MORE CHRISTIANS MURDERED IN IRAQ -

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!

Abbreviating Christmas in Iraq for Christians

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

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

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 -

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

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.

ARCHBISHOP OF BAGHDAD SPEAKS OUT

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!

HILLARY CLINTON PETITION DRIVE

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

Captiol Hill Action for Iraqi Christians

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.

Will Hillary Help Iraqi Refugees

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.

Help Iraqi Christian Refugees at Facebook.com

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

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!

NEW VIDEO: Iraqi Christians in Peril

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

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

Is the USA Abandoning Iraqi Christians?

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!