Foreign Policy Archives

Anniversary of Yazidi Genocide

Anniversary of Yazidi Genocide I enjoy the algorithm-generated post Facebook hits me with each morning — recycled digital memories of happy times with people I love. It’s my daily scrapbook moment, like pulling the photo album off the shelf for a quick peek at the past.

A memory popped up recently from five years ago. It shows our family gathered to celebrate my youngest daughter’s high school graduation. An assortment of aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents gleefully surrounds my daughter, clothed in cap and gown and a broad smile. It was a good day, a milestone day.

A grimmer memory from five years ago also popped up — this one on my news feeds. It was not a good day, but it was a milestone. August 3rd marks the 5th anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide in Syria and Northern Iraq. Continue reading “Anniversary of Yazidi Genocide”

IRF Ministerial: Day Two Highlights

IRF Ministerial Highlights — Day Two — Recipients of the 2019 International Religious Freedom Award

Schedules were full at Day Two of the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom hosted by the State Department. Participants were divided into one of three tracks:

Track One — Building Blocks for Advancing Religious Freedom
Track Two — Emerging Trends in Religious Freedom
Track Three — Religious Freedom in Development and Humanitarian Assistance

A variety of topics was covered in more than 30 general and breakout sessions. The conversations ranged from how to combat the rise of anti-Semitism, documenting atrocities, and the role of journalism in international religious freedom to the fragmentation of religious minority communities, innovation and technology in global development, and the economic and security benefits of advancing religious freedom. Continue reading “IRF Ministerial: Day Two Highlights”

UPDATE: IRF Ministerial Day One

Secretary Mike Pompeo and Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback kicked off the second annual Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom at the State Department today. Following are some of the notable moments and quotes of the day: Continue reading “UPDATE: IRF Ministerial Day One”

A Fighting Chance against Poverty

Tomorrow is my youngest daughter’s birthday. She turns eight this year. Though I know she dearly loves her dolls, dreams of becoming a lawyer, and her favorite color is yellow, I have never actually met this precious little girl. Maria (not her real name) is my sponsored daughter. My birthday gift to her is a fighting chance against poverty.

Maria lives in one of the poorest nations on earth, in a mud home with dirt floors and few luxuries. Crime and poverty define her town. But Maria is lucky. Each day her belly is full and she has clean water to drink. Medicine keeps her healthy. She wears suitable clothes, and she has a place to go to school. Others are not so fortunate. Continue reading “A Fighting Chance against Poverty”

For Ukraine’s disabled, a wheelchair means dignity

Ukraine is a nation of 44 million people. More than 2.5 million of them have disabilities — 200,000 of those are children. Though the government of Ukraine is required by law to provide its people with mobility aids (wheelchairs, walkers, canes, crutches), few resources are available to meet this need. The result: many citizens live cradle to grave in isolation, segregated from mainstream society and unable to participate in daily activities most of us take for granted. For Ukraine’s disabled, a wheelchair means dignity.

One organization is working to change the status quo. God’s Hidden Treasures (GHT) is a non-profit Christian ministry founded in 1997 by Nita Hanson, a former computer marketing manager from Southern California. “Our mission is to serve the needs of the poor, afflicted, and orphaned of Ukraine and to bring God’s love through personal relationships in the name of Jesus Christ,” says Hanson. Continue reading “For Ukraine’s disabled, a wheelchair means dignity”

ARTICLE: Tis the season…to pray for persecuted believers

In a season punctuated by presents and merrymaking, the hard truths of persecution are a sobering reminder of the work that remains toward promoting and protecting freedom of religion or belief.

Early Rain Covenant Church pastor — Early Rain Covenant pastor criminally detained
[Photo credit: ChinaAid]

By Erin Rodewald // December 18, 2018

(This article originally written for and posted to 21Wilberforce)

For the world’s 2.3 billion Christians, the week ahead marks the culmination of one of the holiest seasons of the year — the anticipation and arrival of the Christ child. Sadly, the advent period has been marred by persecution, as global headlines make clear.

In China, authorities arrested more than 100 leaders and members of the Early Rain Covenant Church in early December. A week later, finding the church building locked, faithful congregants gathered at a nearby park for worship, where police arrested even more members. ChinaAid founder and president Bob Fu says these arrests represent “a major escalation of religious persecution in China.”

Earlier this year, the Xi regime revised its religious regulations, which has resulted in the closure of many unregistered churches throughout China, as well as persistent harassment and mass arrests of the nation’s minority Christian community. Cell phones are monitored, homes are searched, church leaders are followed, and scores have been detained for their beliefs. Among those imprisoned is Pastor Wang Yi, leader of Early Rain, who has declared that the “Communist regime is filled with fear at a church that is no longer afraid of it.” Continue reading “ARTICLE: Tis the season…to pray for persecuted believers”

A Faith Strengthened in the Face of Persecution

“They planned to break us, but God used that time to bless us instead.” A young couple’s story of faith in the face of persecution.

person holding bible with cross — Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

By Erin Rodewald // December 9, 2018

(This article was originally written for 21Wilberforce)

In the early morning hours of Christmas 2010, Iranian government forces arrested scores of Christian home-church leaders in surprise raids around the country. Among those arrested was a newly married couple, Yousef and Rozhin.*

Incarcerated in separate locations, Yousef and Rozhin were repeatedly told by their captors that the other had denounced their faith. In fact, both remained steadfast in their beliefs despite the harsh conditions. On day 23, Rozhin was taken once again to an interrogation room for questioning. This time, when officials removed her blindfold, she saw Yousef seated across from her. In the short time allowed together, the couple cried tears of joy and shared how God had been caring for them while in prison.

“They planned to break us,” says Rozhin of the guards’ strategy for arranging the brief meeting with Yousef. “But God used that time to bless us instead. Because of those few minutes together, we continued stronger than before.” Continue reading “A Faith Strengthened in the Face of Persecution”

ARTICLE: The long wait continues for Asia Bibi

A Christian mother of five may be the first person executed under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.

By Erin Rodewald // October 9, 2018

(This article originally written and posted to 21Wilberforce)

On Monday, a special three-member panel of Pakistan’s Supreme Court heard the final appeal for justice by Asia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death on charges of blasphemy. Following three hours of testimony by Asia’s defense attorney, the panel delayed its verdict indefinitely, again sending Asia back to prison while ordering the media and those present to refrain from discussing the case.

The mother of five already has spent more than eight years in prison, accused of making derogatory remarks against Islam during a 2009 argument with her Muslim co-workers. The argument began when Asia drank water from a communal cup while working in a field alongside the other women — an act that her co-workers charged made the water unclean for them because Asia is a Christian. Continue reading “ARTICLE: The long wait continues for Asia Bibi”

ARTICLE: Coptic Christians shut out of worship

A law in Egypt intended to open doors has served to close them instead as dozens of Coptic Christian churches have been shut down.

minya christians — Egypt’s Coptic Christians are finding it harder to worship despite constitutional guarantees [Photo Credit: Reuters/Middle East Eye]

By Erin Rodewald // September 11, 2018

(This article originally written for and posted to 21Wilberforce)

In Egypt, a law designed to open doors has served to close them instead. Dozens of Coptic Christian churches have been shut down since Law 80/2016, also known as the Church Construction Law, took effect two years ago. The reform measure, required as part of the constitution adopted following the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi in 2014, was intended to secure the right of worship by Copts and other religious minorities. Instead, it has become a driver of sectarian violence.

In late August, while congregants worshiped inside the Virgin Mary and St. Mohrael Coptic Orthodox church in Upper Egypt, an angry Muslim mob gathered outside to protest against the legalization of the church. According to an eyewitness, the crowd tried to break down the front door. The police arrived and dispersed the demonstrators then closed the church building, sealed it, and security forces cordoned off the village streets.

This was the eighth such incident in this particular diocese alone. Churches in other regions throughout Egypt have experienced similar attacks as well, several in the past few weeks. All had filed applications under Law 80/2016 to obtain the necessary permits for registration, renovation, or construction. And that’s when the trouble began.

The tensions associated with the current law are underscored in a report issued by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR): “Typically, Copts in villages submit applications for the construction of a church to official bodies after meeting all the required conditions, but the applications are frozen due to objections from the security apparatus or as a result of incitement from local residents opposed to the construction of a church.” Continue reading “ARTICLE: Coptic Christians shut out of worship”

ARTICLE: Iran’s Christians caught in the crosshairs

: Four pastors are among several Christians recently imprisoned in Iran for promoting their faith [Photo Credit: World Watch Monitor/Article 18]

By Erin Rodewald // August 21, 2018

(This article was originally written for and posted to 21Wilberforce)

As the 40^th anniversary of the Islamic revolution in Iran approaches, there is growing speculation that the aging theocratic regime is on the brink. Since December, tens of thousands of ordinary Iranians have taken to the streets in protest of their government’s hardline policies and failing economic decisions. While the Iran nuclear accord of 2015 infused billions of dollars into Iran’s economy, Tehran’s power elite used that capital to fund foreign adventurism and regional terror rather than help its own citizens.

In May, the U.S. withdrew from the Iran Deal, and last week it reinstated strict sanctions, contributing to the free fall of Iran’s already unstable currency. Even tougher sanctions are on the way in November. Meanwhile, demonstrations across all sectors of Iranian society have grown larger and more insistent, including chants of “death to the dictator.”

“History is in the making in Iran,” writes Dr. Hormoz Shariat, founder of Iran Alive Ministries, a U.S.-based broadcasting network that delivers Christian programming to Iranians via satellite. “We are seeing the end of this regime. I believe we will see a major change in Iran soon and it will be in weeks, months, but not years.” Continue reading “ARTICLE: Iran’s Christians caught in the crosshairs”