not everybody on their knees are praying On Nov 22, 4:49 am, Bruce Majors <[email protected]> wrote: > Egypt is also imprisoning indefinitely bloggers (www.freekareem.org) amd > allows bigots to loot Christian stores and wreck them without penalty. > > Also pray for the gay teens being lynched in Iran, and the women and > religious and ethnic minorities being oppressed by Islamic tyrannies > > Death for being a Christian > > Rate this story > /critic/1/1/79/401681/vote/?r=/news/2009/nov/23/death-for-being-a-christian / > /critic/1/2/79/401681/vote/?r=/news/2009/nov/23/death-for-being-a-christian / > /critic/1/3/79/401681/vote/?r=/news/2009/nov/23/death-for-being-a-christian / > /critic/1/4/79/401681/vote/?r=/news/2009/nov/23/death-for-being-a-christian / > /critic/1/5/79/401681/vote/?r=/news/2009/nov/23/death-for-being-a-christian / > > Average 0.00 > after 0 votes > Egyptian convert appeals to Obama for help > > - Font Size > -<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/23/death-for-being-a-chr...> > +<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/23/death-for-being-a-chr...> > - > Print<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/23/death-for-being-a-chr...> > - Email <http://www.washingtontimes.com/mailfriend/79/401681/f5ff545131/> > - > Comment<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/23/death-for-being-a-chr...> > - Tweet > this!<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/23/death-for-being-a-chr...> > - Yahoo! > Buzz<http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzz?publisherurn=washington_ti859&guid=http%3A...> > - Share <http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&pub=washingtontimes> > > - Article > - Comments > (0)<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/23/death-for-being-a-chr...> > - > Videos<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/23/death-for-being-a-chr...> > > MORE EDITORIALS STORIES > > - EDITORIAL: Gunning for Sarah > Palin<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/22/gunning-for-sarah-palin/> > - EDITORIAL: Bureaucrats regulating corporate > pay<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/22/bureaucrats-regulatin...> > - EDITORIAL EXCLUSIVE: On terrorists, Justice > recused<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/22/on-terrorists-justice...> > - EDITORIAL: Get ready to bomb > Iran<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/20/get-ready-to-bomb-iran/> > > By > > A 15-year-old Egyptian girl, Dina el-Gohary, has written an emotional appeal > to President Obama asking him to use his influence to save her father, Maher > el-Gohary, who is being persecuted for his beliefs. "Mr. President Obama, we > are a minority in Egypt," Dina writes, according to a report from the > Assyrian International News Agency. "We are treated very badly. ... We are > imprisoned in our own home because Muslim clerics called for the murder of > my father, and now the Government has set for us a new prison, we are > imprisoned in our own country." > > Dina and her father are Christian converts in a part of the world where > conversion can mean death. > > The Muslim-majority countries of the Middle East are among the world's > greatest offenders against freedom of conscience. Religious liberty does not > exist or is severely curtailed based on Shariah supremacy. Egypt is a > signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which > commits signatories to respect a variety of liberties, including religious > freedom, but a court considering whether Mr. el-Gohary could legally change > his religious affiliation ruled that Egypt was only bound to honor those > provisions that did not contradict Islamic law, and "in the event of a > contradiction, Shariah takes precedence." > > Egypt's Constitution guarantees freedom of belief but not freedom of > religious practice. The same court stated that faith is "an internal, > personal matter," but the right to actually practice a religion other than > Islam "is subject to restrictions that may be imposed through regulations > that emphasize certain higher interests, especially those related to > safeguarding public order and moral values and to protecting the rights and > freedoms of others." Because Muslims would take offense at Mr. el-Gohary > becoming a Christian, their indignation outweighs his right to choose his > faith. The state thinks that changing the religious affiliation on his > identity card from Muslim to Christian is "a threat to societal order." > > The court further insulted Mr. el-Gohary by claiming he could not even prove > he was a Christian. Documentation supplied by the Coptic Christian Church > was tossed because the court said the church had no legal authority to > recognize conversions and that Mr. el-Gohary was "toying with religion." > > Mr. el-Gohary has had several death-sentence fatwahs issued against him, has > been forced to live in hiding and has been banned from leaving the country. > His case actually is one of the more benign. Former Afghan citizen Abdul > Rahman converted to Christianity and was arrested and threatened with death > but managed to flee to asylum in Italy. In August, during an anti-Christian > riot in Pakistan, eight people were burned to death and two others were > fatally shot. > > "You said that the Muslim minority in America are treated very well," Dina > el-Gohary wrote to Mr. Obama, "so why are we not treated here likewise?" > > The U.S. government is well aware of Mr. el-Gohary's plight. The State > Department's 2009 International Religious Freedom Report covers his case in > detail. We urge Mr. Obama to review this report. He has gone out of his way > to curry favor with Muslims at home and abroad, but the president seems > unwilling to address this difficult issue. We have heard him apologize > extensively for American actions abroad, but when it comes to religious > liberties, the United States is not the country with the problem. > > For his part, Mr. el-Gohary is adamant that he will remain a Christian > regardless of the oppression he faces. He said he and his daughter would not > revert to being Muslims "even if we have to live on the streets. We love our > Lord Jesus, and we have left Islam for g
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