Post by Guadalupe on Jul 26, 2014 8:14:14 GMT -5
Christian activists hope the recent focus on religious freedom will continue long after Meriam Ibrahim's exit from Sudan.
Meriam Ibrahim left Sudan for Italy this week en route to the United States. Ibrahim is the Christian wife and mother who was being imprisoned in her native country of Sudan and convicted of adultery and apostasy. The adultery accusation had to do with her marriage to a Christian man, who is also a naturalized U.S. citizen. The apostasy charge was based on claims that Meriam Ibrahim was Muslim because her father, who left the family, was Muslim. Ibrahim was raised by her Christian mother and she denied ever being Muslim.
Todd Nettleton with Voice of the Martyrs says that this case is not a single, isolated incident of persecution and loss of religious freedom for Christians.
Nettleton, Todd (VOM)"I hope the attention stays on religious freedom,” he tells OneNewsNow. “I hope that the media doesn't kind of look at this and say, 'Hey, this was a great story. Now it's over.' Yes, it's over for Meriam Ibrahim and her family, and we celebrate that and we praise the Lord for that. But we know there are other Christians who are still held captive."
That includes Pastor Saeed Abidini, an Iranian-American being held in Iran. North Korea is also holding Christians in custody.
"Then there are the Nigerian schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram,” he says. “There is still work to be done, there are still captives to be set free. And even as we celebrate, we need to remember that and we need to let this victory kind of reignite our motivation to keep working on behalf of those who are still held captive."
Faith J. H. McDonnell is director of the religious liberty program for The Institute on Religion & Democracy. She is thankful for the Christians around the world who pressured government officials and prayed for Ibrahim's release. But like Nettleton, she says those activists and prayer warriors can't stop advocating for others in bondage.
McDonnell, Faith (IRD)"The government of Sudan has wreaked havoc for years," she notes. "And even as we rejoice in Meriam's release [we need] to keep that in mind and also keep in mind all of the people of Sudan who are still suffering."
Having worked with Sudan for some 20 years, McDonnell contends that releasing Ibrahim to Italy was an intentional insult to the U.S. by Sudanese officials.
"We saw a sweet, young woman who was very courageous [in facing a death sentence] –we saw little children and babies – and [we saw] a husband who loves her and is not able to do anything against both the Sudanese government and the uncaringness at times of the U.S. embassy in in Khartoum."
All of that combined, McDonnell points out, sparked international outrage that was further inflamed when the young mother was forced to give birth while in shackles.
- See more at: www.onenewsnow.com/persecution/2014/07/25/sudanese-mother-freed-but-many-others-still-held-captive#.U9Oo9oBdXs4
Meriam Ibrahim left Sudan for Italy this week en route to the United States. Ibrahim is the Christian wife and mother who was being imprisoned in her native country of Sudan and convicted of adultery and apostasy. The adultery accusation had to do with her marriage to a Christian man, who is also a naturalized U.S. citizen. The apostasy charge was based on claims that Meriam Ibrahim was Muslim because her father, who left the family, was Muslim. Ibrahim was raised by her Christian mother and she denied ever being Muslim.
Todd Nettleton with Voice of the Martyrs says that this case is not a single, isolated incident of persecution and loss of religious freedom for Christians.
Nettleton, Todd (VOM)"I hope the attention stays on religious freedom,” he tells OneNewsNow. “I hope that the media doesn't kind of look at this and say, 'Hey, this was a great story. Now it's over.' Yes, it's over for Meriam Ibrahim and her family, and we celebrate that and we praise the Lord for that. But we know there are other Christians who are still held captive."
That includes Pastor Saeed Abidini, an Iranian-American being held in Iran. North Korea is also holding Christians in custody.
"Then there are the Nigerian schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram,” he says. “There is still work to be done, there are still captives to be set free. And even as we celebrate, we need to remember that and we need to let this victory kind of reignite our motivation to keep working on behalf of those who are still held captive."
Faith J. H. McDonnell is director of the religious liberty program for The Institute on Religion & Democracy. She is thankful for the Christians around the world who pressured government officials and prayed for Ibrahim's release. But like Nettleton, she says those activists and prayer warriors can't stop advocating for others in bondage.
McDonnell, Faith (IRD)"The government of Sudan has wreaked havoc for years," she notes. "And even as we rejoice in Meriam's release [we need] to keep that in mind and also keep in mind all of the people of Sudan who are still suffering."
Having worked with Sudan for some 20 years, McDonnell contends that releasing Ibrahim to Italy was an intentional insult to the U.S. by Sudanese officials.
"We saw a sweet, young woman who was very courageous [in facing a death sentence] –we saw little children and babies – and [we saw] a husband who loves her and is not able to do anything against both the Sudanese government and the uncaringness at times of the U.S. embassy in in Khartoum."
All of that combined, McDonnell points out, sparked international outrage that was further inflamed when the young mother was forced to give birth while in shackles.
- See more at: www.onenewsnow.com/persecution/2014/07/25/sudanese-mother-freed-but-many-others-still-held-captive#.U9Oo9oBdXs4