Pressed but not crushed: Christians in Sudan
“Hundreds if not thousands…are being oppressed and persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ”
Meriam Ibrahim is free. The Sudanese Christian woman, jailed for her faith and sentenced to death and 100 lashes, was released following a global outcry spearheaded by her lawyers and her American husband. Sadly, sources familiar with the situation in Sudan say her case is unique only in that she was set free.
Ibrahim was raised by her Christian mother after her Muslim father abandoned them when she was six. For many years she was not in touch with her family, until they found out she had married Daniel Wani, a Christian South Sudenese-American dual citizen, and that she owned several successful businesses.
“You have to remember Meriam is not a Christian,” says Muslim-born Bassma Jaballah, who teaches Christians how to share their faith with Muslims. “She was born Muslim. Based on Sharia Law, she is Muslim unto death, like myself and my husband. According to Islamic law, she is an apostate and she has to be killed.”
After converting to Christianity, Jaballah fled her native Tunisia with her husband and children. She says this sort of situation is very common throughout the Islamic world. Even here in Canada, Jaballah says her family receives death threats on a regular basis because of their Christian work.
“What made the difference for Meriam is that her husband is an American citizen,” says Jaballah. “While she was in prison, there was another lady in Sudan who went to renew her documents and was arrested because she had become a Christian. She is still in prison and hasn’t been released. She wasn’t married to a western man, so she can ‘disappear’ easily.”
Greg Musselman, vice president of Domestic Ministry at Voice of the Martyrs Canada, agrees that Ibrahim’s case is just the tip of the iceberg.
“While we all rejoice that Meriam has been able to leave Sudan, our concern continues for the Christian community. Hundreds if not thousands of Sudanese Christians are being oppressed and persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ.”
As Meriam’s story played out, numerous media outlets reported that no one has been executed for becoming a Christian in Sudan since 1985, however, Sudenese Christians tell a very different story.
In 1985, Wagdi Iskander, a recent convert to Christianity, was arrested in Sudan and sentenced to death. After two co-accused Christians were executed, Iskander narrowly escaped the morning of his execution when a Libyan missile hit the jail.
Eventually he found his way to Canada and settled in Alberta where he founded three churches and a training centre for Muslim background believers.
“Cutting off hands, whipping women in the streets, executions, it’s all happening, but it’s not reported,” Iskander says. “There are executions happening on a weekly basis, but the government controls the media, preventing anything from coming out.”
Iskander says even when it is not done directly by the government, Islamic militants take matters into their own hands. He explains it is all officially approved under Islamic law, the legal code of Sudan.
“The international community, including Canada, speaks out against it, but the reality on the ground is that nothing is changing. Muslim countries do little to respond unless there are sanctions or back-room deals.”
When news of Ibrahim’s situation hit the media, Jaballah organized protests in front of the Sudanese embassy in Ottawa and on Parliament Hill. Along with other activists they also wrote letters and made numerous calls to members of parliament. None of their calls were returned.
The government did release a statement, in May, condemning Ibrahim’s sentence and calling for her release, which included the vague phrase, “Canada has raised this matter directly with the Government of Sudan.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Office of Religious Freedom did not return repeated calls from ChristianWeek asking for clarification.
Ibrahim was finally able to leave Sudan July 24, following significant diplomatic efforts by the Italian govnerment.
Jaballah believes protecting Christians in Islamic countries is “the last of [Canadian politician’s] concerns. These statements don’t really help put pressure on them. It might not even reach them. We were hoping Stephen Harper would make a phone call to the president of Sudan. Canada gives substantial aid to Sudan. That call would have made a lot of difference.”
Despite the intense persecution, Jaballah says she knows through a number of contacts that there are many strong believers in Sudan.
“We know that whenever a group is persecuted, it doesn’t disappear, it grows. Most believers from Sudan have fled to South Sudan, because it is majority Christian. However, there is definitely a strong Church in Sudan.”
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