Tuesday, 25 March 2014

Time For Obama To Speak Out

Time For Obama To Speak Out
For Religious Freedom in Saudi Arabia
Todd Daniels, Regional Manager for the Middle East
03/25/2014 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) - Is promoting religious freedom abroad a priority in President Obama's foreign policy? A few members of Congress certainly think it should be. On Thursday, the President will be getting a letter from more than 50 representatives urging him to publicly address human rights and religious freedom during his upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia.  

In a pre-release copy of the letter obtained by International Christian Concern, members of congress ask the president to specifically address several human rights issues, including the "major concern" of religious freedom. The letter also calls on the president to take the bold step of addressing these issues publicly, saying "If your administration has previously raised such concerns through private channels, the Government of Saudi Arabia's grave human rights record reveals its willingness to ignore such advice."

On Friday, President Obama is scheduled to meet with King Abdullah in Riyadh to address a number of important securityissues in the region. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a leader among Islamic countries, a close ally of the United States, but also one of the most restrictive countries in the world with respect to fundamental human rights and religious freedoms. As a friend and ally, President Obama should urge King Abdullah, and the other officials he meets with, to respect those values that America claims to represent, values which President Obama himself has recently praised.

"Yet even as our faith sustains us, it's also clear that around the world, freedom of religion is under threat," President Obama said at the National Prayer Breakfast*01 on February 6, 2014. "We see governments engaging in discrimination and violence against the faithful.  We sometimes see religion twisted in an attempt to justify hatred and persecution against other people just because of who they are, or how they pray, or who they love," he continued. This statement is profoundly true about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

"Freedom of Religion is Neither Recognized nor Protected under the Law"

As the most recent report on International Religious Freedom*02 from the Department of State describes, "Freedom of religion is neither recognized nor protected under the law and the government severely restricted it in practice." In January, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life*03 listed Saudi Arabia as the fourth most restrictive nation on earth in terms of government regulations on religion. In essence, unless you are a member of the Sunni Islamic majority, you legally have no right whatsoever to practice your faith in Saudi Arabia. According to the 2013 report from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom*04 (USCIRF), "Not a single church or other non-Muslim house of worship exists in the country." The impact of these policies that restrict freedom of expression, freedom of gathering, and freedom of worship, affect not just the more than 20 million Saudi nationals, but also some 7.5 million foreign workers, many of whom are non-Muslims.

The congressional letter to the president coming out on Thursday also mentions incidents of Christian persecution, including an incidentin December of 2011 when Saudi secret police raided a gathering of 35 Ethiopian workers who were meeting in a private home to pray together. Over the following eight months, ICC worked*05 with numerous members of Congress on this case to advocate for their release. Finally, on August 1, 2012, these 35 workers were deported back to Ethiopia. "The Saudi officials don't tolerate any other religions other than Islam. They consider non-Muslims as unbelievers. They are full of hatred towards non-Muslims," one of the prisoners told ICC following his release.*06

Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident. Foreign workers are regularly detained for similar charges, and in some cases the punishments can be far more severe. In May, 2013, a Lebanese national was sentenced to six years in prison and 600 lashes for assisting a Saudi woman in fleeing the country, after she converted to Christianity. A Saudi national was sentenced to two years and two hundred lashes for his role in her escape, Fox News*07 reported.

These incidents represent just a small percentage of the incidents of religious persecution that have been documented in recent years. While the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the most repressive regimes in regards to religious freedom and human rights, they are also a key ally of the United States. As a result of this relationship, President Obama has an opportunity to address these abuses.

"Promoting Religious Freedom is a Key Objective"

President Obama, in his remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast, continued, "As I've said before, there are times when we work with governments that don't always meet our highest standards, but they're working with us on core interests such as the security of the American people.  At the same time, we also deeply believe that it's in our interest, even with our partners, sometimes with our friends, to stand up for universal human rights.  So promoting religious freedom is a key objective of U.S. foreign policy. And I'm proud that no nation on Earth does more to stand up for the freedom of religion around the world than the United States of America."   

This trip presents the President with a prime opportunity to put his own words into action. Saudi Arabia is a government that works with the United States on core interests, and also one that shows little respect for universal human rights, chief among them religious freedom. So today, ICC is joining with over 50 members of congress in urging the President to promote religious freedom as a part of his discussions with King Abdullah. This Friday is a very rare opportunity to change the lives of millions of foreign workers and Saudi nationals for the better; we call on President Obama to publicly take full advantage of it.  
For interviews, contact Todd Daniels, Regional Manager for the Middle East: 


# # #
You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference ICC (International Christian Concern) and include our web address, www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington, D.C.-based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church.  For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.
 
International Christian Concern
2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW #241, Washington, D.C. 20006

Saturday, 22 March 2014

The Missing Girls: Christian Girls Kidnapped in Egypt

Todd Daniels, Regional Manager for the Middle East
3/19/14 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern) - On February 28, Amira Hafez Wahib and her mother went to the morning prayer service at St. George church in Luxor, Egypt. Amira, age 15, asked her mom if she could go to buy something at a nearby store. Her mom agreed, urging her to hurry back once she was finished. But Amira did not come back. She has not been seen since.

When Amira had not returned after some time, her mother became worried and searched for her around the church and in the nearby streets, Ayman Wahib, Amira's uncle told International Christian Concern (ICC). But Amira was nowhere to be found.

The next day, Saturday, March 1, Amira's parents went to the police station and filed a formal complaint with the authorities documenting that Amira had gone missing, Rafla Zekry Rafla, a lawyer handling the case, told ICC.

"We received promises from the police here that they would arrest the accused and return Amira to her family, but there is not any positive step from them till now," Rafla told ICC. "It has been more than two weeks since the kidnapping of Amira and the police haven't done anything up till now."

In Amira's case, the family believes they know who is responsible for her disappearance. Yasser Mahmoud is a soldier who was stationed in Luxor and at one time was assigned to protect the St. George church.

Amira was working in a Christian store near the church, Ayman told ICC. Yasser had tried to convince Amira that he was in love with her. "Then five months ago this Muslim person entered the shop where Amira works and attempted to take her by force,"Ayman said.

At that time some neighbors were able to prevent the kidnapping. "After this incident her father did not allow her to work in this shop anymore," Ayman told ICC. The situation seemed to have calmed down until the Friday morning when Amira went missing.

Knowing about the previous attempt the family immediately suspected that it was Yasser who was responsible for Amira's disappearance. The family was able to track down the place where Yasser lives with his family. Yasser was not there and his family said that they did not know where Yasser was and had not seen him since the time Amira disappeared.

The police were informed of all of this information as well, but have shown no interest in seeing Amira returned home, her family told ICC.

Unfortunately the police cannot help us to release her," Ayman said. "We are so angry with their weakness and indifference towards the case of Amira," he continued.

Amira is a part of a bigger story

What makes Amira's story even more heart-breaking is that her story is one of many stories of Christian girls being kidnapped all throughout Egypt.

On March 9, Azizza, whose name is changed for security, a student in her final year of secondary school was abducted from in front of her school, Mina Milad of the Egyptian Federation of Human Rights told ICC. Her family has taken the case to the police and asked for their help in tracking Azizza down.

Her father, Fadil, whose name is changed for security, returned from working abroad to help in the search for Azizza. On Wednesday, March 12, two masked men on a motorcycle stopped Fadil alongside the road near his house.

"They told me, 'Don't look for Azizza, just forget her,'" Fadil told ICC. He said that the two men threatened his life and said that they would abduct his other daughters if he continued the search.

On March 16, Fadil went to the Civil Status Authority to obtain a copy of his daughter's birth certificate. When the clerk pulled her file they discovered that her name had been changed and her religion had been changed from Christianity to Islam.

The family was shocked, but still was without any new information for how to find where Azizza might be.

The number of these kinds of cases is again on the rise in Egypt. "Due to the absence and weakness of the security in Egypt, the cases of the abduction of Christians have been surging," Mina Melad told ICC. "I accuse the Muslim Brotherhood and their Islamic groups of abducting the Christian girls in Egypt and forcing them to convert to Islam and marry a Muslim," he said.

Ebram Louis, founder of the Association for the Victims of Abductions and Enforced Disappearance (AVAED), presented a report documenting 19 cases of Christian girls who have gone missing. These cases were brought before a fact-finding commission responsible for investigating human rights abuses since June 30th, 2013. The office of the prime minister has promised to respond to this report, Louis told ICC.

All throughout Egypt, Christians find themselves in danger. Since the start of 2013, in just the Minya province alone there have been 20 cases of abduction, Ezaat Ibrahim of the Word Center for Human Rights told ICC. "Four of those cases were girls that were taken," Ibrahim said.

Ibrahim reported to ICC, that on Friday, March 14, Sabah, age 18, was returned to her family. She had been missing since February 20. Her family was contacted by the kidnappers who threatened to kill her if they did not receive a ransom. Ultimately her family paid more than 20,000 Egyptian pounds ($3,000 USD) for her release.

For Sabah and her family they can now start the process of healing from the trauma and abuse of the past few weeks. In far too many cases, these girls go missing and are never heard from again. Left behind are fathers and mothers like Nasser, aching for their daughters, asking for the church to pray for the return of their daughter, and realizing that human leaders seem either unwilling or unable to help.
For interviews, contact Todd Daniels, Regional Manager for the Middle East: 


# # #
You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference ICC (International Christian Concern) and include our web address, www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington, D.C.-based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church.  For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.
 
International Christian Concern
2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW #241, Washington, D.C. 20006

Thursday, 20 March 2014

Nigerian Christians Live in Fear as Attacks against Them Drastically Rise




FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

150 Christians Killed Over the Weekend
3/19/2014 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern)-International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that attacks against Christians in Nigeria over the weekend claimed the lives of over 150 people. With such incidents on the rise in 2014, the current instability of the country is evident.

Two separate types of attacks took place over the weekend. One involved Boko Haram, a designated terrorist group, and the other incident involved gunmen believed to be part of the Fulani herdsmen that have had a long-standing feud with Christian landowners. 

The Fulani herdsmen attack is troubling since it is becoming far more than just herdsmen fighting over access to pasture land or water. Instead, they are intentionally decimating entire Christian villages. In two separate incidents over the weekend, these attacks, as reported by BBC, occurred in the Kaduna state and claimed the lives of nearly 150 people.

The Boko Haram terrorist group continues to carry out brutal attacks, seemingly without any resistance, despite the military enforced state of emergency. In the latest incident, churches were burned and Christians were killed. The scale of these attacks is so great that more than 400 were killed in Boko Haram related attacks in the month of February alone. 

Todd Daniels, Regional Manager for ICC says, "The inability of the government and military to provide protection for Christians is inexcusable. While certainly there are challenges, the military needs to devote substantial resources to seeing this process brought to an end. There has even been speculation of various government officials being involved in supporting various groups as a means of gaining political leverage. These sorts of acts raise serious questions concerning both the integrity and the aptitude of the Nigerian politicians. The result has been that Christians have been left vulnerable to repeated, systematic acts of violence throughout the country."
For interviews, contact Todd Daniels: RM-ME@persecution.org

International Christian Concern
2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW #241, Washington, D.C. 20006


Media Contact:
Todd Daniels, Regional Manager for ICC

#RawIslam: Christian Mother in Somalia Beheaded in front of Her Daughters

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Christian Mother in Somalia Beheaded in front of Her Daughters
3/19/2014 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern)-International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that a Christian mother of two and her cousin were beheaded by al-Shabaab Islamic extremists once their Christian faith was discovered. The extremists beheaded them publicly in front of her daughters and many of the villagers in the town square.

Morning Star News  reported that Sadia Ali Omar, the mother of the two girls, and her cousin, Osman Mohamoud Moge were beheaded in the port town of Barawa in the Lower Shebelle Region on March 4. Before the two were martyred in front of many witnesses, sources report that the Islamic extremists said, "We know these two people are Christians who recently came back from Kenya - we want to wipe out any underground Christian living inside of mujahidin [jihadists'] area."

Al-Shabaab is a rebel militia group who has vowed to rid Somalia of all Christians as converting from Islam in Somalia is punishable by death. The militants who "slaughtered" the two believers "became suspicious of Omar and Moge due to their irregular attendance at Friday mosque prayers," sources said.

Corey Bailey, Regional Manager for ICC says, "It is an injustice that a mother can be murdered in front of her children merely for being a devout follower of her chosen faith. Al-Shabaab is an Islamic extremist group that has vowed to make Somalia 'purely Islamic.' The group adheres to an extremely harsh interpretation of Sharia that includes the beheading of converts from Islam and the removal of hands from thieves. The practice of torturing and killing converts from Islam must be addressed by the international community and should have no place in modern society."   
 For interviews, contact Corey Bailey: RM-Asia@persecution.org


International Christian Concern
2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW #241, Washington, D.C. 20006


Media Contact:
Corey Bailey, Regional Manager for ICC