When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
(Revelation 6:9-11)
Dr. Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, a 27-year-old wife, mother, and doctor – who is also eight months pregnant – was recently sentenced to death by hanging under Sharia Law in Sudan. What was her supposed crime? Her Christian faith and her marriage to a Christian man. Under duress to recant her Christian faith, Meriam refused.
Meriam has been imprisoned since February, along with her 20 month-old son. Her husband has been denied custody of their son because he, too, is a Christian.
Meriam is married to Daniel Wani, a South Sudanese Christian who is also a naturalized United States citizen – making their imprisoned son an American citizen, as well.
Meriam’s Muslim father abandoned her family when Meriam was six years old. Meriam was then raised by her Christian mother and claimed the Christian faith as her own. However, under the oppression of Islamic Sharia law and with an indicted war criminal for a president, Sudan refuses to recognize Meriam’s Christian religion- claiming she is a Muslim by birth. Under Sharia Law, her marriage to a Christian man is also declared illegal and the marriage has been “invalidated.”
As a result, Meriam has been charged her with “apostasy” for following the Christian faith and “adultery,” since her children were conceived in an “invalid” marriage with her Christian husband.
On May 11 (Mother’s Day), Meriam was found guilty by the Sudanese court under Sharia law. She was given three days to recant her faith and convert to Islam or be sentenced to death.
Meriam boldly stood before the Islamic court and stated: “I am a Christian and I will remain a Christian.”
On May 15, Meriam was sentenced to a flogging of 100 lashes for “adultery” and death by hanging for her Christian faith. The court declared the sentence will be postponed until after the birth of her baby. How noble. The fate of her children is unknown. Her husband also reports that Meriam has suffered abuse and torture and denied medical treatment while imprisoned.
One hundred lashes. Death by hanging.
I can’t imagine what Meriam has endured – and quite frankly, part of me doesn’t want to hear about it. It’s hard to bear just thinking about such horror, let alone what it must be to experience it. Yesterday I went to my comfortable church to worship. I went home and had a nice dinner and curled up for a little Sunday afternoon nap, while thousands of miles away my sister in Christ sat in a deplorable prison waiting the birth of her child which will lead to a brutal flogging and death by hanging.
“I am a Christian and I will remain a Christian.” It’s easy to say, perhaps not so easy to do in the face of torture and death.
We American Christians have been seemingly so blessed. For the most part, the only persecution we face is not being “liked” by the cultural elites. Yet even in the face of that little bit of push back, we cave to what our culture says is correct. We stammer apologies for what God’s Word says is true; we “cry uncle” when the least little bit of cultural pressure is exerted upon Christianity; we worry about how the media will depict us. While I speak in generalities, what would be the most apt description of American Christians – comfortable or courageous?
I know which adjective describes Meriam. As I pray for Meriam, I also pray that God will use her example to embolden me. May that be true of you, as well.
However, while we learn from her example, let us also fight for her freedom. We do not know for certain that Meriam will be martyred for her faith. There are those working to shed light on this atrocity and there has been some outrage expressed by the international community.
Congressman Frank Wolf issued this statement: “I am deeply troubled by the case involving Meriam Yehya Ibrahim.
“There is an urgent need for international attention to this injustice . . . This is a human rights travesty in which our State Department should be fully engaged, especially given that Meriam is married to an American citizen. I join my colleagues, in calling on the relevant government authorities in Sudan to immediately and unconditionally release Meriam and her young son and to respect basic tenets of religious freedom and belief.”
Congressman Trent Franks stated: “Sudan is blatantly violating the universal right to freedom of religion by convicting a Christian Sudanese woman, under their strict enforcement of Shari’a law, solely because of her religious beliefs. …
“I urge Sudan to immediately and unconditionally release Meriam and uphold religious freedom standards within the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which Sudan is a signatory and under which apostasy and adultery are not criminal offences.”
You can help by contacting your United States representatives and the U.S. Department of State, urging our government’s immediate intervention in working for the release of Meriam and her son.
Contact your U.S. representative and senator by calling the United States Capitol switchboard at: 202-224-3121. (A switchboard operator will connect you directly with the office of the Senator/Representative you request.)
Contact Secretary of State John Kerry and urge him to take immediate action. Call the U.S. State Department at 202-647-4000.
International Christian Concern, an organization shedding light on world-wide Christian persecution, also encourages calls to the United States Sudanese Embassy at 202-338-8565.
For more information, including a sample letter and a mailing address to the U.S. Sudanese Embassy, click here.
To support our efforts please click here or mail your gift to American Decency Association (ADA), PO Box 202, Fremont, MI 49412.
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