U.K. PARLIAMENT TOLD CHRISTIANITY IS THE MOST PERSECUTED RELIGION The plight of Christians around the world was discussed in a three-hour debate at the Houses of Parliament in London recently. Members of the House of Commons were told that the persecution of Christians is increasing, that one Christian is killed around every 11 minutes around the world, and that Christianity is the “most persecuted religion globally”. A long list of countries in which life as a Christian is most difficult was discussed, including Syria, North Korea, Eritrea, Nigeria, Iraq and Egypt. MP Jim Shannon said the persecution of Christians is “the biggest story in the world that has never been told”. He said although the right to freedom of conscience and religion is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, many countries do not give these rights. Shannon alleged that 200 million Christians will be persecuted for their faith this year, whilst 500 million live in “dangerous neighbourhoods”. He said in Syria Christians are “caught between opposing sides in the conflict”, and Christian -dominated locations are specifically targeted. MP Sammy Wilson said that in Syria, “50,000 Christians have been cleared from the city of Homs”, while in Sudan two million Christians were killed by the regime over a 30-year period. Wilson added: “Within the last month, hundreds of people, from Nigeria to Eritrea to Kazakhstan to China, have been arrested and put in prison simply because of their faith, and when they go into prison they are denied due process. They are denied access to lawyers. They are sometimes even denied knowledge of the charges facing them. They can languish in prison for a long time and in horrible conditions… This is not only happening in Muslim countries. From Morocco to Pakistan, Christians in Muslim countries are under threat, but it happens elsewhere too.” The recent comments of Baroness Warsi were echoed, including her assertion that “the parts of the world where Christianity first spread is now seeing large sections of the Christian community leaving, and those that are remaining feeling persecuted”. MP Nigel Dodds said that whilst not new, it is “staggering” how many Christians are killed today. In Iraq, he noted the words of Canon Andrew White, who had said that Christians are “frightened even to walk to church because they might come under attack. All the churches are targets. We used to have 1.5 million Christians, now we have probably only 200,000 left. There are more Iraqi Christians in Chicago than there are in Iraq”. MP Rehman Chishti said: “I come from a Muslim background, and my father was an imam. He called the persecution “completely and utterly unacceptable” and “a very sad state of affairs”. The former Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali said the persecution of Christians was taking place in more than 130 of the 190 countries in the world at the moment”. MP David Rutley raised the issue of the sizeable Christian community in China, and asked about the potential establishment of a deeper dialogue to engage the Chinese authorities with Christian groups. Source: World Watch Monitor Australian Prayer Network.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Feb 2014 01:19:46 +0000
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