21Wilberforce board member, Knox Thames, is the author of ENDING PERSECUTION: Charting the Path to Global Religious Freedom just released by the University of Notre Dame Press.

“A pandemic is sweeping the world, but not just COVID; a pandemic of persecution is impacting every faith community globally,” said Thames. “ENDING PERSECUTION exposes the reality of religious repression while arguing for a new response to fight for freedom of conscience for everyone to ensure 21st-century persecution does not bleed into the 22nd century. My driving belief is that every person has a fundamental right to follow their conscience wherever it leads. Human flourishing will more quickly come when everyone everywhere can believe (or not believe) as they choose. Unfortunately, we have failed to learn the painful lessons of the Holocaust, the ultimate crime against humanity. Repression continues. People still suffer on account of individual beliefs and instability results. The United States needs to revitalize its approach and recommit to ending oppression because of religion or belief.” Read more here.

21Wilberforce staff recently visited the Thai-Burma border to learn more about the important work conducted by the local faith-based institutions and relief agencies in the region. As the principal of the Kawthoolei Karen Bible College welcomed our 21Wilberforce team, we were greeted with the sound of a choir whose singing echoed throughout the camp. The seemingly heavenly music stood in sharp contrast with the daily reality faced by the people of Burma and those who have fled to this refugee camp in Thailand.  

The college sits in the middle of the largest and oldest refugee camp in Thailand, Mae La Refugee Camp, which was opened in 1984, and is located in the far west of Thailand close to the border with the Karen State of the country of Burma. The official number of refugees at the camp is over 37,000, of which more than three-quarters come from the Karen State, with smaller percentages coming from Mon State and Bamar-ethnicity majority areas. Read more here.

In the face of planned protests in their country, and heightened risks of violence, how can churches respond?

In recent months, Bangladesh, Kenya, and Nigeria witnessed mass demonstrations. Growing up in Lebanon, I saw demonstrations, sometimes very large, on a regular basis. I have also seen some of my Christian friends in leadership roles struggle with how to respond.

I would like to suggest elements of a Christian response that I believe are centered on our values and biblical ethics.

First, we can speak into the immediate situation. International law protects the right to life in tandem with protecting the right to peaceful demonstration. Therefore, we need to call on demonstrators to keep demonstrations peaceful. And we need to call on authorities to ensure the protection of life and the protection of demonstrators. Authorities have an obligation under human rights law to use force only when necessary, and in a manner that is proportionate to the threat. Lethal force can be used only to protect life. Read more here.

Wissam al-Saliby never dreamed of leaving his beloved country of Lebanon, but the call from God to help the persecuted church was strong.
 
With a background in law, the newly appointed (May) president of Virginia-based Christian human rights group 21Wilberforce had served as director and advocacy officer of the U.N. Office for the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and was also development and partner relations manager at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary. Having moved to Geneva for his previous role at the WEA, he has now accepted the need to live in the United States to lead the next chapter of advocacy initiatives for 21Wilberforce. Read more here.

WRITTEN BY RACHEL

As a mission-oriented woman, passionate about winning souls for Christ and seeing to the well-being of mankind, I have been actively involved with Baptist women in local communities across Nigeria for many years. I work towards empowering, educating, and engaging them in various capacities. My work focuses on planning, strategizing, counseling, implementing, coordinating, and evaluating the following areas: Personnel — leaders and the led; Programs — leadership workshops and conferences; Activities — empowerment (helping the needy in the community), training, counseling, deliverance, and prayer; and Relationship — fostering conversations and collaboration with other denominations and the community, door-to-door and village outreach.

With all the responsibilities I have mentioned above, I am committed to encouraging systematic, sacrificial, and faithful giving. Read more here.