July 30, 2024
“Religious freedom is a defining value of Baptists and advancing it globally is a central missional commitment of the BWA,” BWA General Secretary and CEO Elijah Brown said recently. “At a time when 30% of all BWA Baptists face the reality of war, persecution, and extreme hunger, the need is as great as ever.”
This is the backdrop for the plenary sessions focused on religious freedom during the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) annual meeting in Lagos, Nigeria, in early July.
“Panelists and religious freedom session attendees included Nigerian Baptist leaders, government officials, parliamentarians, and a Muslim leader,” said co-chair André Simão. “We intended for the commission sessions to support ongoing and future advocacy efforts using our international platform with Baptist leaders worldwide to enhance the work of the recently launched Global Freedom Network – Africa, a center for human rights and reconciliation in Nigeria.” Read more here.
USCIRF Welcomes Five New Commissioners and Elects New Chair and Vice Chair
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress with the passage of the IRF Act of 1998 to monitor, analyze, and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion or belief.
Nine USCIRF Commissioners are appointed (three by the President, two by leaders of the President’s party in Congress, and four by the congressional leaders of the party not in the White House) to serve for two years. Commissioners are eligible for reappointment. Read more here.
Trauma Care for Christians During the Manipur Crisis
In the summer of 2023, 21Wilberforce’s Ambassador for the Asia Pacific region updated the 21Wilberforce team about the growing crisis in the northern Indian State of Manipur and the resulting widespread devastation and trauma faced by the local Christian population
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom reported that the ongoing conflict between the state’s majority Hindu community and the Christian population resulted in the direct targeting of religious symbols and places of worship and refuge. In early May 2023, more than 250 churches of different denominations were burned or damaged across the state. It was reported by 21Wilberforce local partners that mobs killed 120 Christians, injured hundreds, burnt or vandalized homes and 130 churches, and caused approximately 50,000 believers to be displaced. Read more here.
“Christians are the new scapegoat in India’s political battles,” said Smita Narula, author of the report and researcher for the Asia division of Human Rights Watch. “Without immediate and decisive action by the government, communal tensions will continue to be exploited for political and economic ends.”
Fighting the Rising Tide of Religious Intolerance in South Asia
While this quote is relevant today, sadly it was written in 1999…25 years ago! This Human Rights Watch report titled “Politics by Other Means: Attacks Against Christians in India”, documented the role of Sangh Parivar organizations and the local media in promoting anti-Christian propaganda, the exploitation of communal differences to mask political and economic motives underlying the attacks, local and state government complicity in the attacks, and the failure of the central government to meet its constitutional and international obligations to protect minorities. Read more here.
Advocate Dispels Myths
Fruitfulness, faithfulness, and vision characterize the persecuted church in many parts of the globe, an advocate for international religious freedom told a Houston-area Baptist church. Wissam al-Saliby, president of the 21Wilberforce human rights organization, spoke at The Woodlands First Baptist Church the Sunday before Independence Day.
Al-saliby sought to dispel some misconceptions about persecuted believers globally. “More often than not, the persecuted church is persecuted because it is flourishing,” he said. Read more here.
Helpful Links:
A recent report documents religious freedom violations in Nigeria. Read an article about the report with comments by 21Wilberforce President Wissam al-Saliby here.
The Baptists Standard recently profiled 21Wilberforce’s new President, Wissam al-Saliby. Read article here.
Two Eritrean Christians mark 7,000 days in prison. Read more here.