Category: News

Last Friday the House of Commons debated government strategy on IS. Stephen Pound MP (Ealing North) (Lab) asked the minister if the UK was willing to support the creation of a safe haven for persecuted minorities from Iraq.

Mr Lidington replied that the Government was committed to doing everything that it could to safeguard the position of Christian and other minorities in Iraq, and that the best and most rapid way to do that was to re-establish the authority of the legitimate Iraqi government over the area now being terrorised by Islamic State fighters. He further elaborated by stating that the Iraqi government and Kurdish ground forces were now beginning to reclaim ground from the Islamic State, and that the British government was committed to supporting this offensive.

On 1st and 2nd September five Christians were arrested in Esfahan. Bibles, computers and mobile phones were confiscated and Mohammad Taslimi, Hamidreza Borhani and his wife Zainab Akbari, Moluk Ruhani and her sister, Sepideh Morshedi, were arrested and taken to Dastgerd prison, Esfahan. They have yet to be charged.

Prior to this on August 12th Iranian security authorities arrested two Christian men at a house church in Tehran. They are being held in Ghezal Hesar prison, Karaj. The owner of the house was unable to return for several weeks as his house was being watched.

A worrying development is the serious charges being levelled against church leaders. Recall that on 3rd August a leader within the “Church of Iran” denomination, Abdolreza (Matthias) Haghnejad, was charged with “Moharebeh”- enmity against God – a crime that can carry the death sentence. He has since been charged with “Mofsed-e-filarz” – generally translated as “spreading corruption on Earth”. This charge also carries the death sentence.

Two other members of the “Church of Iran” movement are reported to have recently been charged with “Mofsed -e-filarz” as well: Behnam Irani, serving a six year sentence for “action against the state and against order”, has received an additional 18 other charges including “mofsed -e-filarz” and Reza (Silas) Rabbani, who was arrested on 5th May 2014 and has suffered much physical abuse at the hands of security agents has also recently been charged with “mofsed -e-filarz”.

The charge of “Mosfed-e-filarz” has been applied to a wide range of expressions of political or religious dissent and carries the death sentence. Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, possibly more than 8,000 people have been executed under this charge ranging from former members of the Shah’s government, leaders of opposition or terrorist groups, to opponents of the regime and some Baha’i leaders. (Source: Middle East Concern)

The Islamic State has destroyed several Sufi Muslim shrines and tombs in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zor. The Sunni Muslim group, which enforces a strict interpretation of Islamic law in territories under its control in Iraq and Syria, has destroyed dozens of shrines, tombs and Shi’ite Muslim mosques. Sites affiliated with the Sufi sect, a mystical school of Islam opposed by puritanical Salafists from which Islamic State draws its members, have been among the group’s main targets. (Source: Reuters)

Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the UK gave a keynote address at last week’s In Defense of Christians inaugural summit.

Bishop Angaelos said the Christians and minorities in the region were facing widespread brutality which was intensifying. He also warned however that discussion around the atrocities must not be confined to religious dialogue, but seen as a violation of human rights which will have far-reaching implications.

‘Heightened levels of extremism seek to eradicate indigenous Christian communities that have been a vital part of the identity, culture and heritage of the Middle East for over two millennia.

‘The model of intolerance and extremism that we are witnessing will become legitimised and replicated throughout the Middle East and further afield if left unchallenged, and will continue to marginalise, alienate and destroy all in its path.’

Bishop Angaelos added: ‘Rhetoric used to describe the atrocities in the Middle East must no longer remain within a religious framework, but rather deal with these events as unacceptable crimes against citizens of countries who are entitled to the basic rights and freedoms of all. It is within this context that the international community must commit itself to providing, supporting, and advocating, in every way it can, for Christians and others whose fundamental right to freedom of Faith is denied in Iraq, Syria, Egypt and the wider Middle East.’

Last week, Bishop Angaelos joined other Christian leaders from the Middle East, at Lambeth Palace where they met with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby as he spoke of a ‘state of emergency’ in the Middle East for Christians and other minorities.

He said: ‘We gather today as Christians, including those originally from the Middle East, to stand in solidarity and prayer with our brothers and sisters, who seek to practice their faith and belief in lands where they have been a continuing presence since the beginning of Christianity.’

He called for justice ‘without impunity’ to be served and said those suffering in the region require ‘us to act and bear witness to their plight, whatever ethnic group or religious minority they come from’.

[Report from Lapido Media]

Sir, We urge the government to promote a co-ordinated approach towards the estimated 100,000 displaced Christians around northern Iraq/Kurdistan, many of whom have nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Their fate is now in the hands of outsiders after a forced exodus from areas they have inhabited since New Testament times. Western non-government organisations and churches are providing immediate aid, and the response by UNHCR, the Department for International Development and the British public has been substantial; however this level of aid cannot be sustained, and a longer-term solution is required.

Many of the displaced Christians and Yazidis have no confidence that a political or military solution will lead to their being able to survive back in their home territory. Many Christians are looking to find asylum in other countries. Australia, Canada, Sweden, Germany, France and others have proved remarkably generous but not, so far, the UK, despite it being a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and a member of the UN Council of Human Rights.

The Right Rev John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford; the Right Rev Donald Allister, Bishop of Peterborough; the Right Rev Dr John Inge, Bishop of Worcester; the Right Rev Andrew Watson, Bishop of Aston; the Rev Dr Robert Innes, Bishop of Gibraltar; the Right Rev Robert Patterson, Bishop of Sodor and the Isle of Man; the Right Rev Andrew Proud, Bishop of Reading; the Right Rev Jonathan Gledhill, Bishop of Lichfield; the Right Rev James Langstaff, Bishop of Rochester; the Right Rev CLive Gregory, Bishop of Wolverhampton; the Right Rev Mark Rylands, Bishop of Shrewsbury; the Right Rev Geoff Annas, Bishop of Stafford; the Right Rev Colin Fletcher, Bishop of Dorchester

Letter to The Times, Saturday 13 September 2014

Boko Haram has taken over a string of locations in recent weeks in Nigeria’s remote northeast, in what looks like a plan to seize and hold a “Muslim territory” or caliphate, apparently inspired by the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, reports Reuters.

Escapees from seized northeast towns, such as Madagali, say the Islamists murder adult males, torch churches, and force Christian women to convert to Islam under pain of death.

Boko Haram’s seizure of northeast towns and territory outside of its Sambisa forest and Mandara Mountains hideouts has alarmed both Nigerians and the country’s western allies. The top U.S. diplomat for Africa, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, last week called the group’s recent gains a “sober reality check”.

“Unless swift action is taken, Nigeria could be facing a rapid takeover of a large area of its territory reminiscent of ISIS’s lightning advances in Iraq,” the Nigeria Security Network said in a Sept 2 report. The Network groups Nigerian and international experts working on that country’s security issues.

“They are beginning to operate like a conventional army … They are reported to be using armoured vehicles, including tanks, and heavy weapons,” the Network reported.

Boko Haram has killed thousands since it launched its anti-government insurgency in 2009, mostly in the poor northeast.

Reuters article in full

Meanwhile, World Watch Monitor reports that Northern Cameroon is more than ever in the sights of Boko Haram, as details of atrocities committed by the radical Islamic sect from neighbouring Nigeria continue to emerge. More

The Bishop of Coventry spoke at July’s General Synod in response to a motion calling for celebrations of the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta in June 2015.

His speech clearly identified links between Magna Carta and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – and particularly Article 18. Here is the full text of his speech:

As a former university chaplain in Runnymede Deanery, a regular attender at St John’s Egham and a successor to William, bishop of Coventry, one of the reverend Fathers who advised King John, I congratulate Keith Malcouronne for bringing this motion to Synod and for his excellent background paper and speech.

I wholeheartedly support the motion for a host of reasons, three among them.

First, the Magna Carta is a theological document: it enshrines a vision of humanity, governance, and society in which God’s commitment to the dignity of human beings and to that which we have been calling over these days, ‘the common good’, relativizes the rights of the state, requiring its authorities to accept its responsibilities to its people under God.

Second, it is an ecclesial document: it acknowledges the transformative effect on human life of Christian wisdom and it promises that the Church shall be free.

Third, it is a humanitarian document: it embodies principles that embed freedom and justice in the lives of the nations. The Magna Carta is an incalculable gift to the world, as relevant today as it was 800 years ago. A line can be traced between Clauses 38 and 39, clauses that protect the individual from unfair trial and denial of justice, to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.

And it is to one article in the Declaration of Human Rights on which I would like to focus my remaining comments. Article 18 states with majestic clarity that:
‘Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.’

Just as the reverend Fathers insisted that the king declare the English Church to be free, with its rights undiminished, and liberties unimpaired so, drawing deeply on the same Christian wisdom, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights places inviolable responsibility on all the rulers of all the nations – regardless of their own religion or lack of it – to protect and promote the right of individual people to believe their faith personally, express their faith publically and, if they so wish, change their faith permanently.

And yet, 75% of the world’s population live in countries where the Article’s rights are denied them. From Shia Muslims in Bahrain, to Baha’is in Iran; from Sufi muslims in Somalia to Buddhists in Tibet, members of religious Faiths suffer a catalogue of appalling abuse.

Among them, are the people that Angela Merkel described as “the most persecuted religion in the world”: the estimated 250 million Christians suffering from persecution in one form or another that may lead to torture and execution.

May this motion before us motivate the English Church, declared to be free in 1215 in our land, to work for the full implementation of Article 18 in all the lands of the world:

• by commending our Foreign and Commonwealth Office for its commitment to the freedom of religion and belief as one of its key human rights priorities and calling it to be resolute in its actions;
• by working with individual parliamentarians who are showing remarkable zeal in this cause (including Baroness Berridge who spoke excellently at a Fringe Event on Saturday);
• by supporting the work of agencies who work often at great risk for religious freedom;
• by heeding Mary Judkin’s call for Synod to debate the scandal of the persecution of Christians around the globe;
• and may we pray for the millions of people who are denied the rights of Article 18, especially among them, the household of faith: our brothers and sisters in Christ, of whom the world is not worthy but to whom the world owes the right to live out their faith in the Son who, indeed, makes us free.

John Dayal of the All India Christian Council (AICC) reported on 22 August that, despite concerted advocacy, there has been no response from either the state or federal government to concerns expressed that on the advice of Hindu nationalist (Hindutva) agitators from the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), more than 50 villages in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region had used Section 129 (G) of the Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj Act to ban all non-Hindu religious practice.

This denial of religious liberty has resulted in a sharp rise in persecution, with Christians being assaulted, denied access to food rations and water, and even driven from their villages.  Furthermore, Dayal says the threat of purging Christians from villages has spread from Chhattisgarh to Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. If impunity persists, then so will this trend.

Further to this, Hindu nationalists are ramping up their conversion or ‘ghar wapsi’ (homecoming) campaigns, especially in Uttar Pradesh ahead of by-elections to be held on 13 September.

Investor’s Business Daily has carried a story analysing the link between religious freedom and economic growth.

Written by Katrina Lantos Swett and Daniel I. Mark of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the article identifies the core facets of religious persecution that contribute to low levels of economic growth – namely the wasting of the economic potential of those who are being persecuted, the negative effect of persecution on business investment due to the associated risk of wider social unrest, and the increasing demand by international consumers for goods and services sourced from countries that respect religious freedom and other human rights.

More

Ziya Meral, a Research Associate at the Foreign Policy Centre and a co-author of last year’s APPG for International Religious Freedom or Belief report Article 18: An Orphaned Right, which analyses the role the UK can play in promoting religious freedom around the world. Ziya’s recommendations centre around the necessity of integrating religious freedom with wider issues, the importance of specialist expertise, and the need for whatever mechanism the government decides to employ to promote religious freedom to have adequate access to both funding and senior levels of government. Read the full article.