Christian Advocacy Now

This month we have two actions. We are writing to our senators regarding HR440, a bill which supports religious freedom in countries in the Near East and Central Asia. We are also writing to President Obama to urge him to act on behalf of the family Said Musa, a man who was imprisoned and tortured in Afghanistan and recently released, and whose family remains in Afghanistan and in great danger.

1. Please join us by writing to your state senators:

To address some of the abuses of religious freedom, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) has introduced H.R. 440, a House bill which would create the post of "Special Envoy." According to the bill, its main focus is to have the special envoy promote religious freedom of minorities in countries of the Near East and South Central Asia. We are writing a letter to your Congressman asking him to support and even co-sponsor this bill.

H.R.440 Summary: To provide for the establishment of the Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia. This bill directs the President to appoint a Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia within the Department of State. Bill authorizes the Special Envoy, subject to direction by the President and the Secretary of State, to represent the United States in matters and cases relevant to religious freedom in: (1) contacts with foreign governments, intergovernmental organizations, and specialized agencies of the United Nations (U.N.), the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, and other international organizations; and (2) multilateral conferences and meetings relevant to religious freedom.

From Open Door Press Release: "Open Doors USA supports this bill for a special envoy because these are mostly the same countries in which some of the worst persecution against Christians exists," says Open Doors USA Advocacy Director Lindsay Vessey. "This effort to draw more attention to the lack of religious freedom and to empower the special envoy to take action to improve the situation of persecuted minorities is a much-needed and timely initiative by Congressman Wolf. I applaud his tireless leadership in the promotion of international religious freedom.  "Hopefully, if this bill is passed, the special envoy would increase the profile of religious freedom within the foreign policy establishment. The bottom line is this bill has the potential to significantly benefit suffering Christians worldwide."

The Near East Countries include Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and also the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The South Central Asia countries include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. All of these countries are on the World Watch List’s top 50 except Israel, Lebanon, Nepal and Kazakhstan. Open Doors USA is urging people to let their U.S. Representative know that they support the bill and ask them to co-sponsor it. “Receiving requests from their constituents is incredibly influential in convincing members to support a bill," states Vessey.

Please write to the Congressman that represents where you live!

2. Please also join us by writing to President Obama. The following is a sample letter.

27 February 2011

President Barack Obama

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama:

I was greatly heartened to hear of the release of Said Musa—a Red Cross worker imprisoned and tortured in Afghanistan because of his Christian faith. I am writing to implore you further on behalf of his family still in Afghanistan and still in grave danger. I would ask that you do all in your power to ensure their safety and their emigration from Afghanistan, where they cannot live in peace because of their beliefs.

Beyond this, I would ask that you use the influence of your position in Afghanistan—a country where many Americans have made tremendous sacrifices—to encourage freedom and democracy, especially freedom of religion. Indeed, this should be an active goal of the United States around the world. A good step forward in this effort would be your openness to and support of H.R. 440—the House bill sponsored by Representative Frank Wolf for the purpose of appointing a Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this most important matter.

Yours respectfully,