Washington DC recently hosted the International Religious Freedom Summit. Representatives from around the world came to speak about the importance of religious freedom. The speakers included many of ACN’s project partners.

By ACN Staff

Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah addresses the IRF Summit via video conference. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) was one of 70 NGOs and 700 representatives to attend the International Religious Freedom Summit at Washington DC between the 13-15 July. The submit featured a variety of international speakers all speaking about the threats posed to religious freedom around the world. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, spoke at the summit about the importance of religious freedom:

“It is the human rights issue of our day…Religion is not merely private—international affairs must be considered through the lens of religious freedom.”

Former US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, was one of the speakers at the event. Speaking in reference to China’s “genocide” against the Muslim Uyghur people in the northwest of China, the former Secretary of State said the following:

Panel at the summit. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)

“Let’s be a wall of steel to protect against oppression.”

China was one of the countries focused on at the conference, both in reference to the specific suppression of the Uyghurs but also in terms of the regimes general repression of religion. The deployment of sophisticated technology to monitor the activities of religious communities in China was also noted. Former Rep. Frank Wolf, architect of the International Religious Freedom Act, condemned businesses and their supporters who wish to gain access to the Chinese markets despite the country’s terrible human rights record.

Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, one of ACN’s Church partners in Iraq, reflected upon the social implications of Christian persecution:

“eventually takes from [victims] their physical properties, their livelihoods, their security, and in the end, their dignity as human beings. Once this dignity is destroyed, the family and all social stability is destroyed with it. … [the] restoration of dignity requires of international interveners and providers of aid something beyond the mere metrics of dollars spent and projects completed. It requires an honest and sincere treatment of affected people with a simple thing—that is, respect for them as human beings.”

Father Joseph Bature Fidelis. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)

Nigeria was high on the summit’s priority list. Religious persecution of Christians is very severe but it is often ignored by international media and Western governments. Father Joseph Bature Fidelis, a psychologist in charge of the Human Resource and Skill Acquisition Centre for Trauma Care in the Diocese of Maiduguri and ACN project partner, made the case for US leadership on the issue. The centre in the Diocese of Maiduguri is funded by ACN. The centre mostly works on helping the recovery and integration of those impacted by the violence of Boko Haram and other Islamist fundamentalists. Fr. Fidelis also questioned the commonly held theory that the increase of violence committed by Fulani Muslim herders against Christian villagers is mostly motivated by competition over land brought about by climate change. Fr. Fidelis said the following:

“What do resources have to do with the kidnapping of women or the burning down of churches?”

Also present from Nigeria was Dr. Gloria Puldu, the president of the Leah Sharibu Foundation. The foundation works for the release of Leah Sharibu, a teenage Christian girl who has been held captive by Boko Haram for four years. Another participant from Nigeria was Joy Bishara, one of the 276 Chibok girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014. Joy managed to escape, but 111 girls are still missing. Bishop Matthew Kukah of Sokoto also spoke at the summit.

The summit also heard the testimonies of survivors and victims of religious hatred and persecution. This included Mariam Ibrahim, a Christian from Sudan. Mariam’s father was Muslim, and her mother was Ethiopian Orthodox. Miriam was raised by her mother and was thus raised as a Christian. She was arrested, accused of apostasy from Islam. She was found guilty and condemned to death. She spent a year in prison before being released. While in prison she was chained to her cell’s floor and there gave birth to her son.

Marcela Szymanski, the editor-in-chief of ACN’s bi-annual report on Religious Freedom in the World, said the following about religious freedom:

“Persecution and discrimination because of one’s faith is one of the primary actions of any group seeking to dominate and oppress whether government or extremist. People who defend their right to search for truth and transcendence, and to live according to their principles are an obstacle to those who want to eliminate pluralism. Those who stop searching are very easy to manipulate.”

The summit will hopefully raise the attention of religious liberty and also the plight of persecuted Christians around the world.

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