WAKE UP. SPEAK UP. SAVE PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS.
AN OPEN LETTER FROM GEORGE CHRISTENSEN
The situation for many Christians around the world remains dire.
Intensified persecution places approximately 240 million Christians in existential danger and another 400 million at risk.
Authoritarian regimes that restrict freedom of religion are on the rise, as are other groups that espouse violent ideologies and target Christians.
Not only is there cause for concern about the humanitarian disaster unfolding in some parts of the world, but the persecution of Christians affects the rights of all people and poses a threat to our core values and inevitably our national security.
We must join together and ensure that we defend the freedom to peacefully express the Christian faith, not only for the benefit of all people here and now, but in order to safeguard future generations.
Several things need to occur.
We must unite and raise awareness about the persecution of Christians. Much of this oppression is ignored by the mainstream media in an era of political correctness and the appeasement of certain groups.
We need voices like yours to ensure that those who are suffering are not forgotten. So, I am asking you to talk to your loved ones, your friends and family on social media, connect with supportive organisations, and if you can, engage with the mainstream press.
We also need to convey the importance of this issue to our leaders. We need them to know that there is an opportunity for Australia to address this in an effective and meaningful way.
A good start would be the appointment of an Australian Ambassador for Religious Freedom. The United States and other nations that share our values, have similar appointments.
“We must join together and ensure that we defend the freedom to peacefully express the Christian faith.”
– George Christensen
An Australian Ambassador for Religious Freedom would serve to monitor abuse and violence as a result of religious persecution, harassment, and discrimination worldwide, and recommend, develop, and implement policies and programs to address these ongoing and serious issues.
An Australian Ambassador would also promote universal respect for freedom of religion or belief as a core objective of national and foreign policy.
This would reinforce the unfortunate reality that whilst Christians are primarily persecuted, the proliferation of violence and extremism in any form is a problem for all of us as a community.
So, please consider signing my petition to the Prime Minister calling for the establishment of an Ambassador position in Australia.
Persecuted communities of faith need us to raise our voices.
Yours in faith and hope,
George Christensen
Face the facts
340M+
Christians persecuted
More than 340 million Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith. That’s one in eight Christians worldwide.
Source: Open Doors World Watch List 2021 Report
2.4M+
CHRISTIANS MASSACRED
More than 2.4 million Christians have been killed in the past 20 years, by bombings, shootings, beheadings and more.
Source: Center for the Study of Global Christianity
BIBLE BAN
Throughout ChinA
“Regulations on Religious Affairs”, introduced in April 2018, heavily restricts religious online activity. The Bible is banned from sale online; a new version has been released compatible with the State and socialism. Cash rewards are offered by Chinese officials to informants on underground churches and other places of worship.
Source: Aid to the Church in Need
1330+
Christian ATTACKs IN INDIA
Between 2016 and 2017, attacks on Christians almost doubled to 736 in India. Another 477 were recorded in 2018, and 117 in the first quarter of 2019. Some states have anti-conversion laws. Attacks include the killing of converts and sexual violence, such as the gang rape of Christian women. More than 100 churches closed in 2018 because of extremist attacks or intervention by authorities.
Source: Aid to the Church in Need
3000
Burmese villages burnt
3000 villages have been burnt to the ground in the past decade and more than 200 churches destroyed since 2011. Christians have been killed, raped, tortured and used to “clear” landmine-peppered areas. The plight of 100,000 displaced Christians living in camps and jungle terrain has been described by the US Department of State as “desperate and unsustainable”.
Source: Aid to the Church in Need
Genocide
OF Iraqi CHRISTIANS
Iraqi Christians have endured systemic violence designed to eradicate them. Chaldean Archbishop Habib Nafali said: “If this is not genocide, then what is genocide?” Additional taxes are levied on Christian-majority areas. There are accounts of at least 350 Christian-owned properties being illegally seized.
Source: Aid to the Church in Need
Door-to-door
killings in nigeria
Militants went from door to door on April 29, 2019, killing people in the Christian community of Kuda, near Madagali. The next day, as survivors buried the dead, the Islamist militants returned for a second attack. Militants kidnapped 110 students from a boarding school in 2018, relasing all but one within a month. The only Christian among them was the sole detainee – 14-year-old Leah Shariby who refused to abandon her Christian faith. Leah continues to be held captive.
Source: Aid to the Church in Need
Up to 70,000
north koreans imprisoned
Between 50,000 to 70,000 Christians could be present in North Korean Kwalliso camps, where they face torture, forced labour, starvation, rape, forced abortion and sexual violence. Believers have been “hung on a cross over fire, crushed under a steamroller, hurled off bridges, trampled underfoot”. It’s estimated up to 75% of Christians die from the camps’ brutal treatment. Christians are classified as hostile under the Kim Jong-un regime’s loyalty system.
Source: Aid to the Church in Need
The Three Fronts
Communist Oppression
We have seen a global rise of authoritarian regimes and continued violent rhetoric and ideology, including repression in Communist China and North Korea.
Islamic Oppression
There’s a fanatical element within the Islamic community that seeks to convert or kill those who do not adhere to Islamic teachings. Christian persecution is a major problem in the Islamic world.
Western oppression
In the Western world we must pursue the passage of appropriate religious freedom legislation that acts as a shield for people of faith, not a weapon.
What's The Problem?
The Solution
The urgent Establishment of an AUSTRALIAN AMBASSADOR FOR RELIGIOUS Freedom, SERVING TO:
MONITOR
Monitor abuse and violence as a result of religious persecution, harassment, and discrimination worldwide.
IMPLEMENT
Recommend, develop, and implement policies and programs to address these ongoing and serious issues.
PROMOTE
Promote universal respect for freedom of religion or belief as a core objective of national and foreign policy.
SEND A LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER
SEEKING AN AUSTRALIAN AMBASSADOR FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
SHARE THE LETTER VIA FACEBOOK, EMAIL OR TEXT:
Authorised by George Christensen, Mackay for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party.