إقتباس:
المشاركة الأصلية بواسطة المصريون الأحرار
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Members of parliament sought new ways to stop religious persecution
across the world Thursday after hearing graphic stories from several
countries.
Among those telling tales of mass murder, rape and torture to the
subcommittee on foreign affairs was Rev. Majed El Shafie, the
president of One Free World International, an organization he formed
in Toronto after being tortured and imprisoned in Egypt because of his
conversion from Islam to Christianity.
He took off his jacket and shirt to show the parliamentary
subcommittee on human rights the ugly scar left on his arm by the
torture he endured in prison in his native Egypt. His only offence was
conversion.
Rev. El Shafie grew up Muslim as the son of a lawyer and nephew of a
judge in Egypt's Supreme Court, but converted to Christianity and
started an underground Christian movement while studying law at
university. The movement eventually included 24,000 members and built
two churches in caves, to avoid prosecution.
He was eventually arrested and spent one year, three months, 12 hours,
and 44 minutes in prison before escaping. "In prison, you keep track
of the time spent there," he said.
Rev. El Shafie made it across the border into Israel, but was
imprisoned there as well until the UN High Commission on Refugees
declared him a refugee. He then immigrated to Canada and started One
Free World International to defend other persecuted Christians.
He said that this year alone,160,000 Christians will be persecuted
around the world, solely because of their faith.
"We won't give up. You can kill the dreamer, but you cannot kill the
dream," he said.
Janet Epp Buckingham, director of the Evangelical Fellowship of
Canada's religious liberty commission, said Christians are the most
persecuted religious group in the world today.
Stockwell Day, the Conservative Foreign Affairs critic, said Canada
should be a leader in the fight against religious persecution.
Mr. Day said freedom of religion is a key to human rights. "If you
have religious freedom, you have freedom of speech, freedom to gather
and freedom of the press. This is absolutely key and essential for
world peace."
NDP MP Ed Broadbent said it would be hopeless to try to link trade
with other nations to their record on human rights. But he said
Canadians would support a ban on foreign aid to nations that permit or
encourage persecution of religious minorities.
"In South Africa, the black majority supported sanctions, and they
were the people who would feel it most," said Mr. Broadbent.
The subcommittee on human rights and international development will
now attempt to draft a motion on action to be taken on religious
persecution. If the larger committee on human rights approves, the
debate will move to the Commons.
