughters in the Shroud of Fear and Why Are Pakistani Christians Afraid? In return, Dr. Emanuel opened a new door of ministry for me by offering to translate my book Faith’s Mystery into Urdu and include it in a book-launch ceremony alongside Why Are Pakistani Christians Afraid?

When I learned the price Dr. Emanuel had paid to fulfill his calling, the gentle prompting of God’s Spirit compelled me to write his story.

On October 6, 1966, the Honorable Master Rafiq Masih cradled his newborn son. Four daughters had preceded Emanuel, and his parents rejoiced at the birth of a son. Yet God had given them more than a son. In the renowned industrial city of Sialkot, God had given Pakistan a warrior for justice.

As a child, Emanuel witnessed his grandfather being tortured by a powerful man. He also watched his father suffer physical abuse for refusing to obey the demands of an influential political figure. Too young and powerless to stop the injustice, Emanuel vowed that one day he would become a man of influence who could speak for the oppressed.

He attended St. Anthony’s High School before enrolling at Government Murray College in Sialkot. There, he wrote articles for the college magazine, an experience that nurtured his true passion. His dedication to writing eventually led him into journalism, where he developed the ability to write in both English and Urdu. He became associated with several newspapers and magazines that published his work. About two years ago, he began writing English-language articles for the American-based Pakistan Christian Post and the UK-based Christian News Alert. His articles addressed the political, social, economic, and religious issues confronting Pakistani Christians. Because of their thoroughness and relevance, numerous news websites in other countries republished his work.

After graduating from college, Emanuel pursued medical studies in Sri Lanka, where he earned MD and PhD degrees from the International Medical University. He did so primarily to fulfill his parents’ wishes. Yet the demands of a career as a doctor could not silence God’s call to devote his life to freeing his people from oppression.

Emanuel’s father modeled compassion and fairness. He operated a private, fee-paying school whose official status was that of an educational trust dedicated to advancing the education and welfare of Christians. Families paid only what they could afford, while children whose parents could not pay received a free education. Many graduates went on to enjoy successful careers.

Emanuel eventually left his career to operate a Christian school that provided free education to Christian children. Poor Muslim children were also welcomed and received instruction that respected their own faith. One local Muslim cleric objected to the school’s policies and attempted to file a false blasphemy charge against Emanuel. Under Pakistani law, a conviction for blasphemy can carry the death penalty.

Fortunately, the attempt failed because members of the local Muslim community supported Emanuel. He also received support from General Pervez Musharraf, then President of Pakistan, and the late Asma Jahangir, then chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Although the charge was never filed, the danger remained. Around the same time, gunmen opened fire on Emanuel’s vehicle.

Disheartened by the escalating threats, Emanuel’s younger brother left Pakistan and sought refuge in Italy. During his asylum proceedings, the Italian court offered Emanuel a family visa. An Australian organization likewise offered him asylum, promising to provide housing, food, and airfare. A bank even offered him favorable financing to help him establish a new life. Emanuel declined every offer. He refused to abandon the suffering people God had called him to serve in exchange for personal safety.

His experiences in both his father’s school and his own exposed Emanuel to the daily hardships endured by Pakistani Christians. Most live in extreme poverty. Regarded by much of society as inferior, approximately 85 percent work as sanitation laborers. Only about 4 percent of their children attend school. Parents live with the constant fear that their daughters may be abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and compelled to marry Muslim men. Many families rent overcrowded homes that lack basic amenities from influential Muslim landlords. They live—and often die—with the dream of one day owning a home of their own.

God gave Emanuel a vision to establish residential communities where Christians rejected by society could live securely and worship freely without fear of violence. In 1997, he began purchasing land with his own limited financial resources. He then sold parcels to Christian families at very low prices and allowed them to pay through affordable installments.

He also purchased land in five Christian communities and donated it for the construction of churches. Through God’s grace and the generosity of local donors, church buildings have been erected, and vibrant congregations continue to worship there.

By 2024, Emanuel and his supporters had established eight Christian colonies, enabling approximately one thousand Christians to own homes and live in communities where they could worship freely. Despite persistent opposition from Muslim landowners who resented the loss of rental income, the ministry continues to flourish.

Emanuel purchased a lot on which to build his home from a Muslim landowner, only to discover later that the property’s documentation was questionable. He filed a complaint with the Cantt Police Station, but the police never arrested the accused, and Emanuel lost his investment. Nevertheless, he remains hopeful that one day he will fulfill his dream of owning a home.

Emanuel carries the heavy burden of the oppression endured by Pakistan’s religious minorities. They are routinely deprived of basic human, political, social, and religious rights. Yet this was not the future envisioned by Pakistan’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the nation’s first Governor-General.

The demand for a Muslim-majority state in northwestern India, expressed in the Lahore Resolution, arose from a combination of political, historical, religious, and constitutional concerns. Foremost among these was the fear that Muslims would become a permanent political minority within a united India. Jinnah argued that Muslims could never adequately protect their interests if political power remained permanently in the hands of a Hindu majority. He rejected the belief that constitutional safeguards alone would provide sufficient protection.

Jinnah and the All-India Muslim League maintained that Muslims and Hindus represented more than followers of different religions. They viewed them as distinct civilizations with fundamentally different religious beliefs, family laws, educational traditions, cultural practices, historical heroes, and legal customs. In their view, these differences justified political self-determination through separate nationhood.

Their concerns were reinforced by experience. Following the provincial elections held under the Government of India Act of 1935, the Indian National Congress formed governments in many provinces. Leaders of the Muslim League contended that these administrations frequently favored Hindu cultural symbols and political interests in ways that left many Muslims feeling marginalized.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, British authorities attempted to resolve these tensions through a series of constitutional proposals. Muslim leaders sought guaranteed political representation through separate electorates, provincial autonomy, and veto authority over legislation affecting Muslim interests. Most of these proposals ultimately failed because agreement could not be reached on how political power should be shared.

By 1940, Jinnah concluded that constitutional protections within a united India would never adequately safeguard Muslim political rights. Consequently, the Lahore Resolution called for the creation of independent states in regions where Muslims constituted a majority. Although the resolution originally contemplated more than one state, the Muslim League eventually united behind the vision of a single nation—Pakistan.

The movement for Pakistan was therefore rooted primarily in political concerns regarding representation, security, and self-government. Jinnah repeatedly assured the nation that all Pakistanis—including Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, and members of other religious communities—would enjoy equal citizenship and religious liberty.

The creation of Pakistan, however, did not fulfill that promise for all of its citizens. Once Muslims became the majority, many religious minorities experienced the same political vulnerability and social exclusion that Muslims had feared under Hindu-majority rule. Over time, Jinnah’s vision of equal citizenship and religious freedom gradually faded.

Today, many Pakistani Christians continue to live under the shadow of fear and violence. One such example is the case of Bashir Masih, a resident of Sahuwali, near Sialkot. A wealthy businessman falsely accused him of theft and had him arrested. While in custody at the Sambrial Police Station, Bashir refused to accept employment that was offered as a means of repaying the alleged loss. To satisfy the influential businessman, police officers brutally tortured him until he died.

Emanuel immediately committed himself to helping Bashir’s widow obtain justice. Regardless of the personal risk, he filed a murder case against the officers responsible and arranged for Bashir’s widow to appear before the National Human Rights Commission. Soon afterward, Emanuel began receiving death threats. Nevertheless, he persisted until the District and Sessions Judge in Sialkot convicted one of the officers, sentencing him to five years’ imprisonment and imposing a fine of 5.5 million Pakistani rupees.

The Christian community deeply appreciated Emanuel’s efforts and urged him to establish an organization dedicated to defending victims of injustice. Together with Christian attorneys and other community leaders, he founded the Pakistan Christian Awareness Movement (CAM). The organization rapidly expanded across the country, establishing chapters in cities and towns throughout Pakistan. Pakistanis living abroad also joined the movement, while Christian lawyers from numerous cities volunteered to provide free legal assistance. Emanuel continues to receive death threats because of his work, yet God has faithfully sustained and protected him.

One of CAM’s most significant victories involved a proposed political rally. On May 13, 2022, former Prime Minister Imran Khan selected a historic church property in Sialkot as the site for a political gathering. The property had been used for Christian worship services and conventions for more than a century. In response, CAM organized a peaceful protest. Approximately five hundred Christian young people gathered at the site and staged a sit-in at the entrance, declaring that the church grounds would not be used for political purposes.

Usman Dar, a senior leader in Pakistan, Tehreek-e-Insaf and an adviser to the former prime minister, attempted to intimidate Emanuel and his colleagues, an incident reported by several newspapers. During the dispute, Christian representatives met with Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz to explain their concerns. With the support of the provincial government and local authorities, the political rally was relocated to another venue.

CAM achieved another important victory when Pakistan’s largest television network, Geo News, aired a drama series that demeaned Christian girls. Emanuel joined approximately one hundred pastors in protesting the broadcasts and issued a formal legal notice demanding that the programming be discontinued. The network complied, ending the broadcasts and marking another significant victory for the movement.

Emanuel and CAM have won important victories against injustice, but his willingness to speak truth to power has also come at great personal cost. In one instance, Emanuel entered into a business partnership with a Muslim businessman and invested eight million Pakistani rupees. When the time came to repay the investment, the businessman issued checks that could not be honored. Emanuel filed a complaint with the Civil Lines Police Station, but the police never arrested the influential businessman, preventing Emanuel from recovering his money.

In another venture, Emanuel partnered with a Muslim cleric to establish a school and invested approximately one million Pakistani rupees. The cleric also issued checks that could not be honored. A criminal case was filed at the Rangpura Police Station, but the accused has never been arrested.

The attacks against Emanuel have not been limited to financial losses. While his daughter, Dr. Tahreem Adil, was completing the final year of her doctor of pharmacy program, a Muslim classmate abducted her in an attempt to force her to convert to Islam and marry him. Emanuel immediately notified the local police. The kidnapper fled to the United States, where he continued threatening to kill Tahreem if she refused his demands.

Desperate to protect his daughter, Emanuel sought help from a Canadian journalist. She contacted the man and warned him that legal action could be taken against him in the United States if he continued harassing Tahreem. Her intervention brought the threatening telephone calls to an end. Even so, Tahreem continues to live with fear that, should she venture outside alone, the rejected suitor may carry out his threats.

For more than twenty-five years, Emanuel has devoted his life to defending the rights of Pakistani Christians. Throughout that time, seven Pakistani intelligence agencies have monitored his activities. Despite their scrutiny, they have found no evidence of wrongdoing and have developed a favorable opinion of his work.

I am honored to call Dr. Emanuel Adil Ghouri my friend. His story is not merely the account of one courageous man. It is the story of countless Pakistani Christians whose voices are seldom heard beyond their own communities. Through decades of sacrifice, personal loss, and unrelenting danger, Emanuel has remained steadfast in his calling to defend the oppressed and pursue justice.

It is my prayer that everyone who reads his story will remember to pray for him, pray for his family, and pray for the continued success of the Pakistan Christian Awareness Movement. Men like Dr. Emanuel remind us that courage is measured not by the absence of fear but by faith justice will prevail.