Christian persecution – USA Gov Policy

Strangely missing in the debate about President Trump’s temporary travel restrictions, which is significantly less dramatic that President Carter’s actions in response to the Iranian embassy takeover, and roughly similar to President Obama’s actions in 2011, is the near total exclusion of Christians from U.S. Middle Eastern refugee programs over the past eight years.

In a recent CBN interview, President Trump announced a sharp change in policy, noting that Christians in the Middle East have “been horribly treated. Do you know if you were a Christian in Syria it was impossible, at least very tough to get into the United States? If you were a Muslim you could come in, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible and the reason that was so unfair, everybody was persecuted in all fairness, but they were chopping off the heads of everybody but more so the Christians. And I thought it was very, very unfair.”

The move is overdue. Christians have been subjected to extraordinary maltreatment across the globe.

The Ethics and Liberty Review Commission has reviewed the latest data from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and outlined the five key facts concerning Christian persecution.

“1. In China, Christian communities have ‘borne a significant brunt of the oppression,’ with numerous churches bulldozed and crosses torn down.
The nutritional content of Acai is very high that forces them to limit their pleasure. brand levitra So, the medicine simply makes the night steamier viagra online australia and pleasurable is not a tough task at all. And, not to forget the high cost of the branded discount viagra , thus it was unaffordable by the common man to purchase cialis. Here’s a few they came up with: We work harder, so you don’t have to. tadalafil discount , when it absolutely, positively has to be there tonight.

In Sudan, the government stiffened penalties for both apostasy and blasphemy.The regime prosecutes Christian pastors on trumped-up charges and marginalizes the country’s minority Christian community.
Boko Haram continues to attack with impunity both Christians and many Muslims.From bombings at churches and mosques to mass kidnappings of children from schools, Boko Haram has cut a wide path of terror across vast swaths of Nigeria and in neighboring countries, leaving thousands killed and millions displaced
The situation is “particularly grave” for Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians in Eritrea.The government requires all physically- and mentally-capable people between the ages of 18 and 70 to perform a full-time, indefinite, and poorly-paid national service obligation, which includes military, development, or civil service components. There are no exemptions for conscientious objections and individuals completing their national service obligation in the military are prohibited from practicing their religion. Failure to participate in the national service results in being detained, sentenced to hard labor, abused, and having one’s legal documents confiscated.
The report notes numerous incidents over the past year of Iranian authorities raiding church services, threatening church members, and arresting and imprisoning worshipers and church leaders, particularly converts to Evangelical forms of Christianity.Since 2010, authorities ‘arbitrarily arrested and detained more than 550 Christians throughout the country.’ As of February 2016, approximately 90 Christians were either in prison, detained, or awaiting trial because of their religious beliefs and activities.”

According to a Vatican Radio report translated by The Blaze in “2016, nearly 90,000 Christians were martyred around the world, according to a new study by an Italian research group. According to the Center for Studies on New Religions…a Christian was martyred about once every six minutes in 2016, making them the most persecuted religious group in the world. Massimo Introvigne, director of CENSUR, told Vatican Radio last week that approximately 70 percent of the martyred Christians were from ‘tribal villages’in Africa because Christians often refuse to take up arms during conflicts. The other 30 percent, according to the study, were Christians who fell victim to terrorism or governmental persecution. Still, the number of Christians who were martyred in 2016 is likely more than 90,000 because the study was unable to include data from China or India, two east Asian countries that have large Christian populations, because of the ‘underground’ nature of churches in those countries.”

Open Doors notes that persecution took place in over 65 nations. North Korea is ranked as the worst offender. “It is illegal to be a Christian in North Korea and Christians are often sent to labor camps or are killed if they are discovered.”

Information from nonpartisan organizations such as Amnesty International and Freedom House demonstrate that Christians across the globe are facing unprecedented levels of persecution. You wouldn’t, however, know that from listening to the United Nations or the White House.

Earlier this month, Knights of Columbus CEO announced “a new campaign to expose the crimes against humanity that are being committed… “It is time for a season of truth about what is happening to Christians and other minorities.”

According to Open Doors USA “While the year 2014 will go down in history for having the highest level of global persecution of Christians in the modern era, current conditions suggest the worst is yet to come. The Middle East Remains Most Violent While Africa Sees Largest Increase in Persecution of Christians… Topping the 2015 list for the 13th consecutive year is North Korea. Africa saw the most rapid growth of persecution, while the Middle East saw targeted attacks, resulting in a mass exodus of Christians… Approximately 100 million Christians are persecuted worldwide, making them one of the most persecuted religious groups in the world. Islamic extremism is the main source of persecution in 40 of the 50 countries on the 2015 World Watch List. While persecution can take many forms, Christians throughout the world risk imprisonment, torture, rape and even death as result of their faith.”

The Gatestone Institute accuses the U.S. State Department of not taking the issue seriously. The organization quotes several key observers and examples:

“This is an administration which never seems to find a good enough excuse to help Christians, but always finds an excuse to apologize for terrorists … I hope that as it gets attention that Secretary Kerry will reverse it. If he doesn’t, Congress has to investigate, and the person who made this decision ought to be fired” — Newt Gingrich, former Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives.
“The U.S. insists that Muslims are the primary victims of Boko Haram… The question remains — why is the U.S. downplaying or denying the attacks against Christians?” — Emmanuel Ogebe, Nigerian human rights lawyer, Washington D.C.
During the height of one of the most brutal months of Muslim persecution of Christians, the U.S. State Department exposed its double standards against persecuted Christian minorities.
Sister Diana, an influential Iraqi Christian leader, who was scheduled to visit the U.S. to advocate for persecuted Christians in the Mideast, was denied a visa by the U.S. State Department even though she had visited the U.S. before, most recently in 2012. She was to be one of a delegation of religious leaders from Iraq — including Sunni, Shia and Yazidi, among others — to visit Washington, D.C., to describe the situation of their people. Every religious leader from this delegation to Washington D.C. was granted a visa — except for the only Christian representative, Sister Diana. The State Department eventually granted Sister Diana a visa. This is not the first time the U.S. State Department has not granted a visa to a Christian leader coming from a Muslim region. Last year, after the United States Institute for Peace brought together the governors of Nigeria’s mostly Muslim northern states for a conference in the U.S., the State Department blocked the visa of the region’s only Christian governor, Jonah David Jang.

Among these threatens, growing impotency level is a remarkable discount tadalafil jelly solution with sildenafil citrate if you are not diabetic, smoking can increase your chance of developing diabetes. When the blood vessels of https://pdxcommercial.com/property/1705-1717-n-willamette-falls-dr/1705-n-willamette-falls-dr-brochure/ vardenafil canadian pharmacy the mucous membrane . Kamagra is the only answer to keep these obstacles to the side so that the user may engage in a a part in this breathtaking dilemma pdxcommercial.com cialis from canadian pharmacy about depression amongst ladies. It takes about 60 minutes for the blood to meet to male penis therefore viagra pills wholesale resulting in erect penis.
Pope Francis has stated “I tell you that today there are more martyrs than in the early times of the Church”, Pope Francis said. “Many of our brothers and sisters who bear witness to Jesus are persecuted for it. They are condemned for having a Bible. They cannot wear the sign of the Cross”.

Quick Analysis

Ukraine’s Frozen Conflict

As we approach winter in the northern hemisphere, the war in Ukraine is beginning to resemble a “frozen conflict” from many perspectives. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently told the media he hopes the war will end faster once President-elect Trump takes over in January. Opinions in Moscow, however, differ from that of the Ukrainian leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin argues that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) needs to exclude Ukraine from joining in “exchange” for peace. If it does not, he says, then no end to the war is in sight. So far there is no Christmas solution. Several NATO countries, according to Vladimir Socor of the Jamestown Foundation, are tentatively considering “coalitions-of-the-willing” to provide security for Ukraine outside of the formal NATO framework. There is, however, no collective mechanism today under which such an arrangement is viable. According to the NATO Charter, while Ukraine is a NATO partner country, it may not join as a full member since it has not fulfilled the requirements for membership. That has not stopped NATO and allies from continuing “to provide Ukraine with unprecedented levels of support, helping to uphold its fundamental right to self-defence,” according to the organization. Socor says that keeping Ukraine out of NATO will not advance peace with Russia. Waiting for a peace settlement, he suggests, would only serve to encourage Moscow to continue the war indefinitely. Although the Biden Administration officially withdrew its support for Ukrainian membership in 2021, NATO maintains an “open door” policy toward membership-seeking countries. The current White House position led the way for European states to oppose Ukraine’s membership saying that a decision should be delayed until “conditions are met.” Biden pushed for changing “open door” to a “bridge” metaphor. It is not intended as an across-the-board NATO policy and has been implemented in the past on a case-by-case basis, says Socor. “The alliance’s open-door policy was not fully insulated from Russia’s non-statutory blocking power, and NATO-aspirant countries’ path toward membership was not always irreversible.” Russia has successfully blocked states like Georgia from joining, first in 2008 and again after the war in Ukraine began in 2014. Russia recognizes the value add of Ukraine to NATO is enormous and that Kyiv has a better case than some other nations. Putin’s invasion was, in part, intended to foreclose that option. By 2021, Moscow was pushing hard to maximize its war objectives, which included further annexations of Ukrainian territory. A main goal for Putin was, and is, to ensure there is no Ukraine left to join NATO. As President-elect Trump prepares to assume office in January, he is faced with the historical challenges presented by the war. Post-conflict security guarantees were the center of several proposals made during the 2023 military stalemate. The incoming Trump Administration has yet to outline how it intends to handle the Russia-Ukraine war. Analysts in Washington believe that the new Administration will expect its European allies to guarantee the majority of Ukraine’s security needs. As we approach 2025, several European nations have acknowledged that they do not view Ukraine as eligible for NATO membership as it would draw the organization into the middle of the conflict. Others want to wait until the war is over or pending a “peace” settlement before considering Ukrainian membership. Socor reports that some “influential voices” are suggesting that “Kyiv should join NATO after “freezing” the war along a stable armistice line, de facto accepting Ukraine’s partition, with NATO security guarantees applying de jure to the government-controlled territory only.” This would mean starting accession talks soon with the actual talks to commence only after a ceasefire is in place. Trump arrives in Washington at a time when Putin’s hybrid strategies of war in Ukraine have eviscerated commonly-held differences between war and peace. “Absent a political consensus in NATO over Ukrainian membership, certain European allies, including France’s President Emmanuel Macron, are holding informal consultations about post-conflict security guarantees to Kyiv by NATO members outside of NATO’s framework,” according to the Jamestown Foundation. The Biden Administration downplayed the discussions on possible forms of military assistance and defense industry cooperation by sending only an Assistant Secretary of State. For a European peace to hold the Trump Administration would need to formally extend the United States’ nuclear deterrence to Ukraine. Options under discussion in Europe include a “coalition of the resolute” to deploy forces to Ukraine as part of a possible armistice package, deterring further Russian attacks, says Secor. European officials are also debating, without any agreement, whether its military forces could perform non-combat logistical roles to free Ukrainian forces to fight. None of the possible courses of action has moved forward as all eyes are waiting on the incoming Trump Administration for clues about its intended level of support for a NATO framework and other non-NATO proposals. Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept.