Christian Refugee Crisis

Accused falsely of blasphemy a young man dies in Pakistani prison

2011-07-24T11:25:00.000-07:00

Shaukat Ali, 35, was imprisoned in 2007 under blasphemy charges. His family rejected the claims of jail and police authorities and said the death may have been caused by some other reason.

LAHORE: A blasphemy convict, said to be mentally challenged, died in Lahore Camp Jail after what police said was a brief ailment.

There have been several incidents in jails where those accused of blasphemy have been killed by inmates.

Hameed Ahmed, father of the deceased, told The Express Tribune that they had no information about his poor health and were shocked by the news of his son’s death. He said it is premature to say anything about the death but that the family was sure that he was not unwell. Read more

PAKISTAN CHRISTIAN SEX SLAVES

2011-07-08T14:23:00.000-07:00

One may argue that rape is a phenomenon that affects every society, yet the fact that most women raped in Pakistan come from the mere 2% Christian minority speaks for itself. Moreover, if you go to the links of these anecdotes, you will find that in every single case the Pakistani police either did nothing to apprehend the culprits or, more often, actually helped them while turning against the victims. Even though Pakistan is not a full-blown Sharia state and tries to save face in front of the international infidel–Sharia has nonetheless conditioned even the police to see infidel Christian women as little more than objects of pleasure which Muslim men can violate at will. Read more

Boko Haram kills more Christians and creates refugees

2011-07-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

The name says it all

At least 25 Nigerians were killed Sunday night when motorcyclists threw bombs into outdoor beer gardens in the northeastern city of Maiduguri. No group has claimed responsibility yet, but local police say the attack bore the hallmark of the Islamist group Boko Haram.

The attack underscores a deterioration of security in Nigeria’s predominantly Muslim north – particularly since President Goodluck Jonathan, who comes from the mainly Christian south, was inaugurated on May 29. Boko Haram is fighting for the implemention of sharia (Islamic law), including a ban on alcohol, and has demanded an Islamic state.

The Islamist group, which came to prominence in 2009 and is now considered the greatest threat to Nigeria’s security, launched coordinated bombings in three towns after Mr. Jonathan’s inauguration. It also claimed responsibility for a June 16 attack on federal police headquarters in Abuja, the capital, and has attacked clerics, politicians, and soldiers, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports. According to Reuters, attacks now occur almost daily in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State.
More at Christian Science Monitor

Egyptian Christians say they are ‘under organized attack’

2011-05-09T08:09:00.000-07:00

A priest whose church was at the centre of sectarian riots at the weekend has said Egyptian Christians were ‘under organised attack’ as religious authorities warned the country was at risk of civil war.Armed troops and riot police guarded the streets around St Mena’s church and nearby burned-out shops and apartment blocks in the impoverished, crumbling Cairo suburb of Imbaba.Inside, Father Cherubim Awad said a conspiracy was the only possible explanation for the violence that had engulfed relations between Christians and Muslims in recent weeks.

“Five churches were attacked on the same night,” he said. “From the beginning of this year we have had all these attacks in a short space of time.There is some hidden hand behind this, whether from inside the country or outside it.”

The street battles, which began on Saturday evening outside his church, demonstrated the breakdown in law and order in parts of Egypt that began during the uprising that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak in February. Read more at UK Telegraph

Islamophobia: is it persecution?

2011-01-02T16:16:00.000-08:00

Islamic leaders from all over the world and in the United States claim Westerners are blinded by Islamophobia. William J. Murray examines Islamophobia in the light of the latest mass murders of Christians in Iraq and Egypt.

Religioun of peace bombs church in Alexandria, Eqypt

2011-01-01T12:55:00.000-08:00

While Coptic Christians were worshiping at a special New Year’s Eve mass, a follower of the religion of peace set off a a car bomb in front of the church. Egyptian media reports seven dead, however, the Coptic Church reports 45 known dead with some missing in debris. (See Voice of the Copts)

Christmas Day is not celebrated until January 7^th in Egypt by Coptic and other Christian denominations. About 130 Christians, including children, will probably remain imprisoned on January 7^th, nearly two months after 2,000 members of the state security forces attacked their church building arresting them. Several people were killed during that attack in which police chanted Islamic war cries and tried to tear down the three story building that was under reconstruction. The object of the attack was to prevent the building from being used for Christmas services.

About 25 homes surrounding the church in the Christian area of Giza, a Cairo suburb, were burned to the ground by local police and one news agency reported that more than 20 people were blinded deliberately in one or both eyes. Although the St. Mary’s Church had a permit for renovation and additions from the national government, the governor of Giza, Sayyed Abdel-Aziz told a news agency that the permit had been “misused” by the Christians and the acts of the police were justified.

This bombing of the Church of the Saints in Alexandria shows that the Egyptian government not only ignores but condones attacks on Christians

Demonstration for Iraqi Christians in Washington, DC

2010-12-06T18:58:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, December 4th, 2010 a number of organizations held a demonstration in Lafayette Park across the street from the White House to call attention to the continued persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq. William J. Murray, the chairman of the Religious Freedom Coalition, was one of the speakers at the event. Murray's comments are at Youtube.com/ChristianRefuguees

MORE CHRISTIANS MURDERED IN IRAQ -

2010-11-01T06:01:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, November 1st, terrorists from a group called the Islamic State of Iraq stormed Our Lady of Salvation Syriac Catholic Church in Baghdad . Their first act was to murder two Catholic priests with shots to the head. The few American media outlets reporting on the attack, including Fox News, said it was part of a major attack on the Iraqi stock exchange, but that was not true. A car bomb was exploded at dusk near the exchange when it was already closed; this was only a diversion to lure guards away from the church. The real target was the church.

The attackers had explosives and wore suicide vests. The attack came during the traditional time of Catholic mass when 120 worshipers were in the church. Most media in the U.S. didn't report the full extent of the bloodbath; however, some European news outlets did report in detail how 58 died and 78 others were injured. Many of those who survived the bombs lost limbs, were paralyzed or suffered other very serious injuries.

The White House issued a sort of generic statement on the attack that never mentioned that the victims were Christians, or that the attack was on a church. In part the statement read, "The United States strongly condemns this senseless act of hostage taking and violence by terrorists linked to al Qaeda in Iraq that occurred Sunday in Baghdad killing so many innocent Iraqis." No wonder so many Americans think President Obama is a Muslim.

THREE THINGS ABOUT ISLAM - We are now streaming the English version of "Three Things About Islam" which was originally produced in the Netherlands. This is a must see for anyone who has questions about the core of Islamic beliefs. View here!

School buses bombed in Iraq

2010-05-04T12:06:00.000-07:00

The bombing of school buses near Mosul on May 2nd has caused the Catholic Archbishop of Mossul to call for UN intervention to protect Christians in Iraq. “It is urgently necessary to have a United Nations intervention to protect Christians in Iraq” Bishop George Casmoussa, Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Mossul. The Bishop spoke after a bomb attack on Sunday that killed four Christian students and injured 170.

The Bishop said, "The Christian community lives in fear. We are exhausted from continual violence, terror and insecurity. If this situation continues we can no longer live in this land, our beloved homeland.”

Earlier in the day more than 2,500 Christians from Hamdaniyah protested in the streets against the continuing attacks on innocent Christian civilians. Official the United States says that attacks on Christians in Iraq are "criminal" in nature and have nothing to do with persecution.

IS UTOPIA ON EARTH POSSIBLE?

2010-04-30T07:22:00.000-07:00

I have been out of the country and have not really been able to continue to post materials at our Iraqi Christian cause site. Currently the Religious Freedom Coalition is working to fund a new water system at a camp for Christian youth in Jordan. We hope to have the work done before the camp opens in June. I cannot post the exact location or information on the Internet for obvious security reasons. The camp is open to all Christian youth including Iraqi Christian refugee children. Online donations to the RFC made during May will assist the camp.

What is the mind set that allows many on the left, sometimes called liberals, to turn from God and believe that a Utopian state can be created on earth? Every three weeks I author a Chairman's Report and in April I featured this Utopian philosophy that is destroying the United States and the rest of the West? Drawing on my own past experience growing up in a Marxist home, and exploring the literary example of Thomas More's Of the republic's best state and the island of Utopia, I seek to explain why liberals are in such denial of reality. I urge you to print out copies of this edition of the Chairman's Report and to share it with others. The PDF version is located at: http://rfcnet.org.

RESOLUTION SUPPORTS IRAQI CHRISTIANS -

2010-02-26T14:26:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, February 4, 2010 the U.S. House passed by a vote of 415-3, Congressman Frank Wolf's H.Res. 944. The Resolution supports religious minorities in Iraq and its language details how Christians and other religious minorities have been brutalized in Iraq since 2003. Read more at Congressman Wolf's site!

MORE CHRISTIANS KILLED IN IRAQ

2010-02-19T14:36:00.000-08:00

"We don't want elections, we don't want representatives, we don't want our rights, we just want to be alive," said Father Baasil Abdul Noor, a priest at Mar Behnam Church in Northern Iraq. This week four Christians have been murdered in the Mosul area. The latest was a 20-year-old student, Wissam George, an Assyrian Christian who was studying to be a teacher. Many of the Christians in Northern Iraq fled Baghdad and other southern areas seeking the simple right to live. Pray for the Christians of Iraq. Read more

SWEDEN DEPORTS IRAQI CHRISTIANS

2010-02-05T19:28:00.000-08:00

The Swedish government appears to have no problem allowing the construction of mosques financed by Saudi Arabia, but has kicked Iraqi Christians out of the country illegally. An Assyrian news agency reports that "25 Assyrian persons and families were forcibly returned to Iraq. Upon their arrival at Baghdad airport, no arrangements were made to safely transport them to their final destinations. With the threat of kidnapping very high, nearly all stayed at the airport, only to be helped by Assyrians working at the airport, who realized the returnees were Assyrian. Of the 25 who were returned, 24 fled the country again, and one was given refugee status by UNHCR in Ankara, which has acknowledged that it is not safe for Assyrians and other Christians in Iraq." An investigation of the reports in Sweden by a radio station has created political problems for the leftist government. Read more

Abbreviating Christmas in Iraq for Christians

2009-12-24T06:52:00.000-08:00

The New York Times this week printed an article on the plight of those Christians who remain in Iraq who have not fled. Please distribute links to the article which includes photos. The article appeared shortly before a bombing on Wednesday, December 23rd that killed more Christians in Iraq. Click here for NYT article.

Churches Destroyed in Iraq - November 29th, 2009

2009-12-01T12:57:00.001-08:00

Shame on you George W. Bush ... Double shame on you Barack Obama ... Triple shame on the Main Stream Media for ignoring the mass murders of Christians while having so much concern for the well being of Nidar Hasan. Read about the latest attacks on Christians in Iraq at:

http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=16972&size=A

NEW UPDATE ON RFC's IRAQI CHRISTIAN REFUGEE PROJECT

2009-11-25T12:25:00.000-08:00

Our ministry partner in Amman, Jordan visited us in November here in Washington, DC. I can’t mention his name or the ministry in anything that is placed on the Internet because of security issues. While he was here I arranged a lunch for him with the regional leaders of Aglow International. Several congressional meetings were arranged. We also packed up tens of thousands of dollars of medical supplies for him to take back to Jordan.

It may seem a long time away, but I have already begun to plan for my next mission trip to the Middle East. The Christian children’s summer camp which we support in Jordan opens in June. I want to be there for the first week of the camp. I will also travel to Israel and visit the missionary ministry of David and Leah Ortiz, which RFC also helps support as well. I have visited the Ortiz family once visited once since their apartment was bombed and this time I hope to be able to take my wife Nancy with me as well. More on the bombing of their apartment can be read at: http://rfcnet.org/pdfs/pdf2009/0...

Donations given at our Facebook site are directly only to our Iraqi Christian refugee project. At this time of Thanksgiving please think about a small gift to help our brothers and sisters in Christ who are in desperate need.

MORE CHURCHES BOMBED IN BAGHDAD -

2009-07-31T13:26:00.000-07:00

Since July 11th, at least seven churches have been bombed in Baghdad and at least 4 Christians killed and more than 30 injured. CNN reports six churches and my sources report as many as twelve. Congressman Frank Wolf of Virginia has written a strong letter to Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki concerning the lack of protection of Christians in Iraq. See Rep. Wolf letter

CHRISTIAN YOUTH CAMP IN JORDAN NEEDS WATER

2009-07-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

There is a Christian camp for youth in Jordan, which is one of the few Middle Eastern nations that still has a sizable Christian population. I cannot name the camp on the Internet, or tell about its location. I can tell you that because of the nature of the geography of Jordan, water must be trucked in each day to the camp. Every week there is a new group of about 200 youths who come to the camp from various churches. During the course of the summer thousands of young
people from kindergarten through high school will attend Vacation Bible School at the camp. This summer the water will cost $5,000 to purchase and truck into the camp. All contributions
received at our Facebook site until July 10th will be directed to the purchase of water for the camp.

FINALLY THE MEDIA TELLS THE TRUTH -

2009-05-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

For the last eight years the mass media, particularly in the United States, has refused to face the reality of the persecution of Christians in the Middle East. The media's failure to report the Christian exodus from Iraq has allowed American administrations to do nothing in the face of the persecution. Finally that is changing. Last week the Associated Press (AP) issued a long story to its member newspapers on the exodus of Christians from Iraq. See story. Network TV news is also beginning to report the persecution. However, the situation is even worse than what is now being reported. A five year old Christian boy was kidnapped and murdered just last week and Christians are fearful to talk to media about their persecution for fear of reprisals. Read more

ARCHBISHOP OF BAGHDAD SPEAKS OUT

2009-05-08T12:30:00.001-07:00

This week I attended a small group round table discussion at the Hudson Institute with the Archbishop of Baghdad, Father Jean Benjamin Sleiman. The archbishop discussed the grim situation that exists for Christians in Iraq and made it clear that there was no true security to entice Christian families who had fled, to now return. He reaffirmed what we all already knew, that "...the laws of Sharia are not the same as the laws of democracy." He said that the government, not the church, must provide security for Christians. He explained that, "You can't eliminate the fear after your neighbors are killed". The United States provides no funds for religious minorities (that means Christians) in Iraq.

IRAQI CHRISTIANS NEED HELP - The Religious Freedom Coalition is receiving virtually no funds for our Iraqi Christian Refugee Project from Internet sources. Just a few hundred dollars have been generated at our Facebook page. Although thousands of people read the Internet version and Facebook verions of our update virtually all funding is coming from direct mail. Iraqi Christian refugees really do need our help!

New Pressure on Secretary Clinton

2009-03-27T10:38:00.000-07:00

CONGRESSMAN TELLS CLINTON AGAIN THAT IRAQI CHRISTIANS NEED HELP - Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA) has written a third and even stronger letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton concerning the conditions of Iraqi Christians. Clinton seems to have ignored the first two letters, which were responded to by a low ranking official at the State Department. Read Congressman Wolf's Letter.

HILLARY CLINTON PETITION DRIVE

2009-03-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

The Religious Freedom Coalition has begun a petition drive asking Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to formulate a policy to stop the persecution of Christians in Iraq and to aid those Christians who have been forced to flee. More than 100,000 paper copies of the petition have been distributed, and an online version is now available. Click here to read petition!

Official petition site address: http://iraqichristianrefugees.org

Gov. David Beasley does national radio show for our cause!

2009-03-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

Governor David Beasley (R-SC) did a great job talking about the plight of Iraqi Christians on a national radio show hosted by David Barton of Wallbuilders. This is a great show to share with others. Please listen to the show and then send the link to others. Click on link below:
http://www.wallbuilderslive.com/listen.asp?cs=high&mf=wma&fileName=WBLive2009-03-12

BROWNBACK TO CLINTON: IRAQI CHRISTIANS NEED HELP -

2009-03-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

Former Senator Hillary Clinton, who is now Secretary of State, is receiving numerous letters from congressmen and Senators about her human rights policy. I previously reported on a letter to her by Congressman Wolf, and now Senator Sam Brownback has also written her a letter concerning Iraqi Christians. Apparently the Obama Administration has no interest in human rights, and has dispatched Hillary Clinton to China and the Middle East to borrow money for the President's agenda. You read that right: Hillary Clinton has asked the Chinese and the Saudis to please continue to buy U.S. Treasury bonds so Obama can spend and spend and spend. Meanwhile people in China and the "Muslim world" suffer repression, as Obama and Clinton look the other way. See Brownback letter.

Captiol Hill Action for Iraqi Christians

2009-02-08T16:53:00.001-08:00

ACTION TO ASSIST IRAQI CHRISTIANS - This week former Governor David Beasley of South Carolina visited Washington to talk with congressional leaders about the plight of Iraqi Christians. Traveling with Governor Beasley was a representative of the Religious Freedom Coalition's ministry partner in Amman, Jordan. Together the two men made the case that the United States must have an official policy toward the religious minorities in Iraq, something that was not done under Secretary of State Rice during the Bush Administration. In addition to one-on-one meetings, Governor Beasley spoke at several meetings to leaders of social conservative organizations who may be able to assist Iraqi Christian refugees. Our ministry partner returned to Jordan with about $48,000 in contributed medical supplies. Please help!

FACEBOOK FOR IRAQI CHRISTIANS - The Religious Freedom Coalition also has a Facebook page to expose the crisis faced by Iraqi Christians. If you have a Facebook account, please become our friend at this link.

Help Iraqi Christians at Facebook

2009-02-03T02:22:00.000-08:00

This week Isam Ghattas who operates various ministries in Amman, Jordan is the guest of the Religious Freedom Coalition in Washington, DC. He will speak at various events while in Washington on the condition of Iraqi Christian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. His ministry partners with the Religious Freedom Coalition to assist Christian refugees who comprise 44% of all refugees from Iraq although representing only 4% of the overall population.

Our Iraqi Christian refugee cause also now has a Facebook page. If you have a Facebook account you can join our cause as a member. Click here to see our Facebook page. You can also contribute funds for new MAP medical kits which contain 700 treatments each for common ailments. The kits include antibiotics and other needed drugs. This past week we shipped two MAP kits to assist Iraqi Christians. Because the drugs are donated the cost per kit is only $250 for many thousands of dollars of materials. Click here to help.

Will Hillary Help Iraqi Refugees

2009-01-17T06:36:00.000-08:00

Senator Hillary Clinton was confirmed this week as Secretary of State and has already moved into her new digs in Foggy Bottom. Before she could get out of her Senate office a delegation consisting of myself, my wife Nancy, and Father Keith Roderick delivered an Iraqi Christian Coalition letter to her, asking that she assist persecuted Iraqi Christians upon becoming Secretary of State. Photo is of Nancy Murray at Hillary Clinton's office.

Religious Freedom: Iraq is a "Country of Particular Concern"

2008-12-16T12:02:00.000-08:00

Today the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom designated Iraq was a Country of Particular Concern" (CPC) because of the continuing persecution of religious minorities, particularly Christians. The White House had lobbied the Commissioners intensely not to give the CPC designation to Iraq and won over some GOP appointees including Dr. Richard Land who voted against CPC status. The majority carried the day and the continued persecution of Christians and other minorities was spotlighted in a USIRF news conference on December 16, 2008. Click here to read more about the press conference and the report of the USCIRF.

Just in: The CNS news service has an extremely good report on the press conference with quotes by Congressman Frank Wolf concerning the poor handling of minority repression in Iraq.

Please read the comment below by Father Keith Roderick!

Help Iraqi Christian Refugees at Facebook.com

2008-12-16T05:25:00.000-08:00

We are now a part of the Facebook.com "causes" network and as of today have 59 friends. We need just 41 more "friends" to become an official club. Please join the Iraqi Christian Refugee "cause" at Facebook.com. Click here to view our cause page at Facebook.com

Read Murray's Front Page Magazine Interview

2008-10-09T12:32:00.000-07:00

FRONT PAGE MAGAZINE ON IRAQI CHRISTIANS - In September I was interviewed in depth by Front Page Magazine on the Iraqi Christian Refugee situation. In that interview I placed most of the blame where it belongs, on Secretary of State Rice. Click here for the compete text of the interview.

DON'T FORGET IRAQI CHRISTIANS - Tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians are still refugees and still need our help. Donate today!

Iraqi Christians and Evangelicals in Jordan

2008-07-14T00:49:00.000-07:00

There are some churches, such as the Chaldean Catholic church and the Orthodox Church, that can operate openly in Jordan and assist Iraqi Christian refugees. This does not mean that they have the same liberties as they would in a nation such as the United States. Unlike the evangelical efforts, some of the assistance to Iraqi Christians by the Catholic and Orthodox churches can be learned about online. However, the Jordanian government remains wary of evangelical Christians and last year expelled numerous pastors and missionaries who were not Jordanian citizens. Jordan has also forbidden evangelicals from renting hotels and convention centers for meetings. This may be out of fear of the evangelical movement on the part of the government. It could also indicate that the mainline churches fear the evangelical movement and have asked the king to suppress them. Keep in mind how the Pharisees depended upon Roman authorities to deal with Jesus.

One evangelical church that does thrive openly in Jordan is the Christian Missionary Alliance Church which was founded in Jerusalem in 1899. It is now headquartered in Amman, Jordan with seven churches in that nation and two in the West Bank. Yousef Hashweh is the overseer of the nine CMA churches. In Amman the church owns two buildings in a central location, a church and a community center. The community center has a coffee shop on the first floor and a medical clinic on the second floor in addition to church offices and a recording studio on upper floors. The medical clinic assists some 170 a week including Iraqi refugees and some Muslims. There is a genuine outreach at this church. The church building is used one day a week for services with Iraqis and another day a week for Filipinos who work in Jordan, in addition to Sunday services. The church is a blessing to the community. Don’t look for an Internet site because the church does not maintain one despite its size and outreach. The church is deserving of support. The Religious Freedom Coalition will begin regular support of the outreach of the CMA church this year.

There are several Christian book stores in Jordan and unlike in other Muslim nations, Bibles can be distributed. However, it is against the law to attempt to convert a Muslim in Jordan just as it is in all Islamic nations. Morocco has perhaps the most liberal interpretation of this type of law, indicating that it does not apply to “equals.” It appears this may be the case to some extent in Jordan as well. Attempting to tell a person of less education or a child about the Lord would probably be prosecuted by the authorities, while witnessing to a fellow college graduate would not. Still, the law is on the books.

The influx of Iraqi refugees has made the situation of the church in Jordan more tenuous. Churches that attempted to set up schools for the Iraqis had those schools shut down. The government said the children could attend public schools or private schools not specifically set up for Iraqis. However, virtually every Iraqi is in Jordan illegally and the families fear signing their children up for the school. They don’t want the government to know where they live.

Because they are forbidden to work, Iraqis need outside assistance. Many sold their homes far below value before leaving and their funds were quickly exhausted. Most can never go back.

Chickens or Jobs for Iraqis?

The Barnabas Fund is very proud of the fact that they provided chicks to Iraqi refugees to raise in areas of the Nineveh Plans in Iraq. I am sure you can read about it at their Internet site as they are very proud of their grant. Most of the Iraqis who have fled their homes in Iraq are educated English speaking middle class people. They owned stores and worked at high tech jobs. Now NGOs such as the Barnabas Fund are giving them chickens to raise and bragging about it. Faced with raising chickens for a living many more of the Iraqis are becoming discouraged and trying to flee to Jordan. Both Jordan and Syria have responded by almost totally closing their borders.

The pain of these people will stop only when the government of the United States admits to its responsibility and assists them to resettle. Our government just will not take on this responsibility and still sends all refugees to the UNHCR. The Administration’s policy is that Christians face no persecution in Iraq, that their pain and suffering is caused by criminal gangs. This attitude must change.

William J. Murray, Chairman – Religious Freedom Coalition

Support the Religious Freedom Coalition

PO Box 77511, Washington, DC 20013 * (202) 543-0300

RFC AID FOR IRAQI CHRISTIANS

2008-07-11T00:04:00.000-07:00

RFC AID FOR IRAQI CHRISTIANS- As mentioned above I am currently in Amman, Jordan. On Thursday the 10th I delivered more than $24,000 of medical supplies to be dispensed by a Christian medical mission in Jordan to Iraqi refugees. The 30 Kilos (66 pounds) of supplies included bulk bottles of antibiotics such as amoxicillin, norfloxacin, and ciprofloxacin. Other drugs for the treatment of intestinal and stomach disorders and other illnesses common to the Middle East were also delivered.

The overwhelming majority of Christians who have fled Iraq are in urban areas, mostly in Amman, living in cramped conditions. Often several middle class Christian families have been forced to take refuge in a single apartment. As they are "guests" in Jordan they are not allowed to work and have no income. Their presence here is tenuous and the Jordanian government can deport them back to Iraq at anytime. The Bush Administration has promised to take in 12,000 Iraqi refugees by September, but so far has only cleared just over 5,000. Because of the politically correct nature of our State Department many of those are Muslims who did not face nearly the level of persecution faced by Christians.

I met one of the two Christian families who were just accepted by the State Department as "refugees" and they can depart Jordan at any time. The two families were part of a group of 30; the other 28 families were Muslim, mostly Shiites with ties to Iran.

Today (Friday the 11th) I also toured the facility used for food distribution to Iraqi Christian refugees and visited a Christian children's summer camp. The camp was a wonderful experience that I don't feel comfortable sharing. Should its location be posted or pictures of the children shown on the Internet it could cause problems for their families in a predominantly Muslim nation despite the official positions of the King.

William J. Murray, Chairman, Religious Freedom Coalition

Bush: Burkas OK for Christian Women

2008-03-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

BUSH: BURKAS OK FOR CHRISTIAN WOMEN- The official policy of President George W. Bush's administration is that forcing a Christian woman to wear a burka or hijab in public is not religious persecution because nothing in Christian doctrine forbids wearing them. It is also the official policy of the Administration that there is no religious persecution of Christians in Iraq and that the 41 churches destroyed since the war began and the church bombings this past Christmas were done by "criminal elements." The US Commission on International Religious Freedom is considering designating Iraq as a "CPC" or Country of Particular Concern. The Bush Administration is in a state of panic over this possibility and is exerting extreme political pressure to avert this action. As a result, I doubt that CPC status will be issued for Iraq. (This information is a first hand report from conversations with State Department officials.) More at www.rfcnet.org

NEW VIDEO: Iraqi Christians in Peril

2007-12-11T18:38:00.000-08:00

IRAQI CHRISTIANS IN PERIL VIDEO RELEASED

Washington, DC

Chairman William J. Murray today announced the release of a streaming video detailing the horrors facing Iraqi Christians.

This stunning video was produced in Beirut, Lebanon by the Chaldean Catholic Church, but is applicable to the plight of all Christians in Iraq. The personal testimonies of persecuted Christian families who have been forced to flee the homes they have had for centuries are presented. Regardless of whether an individual supported the American war effort in Iraq or not this is a must see 22 minute clip the exposes extreme Islam unleashed in that nation after the invasion.

View the video at: http://www.rfcnet.org/video/vid.html

State Department Response

2007-12-08T08:54:00.000-08:00

IRAQI REFUGEES AND THE STATE DEPARTMENT

Washington, DC – Dec 7, 2007

Inside the Beltway the State Department is referred to as "Foggy Bottom," partly because of the building location, but mostly because of the logic by which it operates. On Monday, December 2nd members of our fact finding team who had traveled to the Middle East met with Assistant Secretary Sauerbrey and seven fairly high ranking members of her department concerning a draft of our report on the condition of Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Lebanon.

Secretary Sauerbrey is a George W. Bush political appointee to the State Department; the rest of those present were "career" officers. While the Secretary was present the tone of the meeting was cordial and concerned, and it appeared that progress was being made. Upon her departure from the room, the tone quickly changed to one of an aggressive defense of status quo policy. Ninety-nine percent of State Department employees, including most ambassadors, are "career" people who have their own agendas while working under various presidents. Often their agendas and desires to protect themselves overshadow the will of the political leaders of the nation. Unlike the Armed Forces, those at State rarely are obedient to the desires of the elected political leaders of this nation.

Often the official “called for” procedures of the State Department; the actual on-the-ground situation; and the perceptions of those involved are three somewhat different things. At the meeting with Secretary Suaerbrey on Monday we learned for the first time that there is a Jordanian-American staffer at the embassy in Amman tasked with the duty of “refugee liaison.” However, Ambassador Hale told us in Jordan very flatly that no one was actually meeting with refugees outside the Embassy walls. One of his staff, the USAID officer, told us “It isn’t our job to go to church.” Not a single church leader or member of the refugee community we met with had every met this individual and did not know of the person’s existence. Perhaps this individual was meeting with UNHCR, CARITAS, and other NGO’s. But, to the knowledge of church leaders in the refugee community there was no contact with this individual.

NOTE : Several weeks after our departure from Jordan our team received reports from church leaders saying the Embassy had begun to have contacts with the refugee community. The findings of our team had been delivered directly to King Abdullah of Jordan who then presented it directly to Ambassador Hale. It was not until the King inquired as to why there was no contact between the Embassy and refugees that contact visits began.

When we departed from the meeting on Monday we were very concerned about the “on paper” presence of the officer tasked with refugee liaison verses the personal witness of virtually every church leader in Jordan including Catholic, Orthodox and evangelical.

Our overall purpose is not to have our report “answered” but rather to begin to hear from the refugee community that their perception of the relationship with our nation is improving. Many of the Christians and secularists (most of the Muslim refugees actually appear to be secularists) who are now refugees saw our nation as their savior in 2002, and unfortunately our presence has caused them great loss of life and property. The suffering of the individuals we interviewed was appalling and heart wrenching at the same time. It is very difficult to talk to a mother who has had her children dumped dead at her doorstep. The experience of such a conversation is far different from a conversation with a Euro representative of UNHCR at a high dollar coffee shop who has never personally interviewed a refugee. One of our biggest concerns was the distance between the embassy and the refugee victims, many of whom had worked for the Coalition and suffered great loss as a result.

I publicly supported the President’s Iraq position in 2002; therefore, I have the right to say that we own this war and as a result we own the refugees caused by this war. All of those participating in the fact finding mission understand the procedures in place with the UNHCR. Perhaps, collectively, our fact finding team was just not bright enough to understand at what point the refugee problem ceased to be the responsibility of the United States of America. Our nation simply needs to do more than it is doing. Either the United States makes Iraq safe for the return of the refugees, or we need to help them live better lives somewhere else.

William J. Murray, Chairman

Religious Freedom Coalition

INITIAL REPORT - Iragi Christian Refugee Crisis

2007-11-04T10:15:00.000-08:00

IRAQI CHRISTIAN REFUGEES
October, 2007 Fact Finding Mission

MURDER - Last week in Lebanon I sat in horror as one mother told me about the murder of her young daughter. The family lived in the Dora neighborhood of Baghdad, which at one time consisted of 20,000 Christian families. Less than 2,000 remain. In May the family received a call telling them that one of their two teen aged daughters must be handed over to the local mosque for marriage to a Muslim. The family refused, and one week later their fifteen year old daughter didn’t come home from school. She had been kidnapped. They received a call from a Muslim who told them, “There is no amount you can pay to ransom her, we just want to break your heart.” Their daughter was held for a week and repeatedly raped, and then she murdered and her mutilated body was dumped in the street. The family fled Iraq with their remaining children, first to Syria and then to Lebanon.

Most of the Christians in Iraq belong to a small order called the Chaldean Catholics. There are also Assyrian Christians, Orthodox and some Evangelicals. It is estimated that about half of the Christian population has fled Iraq since our 2002 invasion which rid the nation of the sadistic dictator, Saddam Hussein, who was later hung. Our efforts to install a Jeffersonian democracy similar to our own have failed, and the government of Iraq is dysfunctional at the national level. The Iraqi constitution calls for freedom of religion, human rights and Islamic Sharia law. This is an impossible combination, because Sharia law is contrary to human rights and human dignity.

OUR EMBASSY SENDS IRAQI REFUGEES TO THE UN - When refugees from Iraq come to the US Embassy in Amman, Jordan they are sent away to a United Nations refugee office. This is not a local decision by Ambassador David Hale; he is simply following the orders of our State Department. As a nation we have washed our hands of the refugees and that includes many who were wounded while working for American contractors in various fields including security. In my view this is flat wrong. We own this war and these refugees are our responsibility. Sending them to the United Nations for vetting to determine "which nation" they should apply to for asylum is a cop out.

When Iraqi refugees approach the US Embassy in Amman they never see an American Counselor nor do they receive any information sheet telling them of their options. Jordanian guards employed by the US direct them to the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR). Even those who were wounded working for our nation are sent to the United Nations when in fact they have the right to apply directly. Worse, those who have direct relatives in the United States are also sent to the UN even though they have other options. This is a shameful situation that must be corrected by our State Department.

The Iraqi Christian refugees we talked to are intimidated by the hired Jordanian guards at the Embassy and many do not even approach it. At the UNHCR office in Jordan the staff is nearly 100% Muslim, and our fact finding team was told by refugees that they were often treated with disdain and virtually never called back.

Proper advice is not given out by the United Nations to those who seek help. President Bush has ordered that those refugees who have worked with Coalition forces in Iraq and whose families have faced persecution be processed quickly. According to Ambassador Hale those who have worked with Coalition forces are to be sent by the UNHCR to the International Office of Migration (IOM) and then interviewed by the Department of Homeland Security. Yet we met dozens of individuals who had worked with Coalition forces and who had been to the UNHCR and had never been told about the IOM, much less sent there.

In one group of fifty Christian refugees we interviewed, a staggering forty-eight had relatives in the United States and no one had told them their relative could sponsor them into the United States. Some even had parents who were naturalized US citizens and did not know that a simple form could speed up their applications. Twelve of this same group of fifty had worked with Coalition forces and had not been interviewed by the International Office of Immigration or the Department of Homeland Security.

ANOTHER MURDER - One man I interviewed in this group of fifty had served with his brother as an MP (Military Policeman) guarding our troops at one of our bases in Iraq. On their way back to their homes after work one day they were gunned down. His brother was killed and he suffered several wounds including a head wound. When he got out of the hospital he received calls telling him that his “blood would be ended” as was his brother’s. He took his family and fled to Jordan. He has never had an interview with anyone associated with our Embassy nor has the UNHCR referred him to the IOM as we were told by Ambassador Hale is the procedure.

Despite the huge size of the US Embassy in Jordan there is no outreach to the Iraqi refugees, which members of our team viewed as a gross neglect of duty. Many of the refugees could be re-employed by the Coalition forces in Iraq and convinced to return to more secure areas. The failure of the embassy to have representatives talk to the clergy dealing with the refugees shows either ignorance of basic intelligence gathering or a lack of caring for the Iraqi refugees.

At the same time the State Department has handed over the Iraqi refugees to the United Nations in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, there is a fast track program to bring 50,000 Bhutanese and 27,000 Somalis into the United States this year as asylum seekers. Unlike the Iraqi Christians who for the most part are educated and speak English, the Bhutanese and Somalis are for the most part illiterate and have no skills to function in a modern society. The Bush Administration has also promoted a fast track citizenship program for literally millions of Mexican illegals into the United States. Our fact finding team was never able to get an answer from anyone in the Administration as to why illiterates from third world nations are preferred as asylum seekers over the Iraqi Christians.

KING ABDULLAH - Our fact finding team was scheduled to meet with either King Abdullah or Queen Rania while in Jordan. Unfortunately, Secretary Condoleeza Rice, who was also scheduled to meet the royal couple that week in Amman, suddenly changed the meeting place to London. As a result we were unable to meet the King. However, we met with the top members of his government including the Minister of Interior and ranking officers of the General Intelligence Division.

The government of Jordan does not refer to the Iraqis who have fled the war as refugees, but rather as “our guests.” However, the “guests” are not permitted to earn a livelihood while there.

King Abdullah has put forth a policy that no Iraqis will be arrested or deported because of their status. He has also offered to allow the Iraqi children to attend the public schools. So far 24,000 Iraqi children have signed up for public school. Most Iraqi Christians do not send their children to the public schools because they include Islamic education. While officials say that no Christian child is required to attend the classes on Islam, the Iraqi Christians we talked to said otherwise. Also, many of the teenage Iraqi children work for minimum or below minimum wages to support their families. If the adults attempt to work, they could be arrested and deported. While the King has extended a humane hand, he will not allow those illegally in his Kingdom to take jobs away from his citizens.

LEBANON - There could be as many as 750,000 Iraqi refugees in Jordan. The situation in Lebanon is not as severe because there are estimated to be only 50,000 to 75,000 Iraqi refugees in that nation. Their situation is somewhat the reverse of that in Jordan. In Jordan the Iraqi Christians are treated fairly by the government but ignored by our Embassy and the UNHCR. By contrast, our Embassy in Lebanon, led by Ambassador Jeff Feldman, is attentive to the situation even though directed by the State Department to have all Iraqi refugees vetted by the United Nations. The Ambassador has sent staff to consult with clergy and is well versed in the situation of all Iraqi refugees. This was a stark contrast from our embassy in Jordan.

The Director of the UNHCR in Lebanon, Stephane Jaquemet, was knowledgeable and responsive to our questions. For those questions he could not answer, he promptly found the information and e-mailed it to the fact finding team members. In Lebanon the UNHCR has an aggressive program to seek the release of Iraqis who have been arrested for entering the nation illegally. Unlike at the UNHCR office in Jordan, many of the employees in Lebanon are Christian and the Iraqi Christians seem not to fear going to their office for assistance.

Outside the purview of Ambassador Feldman, we learned that only 32% of the Iraqis sent by the UNHCR for a DHS interview for asylum in the United States are accepted. Most of those rejected are told that their “information was not credible.” In other words the DHS agents were saying that they did not believe their stories of persecution. Perhaps those agents should have seen the display of photos I saw at the church of Chaldean Catholic Bishop Michael Kassarji. The basement of the church is lined with photos of destroyed churches and murdered priests. It was in this church that I met the parents of the girl who was kidnapped, raped, mutilated and murdered. The DHS has yet to interview that family. Will their story be “credible” to the Department of Homeland Security?

On the other hand, the Lebanese government has been aggressive in finding and deporting Iraqis who are in their country illegally. For that reason the Iraqi men are in hiding and it is the women and children who are working, since they are less likely to be challenged by authorities. This means, of course, that the Iraqi children are not receiving any education at all.

SYRIA - The bulk of the Iraqi refugees are in Syria, a nation the United States lists as a sponsor of terror. Our team was originally going to visit the Christian refugees in that nation as well. Unfortunately, just before our departure to the Middle East our visas were withdrawn. This occurred at the same time Syria closed its borders to Iraqi refugees, saying that their nation was being “crushed” by the Iraqi refugee problem. Syria is a secular dictatorship and many Iraqi Christians feel safer there than in Jordan.

While in Jordan and Lebanon we heard unsubstantiated rumors that large numbers of Christian women had been forced into prostitution in Syria to feed their families. A complete report with a formal finding for the President and Congress should be ready to publish in a few weeks.

VIEW VIDEO BLOGS AT: http://youtube.com/ChristianRefugees

MORE PHOTOS AT: http://www.pixagogo.com/6715324176

Is the USA Abandoning Iraqi Christians?

2007-10-26T12:52:00.000-07:00

OUR EMBASSY SENDS IRAQI REFUGEES TO THE UN
Lets get real! The continued fighting in Iraq is causing a refugee crisis. Many of the refugees are Christians who have been forced out of their homes by radical Islamists. When these refugees come to the US Embassy in Amman, Jordan they are sent away to a United Nations refugee office. We have washed our hands of them and that includes many who were wounded while working for American contractors in various fields including security. It is our war, these are our refugees and they are our responsibility. Sending them to the United Nations for vetting to determine "what nation" they should apply to for asylum is a cop out.

JORDANIAN HIRED SECURITY SHOULD NOT GIVE COUNSELOR ADVICE
When Iraqi refugees approach the US Embassy in Amman they never see an American Counselor nor do they receive any information sheet of options. Hired Jordanian guards direct them to the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees. Even those who were wounded working for our nation are sent to the United Nations when in fact they are allowed to apply directly. Worse, those who have direct relatives in the United States are also sent to the UN even though they have other options including a form I-130. This is a shameful situation that must be corrected.

FEAR FEAR FEAR
Iraqi Christian refugees we talked to are intimidated by the hired Jordanian guards at the Embassy and many do not even approach it. At the United Nations the staff is nearly 100% Muslim and act with disdain toward the Christians who are virtually never called back. Proper advice is not given out by the United Nations to those who seek help. Of 50 in one group we interviewed 48 had relatives in the United States and no one had told them their relative could sponsor them into the United States. Some who had parents who were naturalized US citizens did not know that a simple form could speed up their applications. Meanwhile, the Bush Administration wants to fast track literally millions of Mexican illegals into the United States. WHY?

READ IT FIRST HERE
Journalist Ken Timmerman who is traveling with our mission team has written an expose for NewsMax that is a must read. Click here to read. Click here for our daily video blog!

Iraq's Christian Exodus

2007-10-17T21:41:00.000-07:00

Iraq

’s Christian Exodus
Targeted by all sides, Christians must choose to leave, or stay and face death.

By Keith Roderick

The novelist Zora Neale Hurston described one of her characters as a rut in the road, with “plenty of life below the surface but it was beaten down by the wheels.” Since the fall of Saddam, the Christians of Iraq have been beaten down by every wheel in motion: violence, extortion, and murder. In desperation, Christian religious leaders are now openly criticizing the Iraqi government for failing to protect their flocks. Chaldean archbishop Louis Sako recently lamented in the AsiaNews, “In Iraq Christians are dying, the Church is disappearing under continued persecution, threats and violence [are] carried out by extremists who are leaving us no choice: conversion or exile.” Twenty years ago the Iraqi Christian population was estimated to be 1.4 million. The Department of State reported there were almost 1 million in early 2003. U.N. sources claim the figure to be 700,000. Two years after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, it was estimated that 40 percent of the refugees fleeing Iraq were Christian, deliberately targeted in Iraq.

There were 20,000 Christian families living in the Dora neighborhood of Baghdad before the liberation of Iraq. Today, there are only 3,000 families. Most are only partially intact, as members of those families were killed, displaced to other areas in Iraq or fled the country. One in four Christian families living in the major Iraqi cities has left. A religious cleansing is taking place as Muslim extremists either demand that Christians convert to Islam, and send daughters and sisters to convert and marry a Muslim man; or, worse, force families to leave or be killed.

When looking at the critical mass necessary for the indigenous Christian population to survive in Iraq, there is little reason for optimism. At least 25 percent of the Christian population has fled according to conservative estimates, with some arguing a figure closer to one-half. These figures do not reflect an even larger number of internally displaced.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq reported that attacks on individuals and Christian institutions began to seriously escalate in 2006. Since then, Iraq has seen attack after attack on Christian churches and their leaders. A Catholic and a Syrian Orthodox church in Kirkuk, as well as an Anglican church and the Apostolic Nuncio’s residence in Baghdad, were bombed in January 2006, killing three people.

In September, two other churches were attacked, in Kirkuk and Baghdad, killing two persons, one a child. Several Christian clergymen were kidnapped or assassinated. Fr. Boulos Iskandar Behnam was kidnapped and murdered. His head had been sliced from his body and placed upon his lifeless chest.

In November, Isoh Majeed Hedaya, the president of the Syriac Independent Unified Movement and an advocate for the formation of an Assyrian-Chaldean-Syriac administrative area in the Nineveh Plains, was murdered on his front doorstep. And in December, a high ranking member of the Presbyterian Church in Mosul was murdered. In May, St. George’s Church Baghdad’s Dora neighborhood was bombed for a second time. A Catholic priest and three deacons were murdered outside of their church after saying Mass in Mosul.

Bombs and blood are not enough for the Islamists. Al Qaeda has begun to demand the jizya (protection money demanded of non-Muslims) from Christian families. Those who refuse to pay must leave or be killed. Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi army issued a letter to Christians in Baghdad ordering Christian women to veil themselves. The letter warns that those who do not face grave consequences. In an ominous closing note the letter promises enforcement through special committees. Iraqi Christians face terror from both Sunni and Shiite groups.

The story of one such family provides insight on the dramatic effect that the campaign of violence is having on Christians in Iraq. On September 24^t, 2006, terrorists detonated a small explosive outside the Church of St. Mary in Baghdad. The explosion drew out parishioners from the church when an even larger bomb detonated, causing massive casualties. Sargon Hanna was one of five persons who directed parishioners back into the Church, knowing the first explosion to be a trap, saving lives. When the second, more deadly bomb exploded, it cost Sargon his leg. A month later, his son Ashur, a security guard for the church, was kidnapped. The kidnappers informed Sargon that he had three options: convert to Islam and report on other Christians, pay a ransom of $200,000, or drive a car-bomb for them, acting as a suicide bomber.

Over a period of ten days his son was tortured with electric shocks and boiling water. When their demands were not met, the terrorists decided to execute Ashur. He was shot in the spine, the bullet exiting through his stomach. Believing him to be dead, his executors threw his body into the street. He survived, just barely. He was taken to a hospital in Baghdad where his condition deteriorated. After thwarting an attempt by a man in a police uniform to shoot Ashur as he lay, paralyzed, in his hospital bed, the Hanna family was convinced they had to flee. Like so many, they now are refugees in Damascus, Syria.

U.S. policies have failed the Iraqi Christians on several fronts. The State Department maintains that it does not designate reconstruction funds on an ethnic or religious basis. USAID and the U.S. Embassy Projects Contracting Office (PCO) have funded projects totaling roughly $2.6 billion in Ninawa Governorate. The Nineveh Plain, with a sizable Assyrian Christian population, is located within this governorate, but only $33 million, or 1.27 percent, was reported to have reached predominantly Assyrian areas, an amount far below their estimated percentage of the population.

Last month Rep. Diane Watson (D., Calif.) questioned the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Stuart Bowen, at a hearing, “Is there any thought about our policies that are pushing Christians and other minorities out of Iraq where they have lived for centuries?” Bowen responded that she was asking a question concerning State Department policy that he could not answer. Watson concluded her questioning by warning, “I want to be sure that we don't reinforce discrimination, and only focus on those three major tribes, Sunni, Shia and Kurds.” Watson made her concern clear when she stated her belief that U.S. reconstruction policy is resulting in “de-Christianizing this area in Iraq.”

Congress, unlike other government agencies, is beginning to focus in a meaningful way on the plight of Christians and other minorities in Iraq. In a positive step, the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations passed a budget amendment on June 12 that directs $10 million for internally displaced religious minorities in the Nineveh Plain. The amendment, put forward through the leadership of Rep. Mark Kirk (R., Ill.), represents the first formal allocation of funding and acknowledgment of the crisis facing Iraq's indigenous Assyrian-Chaldean-Syriac Christian population.

In October 2003 the Assyrian Democratic Movement, a formally recognized ally of the United States, asked that federalism in Iraq allow for the Nineveh Plain to become an administrative area where they and other vulnerable minorities could share in a new Iraq. Since then, whole populations, activists, and an array of politicians have adopted this vision. That vision must soon become a reality in order to save a people facing destruction.

As Sargon Hanna watches his son slowly die from the wounds inflicted by terrorists in Iraq, he maintains hope in the American vision for Iraq. “They [the U.S.] must find some solution for our people. Yesterday, it was someone, today it was me and tomorrow it will be someone else. This has gone on for too long.” Like the hundreds of thousands of Christian refugees and those internally displaced, Sargon reflects the optimism that their sacrifice will not be in vain and that there will be a place for them in Iraq.

— Rev. Keith Roderick is Washington representative for Christian Solidarity International and secretary general of the Coalition for the Defense of Human Rights.

Video blogs available

2007-10-17T15:29:00.000-07:00

Printed blogs are coming ... First video blog below: