PC Exclusive: We speak with MP David Sweet @ the James 2:8 Benefit

It was really great to have a couple of the best Member Parliaments our government has with us at our benefit. MP David Sweet (Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale) and MP Harold Albrecht (Kitchener-Conestoga) honoured us with their presence and support last November. We had the opportunity to speak with MP Sweet regarding some of the steps that Canada's federal government is taking to support persecuted religious minorities around the world.

Here is part of the interview transcript:

Phoebe Samuel: We are so honoured to have you here, and I would like to ask you -- how can the Canadian government help endeavors like Love Thy Neighbour International's-- to help the persecuted and marginalized Christians in Pakistan?

MP Sweet: In Pakistan and really there's Christian minorities all over the world that are being persecuted --so there's a lot of ways that the Canadian government can help and individual parliamentarians like myself  can help. One of them obviously is through CIDA and through the grants that we give through CIDA to non-governmental organizations that have specific qualifications. One of the ways is through the new Office of Religious Freedom to make sure that we're speaking out and that people know exactly how we feel --that we continually tell them --that human rights need to be an important part of the agenda of every government-- and they need to, no matter what the situation is they need to continue to get better at that and of course human rights and religious freedom go hand in hand. And individual parliamentarians like myself --I sit on the sub-committee for human rights, and we continue to look at countries who are human rights abusers and try to do what we can to speak out and let them know that other countries are watching and that they should get their house in order.

Phoebe Samuel: I'm glad that this government is making a clear effort, specifically with the idea of the Office of Religious Freedom. We have been hearing about it for nearly two years now, I hope it will come to fruition.

MP Sweet: Oh it'll come to fruition, I think that starting a new Office of any kind is significant --not only do we want to have the right person who is involved as the Ambassador or whatever the title is going to be; but also make sure that the Office is structured appropriately so it can be effective. When you do something new you want to do it right the first time out, and so I think the extra time is a caution that's needed to make sure that we build it in a way that's going to be sustainable and going to make it have the impact that we want it to have as well.

Phoebe Samuel: We are proud of our Prime Minister--

MP Sweet: So am I!

Phoebe Samuel: --and our Conservative government; that they really have a heart to help those that are being persecuted all over the world from any religion, and we really thank you for all these things and more --for standing up for Israel, for standing against violence.
MP Sweet: Well thank you, and yes you are right there are religious minorities all over the world that are being persecuted but the ones that are at the top --with the most numbers are the Christian minorities.

Phoebe Samuel: Absolutely, we agree with you 100%. So as Christians we need to support those people.

PC Exclusive: Michael Coren @ LTNI's James 2:8 Benefit - November 30, 2012

Michael's speech was no doubt controversial, no doubt brutally honest --and no doubt VERY necessary. It's time Canada stops hiding their heads in the sand like a bunch of pathetic ostriches.

Jason Kenney: Apparently the Most Courageous Man in Canada

MAKE SURE TO VOTE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE (FOUND HERE) TO SHARE YOUR SUPPORT OF CHRISTIANS IN THE MIDDLE EAST.

Sometimes silence isn’t so much golden as deadly. Just ask Christians living in the troubled Middle East.

Their world will be a very dangerous place in 2013 as believers face being wiped out of their “biblical heartlands” because of mounting persecution by militant Islam, according to a new report by the U.K. think tank Civitas.

It warns that Christians suffer greater hostility in the Middle East than any other religious group on the planet while the world wilfully ignores their plight.

And it claims the clear majority of politicians have been “blind” to the extent of violence faced by Christians there as well as Africa and Asia, although Canada provides the honourable exceptions to the rule.

Put simply, modern Christianity is a persecuted, not persecuting, religion.

The report, titled Christianophobia, was written by journalist and Blackfriars Hall, Oxford visiting fellow Rupert Shortt.

He says that oppression in Muslim countries is often ignored and left unremarked because of fears that any criticism will be denounced as “racism”.

Shortt warns that converts from Islam face being killed in Saudi Arabia, Mauritania and Iran on a daily basis and risk severe penalties in other countries like Nigeria for the simple act of following their chosen faith.

Local opponents, for example, deem Christian churches and their worshippers in places as far apart as Indonesia and Egypt, as fair targets.

“Exposing and combating the problem ought in my view to be political priorities across large areas of the world,” Shortt wrote. “That this is not the case tells us much about a questionable hierarchy of victimhood.

“The blind spot displayed by governments and other influential players is causing them to squander a broader opportunity. Religious freedom is the canary in the mine for human rights generally.”

Shortt’s report surveys in detail the extent of Christian persecution in seven countries — Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Nigeria, Burma, China and India.

The “lion’s share” of persecution faced by Christians arises in those countries with Islam as the dominant faith, the report says. It cites estimates that between a half and two-thirds of Christians in the Middle East have left the region or been killed in the past century.

“There is now a serious risk that Christianity will disappear from its biblical heartlands,” Shortt claims before offering Iraq as an example.

In 1990 there were between 1.2 to 1.4 million Christians in Iraq. By 2003, there were only around half a million. Today there are less than 200,000.

Canada’s immigration minister, Jason Kenney, agrees that it is better to speak than remain silent. He is one of the few politicians with a voice on the world stage willing to address the matter of Christian persecution, despite the fact that saying it has become an almost defiant, politically incorrect act in itself.

In April 2012, he noted a disturbing global trend that blames the actions of Christians in the past for the present persecution.

“In our tolerant society, too many are saying that Christians are getting what’s coming to them,” Kenney said. “This is a new form of blood libel. It must be repudiated at every opportunity. There are more Christians persecuted around the world than any other group by orders of magnitude.”

In November, Kenney personally attended the Enthronement of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, now the 118th Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and spoke of the troubles faced by Christians in the region.

“This enthronement... occurs in a much-changed world since the last. Coptic Christians, the largest Christian minority in the Middle East, have recently been victims of escalating persecution and violence. Pope Tawadros now takes on the responsibility of guiding and protecting the Coptic Church in the midst of these difficulties,” Kenney said.

Nader Fawzy for one applauds Canada’s often-lone voice in speaking up for persecuted Christians. He personally knows what his fellow believers face on an almost daily basis.

The Cairo-born Toronto resident is one of seven Egyptian Coptic Christians sentenced to death in absentia last November for their alleged part in making an anti-Islam film that sparked uproar across the Muslim world.

The father of three first learned in September that the Egyptian government held him partly responsible for the video lampooning the Prophet Mohammed.

Fawzy denies the charge and says his only crime is to be a Christian critic of what he calls the “corrupt, lawless rulers of Egypt.”

“Canada is renowned around the world for its fairness and providing sanctuary to people from oppressed countries,” Fawzy said. “I think it shows good leadership by Canada to speak against those who would kill Christians, no matter who is upset in the process.

“Silence is not an option when it comes to saving lives.”

The Fresh Wounds of Christmastime in Pakistan

Police has not arrested Muslim attackers but twisting incident in communal riots.

SHAMIM MASIH, PAKISTAN

ISLAMABAD: Christmas traditionally means carol singing, new clothes, and celebrations; unfortunately for Pakistani Christians things have become much more difficult since the blasphemy laws are hanging like a sward on the neck. Its misused is clearly seen in Rimsha’s case in Islamabad. Christians living in the same neighborhood say they are facing a bleak and joyless Christmas, crushed b poverty and harassed by Muslims.

It’s not far away, in Iqbal Town, Islamabad (few miles away on Islamabad Express way), Muslim mob attacked Christians going for Christmas service on Christmas day.

It was daylight, in Iqbal Town, Islamabad, on December 25, 2012, when Christian worshipers were coming out of churches after performing Christmas prayers, Muslim extremists equipped with automatic rifles, pistols and sticks attacked the Christian women, children and men.

Asharaf Masih, when running to save his life was hit with bullet in his leg, Iqbal Masih received bullet injuries in his leg and arm, Shahzad Masih was injured fell on the ground and was beaten with iron rod mercilessly by mob, Yousaf Masif was seriously injured while many others women, men and children received injuries.

The mob broke their gates and entered into their houses and was firing for an hour. The Christian locked their houses and saved their life, when police arrived. The police arrived on scene to maintain law and order and arrested two men name Mohammad Khalid and Riasat Satti and sent injured Christians for medico-legal in hospital. 

The case under Section 452, 109, 324,148,149 PPC was registered in First Information Report (FIR) number 669/2012, in Shahzad Town PS against 25 unknown and 4 nominated Muslim attackers but police released one nominated arrested accused Mohammad Riasat Satti same evening of December 25, 2012 and rest of them are wondering in the same streets. This is alarming situation for the Christian residents.
The tension was high all over Pakistan and special security arrangements were adopted by government after a religious decree of one Muslim cleric against celebrations of Christmas and participation of Muslims in it.

Pakistani Christian so called political leadership, National Harmony Minister Dr. Paul Bhatti and State Minister Akram Gill were also busy in photo shoots with high ranking officials and Shahzad Town Police Station officials are not arresting Muslim attackers but twisting incident in communal riots. None of them has reached to these Christians so far.

We reached there to negotiate with administration to stress on the arrest the rest of the attackers, remove blockades and security of life from further attacks of Muslim mob.

The news of this attack on Christians on Christmas Day was intentionally blocked by media and administration of capital city Islamabad.