Bashir Ahmed Tantray
From Missiopedia
- Bashir Ahmed Tantray, a 50-year-old engineer who worked in Srinagar, the capital of the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir was murdered on November 21, 2006. Tantray traveled approximately 40 km to visit his ailing father, and while he was waiting at a bus stop on a busy road, two unidentified men rode up on a motorcycle and started asking questions about the timing of buses. All of a sudden one of the men pulled a pistol from his jacket and fired three rounds at Tantray. Shot at point-blank range, the Christian died as the murderers fled. Tantray received Christ in 1995, after being one of the first Kashmiri Muslims to attend a "seekers seminar" in which the truths of the Gospel were presented to those in attendance. Tantray was so convinced of the revelation of God in Jesus Christ that he immediately gave his heart to the Lord and has been an active witness for since. His good character and consistent witness made him one of the most prominent Christians in the troubled Kashmir valley. Although the murderers have not been apprehended, nobody in the area doubts that Tantray was killed because of his strong identity with Jesus Christ. Even the national daily newspaper The Hindustan Times reported that Tantray was "a great evangelist, working for the spread of Christianity across the valley.... He had reportedly influenced a large section of his village population with his new faith."
- Bashir Ahmed Tantray is now safe in the arms of Jesus Christ, and has received a martyr's crown. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, and two sons. Please pray for them, and also for Jammu and Kashmir, where more than 3 million Muslims continue to live without a Gospel witness.
- Pray those responsible for the killing will themselves repent and find faith in Jesus Christ.
