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Egypt’s Dark Secret A tragic look into the rising trend of kidnapping, rape, and forced conversion of young Christian women in Egypt.
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Table of Contents
In This Issue: FEATURE
16 | The Lost Girls of Egypt
Each year, hundreds of young Christian girls in Egypt are kidnapped, raped, forcibly converted to Islam, and then married to their rapists. Here are some of their horrific stories.
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FEATURE
20 | A Celebration Marred with the Blood of Saints A look into the lives of those directly affected by the Easter bombing in Lahore, Pakistan. FEATURE
22 | Vietnam: Religious Freedom’s Last Stand
A look into the rise of religious persecution in Vietnam. FEATURE
24 | The Frontlines of Advocacy
An update on the progress ICC’s advocacy department has been making on Capitol Hill this year.
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Regular Features
3 Letter from the President A few words from ICC’s president, Jeff King, on the suffering of our persecuted brothers and sisters in Egypt. 4 World News A snapshot of the persecution that impacts our brothers and sisters daily, in every corner of the world.
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8 West Watch A look into persecution-related news in the Western world. 12 Your Dollars at Work Learn how your gifts are providing comfort, relief, Bibles, education and vocational training to the persecuted.
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President’s Letter
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:10 (ESV) Mary Wahib (page 18) was last seen by her husband on May 1 of this year.
Jeff King, President
International Christian Concern She had been stalked by a Muslim man recently, so her husband and family rushed to the police station looking for immediate action knowing she had been abducted. They knew that an invisible clock was ticking and that she was probably being raped and tortured until she agreed to convert to Islam and marry her rapist.
The police were less than interested and told them to come back in two days. The family demonstrated outside of the police station but to no avail. Mary’s fate was sealed. Three days later, a video of her surfaced on Facebook where she said Allah was God, Muhammad was his prophet, and that she had converted to Islam. At that point, her husband and family knew she was gone forever. She was one of the thousands of Egyptian girls swallowed up by Islam - abducted, raped, and tortured, until they are forced to convert. Unfortunately, I can’t put any hopeful spin on this incident or this trend. The pain experienced by the victims and the families is unbearable. Jesus told us that the world would hate us if we loved Him. These abductions are part of this hate. Please stop right now and call out to the Lord for Mary and so many others like her that have been swallowed up and are slowly being digested by Islam. Please join with me as we bandage and build His persecuted Church that so desperately needs the love and voices of its brothers and sisters in the West. As always, your donations will be used efficiently, effectively, and ethically. I promise!
Jeff King President International Christian Concern www.persecution.org
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A Chibok Girl Returns
1 | CHINA China, known for its notorious government-led persecution, continues on a rocky path regarding religious freedom. Pastor Zhang Chongzhu, who was arrested in September of 2015 for opposing China’s cross demolition campaign, was recently released after eight months of detention. Numerous other Christian leaders and human rights lawyers remain imprisoned in China for sticking up for the Christian minority in spite of opposition. While the release of Pastor Zhang is certainly a positive development, all is not yet well for China’s Christian community. A house church leader in Zhejiang was recently attacked by a group headed by a leader of the Communist Party. He was beaten because of the fact that his church filed a lawsuit against an “administrative demolition notice” and he refused to withdraw it. Furthermore, when police reported the incident, there were so many discrepancies in the report that the pastor refused to attest to the statement. As Christianity continues to flourish in China, the government must take action in order to ensure equal rights for all citizens, regardless of their faith.
2 | NIGERIA In April of 2014, militants from the radical Islamist group Boko Haram stormed a government school in Chibok, Nigeria. During this attack, the abductors captured 276 primarily Christian schoolgirls. While some were able to escape shortly after the initial abduction, 219 have been missing for more than two years, leaving the girls’ families and communities devastated. However, in May, a vigilante group came across one of the girls, named Amina, in the Sambisa Forest and it has been confirmed that she was indeed one of the Chibok captives. The 19-year-old girl was with her baby and a man who claimed to be her husband, who is presumably associated with Boko Haram. The girl was reunited with her family and has been given medical treatment. According to reports, Amina said that aside from six who have lost their lives, the rest of the Chibok girls are also being held in the Sambisa Forest. The abduction of the Chibok girls sparked international outrage, prompting celebrities and politicians to call for their release using the #BringBackOurGirls social media campaign. While this recent reunion is certainly a celebration of joy and hope for the Chibok community, we must not forget to pray for the 218 who are still awaiting rescue.
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Blasphemy Laws 3 | PAKISTAN A Christian boy in Pakistan is on the run after being falsely accused of blasphemy for supposedly viewing an “unIslamic” video on his cellphone. Shortly after the initial accusation, local Muslim leaders declared a fatwa against the boy, making it permissible to kill him for his “crime.” Furthermore, reports indicate that a $10,000 reward was offered in exchange for the boy’s body. The boy’s village has also faced difficulty as a result of these false accusations. Local Christians have been pressured to convert to Islam and some store owners have chosen to stop selling to local Christians. Blasphemy accusations, which are often unfounded, are tragically common among Christians in Pakistan. These laws are often manipulated and abused to settle personal scores and further discriminate against an already vulnerable minority group.
AUGUST 2016
Chinese Pastor Murdered 4 | NORTH KOREA A pastor living in China, Han Chung-Reol, was found murdered on April 30 and it is suspected that North Koreans were responsible for his death. Han was involved with a ministry in which he served North Korean refugees; through this ministry he also encouraged them to return to North Korea and share the Gospel that they have received with others. Han is survived by his wife and two children.
Muslim Mob Attacks Christian Homes 5 | EGYPT Following a flare of rumors of an affair between a Christian man and a Muslim woman, a Muslim mob raided and torched seven Christian homes in Upper Egypt. The mob of roughly 300 men also went on to attack the elderly mother of the Christian man. During this attack, they stripped the woman down and paraded her naked through the village. In spite of the fact that police were warned the day prior that violence might break out, it took two hours for them to respond to the incident. This inexplicable delay in response allowed the destruction to escalate far more than it should have.
Christian Congressional Hearing on India Pastor Arrested 7 | INDIA On June 7, ICC’s president, Jeff King, pro6 | SUDAN Sudan intelligence officials have arrested yet another Christian pastor, as he awaits possible criminal charges that could potentially lead to a death sentence. At the time of writing, Rev. Kuwa Shamal is in Sudanese custody and will likely face charges that include espionage, inciting religious hatred, and undermining the constitutional system. Thankfully, in the past, pressure from other countries and international groups has led Sudan to release wrongly accused Christians.
vided testimony about the persecution of Christians during a congressional hearing about human rights in India. This hearing provided a unique opportunity to expose the abuses that Christians, as well as other religious minorities, face. Although India is a democracy, Christians are relegated to the lowest rung of society, with little opportunity for social mobility. Since the rise to power of Narendra Modi and the BJP, Christians have experienced a spike in persecution. Between the start of 2016 and the beginning of June, Christians in India have experienced more than 115 attacks, putting them on track for one of the most devastating years for the Christian community in Indian history.
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Fulani (Islamist) militias have been wreaking havoc in central Nigeria for years.
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Christian Rights Advocacy Gains Ground in Nigeria
The North Korea of Africa 1 | ERITREA Release International (a UK persecution ministry) recently published a report detailing the atrocities facing Christians in Eritrea. The report indicated that one out of every 12 people in Eritrea has been forced to flee the country; a significant amount of these migrants are Christians leaving the country due to religious persecution. Commonly referred to as the “North Korea of Africa,” the east African country of Eritrea has a long list of human rights abuses. Numerous reports have flooded in from Christians in Eritrea who have been tortured for their faith, including some who have been strung up in the desert heat with their hands and feet bound together. Another common abuse is when people are forced into metal shipping containers for extended, often indefinite, periods of time, exposing them to extreme temperature fluctuations. The horrendous conditions for believers in Eritrea has led to this tiny nation accounting for the third largest amount of refugees fleeing to Europe. Eritrea is led by Isaias Afwerki (pictured), leader of
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the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice. Under this oppressive ruling party, citizens are forced into a state of constant paranoia. Only four religions are officially approved of by the government and those who wish to practice their faith in other ways must constantly watch over their shoulder. The press is highly censored, religious activity is strictly limited, and access to basic needs is questionable at best for many. It’s not uncommon for people to simply be arrested without cause, never to be heard from again. While outrage against human rights abuses throughout the world rises, Christians continue to suffer in this often overlooked African country.
2 | NIGERIA The governor of Nigeria’s Ekiti State recently passed a bill to ban cattle farming outside of privately owned land. While this may seem irrelevant to the issue of persecution when viewed out of context, it is a significant step forward in the effort to protect Christians in Nigeria’s central “Middle-Belt” region. This legal measure was a response to the murder of two people in Ekiti State at the hands of radical Muslim Fulani cattle-herdsmen. While attacks by Fulanis are certainly the most common in central Nigeria, they have recently been spreading further south, causing great concern for Nigeria’s Christian community. Fulani herdsmen have been wreaking havoc in central Nigeria for years, killing tens of thousands within the past 15 years. These violent mobs are notorious for attacking primarily Christian farming communities, sometimes ravaging entire villages. While some have attributed these brutal attacks to land disputes and tribal conflicts, it has become more and more evident in recent years that they are religiously motivated and specifically targeting Christians. This new restriction will hopefully keep the Fulani herdsmen from regularly invading the Christian communities, thereby making Nigeria safer for religious minorities as a whole.
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Christian Refugees Continue to Face Persecution in Germany 3 | GERMANY Reports from human rights groups continue to mount of persecution against Christian refugees in Germany. These Christians are being harassed and assaulted in asylum homes, primarily by guards and fellow migrants who are Muslim. Some of these Christian refugees, who fled the Middle East for safety in Europe, report facing even more violence and discrimination in the asylum homes than in their homelands.
Anti-Christian Laws in India
Human Rights Activist Arrested in Home
4 | INDIA Three Christians in India were recently taken into custody for allegedly trying to forcibly convert three Hindus. The complaint said that the Christians promised steady jobs to the Hindu men if they were to convert to Christianity, but this has yet to be confirmed and many community leaders have spoken out, saying that these are false charges. India’s anti-conversion laws have led to the unjust legal persecution of Christians while Hindu conversion remains untouched.
5 | EGYPT On May 19, Mina Thabet, a well-known human rights activist from Egypt, was arrested without warning in his home. Thabet, who is known for advocating on behalf of Egypt’s Christian population, was arrested as part of an ongoing crackdown on human rights advocates. He is facing a long list of charges including using international networks to commit terroristic acts, threatening the president, and working with the Muslim Brotherhood to overthrow the regime.
Pope Meets with Grand Imam 6 | EGYPT Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of al-Ashar and a major leader in the Sunni Muslim faith, was recently welcomed by the Vatican. This meeting was the first of its kind among these world leaders since 2011. Muslim authorities in Egypt initially broke off relations five years ago after Pope Benedict condemned the Muslim-led persecution of Christians in Egypt. While this meeting alone was a significant step in the right direction in the effort to open up religious dialogue, there is still progress to be made. The conversation was focused on the persecution of all minorities by radical Muslims, dismissing the fact that radical Islam is at the root of much of the violence. While moderate Muslims are also being persecuted by radicals, it is essential that the suffering of Christians is not minimized.
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est atch Permit Required for Students to Have Religious Discussions at NC State
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policy at North Carolina State University requiring a permit for any kind of student speech on campus is being challenged by Grace Christian Life, a registered student group at NC State. The group was told in September 2015 that without this permit they could no longer approach other students inside the student union to engage in religious discussions or invite them to their events. The group’s lawsuit asserts that other student groups at NC State have not faced the same treatment, as Grace students have seen
these groups and off-campus groups giving out literature without a permit. The university has offered no comment on the situation. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has come out in public support of Grace Christian Life in the name of religious liberty. “It’s an amazingly broad speech restriction,” ADF attorney Tyson Langhofer remarked. “Public universities are supposed to be the marketplace of ideas, not places where students need a permit just to exercise their constitutionally protected freedoms.”
Tennessee Sheriff Sued for Christian-Themed Facebook Post
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merican Atheists, a non-profit advocating for the complete separation of church and state, accused Tennessee Sheriff Eric Watson of violating the Constitution for writing a post to commemorate Easter on his department’s official Facebook page. “Today is one of the most historic days … This day represents the best gift any of us
Texas City Sells Land Surrounding Cross Monument to Church
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fficials in Port Neches, Texas have sold a historic cross monument to a local church. The transaction occurred in response to heavy criticism from the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), who took heed from a “concerned citizen’s” complaint about the presence of the cross in a public park. The FFRF wrote in its letter to Port Neches Mayor Glenn Johnson that the cross symbolized a “government endorsement of Christianity, and a blatant violation of the Establishment Clause” and demanded the cross’ removal. In response to the FFRF’s challenge, hundreds of city residents strived to defend the longstanding cross by placing white crosses in their own yards. Johnson also made clear his own council’s position, “This mayor and this city council will not fold, it will not bend, it will not roll over. We’re going to fight this all the way.”
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could receive, which is ‘Eternal Life’ with our Heavenly Father,” he reflected. His words antagonized a local resident to contact American Atheists, who subsequently drew up a federal complaint against Watson’s faith-based words and deletion of comments critical of the post. Yet, a spokesperson for American Atheists maintained that the organization held no grudge against Watson’s personal faith and cited a strong organizational belief in the rights of individuals to either religious or non-religious beliefs. The Alliance Defending Freedom is seeking to defend Watson in his legal challenge. He stated that he “can’t even keep up” with the amount of support he has received from individuals cherishing his stand for religious freedom.
Wisconsin High School Wants to Shut Down “Jesus Lunch”
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igh school administrators in Middleton, Wisconsin, are aiming to end an event hosted by local parents named “Jesus Lunch,” where Chick-fil-A sandwiches, homemade brownies, and an inspirational message with Christian themes await a large crowd of hungry students on a weekly basis. The school’s superintendent and principal expressed to the parents that the lunches are “divisive” and that “religious or political events do not have a place in our school or on our campus, except when sponsored by a student group in accordance with our rules,” despite the fact that the lunches occur at an off-campus park.
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Parent Beth Williams said that their mission each week is to show the love of Jesus to the students. The Jesus Lunch mission statement is, “Food for the body, nutrition for the soul.”
AUGUST 2016
School Calls Police on SevenYear-Old Who Reads Bible Verses at Lunchtime
40,000 Christians Persecuted by Muslims in Germany
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ven for Christians who successfully flee civil war or ISIS, peace is not guaranteed on the other side. Such is the case for 40,000 Christians living in asylum homes in Germany, where they have had to reacclimate to persecution at the hands of Muslim migrants and security guards. Open Doors is one of multiple human rights organizations that have implored the German government to address the problem. The organization’s report on the subject revealed that the afflicted Christians, hailing largely from Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, had dealt with verbal insults and abuse, physical assaults, or death threats to themselves and their family members. The majority of these Christians suffered multiple attacks. Breitbart London has documented the cases of many migrants who recently converted to Christianity but would have done so in their own countries if there had not been an impending threat of death for leaving Islam. Tragically, these migrants have had to discover that they may not be any safer from radical Muslims in Europe.
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UK Therapist Suspended for Sharing Christianity with Muslim Coworker Loses Appeal
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he London-based occupational therapist Victoria Wasteney was hit with a nine-month suspension from her job after a Muslim coworker, Enya Nawaz, formally complained that Wasteney was trying to convert her to Christianity. She appealed the punishment before an employment tribunal, but was given the same verdict. Wasteney’s ordeal comes in spite of Nawaz’s seeming interest in discussions of faith. “The whole basis of our conversations around faith started with her telling me that she’d had an encounter with God,” Wasteney claimed, and “that she (Nawaz) felt she had been brought to London for a particular reason.” The discussions had seemed to her an innocuous step in building a relationship with her younger colleague. When Wasteney later offered to pray for Nawaz’s “peace and healing” amidst health problems, she consented. Nawaz was also invited to her coworker’s church and given the book “I Dared to Call Him Father,” which describes a Muslim woman’s conversion to Christianity. Because of the consistency and friendliness of the women’s discussions, Wasteney never sensed any indication that she was antagonizing Nawaz.
ince the time Christina and Jaime Zavala of Palmdale, California, had enrolled their son at Desert Rose Elementary School in January, Christina wrote encouraging notes with Bible verses for her son on a daily basis. Many other students listened to him read them at lunchtime and asked for their own copies of the verses; however, his first grade teacher became troubled after a student told her, “This is the most beautiful story I have ever seen,” and showed her one of the Zavala’s notes. The teacher then scolded him in front of his class and said he could only talk about the Bible beyond school property. The Zavalas initially ignored the school’s warning, but the situation became more serious when a police officer was sent to the family’s home to reinforce the school’s position on the matter. Liberty Counsel is now defending the family against the school district and demanding respect for their First Amendment rights.
Student Booted from Missouri Counseling Program
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ndrew Cash, former Master’s student at Missouri State University, was kicked out of his counseling program and internship due to his beliefs on same-sex marriage. When given a hypothetical question as to whether he would provide counseling to a same-sex couple, Cash responded that he would counsel them individually but would refer them elsewhere for counseling as a couple. Cash’s convictions proved unacceptable and exemplary of “discrimination” in the eyes of MSU spokeswoman Suzanne Shaw. Likewise, the department’s internship coordinator was confrontational with Cash. Cash informed her that his core beliefs, values and Christian worldview “would not be congruent with the likely values and needs of a gay couple,” and that such couples would be best served by a counselor sharing their core values.
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West Watch
80 Muslim Refugees Convert to Christianity and Are Baptized
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’ve been looking all my life for peace and happiness, but in Islam, I have not found it,” said Shima, one of 80 Muslim refugees in Germany who were baptized as new Christians in May. “To be a Christian means happiness to me.” Pastor Albert Babajan conducted the mass baptism in Hamburg City Park and found that, like Shima, most of the new converts made the decision after having become disillusioned with Islam. Babajan is aware, however, that there are refugees who convert
to Christianity not for faith but rather to be given added protection, knowing that they would suffer the death penalty if they returned to their home countries as Christians. Babajan discerns whether the refugees have this ulterior motive by asking how Christ has changed their lives. Nonetheless, refugees like one named Somaz now carry an uplifting testimony since having the baptism: “In Islam, we always lived in fear. Fear God, fear of sin, fear of punishment. However, Christ is a God of love.”
Christian Persecution in Sweden Unexpectedly on the Rise
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espite being in one of the world’s safest regions, The Swedish Evangelical Alliance (SEA) has reported that a Christian refugee in Kalmar was threatened with having his throat slit, while another refugee group in the city was harassed out of their residence. It is not favorable to divide society according to religious belief, Deputy Secretary-General of the SEA Jacob Rudolfsson explained, but he also recognized the situation as urgent. Given the state’s failure to protect Christian
refugees, he is ready to put his organization into action. Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II of the Syrian Orthodox Church has also expressed frustration with the situation, believing it uncharacteristic of the peaceful Swedish culture. “Christians do not live in refugee camps in the Middle East, because … they are persecuted by Muslim extremists. Because of that … they are not entitled to aid from the UN. We, the Churches and community-based organizations, are doing our best to help them.”
Mexico: Church Pastor Stabbed in Suspected Iowa Man Faces Terrorism Charges after Religiously Motivated Attack Threatening to Kill Pastor
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uillermo Favela of the Rios De Agua Viva Church was stabbed in Tijuana for refusing to pay a bribe in “protection money” for his church. Favela filed a complaint thereafter that led to the detainment of the assailant, but authorities have since released him. While Favela’s injuries were fortunately only minor, Dr. Carlos Zaldivar of the Baja California State Evangelical Alliance (AEBC) warned that the government cannot let violence proliferate. He, along with Christian
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Solidarity Worldwide, senses that fears of religious intolerance are growing in Mexico, as the country has experienced an increasing number of religiously motivated attacks in recent years. “We are extremely concerned that governability is being lost,” an AEBC statement publically condemning the attack reads, “and that now the religious sector is being targeted for harassment and intimidation in order to obtain more resources through the sowing of fear.”
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25-year-old man from Iowa, David Flores-Marroquin, is facing serious criminal charges after threatening to kill the pastor of Sioux City’s Community Bible Chapel during a church service. The man was harming himself with a knife outside of the church while chanting when the pastor, Tranquilino Estrada-Ramirez, asked him to leave. This request caused Flores-Marroquin to redirect his threats toward the pastor with the knife he was wielding. Later, during the service, he also
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began threatening to kill the pastor with a BB gun. When police arrived at the church, they arrested the man. He is now facing both assault and terrorism charges. If found guilty, Flores-Marroquin could spend up to 25 years in prison for his actions. This case serves as just one of a handful of recent attacks on churches in the United States which unfortunately are severely underreported in mainstream media.
AUGUST 2016
West Watch
Atheist Activist Group Objects to Public School Visits to Ken Ham’s Creation Museum
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trio of American public schools was recently informed by the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) that they should not bring students to a religious venue like Ken Ham’s Creation Museum in Kentucky. FFRF considers it unconstitutional to bring public school students to a museum whose mis-
sion statement is to “point today’s culture back to the authority of Scripture and proclaim the gospel message” and whose exhibits “contrast science with a literalist interpretation of the Bible.” FRFF asserted that non-Christian and non-religious students are wrongfully excluded by visitations to the Creation Museum despite the
fact that attendance is voluntary and comes at no cost to the districts. The FFRF admonished all three schools to take trips to secular museums instead, but two of the three public schools have already attended the museum.
Many Migrants Who Are Recent Converts to Christianity Fear Retaliation
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unique effect of the migrant crisis in Europe is that vast numbers of formerly Muslim refugees have decided to convert to Christianity. In Vienna, the Catholic Archdioceses has been receiving five to ten requests per week; Muslims have accounted for 83 percent of baptisms into Catholicism this year, as opposed
to 33 percent in 2015. These decisions come with great risk. A Christian migrant in Austria who refused to give his name remarked, “This could be my death sentence,” reflecting on the fact that violence is a frightening threat posed by strangers and even family members of those in migrant communities who leave
Islam. The Catholic Church in Austria is now especially aware that these former Muslims are, by Sharia law, guilty of apostasy and punishable by death. New Christians in the Church are threatened regularly and must remain vigilant when meeting anyone unfamiliar.
Army Prayer Breakfast Called Off Following Complaints from MRFF
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lans for “Victory Week” at Fort Riley were altered due to complaints from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) over scheduled speaker Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin. The prayer breakfast where the retired three-star general was invited to address was indefinitely postponed a day after 1st ID Commander Maj. Gen. Wayne
Grigsby received multiple emails from the MRFF demanding that the invitation be rescinded. The MRFF found issue with Lt. Gen. Boykin because of statements he made against Islam both while in uniform, as when he stated, “I knew my God was bigger than his” as reason for his victory over a Somali warlord, and while in retirement, when he described
Islam as a totalitarian way of life that should not receive protection under the First Amendment. The retired general’s invitation to a similar event at West Point in 2012 was also met with fierce opposition, compelling him to pull out of the event.
Fired for Preaching: Georgia Dumps Doctor over Church Sermons
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he Georgia Department of Public Health recently found it necessary to terminate Dr. Eric Walsh, a leading public health expert who also serves as a lay minister, due to its apparent disagreement with the sermons he was giving at his church. The situation has been “very painful” for Dr. Walsh, who feels that the values he was raised to believe in as
foundational to the Constitution may “no longer exist.” He has since filed suit against the department. First Liberty law firm is defending Dr. Walsh and contends that he was a victim of religious discrimination. They base their allegation off the fact that the department sent workers to investigate Dr. Walsh’s sermons
on health, homosexuality, world religion, science, and other topics and subsequently retaliated against him. First Liberty attorney Jeremy Dys stated, “If the government is allowed to fire someone over what he said in his sermons, they can come after any of us for our beliefs on anything.”
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Your Dollar$ at Work Shirts and Sweaters to Victims of Boko Haram Kids Care
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t is difficult to argue that Nigeria is not one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian. In addition to the ever-present threat of violence led by radical Fulani herdsmen, Christians in Nigeria must also be wary of the Islamic insurgency group Boko Haram. This violent terror group has ravaged Christian communities throughout Nigeria and has also spilled over into surrounding countries. As a part of their seven-year reign of terror in northern Nigeria, Boko Haram has displaced more than 1.3 million Christians. These Christians are left without a place to call home and without the guarantee of safety elsewhere. In an effort to keep their families out of harm’s way, roughly 600 Christians relocated to an Internally Displaced People (IDP) camp in central Nigeria. In these camps, although a far cry from the comforts of home, families are safer from the threat of Boko Haram than in their villages. Often, some of the most tragic stories come from the little ones – from the children. Some of these families have been living in IDP camps for more than two years, without an end in sight for many. Unfortunately, many children have not had the proper attire to keep them warm during the cool winters. In order to protect these children from the elements, ICC stepped in to provide shirts, sweaters, and hats to all 298 children in this particular IDP camp. Thanks to ICC’s generous donors, these children will be warm during the upcoming winter months. The director of the IDP camp reported, “There has been no group that did what ICC did.” ICC counts it as a blessing to have been given the opportunity to serve these young brothers and sisters in Christ.
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AUGUST 2016
Gifts to Newlyweds
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Suffering Wives
hile working in the fields, Bibi, a young Christian woman, was abducted by two Muslim men. The men kept Bibi in captivity and repeatedly raped her. They also forced Bibi to sign a document, claiming that she converted to Islam. After two weeks, Bibi’s family was able to negotiate the return of their daughter. They immediately moved from the village. In rural Pakistan, women are valued for their virginity, making instances of rape devastating. To ensure Bibi’s safety, her parents quickly arranged a marriage with a Christian man. Since the marriage was rushed, the couple did not receive any wedding gifts. With help from its donors, ICC provided traditional gifts necessary to help the couple successfully begin their new lives. Bibi’s mother thanked ICC, saying, “ICC is a hope for the hopeless and a great help for the helpless.”
Goat Business for Family
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Community Rebuild
n order to find work, two Christian brothers, Wasfi and Fahmi, decided to travel to Libya. On their way, the brothers were kidnapped and murdered by ISIS. Wasfi and Fahmi were the primary breadwinners of the family; thus, their deaths left their family and their widows in a financially devastated position. After the deaths of the brothers, their widows and remaining family members needed a new way to support themselves. ICC purchased the family a flock of 36 goats. The family can either use the goats to produce milk and cheese or they can sell the goats for meat. Sabry, the brother of the two martyrs, stated, “We thank ICC very much for the genuine love they have shown to us by caring for us, purchasing the goats for us, and praying for us.”
Support in Benue
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Community Rebuild
n February of 2016, radical Fulani herdsmen invaded Nigeria’s Benue State. During the massacre, hundreds were brutally murdered while as many as 7,000 more were displaced. For days on end, these militants stormed villages, destroying homes and farmlands in the process. Reports poured in of villages being destroyed one after another. This crisis was yet another reminder of the larger issue of Christian persecution in Nigeria at the hands of Fulani herdsmen. Immediately following the attacks, ICC travelled to Benue to document the aftermath. Not only did they verify information on the ground in order to ensure proper media reports, they received firsthand testimonies from those who were in Benue at the time. Most importantly, ICC’s staff was able to encourage these believers in the midst of incomprehensible tragedy.
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Your Dollar$ at Work
Bee House Businesses
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Community Rebuild
n Muslim-dominated areas of Ethiopia, it is extremely dangerous to be a Christian who once followed Islam. One particular group of 20 Christian families was forced out of their community due to the constant persecution. In addition to losing their community, these families also lost their jobs as their old sources of income were tied to their Muslim faith. The Christian group’s pastor, who also happens to be a bee expert, decided to construct a bee house to produce honey to sell. With the help of donors, ICC was able to purchase 20 new bee boxes and the necessary equipment to support this group of Christians. This new business venture will allow the group to increase honey production so that they can financially support themselves. The pastor reported, “We are very grateful to God for you and thankful for help to us.”
Household Items and Food Community Rebuild
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hile her husband and family were attending a funeral, Sara, a deaf and mute Christian woman living in Pakistan, was attacked and raped at gunpoint. Sara and her family registered a First Information Report (FIR) with the police against the rapist, Muhammad Umar. Although Umar’s relatives pressured Sara and her family to drop the charges, they refused. Sara and her family were expelled from the village. Umar and his relatives continue to look for the family, threatening to harm them. After learning of the situation, ICC began working with Sara and her family to help ensure their safety. With the help of its donors, ICC provided the family with food, some necessary household items, and a security deposit for a rental house. ICC also provided a year of schooling for the children. Sara’s husband thanked ICC, saying, “This assistance was more than we could hope for and we will never forget it.”
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AUGUST 2016
Your Dollar$ at Work
ICC Repays Debt for Family
A Tools for Mechanic Shop
Suffering Wives
lice, who was widowed in 2009, began work for a Muslim family to support her four children. Alice was payed a meager salary, forcing her to borrow from her employer whenever her family had an emergency. Eventually, her debt grew to 40,000 PKR ($380 USD). Alice was able to share the Gospel with her employers and eventually lead them to
Christ. Unfortunately, when the other family members heard about the conversion, they raped her and demanded that she leave her employer’s house. When Alice gave notice to her employers, they required that she repay her debt. With the help of its donors, ICC repaid Alice’s debt and helped her to establish a small business. Alice expressed her gratitude for ICC’s help.
Community Rebuild
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any Christians in Iraq remain displaced from their homes due to the actions of ISIS and are forced to live in Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps across the country. These families often have to leave behind their tools and their businesses, leaving them without the means to support themselves. Thus, these families are dependent on international aid. To help normalize the lives of these Christians, ICC has begun initiating small businesses with displaced Christians in Iraq. One of the beneficiaries was forced to flee from Baghdad after being kidnapped twice by Muslim radicals. He left behind his job as a mechanic and has struggled to find work ever since. With the help of its donors, ICC was able to provide this displaced Christian with the tools that he needed to start up a mechanic shop. These tools will also help him with his current job, as he previously had to rent tools to do his job. He was very thankful for the help that he received from ICC.
Persecution Preparedness Training
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Community Rebuild
astors and Christian workers in rural areas of India, particularly those in the Mahbubnagar district, suffer additional persecution because they are often unaware of the law and of their own fundamental rights. To help these Christians gain a better understanding of how to use the law and understand their constitutional rights, ICC implemented a training program called the “Persecution Preparedness Training.”
This program served 25 rural pastors, explaining how to file a First Information Report (FIR) and what constitutional rights are guaranteed to Christians. One beneficiary stated, “I did not know that the FIR is my basic right. On a number of occasions, I was not permitted to file [an] FIR in the police stations.” Pray for more training in persecuted regions.
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The Lost Girls of Egypt
Each year, hundreds of young Christian girls in Egypt are kidnapped, raped, forcibly converted to Islam, and then married to their rapists. Once taken, they are lost to their families forever. By Sandra Elliot
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Feature Article
y the time she saw them, it was too late. At the last second, the sound of the rushing car, the opening doors, and stamping feet registered in her mind, but as she turned her head to investigate, they were already on her. Mary Wahib was kidnapped at gunpoint in front of her home in the village of Bait Alaam on May 1, 2016. Four masked men attacked her at 8:30 p.m. and pushed her into a car with no license plate number. “After it happened, we headed immediately to Girga police station and filed a formal complaint,” Mary’s cousin explained. Unsurprisingly, the police officers at the Girga station asked for two days’ time to investigate the matter before taking any action. The Wahib family couldn’t wait that long. They, along with many other Coptic Egyptians, began demonstrating in front of the police station in a desperate attempt to force the police into action before Mary’s fate was sealed. Three days later, a video clip of Mary surfaced on Facebook. In the video she revealed her name, age and location, as well as her decision to convert to Islam. She also emphasized that she had not been kidnapped and that her conversion was by her own will. “I bear witness there is no god but Allah,” she concluded. “I bear witness that Muhammad is his messenger.” According to testimonies from other previously kidnapped women, the truth behind Mary’s “conversion” is far from willful. Many of these women have reported being repeatedly beaten and raped by their captors who videotape all of their abuse. If the victim refuses to convert to Islam, their kidnappers threaten to publish the footage online. In a culture where shame is ever lurking at the door, threatening to steal family honor, they are left with little choice but to submit.
A New Yet Old Trend Mary’s story is disturbingly archetypal and just one of thousands. Six years ago, ICC conducted an in-depth investigation of such cases, gathering names and details of hundreds of accounts. Recently, such instances are being reevaluated in light of the upsurge of victims. The abductions have come in waves since the 1970s when President Anwar Sadat took
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Police investigate an incident of violence in a crime-stricken region of Cairo.
“After I woke up, I tried to call my wife many times but her [phone] was shut off” – AMGAD ROMANY
the leash of the Muslim Brotherhood and those that follow Wahhabi ideology to counter a growing internal communist threat. As a result, radical Islamic groups started spreading throughout the country with financial support from Saudi Arabia. The 1980s saw many waves of Christian abductions and forced marriages, most of which were never redeemed due to the limited help from Egyptian police officers. Now we are seeing a new wave of these attacks in Upper Egypt with little response
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from authorities, and little hope for the families left behind.
Noura’s Disappearance Noura Youssef was last with her husband as they ate lunch together on April 20, 2016, just a few hours before her abduction in Luxor, Egypt. “She had gone to her parents’ home,” her husband Amgad Romany, age 25, explained to ICC. “It was 3:30 p.m. when she left.” AUGUST 2016
Christian families. Criminals often target fragile family members, like grandparents or young children. Due to the apathy from local authorities, relatives are forced to pay devastating ransoms to retrieve their loved ones. In the last few months, we have seen more kidnappings of Christian women and girls for forced marriages than for ransom.
Sandy’s Escape
An alleyway just outside of Garbage City, Cairo’s sector designated for Christians.
Having worked a long day in construction, Amgad took an afternoon nap after his wife headed out. “After I woke up, I tried to call my wife many times but her [phone] was shut off. I then called my father-in-law,” Amgad continued. “I was surprised when he told me that she never arrived.” Amgad, along with Noura’s parents, immediately took to the streets in search of her. When they couldn’t find her, they went to the police station in Luxor to file a missing person’s report. The authorities at the station refused to file a report until she had been missing for 24 hours. Upon returning home, Amgad was told by a neighbor that a Muslim man by the name of
Moustafa Sayed was seen following Noura. Sayed had a history of harassing Noura and repeatedly proposing to her although she was already married. He had since disappeared from the community. “None of the police have helped me to find my wife,” Amgad explained, “I know that they do nothing for our cases because we are Christians...I don’t know where to go...”
Kidnap for Ransom From 2013 to 2014, there was an upturn in the trend of kidnapping for ransom in Upper Egypt. In Minya province alone, there were 20 such cases within a matter of months. These incidents are meant to financially destroy
On April 18, Sandy, 16, left to go shopping with her aunt for new Easter clothes. She left the house at 4:30 p.m. but never reached her aunt. “I went to the shop before going to my aunt,” Sandy later recounted. “While I was leaving…a bearded man hit me on my head, and I then passed out.” When Sandy regained consciousness, she was somewhere in the mountains, surrounded by older Muslim men. They relentlessly beat and raped her for refusing to convert to Islam. “Most of the time during my captivity I was unconscious because they were hitting me,” Sandy told ICC. On May 3, Sandy awoke to being thrown from a truck. She gathered her remaining strength and began walking home when someone found her. The man took Sandy to his shop so that she could call her family. “When I heard Sandy’s voice the tears fell from my eyes,” Her mother recalled, “I thanked God for answering our prayers.” While Sandy survived her kidnapping, her assailants have not been pursued by local authorities.
A Permanent Loss Christians make up ten percent of Egypt’s population. They are citizens and, therefore, entitled to equal protection under the law. Aside from the perpetrators themselves, the indifference of the local and federal authorities is egregious. This cancer that was in remission is metastasizing throughout Egypt’s Christian community. It is tragic, obscene, and a permanent loss for the affected families. In a mere instant, young girls are destroyed in the name of Islamic subjugation and dominance. There are no words to describe this crime; there is no comfort for this agony. Only empty bedrooms and shattered families remain.
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A CELEBRATION MARRED WITH THE BLOOD OF SAINTS By William Stark
“I never go to public parks, especially on religious festivals...I feared terrorist attacks and the unsatisfactory security arrangements at public places.” At approximately 6:30 p.m. on March 27, 2016, a suicide bomber from an offshoot group of the Pakistani Taliban attacked Gulshan e-Iqbal Park where many Christian families were celebrating the Easter holiday. As a result of the attack, over 70 people, mostly Muslims, were killed and over 300 more were wounded. Sonia and her family were among the Christians celebrating Easter in the park when the suicide bomber attacked. Sonia narrated the events that still haunt her: Hundreds of people were enjoying the evening, chatting with friends, families and couples. Children were playing cricket, others enjoying the swing, some were eating, dancing and
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doing whatever they wanted. I was standing near a cafeteria, holding my three-month-old son, when I felt something hit me like a pistol bullet at my back. It was not a bullet, but the shrapnel from the bomb. There was an unbearable big bang, the power cut, the smoke, the smell, the crying and shouting. There was blood and human bodies everywhere. At once my husband, who was also bleeding due to injuries on his hand, rescued me from the scene. People were crying for their beloveds and the injured were calling for help. Shahid Masih, Sonia’s husband, remembered escaping the carnage of the bombing, “I saw human bodies hanging on the swings and on the
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The people of Lahore mourn the loss of their family members in this brutal, unexpected attack.
“I saw human bodies hanging on the swings and on the ground like slaughtered animals.” – SHAHID MASIH, SONIA’S HUSBAND
ground like slaughtered animals.” “We thank God that we did not lose anyone from our immediate family,” Sonia added. “However, two people among our relatives were killed.” Following the attack, the spokesperson of an offshoot group of the Pakistani Taliban claimed that Christians were the target and that the group would commit more acts of terror against Pakistan’s Christian population. This bombing marks the second deadliest attack on Christians in Pakistan’s history, following the suicide bombing of All Saints Church in Peshawar in September 2013 which claimed the lives of more than 130 Christians. The attack on Gulshan e-Iqbal Park comes only a year after two churches in a majority Christian neighborhood in Lahore were attacked by suicide bombers from the same offshoot group of the Pakistani Taliban. In 2015, there were also church bombings in Youhanabad around the Easter holiday,
making it two years in a row that Pakistani Christians have had to endure an Easter marred by terrorism. ICC is helping the Christian families whose breadwinner was either injured or killed in the park bombing. Among these families is Sonia’s family. Before the bombing, she worked at a beauty salon in Lahore and earned much of her family’s income. Now, due to the injury to her back as a result of the bombing, Sonia can’t stand for long periods of time and had to quit her job at the salon. On the day which we remember that Jesus conquered death, the most joyous occasion in history, Pakistani Christians are being slaughtered. Two years in a row, Easter Sunday has been stained with the blood of the saints. Christians in Pakistan now experience Easter on a different level than Christians in the West. For too many families, Easter is a day to remember two sacrifices. Our Lord’s and that of their loved ones.
Supporting a Community in Need In response to this devastating attack on Pakistan’s Christian community, ICC called on its donors to help relieve the suffering of those affected by the bombing. In total, ICC’s donors provided $27,500, allowing us to assist the Christian families affected by the bombing on multiple fronts. We found that 21 Christians, many of whom were children, had been killed in the bombing and another 45 were seriously injured, requiring hospitalization. Initially, we provided food aid and transportation aid to and from the hospital for the families of those Christians seriously injured in the bombing. As this stabilizing effort was made, we designed and implemented an academic support program for Christian children who had a family member killed in the park bombing. In the end, ICC was able to provide a year’s education for 23 students in need. Sohail Pervaiz, Shahzaib Pervz, and Kinza Pervais, three students now being supported by ICC, said, “Our father is a laborer; he works hard to take care of our schooling. Our brother, Wagas Masih, used to help our father in his work. After our brother died, we considered quitting school in order to help our parents. We are glad to have ICC here so that we can now continue our schooling. We are grateful for ICC’s timely assistance in providing for our schooling.”
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VIETNAM: RELIGIOUS FREE
The streets of Vietnam are quickly becoming a hostile place for Christians.
The state respects and guarantees religious freedom of the people but all religious activities must obey laws.
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do not understand why they arrested me and beat me up like I was a criminal,” T.L Phan told Asia News. “They choked me, and banged my head against the wall.” On June 13, 2016, in MuongKhuong, Vietnam, approximately 30 government officials stormed a house church, beating and arresting those in attendance. T.L
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Phan was one of these churchgoers. “[They] forced [me] to admit that I had endangered security and had caused disorder in the community,” Phan continued. “The police forced me to write a report and sign a statement that I would no longer go to church…I did not sign.” Three of the officials who stormed the church are vice presidents of government organizations. This violence comes in the new wave of Vietnam’s crackdown on local Christians.
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The communist nation has declared that every Christian meeting is now illegal in the country. Christians like T.L Phan will face vast and intensified persecution. Due to Vietnam’s poor religious freedom record, it has been listed as a Country of Particular Concern by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for many years. According to USCIRF’s 2016 annual report, Christians in Vietnam “are prevented from holding religious ceremonies, pastors are harassed or punished, and many are summoned to meet with local authorities and pressured to cease practicing their ‘poisonous’ faith.” At present, there seems to be no indication of progress on the religious freedom front as dozens of Christian pastors and human rights activists languish in prison for charges of AUGUST 2016
EDOM’S LAST STAND
The Vietnamese government is systematically eradicating Christianity.
One of the few churches in Vietnam. “inciting unrest” and “speaking out against the state.” One such person is Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh—a religious freedom activist who was arrested in 2012 for having “colluded with foreign reactionaries.” Both Chinh and his wife, Tran Thi Hong, are considered to be among what Vietnam calls an “illegal” faith as they are members of the Lutheran church which is not a registered denomination. Tran has been advocating for her husband’s release through various domestic and international channels. For her inspiring devotion to her wrongly imprisoned husband, she has endured a constant barrage of harassment and assault by local authorities. Earlier this year, Tran met with the visiting US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. Following this meeting,
she was detained by authorities. While in custody, Tran was questioned and beaten, leaving black and blue reminders of the struggle against her own government. This is a direct and hypocritically crude example of what Christians experience in Vietnam. Chinh and his wife are but one example of the continued persecution of Vietnam’s religious minorities. Thousands of persecuted Christians have fled to Cambodia, seeking asylum from religious persecution in their homeland. Instead of finding refuge, however, many are deported or placed in prison for illegally crossing the border.
Progress Toward Religious Freedom? Vietnam, a nation with a long record of
intense and violent persecution of Christians, is actively and deceptively working to convince the world of its ‘progress’ on human rights and especially religious freedom. Vietnam’s proposed Law on Belief and Religion, introduced in early 2015 and anticipated to pass in late 2016, states that the “government respects and protects the freedom of religion and belief of everyone.” Despite the government ensuring protection of religious freedom, the law includes onerous requirements of registration, excessive state control and interference in religious organizations’ internal affairs. The law itself is supported by the Committee for Religious Affairs’ Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh. In a statement published by Vietnam’s Communist Party’s online newspaper, Binh said, “The state respects and guarantees religious freedom of the people but all religious activities must obey laws.” She urged officials to fight against “bad elements who abuse religious activities to undermine national unity.” Such language is broad and ambiguous, leaving plenty of room for discrimination and potential increased government crackdown all in the name of ‘national unity.’ It is totally outlandish for government authorities to point toward this legislation as a progressive step in minority rights. In May of this year, President Obama continued his administration’s pivot toward China in a visit to the communist nation of Vietnam. Prior to the president’s visit, Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly was released after enduring nearly 30 years of imprisonment and house arrest for his vocal support of religious freedom. While it is wonderful to see him released, his release should be recognized as both a token political move and a reminder of others who are locked away and may never see freedom. During his visit, Obama made the decision to lift the weapons embargo, which, in human rights circles, is considered to be one of the last remaining bargaining chips with the communist nation. With that gone, the question remains if Vietnam will ever really change its policies on religious freedom. The future seems bleak for the small nation as religious persecution is ever rising. Pastors and human rights activists continue to suffer assault, excessive interrogation and torture. We must not forget the sufferings of these brothers and sisters.
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The Frontlines of
Advocacy
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By Nathaniel Lance
CC has experienced enormous success on Capitol Hill in 2016, advocating tirelessly on behalf of our persecuted brothers and sisters around the globe. From ISIS being declared genocidal by the US government to ICC having the opportunity to testify to the US Congress on the lack of religious freedom in India, the halls of power in Washington D.C. are tackling issues related to the persecution of Christians worldwide.
ISIS Declared Genocidal
While ISIS continues to wreak havoc in the Middle East, efforts from ICC and a host of other organizations working on behalf of religious freedom were rewarded with the unanimous passage of a House Resolution declaring the atrocities of ISIS to be genocide. Shortly thereafter, US Secretary of State John Kerry presented a statement agreeing with the House’s assessment, a move that displayed the full solidarity of the US government on this issue. Although the next steps for the United States remain unknown, the declaration of ‘genocide’ in and of itself is a major win.
A Testimony for Change On June 7, ICC’s President Jeff King was asked to testify before the US Congress regarding religious liberty and persecution in India. This hearing, entitled, “Challenges and Opportunities: The Advancement of Human Rights in India,” hosted by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, featured other panelists from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Dalit American Federation (an organization representing untouchables). The hearing coincided with a visit to the US by India’s Prime Minister Modi where he was to address a joint session of Congress. Mr. King discussed the growing trend of intolerance against India’s Christians. He explained how this upturn in violence coincides with the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party led by Modi. In India, there continues to exist a blaring silence from the government that only emboldens perpetrators to commit their crimes. Mr. King described attacks that ICC has docu-
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The efforts that ICC’s advocacy department has made on Capitol Hill have proven to be fruitful.
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Congressman Joe Pitts leads a congressional hearing on religious persecution in India. mented and provided educated and informed suggestions for Congress and for the Indian government. This testimony follows a congressional letter supported by ICC and signed by 26 US congressmen and eight US senators that asked Modi to specifically condemn acts of persecution against religious minorities in India by enforcing the law to protect all citizens despite religious affiliation. Testifying before Congress gave ICC a vital opportunity to share our expertise and experience regarding the persecution of Christians in India. We were able to provide opinion and policy recommendations directly with the human rights group and others following the hearing, namely the Indian government.
Upgrading International Law Another recent success is the unanimous passage of the Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act, a bill that updates the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 by prioritizing religious freedom in American foreign policy and diplomacy. Specifically, the upgrade would allow the Ambassador for Religious Freedom at the State Department to report directly to the Secretary of State. This removes some layers of bureaucracy and potentially gives the religious freedom office more influence. In addition, the tier system for countries designated by the State Department as “countries of particular concern” (CPC) would be strengthened by creating a distinction between CPC countries; specifically, those working with the United States to improve religious liberty and those who are not taking steps to guard this right. Thirdly, it allows for executive power to name non-state actors and individual violators of religious freedom as some of the most egregious. These reforms are vital in order to expand the government’s ability to address religious liberty through diplomatic channels. The legislation is now on its way to the US Senate.
Tackling Blasphemy Lastly, ICC is pushing for the passage of two critical bills that address religious liberty worldwide and call for the global repeal of blasphemy laws. These laws are set in place for countries that want to protect certain religions from slander. While being sound in nature, the reality is that blasphemy laws are used as a tool to target religious minorities with imprisonment and sometimes death. House Resolution 290, currently with 30 co-sponsors, is being led by Congressman Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania. The legislation asks the President and the State Department to make the repeal of blasphemy laws a priority in their relationships with countries that operate under such medieval decrees. Senate Resolution 69 is a similar effort in that it continues to recognize the need to protect the fundamental right of freedom of religion, and calls on the US to lead an international effort calling for the repeal of existing apostasy and blasphemy laws. This bill currently has ten co-sponsors and is being led by Senator Inhofe of Oklahoma.
Pray for Us These successes and efforts continue to put ICC’s policy recommendations and opinions at the forefront of change. We are diligently working to educate and call on the US government to use its power and influence to relieve the suffering of Christians and other religious minorities around the world. We ask for your continued prayer as we are a voice for the voiceless before the world’s leaders. Pray that the persecution of Christians would be at the forefront of the minds and hearts of our leaders in Washington D.C. Pray that the United States will continue in its dominant role of leading the charge against injustice and hatred. As a nation built on the fundamentals of Christianity, it is our responsibility to advocate for the widows and orphans, for those wrongly imprisoned and for those killed in the name of Christ.
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ICC’s President Testifies Before Congress Regarding India’s Human Rights Record ICC was given the honor of testifying before the US Congress on June 7, 2016, when ICC’s President Jeff King was asked to testify regarding the human rights record of Prime Minister Modi of India. His testimony coincided with Prime Minister Modi’s official visit to Washington, D.C. and his address to the US Congress.
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I N T E R N AT I O N A L
DAY OF PRAYER for the Persecuted
IDOP 2016 IS COMING!
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