Defending Persecuted Christians from Genocide

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ACLJ.org

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May 15, 2015

3 min read

Persecuted Church

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This is the second in a series of posts presenting segments of ACLJ Films’ latest project, “Let My People Go,” which highlights the plight of persecuted Christians across the globe and what the ACLJ is doing to fight the global genocide against the Christian Church.

“I don’t know if people realize how crucial ACLJ was in our life. I believe it was God’s provision that ACLJ had already dealt with legal issues in Iran. They already knew a lot of the legal system, the Iranian system, and the Iranian courts.” – Naghmeh Abedini, Wife of American Pastor Saeed Abedini, in chains for Christ in Iran.

As we fight for Pastor Saeed Abedini on Capitol Hill, at the White House, at the United Nations, and around the globe, we are reminded of the importance of our legal and advocacy work on behalf of persecuted Christians around the world.

We are reminded that we know how to activate our offices in D.C. and around the world in places like Pakistan and Europe to move swiftly to save the lives of Christians like Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani.

Like Imtiaz Masih, a Christian who was falsely accused of killing his Muslim employer’s brother in Sheikhupura, Pakistan.

Like Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese mother who gave birth in chains on death row but is now free and safe in America.

We continue fighting for other persecuted Christians like Christian mother of five Asia Bibi death row in Pakistan for her Christian faith.

With the rise of radical Islam and the rise of ISIS, there is a global genocide against Christians. But we continue to fight back.

ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow continues to be a voice for the persecuted Church. His recent testimony before the U.S. Senate is still making an impact in a lot of different policy areas and becoming a part of the national debate on what to do about this pressing problem.

On Monday, the Senate will vote on an amendment from Sen. James Lankford that adds a provision to the general negotiating objectives outlined in the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) requiring the Administration to take religious freedom into account whenever negotiating trade agreements.  This is in the same vein as Jay’s recommendation to make religious freedom one of the criteria in all international funding and diplomatic considerations.   

This past week, the Senate sent a strong message to Iran and the Obama Administration by unanimously voting in favor of a resolution calling on the Obama Administration to, in the words of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, “use the tools it has in pursuit of what should be a bipartisan goal: securing the release of American citizens being held as hostages by the regime in Iran.”

As the Christian Church faces despair and destruction, we continue to fight for them. There is much work still to do.

The global persecuted Church needs your help. We need your voice.

Stand with us as we stand with our Christian brothers and sisters around the world.

UPDATE: Sen. Lankford's amendment requiring religious freedom to be a criteria when negotiating trade agreements passed unanimously in the Senate on Monday, May 18, 2015.