Meriam Ibrahim enroute to America

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Meriam Yahia Ibrahim, husband Daniel Wani, and their two children, Martin and Maya, have boarded a plane for the United States. Flying from Rome to Philadelphia, en route to Manchester, New Hampshire, the Ibrahims are expected to be received by a community that-for months-has eagerly awaited their arrival. Zakaria Aging, a Sudanese national who fled to the United States in 2000, told CNN earlier this month, "We can't wait to see them, so many people have been waiting...you can't imagine how many people will be at the airport." Wani, who holds dual U.S. and South Sudanese citizenship, fled with his brother-also expected to receive the family later today-to Manchester in the late 1990s as a political asylum seeker. Ibrahim and Wani married in 2011 after meeting in Sudan on one of Wani's regular trips to the East African nation. When in Rome, Ibrahim told La Repubblica, "My husband...lost his job because of my event. Now we will go to New Hampshire where my brother-in-law Gabriel lives. They will help us. We will be all together as a true family." An international non-profit has, at the request of the State Department, put together a media tour for the family in Washington, D.C., though it remains unclear as to whether the family holds any interest in participating or when it will take place. During their stay in Italy, the Ibrahims visited with Pope Francis, fulfilling a "lifelong dream" of Ibrahim's, who later commented, "I have always wanted and only wanted my faith." Questions have been raised regarding the immigration status of the family as the State Department has not yet confirmed the citizenship of the Ibrahims' two children. Cameron Thomas, ICC's Regional Manager for Africa, said, "We are pleased to know that Meriam, Daniel, and their two children, Martin and Maya are making their way to a new life, free from religious persecution. While we applaud the U.S. in welcoming the Ibrahims with open arms, we recognize that this administration failed to speak Meriam's name publicly at any point prior to her departure from Sudan, to confirm the citizenship of a toddler who subsequently spent 126 days in a Sudanese prison where, on average, one child dies every week in custody, and to secure the family's safe departure, which the government of Italy ultimately mediated. While today is a day to celebrate, it's also a day to remember Pastors Saeed Abedini and Kenneth Bae, both American Christians who continue to suffer in the shadows of repressive regimes bent on eliminating any semblance of religious freedom in their respective countries." For interviews, contact Cameron Thomas, Regional Manager for Africa:  RM-Africa@persecution.org  # # #

You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference International Christian Concern (ICC) and include our web address, www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington D.C.-based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.

Sudan in the wake of Meriam Ibrahim

With wide smiles, Meriam Ibrahim and her family shook hands with Pope Francis, posed for photographs, and-for the first time in months-laughed as free people. Thursday, relief swept over millions as international press cables wired reports of an Italian aircraft flying, through the dark of night, from Khartoum to Rome.   For the family on board: from oppression, to freedom.   A 27-year-old mother of two and wife to an American citizen, Meriam was imprisoned in February, sentenced to death for her Christian faith in May, rearrested a day after her court-ordered release and acquittal in June, and finally set free Wednesday of last week. For everyone involved, from Meriam and her family, to the religious freedom and human rights advocates striving for Meriam's freedom, to the international press covering their case, it was a summer of high and lows.   In the wake of one of the most widely-publicized Christian persecution cases ever, many questions remain: why has the United States (U.S.) still not recognized the citizenship of Meriam's two children, Martin and Maya?  Why were the Ibrahims released into the custody of the Italian government, and not that of the U.S.? And why did neither Secretary of State Kerry nor President Obama speak Meriam's name publicly until after she was safely in Rome?   In November of 2013, Meriam's husband Daniel Wani, a South Sudanese Christian with U.S. citizenship, approached the U.S. embassy in Khartoum to request documentation of his son, Martin's, citizenship. Not only was that request denied, possibly in violation of U.S. immigration law (Sec. 301 of the Immigration and Nationality Act), Daniel claims he was treated with utter disrespect. In a phone conversation with ICC, Daniel said that despite having "provided wedding documents and the baby's birth certificate," the embassy's "doors were closed in his face."   Three months later, Martin-just 18-months-old at the time-was imprisoned with his mother for 126 days.   In a conversation with CNN in May, the Ibrahims' legal defense lamented Martin's imprisonment, saying, "he is very affected from being trapped inside a prison from such a young age."   To be clear, Martin should never have been imprisoned for his mother's faith. Nowhere should conversion to or from any religion be considered criminal. And so while an investigation into whether or not the U.S. embassy in Khartoum violated immigration laws should be launched-with full recognition of the consequences of its decision to deny Martin his rightful citizenship-Sudan's refusal to recognize the human right to free religious practice must be condemned as solely responsible for the Ibrahims' plight.   While the scourge of international outcry and government sanctions should continue to be levied against Sudan for sentencing a pregnant mother to death for her Christian faith, the decision by the Khartoum Court of Appeals to release and acquit Meriam should be applauded. Similarly, many thanks must be given to the Ibrahims' legal defense, every member of which has received a threat against his life for defending religious freedom over the application of Sharia law.   Representative of many others in and beyond Khartoum, the Ibrahims' legal defense in many ways exemplifies the struggle for religious freedom in increasingly closed societies. Following South Sudan's succession in 2011, President Hassan Omar al-Bashir-indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in 2005-pledged to transform Sudan into a "purely Islamic" society. In the years since, the Sudanese regime has forcibly closed Bible schools, demolished churches, and, as of this month, placed a moratorium on the construction of all new churches.   And yet, in spite of a global spotlight having been cast on his commission of gross human rights abuses against his own people, al-Bashir is pursuing his policies of Islamization and Arabization with a renewed vigor: state-sponsored bomb raids continue to decimate the peoples of the Nuba Mountains as state-backed proxy-militias massacre civilians in Blue Nile and South Korofan states; Christians and other religious minorities are subjected to the dictates of Sharia law and relegated to the bottom of Sudanese society as second-class citizens; and the United Nations and other international monitors continue to be denied access to document the many systemic human rights and religious freedom abuses the Sudanese people face at the hands of their government.   Regrettably, Meriam Ibrahim is but one of far too many suffering in Sudan for the expression of their faith, or the color of their skin.   In a recent hearing of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, Senior Policy Advisor for the Enough Project, Omer Ismail, testifiedthat "many Sudanese Christians complain about discrimination in getting jobs or in the workplace...in addition to a general atmosphere of intimidation and intolerance." Ismail went on to conclude that in the hands of "the genocidal regime in Khartoum...the fate of close to a million Muslims, Christians and practitioners of indigenous religions and other faiths is in jeopardy."   In the wake of Meriam's release, acquittal and long-overdue departure from Sudan, the world must continue to spotlight the oppression of the Sudanese people. Those who stood up and spoke out for Meriam must also speak out for the tens of thousands of Christians still suffering for their faith in and beyond Khartoum. Human rights and faith-based organizations have to continue to document abuses on the basis religious preference or ethnic identity, and to provide critical aid. And the coalition of governments and international bodies that publicly condemned the fate of Meriam Ibrahim must utilize every resource to bring Sudan in-line with international standards for human rights and religious freedom. For interviews, contact Cameron Thomas, Regional Manager for Africa:  RM-Africa@persecution.org # # #

You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference International Christian Concern (ICC) and include our web address, www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington D.C.-based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.

Obama nominates new religious freedom ambassador

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that President Obama has nominated Rabbi David Saperstein to fill the position of Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom at the U.S. Department of State. The position has been vacant for more than nine months after the previous ambassador, Suzanne Johnson Cook, resigned last October. In a statement issued by the White House this morning, President Obama said, "I am grateful that Rabbi Saperstein has chosen to dedicate his talent to serving the American people at this important time for our country.  I look forward to working with him in the months and years ahead." The White House has been strongly criticized by various human rights groups and members of Congress for allowing the position to remain vacant for such an extended period, especially as conditions for religious minorities across the globe continue to deteriorate. In remarks made at the National Prayer Breakfast in February, President Obama reiterated U.S. support for international religious freedom as an important foreign policy priority and said that he "looked forward" to nominating the next international religious freedom ambassador. Nearly five months later, many groups saw the continued lack of a nomination as a clear signal that promoting religious freedom abroad was not a serious priority of the administration.   The White House nomination will coincide with the release of the State Department's annual International Religious Freedom report documenting abuses towards religious groups and restrictions on religious liberty in dozens of nations around the world. According to a 2012 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public life, 74 percent of the world's population lives in countries with "high or very high" social hostility towards religion. Rabbi Saperstein will be the first non-Christian nominated for the position, which was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and has been filled by three previous ambassadors. ICC's Advocacy Director, Isaac Six, said, "While we are extraordinarily relieved to hear that the White House has finally nominated an individual to fill the long-vacant ambassador position, the amount of pressure on the administration that had to be exerted before any action on this position took place is extremely disconcerting. The promotion of religious freedom abroad is not a partisan issue, nor is it a trivial issue. Strong evidence indicates that religious freedom is a key element in national stability, security, and economic development. Millions around the world live without this fundamental human right, and the United States has a responsibility to promote this freedom at all times, but especially when it is violently threatened. Our hope is that this nomination will become a turning point for the United States and for the millions of persecuted individuals overseas as the administration and the State Department take this opportunity to put international religious freedom back at the top of the foreign policy agenda."    For interviews, contact Isaac Six, Advocacy Director:  Advocacy@persecution.org  # # #

You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference International Christian Concern (ICC) and include our web address, www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington D.C.-based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.

Meriam Ibrahim is finally free

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Meriam Yahia Ibrahim, a 27-year-old mother of two and wife to an American citizen sentenced to death by a Sudanese court in May for her Christian faith, was cleared for travel late Wednesday and is now safely in Italy with her family. Thursday morning-accompanied by Italy's Deputy Foreign Minister Lapo Pistelli-Meriam, her husband Daniel Wani, and two children, Martin and Maya, deplaned at Rome's Ciampino airport. News of the Ibrahims' departure was leaked to the media by way of a text message released by an unnamed Italian official, which read, "Meriam, the young Christian woman held in Khartoum after being condemned to death for apostasy, should be arriving in Italy on a government flight." The text was later followed by Deputy Minister Pistelli's exuberant Facebook post: "Mission accomplished." According to the Daily Telegraph, Meriam "was released after intense diplomatic negotiations from the Italian government and the Vatican ended an ordeal that lasted almost a year." Though, NBC has stated that "it was not immediately clear how or why her flight to Italy was secured." Following her release from a three-day detention after having been arrested at Khartoum airport-just one day after her June 23 court-ordered release and acquittal-for allegedly forging documents and providing false information when trying to leave the country, Meriam and her family had been provided refuge by the United States government. The family's departure from Sudan-a U.S.-designated Country of Particular Concern for"systematic, ongoing and egregious religious freedom violations" since 1999-followed a hearing by the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, Wednesday afternoon, during which ranking member Representative Karen Bass (D) (CA-37) stated her "understanding that [Meriam's] case was going to be resolved very soon." Cameron Thomas, ICC's Regional Manager for Africa, said, "Last night, after a nearly year-long struggle, hundreds of thousands of prayers, millions of signatures, and countless hours of advocacy and diplomatic efforts came to pass: Meriam Ibrahim has been released, and she, her husband Daniel, and two children, Martin and Maya, now safe in Rome, are one step closer to a life together, free from persecution for exercising their right to freedom of religion. While celebration is in order, remembrance must be given to the many tens of thousands of others still suffering for their Christian faith under a Sudanese regime bent on establishing a 'purely Islamic' society, by any and all means." For interviews, contact Cameron Thomas, Regional Manager for Africa:  RM-Africa@persecution.org  # # #

You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference International Christian Concern (ICC) and include our web address, www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington D.C.-based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.

#BringBackOurGirls Rallies

International Christian Concern (ICC) applauds rallies that will be taking place in Washington, D.C., New York and Los Angeles today, July 23, and Thursday, July 24, in support of the immediate and unconditional release and return of more than 240 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram, a radical Islamic insurgency, 100 days ago. On the night of April 14, hundreds of Boko Haram militants, disguised as members of the Nigerian military, raided the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, a small village in Nigeria's increasingly lawless northeastern state of Borno. After sezing control of the compound, Boko Haram hand selected more than 300 girls, who were then loaded into the backs of military-grade trucks and driven to Boko Haram camps hidden in the Sambisa Forest, near the western shore of Lake Chad. While more than 50 of the original abductees have successfully escaped, many on the night of the mass-abduction, it is belived that more than 240 remain in captivity. Of the girls selected, 90% are professed Christians, according to a list compiled by the Christian Association of Nigeria and Nigerian Security forces. Since the night of the mass-abduction, a series of propaganda videos released by Boko Haram have confirmed that some of those abducted have been sold as child brides to their militant captors for as little as $12 USD and/or forcefully converted to Islam. Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram's current leader, has also communicated with the Nigerian federal government by way of these propaganda videos, pledging only to release and return those still captive in exchange for imprisoned Boko Haram militants. The federal government has repeatedly refused to initiate a prisoner exchange for the girls' release and return. In Washington, D.C., human rights and religious freedom activists, international non-profit managers, concerned citizens, and Nigerian-Americans will meet in front of the Nigerian Embassy from 12:00-2:00 pm EDT. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D) (TX-18), while unable to attend, has stated her intention to read a statement in solidarity with those gathered. The keynote speaker for the event will be the first certified medical doctor from northern Nigeria. In an email to ICC, Emmanuel Ogebe of the Jubilee Campaign - the primary organizer for Thursday's event-said, "We are priviledged to have as guest speaker from Nigeria, the first female medical doctor from northern Nigeria who will be speaking about her courageous path to education and the new challenges and trials facing young Christian girls in northern Nigeria who strive to follow in her footsteps. Join us to keep hope alive." In Los Angeles' Holmby Park, A World at School, an international campaign with offices in London, New York, Los Angeles and Washington, DC that works to meet the Millennium Development Corporation's goal of enrolling every child on earth in school, will be hosting a rally to send messages of support to the parents of those abducted. According to the event's official page, attendees "will 'light' [their] phones with red candle images, send messages to the Chibok families and community, and take pictures with [their] messages to share them on social media." In New York, NY, a candlelight vigil will be held in front of the Nigerian Consulate from 5:30-8:30 pm EDT to honor "the 200+ school girls that were kidnapped and are still in captivity." Attendees have been asked to "wear red and bring hand-made signs, if possible." Details for the events have been listed below: New York 100 Day Vigil Los Angeles 100 Day Vigil 100 Days of Captivity Rally 828 2nd Ave 601 Club View Dr 3519 International Ct NW New York, NY 10017 Los Angeles, CA 90024 Washington, DC 20008 5:30-8:30 pm EDT 6:00 pm PDT 12:00-2:00 pm EDT Wednesday, July 23 Wednesday, July 23 Thursday, July 24 Cameron Thomas, ICC's Regional Manager for Africa, said, "The fact that more than 240 girls were not only abducted en-mass for their Christian faith, but have been deprived of their education, sold into domestic and sexual slavery and forced to wear the traditional dress and recite the scriptures of a religion to which they do not subscribe is abominable. While international support has been extended to Nigeria in its efforts to locate and return those abducted is appreciated and should be applauded, more clearly must be done. For 100 days, more than 240 schoolgirls between the ages of 15 and 18 have been subjected to the elements of the African rain forest, deprived of all privacy, isolated from their families, communities, and churches, and threatened with sexual slavery and violence. Boko Haram's possession of these girls and their futures must come to an end, now."

For interviews, contact Cameron Thomas, Regional Manager for Africa:  RM-Africa@persecution.org

100 days since Chibok girls were kidnapped

It's been 100 days since more than 300 predominantly Christian schoolgirls, lodged in the backs of military-grade trucks, were ferried off in what has become a global nightmare. The following morning, pierced by the wails of devastated mothers, the world was forced to acknowledge an evil it thought able to be relegated to the depths of the African rain forest. On a scale that had not yet been seen, displaying a capacity to inflict terror that had not yet been appreciated, Boko Haram committed the unconscionable crime that will ultimately see to its end: the mass-abduction of Nigeria's Chibok girls. Much has passed in the months since the April 14 raid on the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, a small village in northeast Nigeria's Borno State. From the building of an international coalition for the girls' location, release and safe return, to the deployment of U.S. law enforcement and military personnel, to accusations of government incompetence, and worse still, corruption playing a role in the girls uninterrupted captivity. Protests in cities and capitals around the world have voiced outrage over not just Boko Haram's heinous act, but the Nigerian government's inability thus far to return those abducted to their families, friends and community. For weeks, social media platforms were dominated by the hashtag, #BringBackOurGirls. The demand that our girls-the Chibok girls-be returned manifested itself in handwritten notes photographed by thousands, from famed Nigerian athletes to First Lady Michelle Obama, in protest selfies plastered to Facebook timelines and Twitter feeds. Political pundits and human rights activists alike began a smear campaign against what they termed "slacktivism," or slack-activism, arguing that tweeting didn't equate helping. The backlash opened the doors for widespread accusations of using the girls' plight for political expedient purposes. Neo-anti colonialists added their voice to the ring, blasting non-Nigerian nationals for intentionally (or otherwise) advocating an expansion of U.S. and other military operations across the African continent on the basis of humanitarianism. And in response to all this international fervor, the Jonathan administration has called for greater international support, hired a U.S.-based public relations firm to brighten the governing party's image in the less-than-favorable spotlight, and even placed a billion dollar loan request before its National Assembly to better equip the Nigerian military in its fight against terrorism. And so, while more than 240 predominantly Christian schoolgirls wait-deep in the Sambisa forest-to be rescued from being forcefully converted to Islam and sold into sexual slavery, the international spotlight has shifted from these poor girls' plight to debates over governmental response, "slacktivism," and the colonial nature of intervention. On the 100th day of their captivity, the focus needs to be returned to the Chibok girls, their families, and the persecutory motive behind their deplorable abduction, forceful conversion, and sale-at Allah's instruction-"on the market" into lifetimes of domestic abuse and rape. Their lamps lit, books open, and pencils left dulled by the unfinished sentences of incomplete exams, more than 300 girls found themselves assembled in their school's courtyard on the night of April 14. What just hours ago had been a place reserved for reading under the African sun, playing games, and even disseminating the latest gossip between classes, was now a sorting ground, where-lined up before their captors-abductees were handpicked, one-by-one. The midnight excursion, which lasted about as long as the four-hour raid and selection process, drew the girls deeper and deeper into a forest they had always feared. The Sambisa has always a held mystique over its human neighbors, who for centuries have passed down oral legacies, mythical in nature, of the deep and brooding powers of the darkness beyond the trees. And while the myths may still be legend, each of the girls tucked into the backs of those trucks that night would become well-acquainted with the darkness of which their ancestors had warned. Unloaded from the trucks, likely into a number of separate camps, the girls have since been subjected to the elements, left prey to predators and disease, and constantly watched over by the flinted eyes of militants steeled by the barrels of their AK-47s, rusting in the jungle's humidity. Privacy no longer a privilege, freedom but a distant memory, the girls waited days, then weeks, and now months for their rescue. They've watched friends be sold as child brides for as little $12 USD, been filmed while begging their president for his support, and forced to recite scriptures not their own while wearing the traditional dress of a religion to which they do not subscribe. They've seen their captors flee the forest, driven mad by the drum of the frogs' deep-throated croaks, the cacophony of the baboons' distant cries, and constant buzz of critters and flies. They've served as the backdrop to terror propaganda videos and shaped in absentia an impending Nigerian election. They've set the tone for international human rights rhetoric and been inducted into the written record of global governance. And yet, they haven't been rescued. And their majority Christian faith hasn't been recognized as the motivation for their capture. Despite more than 90 percent of the identified abductees having professed Christianity, the claimed cause for their abduction has been their educational pursuit or gender. And while the fact that they've been torn from their studies and subjected to domestic and sexual slavery should be condemned totally, the fact that they were systematically targeted for their faith should be condemned as well. The global bodies of believers need to be made aware this day, their 100th day of captivity, that these are sisters in Christ who are languishing for their Savior, and who need the international Church to stand up, speak out and demand their immediate and unconditional release and return. For interviews, contact Cameron Thomas, Regional Manager for Africa:  RM-Africa@persecution.org # # #

You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference International Christian Concern (ICC) and include our web address, www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington D.C.-based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.

Christians severely injured in China while guarding cross

At 3:00 a.m. (Beijing time) on July 21, 2014, during the 32nd night vigil of Christians guarding their church cross, around 400 police officers attempted to forcibly remove the church cross of ShuiTou Salvation Church in Pingyang, Wenzhou City. Police beat Christians with iron batons, severely injuring at least four. Bloody pictures and videos of riots from the incident are circulating on China's social network. Local Christians reported that 1,000 Christians formed a human blockade and guarded the church, and that even though the police retreated after a one-hour attack, the Christians remain ready for continuous attacks from the government. Continuous Cross Demolition and Harassment The ongoing anti-church campaign in Zhejiang Province has seen over 360 churches completely or partially demolished under the guise of "removing or modifying illegal constructions." In a news release, International Christian Concern (ICC) reported, and later the New York Timescorroborated, that religious buildings have been targeted at the exclusion of all others. Since 9:00 p.m. on July 20, police started to harass churches close to ShuiTou Salvation Church in Pingyang County, Wenzhou City. At 3:00 a.m. the next day, the police suddenly concentrated its force to attack ShuiTou Salvation Church itself. A local contact told ICC that while it was unclear how many Christians were injured, at least four were severely injured, two of whom were transferred to the First Provincial Wenzhou Hospital of Zhejiang. "We will continue to guard our church cross to the end," a local co-worker of Pingyang County."We divide people into two groups and take turns to guard the church through the night." ICC heard from local Christians that local government officials are even "competing" to be the champion of removing church crosses, for the purpose of bolstering their own political careers."Guarding the church cross that is not against any law, Christians are publicly harassed by government officials," said a local Christian. Ready to Sacrifice for Faith, Like the Three Friends of Daniel Faced with repeated injustice from the Chinese government's massive anti-church campaign for months, three Christians, Zhan Yingsheng, Zhang Zhi, and Ye Wanjing, issued three public letters on July 16 with farewell notes, claiming that they are ready to die for their faith if necessary. Ye Wanjing wrote: "I am not going to die for the physical cross on my church and, to be honest, I rarely paid attention to the physical cross on the top of the building. However, faced with injustice, my conscious of being a Christian pressured me to do my responsibility. I hope to learn more about Jesus Christ's calling of 'die to myself.'" "My heart is bleeding when I see hundreds of church crosses fall one by one in Zhejiang Province," Ye Wanjing wrote. "Facing the fierce attack, my co-workers and I do not have confidence that we are able to guard the church cross from being demolished; as an individual, I pray that the Lord gives me the will to be a martyr." "I have packed clothes and toiletries, ready to go to prison anytime," Zhang Zhi wrote in the public letter. "I have told my wife and parents. Even though they are worried, they understand." ICC's Regional Manager for Southeast Asia, Sooyoung Kim, said, "Zhejiang provincial authorities have carefully planned and carried out their systematic attack against Christianity and churches. We call on the government of China in the strongest possible terms to immediately stop the anti-church campaign that hurts its own people's heart. The world needs a peaceful China that respects human dignity and freedom of religions." For interviews, contact Sooyoung Kim, Regional Manager for Southeast Asia:  RM-SEAsia@persecution.org # # #

You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference ICC (International Christian Concern) and include our web address, www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.

Persecution by ISIS intensifies in Iraq

Facing the promise of execution if they do not embrace Islam or pay tribute for being Christians, the remaining Christians in Mosul, Iraq fled before the deadline of noon on Saturday, July 19. The aim of the militant group ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham, now shortened to Islamic State) to create an Islamic state emptied of all Christians has moved closer to a reality. "Nothing for Them But the Sword" In the last week, ISIS began marking Christian homes throughout the city. The Arabic letter "N," standing for the Arabic word "Nasrani," a name for Christians, was painted on Christians' homes around Mosul, the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) reports. "We do not know what will happen in future days," Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako said.  "It is clear that the result of all this discrimination legally enforced will be the very dangerous elimination of the possibility of co-existence between majorities and minorities," he lamented.  Patriarch Sako's fears would be quickly realized. On Friday, July 18, an 1,800-year-old church was set aflame, even as the remaining Christians attempted to evacuate the city before the deadline set for them to flee or face death expired. On Thursday, July 17, ISIS  released a statement in Mosul laying out the only three options for Christians who had remained in the city following its takeover last month. Below is an excerpt of the statement, translated by AINA, which was said to come from the "Office of the Judiciary" of the Islamic State: "It was decided to offer them one of the three: 1. Islam (to become Muslim). 2. Pay Jizya (which is taking tribute for being Christians). 3. If they refuse, there is nothing for them but the sword. The Prince of the Faithful Caliph Ibrahim -- God Glorify him -- will allow them to evacuate themselves only from the borders of the state Alkhalafah by Saturday, Ramadan 21, 1435 [July 19, 2014] noon hour, and after this date, the only thing between us and them is the sword." The deadline was reportedly set by Caliph Ibrahim, the title claimed by ISIS' leader  Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi when declaring the restoration of the Islamic Caliphate. The offer of "Islam, tribute, or sword" was the same offer that ISIS made in  Raqqa, Syria, a city that has now become its base of operations. ISIS controls a large swath of territory across northern Syria and into Iraq. They are moving to set up an Islamic state and driving out all Christians, along with Shi'a Muslims, and other religious minorities. Mosul Emptied of Its Christians According to Tera Dahl, writing from Erbil, "The last Christian reportedly left Iraq's second largest city of Mosul at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, ending over 6,000 years of Assyrian history in the city. Assyrians have lived in Mosul for over 6,000 years, converting to Christianity over 2,000 years ago. This all came to an end on Saturday, when the last Assyrian Christian left the city." The Christians who fled said that under ISIS they were being forced to comply with puritanical laws that were now causing many Muslims, who had stayed, to try to leave. "It is like the Taliban in Afghanistan," one Mosul resident said. "Christian families are on their way to Dohuk and Arbil [in Kurdistan]. For the first time in the history of Iraq, Mosul is now empty of Christians," Patriarch Sako said in an interview. As hundreds of families were trying to flee before the deadline, ISIS reportedly set up checkpoints and was robbing them of their possessions, AINA reported. "ISIS took money from the Assyrians, as well as cars, cell phones, food, money, gold, fake jewelry, electronic items and even medicines. Over 85 families who had fled Baghdede (Qarawosh/Hamdaniya) reported being robbed of all of their possessions." Dispossessed of their cars, hundreds of Christians were forced to continue their march of nearly 50 miles on foot. This latest stream of refugees joins the hundreds of thousands who fled whenISIS first took Mosul in early June. "It looks like the history is repeating itself when in June 1941 in Baghdad, Iraq thousands of innocent prosperous Iraqi Jews were dispossessed and fully stripped from their belongings and properties and then attacked by the Arab Islamists,' Joseph Kessab, president of Iraqi Christians and Advocacy and Empowerment Institute (ICAE) told ICC. "Now the ISIS Islamists are doing just that to thousands of Christians in Mosul, where they are asked to convert to Islam or face the sword, or they are forced to flee with only some clothes on their backs while their churches are burned and their monasteries attacked and seized," Kessab continued.   What will be the Response? As the world witnesses the mass exodus of Mosul's Christian population, adding to the nearly one million Christians who have already left Iraq, some are labeling it "a Christian version of the Holocaust and nothing less." United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon issued a statement strongly condemning the persecution of religious minorities. "Any systematic attack on the civilian population, or segments of the civilian population, because of their ethnic background, religious beliefs or faith may constitute a crime against humanity, for which those responsible must be held accountable," Moon said. The U.S. State Department also condemned the persecution of Christians in a statement released on Friday. "We are outraged by ISIL's recent announcement that Christians in Mosul must either convert, pay a tax, leave, or face execution in the coming days. [...] It should be clear that ISIL is not only a threat to the stability of Iraq, but a threat to the entire region." While there have been statements of support for the Iraqi people and condemnation of ISIS, no clear plan of action has been outlined. The first steps are being taken to secure the immediate needs of the thousands displaced from their homes, but as for the future of Iraq's Christian community, that is entirely unclear.

For interviews, contact Todd Daniels, Regional Manager for the Middle East:  RM-ME@persecution.org # # # ICC has launched a campaign to provide aid to the Iraqi church to assist those in need who have fled from the attacks. Go here to find out more and donate: Iraqi Crisis Response