May World Events

New York Monthly Herald. May 2006 Issue. P. 2 Continued from page. 1 Continues on page 3

World News

Record High: More Christians Martyred in Past 100 Years than in all 1900 Prior Years Combined! Don’t Allow One More

Afghan Christian Abdul Rahman has been sentenced to death by Afghanistan. His “crime”: Converting from Islam to Christianity. Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, who is in Washington this week for talks on deepening strategic and economic ties with the United States, callously commented on the pending execution, saying, "I know this is a sensitive issue, and we know the concerns of the American people but the government of Afghanistan has nothing to do with it.” Absolutely incredulous! The foreign minister of U.S.-liberated Afghanistan completely defends the right to execute a Christian. And this is the reason we liberated Afghanistan from the likes of bin Laden? What’s wrong with this picture??? Afghanistan's constitution is based on Islamic Shariah law, which forbids Muslims to convert to any other faith. The Afghan judiciary is considered a bastion of conservative orthodoxy, largely unreformed despite the ouster of the Taliban more than four years ago. Afghan Prosecutor Abdul Wasi told the Associated Press that the capital case against Mr. Rahman would be dropped -- if the defendant would convert back to Islam. Saik". We are Muslims, and becoming a Christian is against our laws. He must get the death penalty." Jim Jacobson, President of Christian Freedom International, an organization dedicated to helping persecuted Christians around the world. revealed startling data that is nearly impossible to believe, including the eye-opening fact that more Christians have been martyred in the past 100 years than in all prior 1900 years combined. Jacobson said: "For those of us who live nearly exclusively on U.S. news reports, we hear virtually nothing about the vast numbers of Christians we who been martyred in the past century and the killing of Christians is rampant today worldwide—with over one million Christians killed in The Sudan alone."

According to The Wall Street Journal, “CFI...specialize[s] in helping fellow believers in the worst places in the world–from war-torn Sudan to the repressive dictatorship of Burma. James Jacobson, a former Reagan administration official who is CFI’s president, is targeted for death by the Burmese and Sudanese governments, according to local Christian leaders.” CFI is currently urging the Department of Homeland Security to allow Christian refugees from Burma asylum and protection in the U.S. DHS bureaucrats are wrongly using vague definitions of “material support” for terrorism in the Patriot to prevent the refugees from resettling to America. Christian Freedom International operates schools and orphanages for Karen and Karenni refugees along the Burma/Thailand border. CFI also distributes medicine and provides medical care to internally displaced persons in Burma.

CALLS FOR PRESIDENT BUSH TO INTERVENE:

The American Family Association (AFA) says over 200,000 of their supporters have emailed President Bush urging him to intervene to save the life of Abdul Rahman. AFA Chairman Donald E. Wildmon said he was disappointed with the statement by Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns who publicly said that the matter was one for the Afghan government and courts to decide. California Rep. Tom Lantos, the ranking Democrat on the House International Relations Committee, demanded a strong official U.S. protest, calling the Rahman prosecution "outrageous" at a time when an international coalition of troops "are dying in defense of the Afghan government."

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said, "Religious freedom is not just 'an important element' of democracy; it is its cornerstone," Mr. Perkins declared. Jacobson, a former White House policy analyst, travels to some of the most dangerous places in the world on behalf of repressed Christians. David R. Sands wrote in The Washington Times: " The Bush administration yesterday appealed to Afghanistan to spare the life of a man facing the death penalty for converting to Christianity, but said the matter was one for the Afghan government and courts to decide. In a case that has sparked international outrage, the remarks of Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns were in sharp contrast to condemnations of the trial by lawmakers and by leading European allies.

Briefing reporters with Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah at his side, Mr. Burns said the U.S. government was watching the case of Abdul Rahman closely, but added, "This case is not in the competence of the United States government. It's under the competence of the Afghan authorities." The Italian Foreign Ministry said Rome will move "at the highest level ... to prevent something which is incompatible with the defense of human rights and fundamental freedoms." Mr. Burns and State Department officials were clearly struggling to condemn the prosecution without causing a major break with a vital U.S. ally. Mr. Burns said the administration would demand "transparency" in the trial and noted that Afghanistan's constitution guarantees freedom of religion for all citizens.

"While we understand the complexity of the case and certainly respect the sovereignty of the Afghan authorities, from an American point of view, people should be free to choose their religion and should not suffer any severe penalties, certainly not death, for having made a personal choice as to what religion to follow," he said.