Christian group in asylum seeker call
ICC Note: One of the ways that Christians in the West can help the persecuted church is to assist them in their requests for asylum when they get to our countries it is sad to see that the United Kingdom s treatment of Christian refugees shows such ignorance of Christianity and the threat of persecution around the world.
7/18/07 United Kingdom (icWales.co.uk) The Home Office was under pressure today to reform the way Christian asylum seekers are treated following complaints about “ludicrous” questioning from immigration officials.
The Evangelical Alliance, one of the most powerful Christian groups in the UK , has said it wants a series of reforms to the way Christian converts seeking asylum on religious grounds are treated by the immigration authorities.
The Alliance has gathered evidence in a report [see the report here] of what it claims is inappropriate questioning, a lack of knowledge about which countries are dangerous for Christian converts and translation problems for such asylum seekers.
The document has been released as campaigners battle to save a 29-year-old Iranian woman and Christian convert named only as Samar from being deported to her home country, where it is feared that she will be stoned to death.
According to the findings of the report, one Christian asylum seeker from Cardiff , Wales , was asked, How do you cook a turkey for Christmas? as evidence of religious conversion.
Other questions have included, Identify the forbidden fruit eaten by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden although it is commonly assumed this is an apple, the Bible does not name the fruit, Name the thieves crucified on either side of Jesus they are not named in the Bible, and What will happen around the world in the second coming?
An Afghan Christian convert was told that he demonstrated a limited knowledge of Christian beliefs when questioned at interview in spite of listing all 12 of the disciples by name.
The only question he could not answer was naming the period before Christmas as Advent.
An Iranian woman convert who had fled her home country to join her husband had her application turned down and was told that the judge in the case did not believe she was Christian.
She was asked questions such as, What does the Christmas tree symbolise? and How many books are in the Bible? [Go To Full Story]
