At last: The Obama State Department has finally and formally acknowledged that ISIS is committing genocide in the Middle East. This follows a unanimous vote (383-0) in the House of Representatives on March 14 to “(declare) the Islamic State is committing genocide against Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East.”
FRC has spoken about this issue for months, even years. FRC President Tony Perkins, FRC Senior Fellow and former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Commission on Human Right Ken Blackwell, the Director of our Center for Religious Liberty, international human rights law expert Travis Weber, J.D., and this author have all called for official U.S. recognition of the fact that ISIS, or “Daesh” as it calls itself, is committing genocide against Christians and other religious groups in the areas where it inflicts itself upon their historic residents.
“Daesh is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control,” said Secretary of State John Kerry today, “including Yezidis, Christians, and Shia Muslims. Daesh is genocidal by self-proclamation, by ideology, and by actions – in what it says, what it believes, and what it does. Daesh is also responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing directed at these same groups and in some cases also against Sunni Muslims, Kurds, and other minorities.”
Genocide is defined as “a crime of intentional destruction of a national, ethnic, racial and religious group, in whole or in part” in the 1948 U.N. Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. That genocide is occurring is undeniable, especially in light of a new, authoritative, 300-page report issued by the Knights of Columbus and In Defense of Christians that documents “over a thousand instances of ISIS’s deliberately massacring, killing, torturing, enslaving, kidnapping, or raping Christians.”
In addition to the atrocities ISIS commits as a matter of routine, earlier this week “Chaldean Catholic bishop Antoine Audo said there were about 1.5 million Christians in the country before the start of the conflict in March 2011. ‘I think now there are maybe 500,000. Two-thirds have left mainly due to the insecurity,’ he told reporters in Geneva. In the embattled northern city of Aleppo, the exodus was even greater, he said, with only around 40,000 of its once 160,000-strong Christian community remaining.”
As Tony Perkins said upon the Administration’s long-overdue recognition of ISIS’s genocidal cruelty, “Now words need to be backed up with actions so that the international community not only speaks with one voice but works to isolate ISIS and those facilitating their reign of terror. Additionally, we call upon Christians to support those non-governmental organizations that are working to provide sanctuary and relief to our brothers and sisters in Christ as well as other religious minorities.”
Tragically, ISIS is a metastasizing entity. In addition to controlling large swaths of Syria and Iraq, ISIS also occupies areas in Nigeria, Afghanistan, and Libya. ISIS’s plans are audacious, nothing less than world conquest.
What steps the Obama Administration now takes will be critical to the defeat of ISIS and the protection of those it has targeted for annihilation. Christians should pray that our President and his national security team act wisely, decisively, and boldly to eradicate ISIS, not just “degrade” it. For the suffering Christians and other religious minorities, time is running out.
Sincerely,
Robert F. Schwarzwalder, Jr.
Senior Vice-President
Family Research Council
P.S. Be sure to join us at noon on April 6th for our forum, “Religious Liberty Around the World: Where Do We Stand as of Spring 2016?” The event will feature remarks by some of the country’s leading advocates for international religious freedom, including former Congressman Frank Wolf (21st Century Wilberforce Initiative), Dr. Thomas Farr (Director of the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University), Tina Ramirez (the Founder and Executive Director of Hardwired Global), and Pervez Rafique (President of Bleeding for Belief, an organization working to stop religious persecution in Pakistan). Join us in person or register, at no charge, to watch online.
Religious Liberty
“Free to Believe” –
- How to stack the deck against Christian teachers expressing their faith at public schools – Bobby Ross, Jr, Get Religion
- Washington Supreme Court will hear case over floral artist’s freedom – Alliance Defending Freedom
International Religious freedom-
- Muslims converting to Christianity in Nigeria, despite brutal persecution – Florence Taylor, Christian Today
- Genocide against Christians in the Middle East - A report submitted to Secretary of State John Kerry by the Knights of Columbus and In Defense of Christians
- U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Denied Visa to India – Suhasini Raj, New York Times
- Freedom of Conscience Essential for Open, Pluralistic, Inclusive Society – Alliance Defending Freedom International
Military Religious Freedom
- Barber refuses to cut transgender Army veteran’s hair, citing religious views – Julie Zauzmer, Washington Post
- Chaplains, the Constitution, and Spiritual Backgrounds - God and Country: Military Religious Freedom and Christian Service
Religious Liberty in the public square
- What If Freedom is Propaganda? - Daniel Briggs, Alliance Defending Freedom Blog
- Believers, Not Judges, Should Decide What Their Religion Teaches - Tiffany Bates and Hans von Spakovsky, The Stream
- Dignity versus Freedom – Peter J. Leithart, First Things
- Court halts discriminatory testing of Sikh Army Captain – Becket Fund
Life
Abortion
- Womb for Improvement in Abortion Law – Tony Perkins’ Washington Update
- Pennsylvania Proves SCOTUS Should Uphold Texas Abortion Safety Standards --Dan Bartkowiak, The Federalist
- Undercover footage undermines abortion advocates’ case in Texas abortion case F. Cartwright Weiland and John D. Colyandrof, Dallas Morning News
- South Dakota Governor Signs Pro-Life Bill Banning Late-Term Abortions After 20 Weeks-- Micaiah Bilger, LifeNews.com
- West Virginia Senate votes to override veto of dismemberment abortion ban—Ben Johnson, LifeSiteNews.com
- Abortion Activists Attack Bill Making Indiana 2nd to Ban Abortions on Babies With Down Syndrome-- Micaiah Bilger, LifeNews.com
- Rep. Diane Black: An open letter to Amy Brenneman on abortion-- Diane Black, FoxNews
- Consider scientific facts of abortion-- State Rep. Steven Holt, The Des Moines Register
- Girls Just Want to be Born – Marie Smith, The Public Discourse
Fetal Pain
- She Survived an Abortion. Now She’s Telling Lawmakers Her Story - Marianna Barillas, The Stream
- Pro-Abortion Study Falsely Claims Unborn Babies Don’t Feel Excruciating Pain in Abortions—Conor Beck, LifeNews.com
Adoption
- Supreme Court reverses Alabama court that denied lesbian woman's adoption – Richard Wolf, USA Today
- Bethany Christian Services to Hold Free On-Line Webinar on International Adoption on March 22 – Bethany Christian Services
Healthcare conscience
- Government exempts 100 million from HHS mandate, but not the Little Sisters – Becket Fund
- Don’t force physicians to act against their conscience - Thomas Cardinal Collins, The Star
- ACLU Attempting to Force Catholic Hospital to Kill Babies in Abortions--Emily Derois, LifeNews.com
Family
Family Economics
- Family Prosperity Index – American Conservative Union
- Top Tax Deductions and Credits If You Have Children or Dependents – Lisa Greene-Lewis, U.S. News and World Report
- Health-Insurance Tax Credits Are "A Financial Mandate" – Michael F. Cannon, FORBES
Marriage
- What Kelly Clarkson Can Teach Us About Fathers—And Marriage – Alysse ElHage, Acculturated
- Single, dating and paying a very high price for it – James Boast, Financial Times
- State legislatures take aim at child marriage – Lisa Suhay, Christian Science Monitor
Human Sexuality (Homosexual/ gender issues)
- The Withering of Vice and the Sexual Revolution – Albert Mohler, Jr., Christian News Headlines
- Georgia Governor Invokes the Bible Against Christian Conscience – Joe Carter, The Gospel Coalition
- Pray Love Heal: A Global Community of Love – Eric Metaxas, Breakpoint
- LGBT Activists to NCAA: No Title IX Waivers to ‘Religious-Based Institutions’ – Dylan Gwinn, Media Research Center
- Major NC Paper Wouldn't Say Sex Offender Backed NC Transgender Bathroom Bill – Katie Yoder, Media Research Center
- Parents Shouldn’t Let Schools Force Kids To Read Smut – Jenni White, The Federalist
Human Trafficking
- To Maintain Supply of Sex Slaves, ISIS Pushes Birth Control—Rukmini Callimachi, New York Times
- Sex trafficking: The horror and the hope – CNN
Pornography
- If You Don’t Believe That Porn Hurts Relationships, You Need to Read My Story - Anonymous, Verily Magazine
- Q+A: The Secret Lives of Teens Online – The Pornification of Social Media – Her.meneutics.com
- Former addict turned pastor agrees: porn is a national public health crisis-- Fr. Mark Hodges, LifeSiteNews.com
Welfare Reform
- New Poll Shows Voters Overwhelmingly Support Welfare Reform – Joe Cunningham, Redstate.com
- How America's Welfare System Hurts the People It's Supposed to Help - Nick Gillespie & Joshua Swain, Reason