UK foreign secretary urges Parliament to withhold aid to nations where Christians are persecuted

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https://www.jihadwatch.org/2019/04/uk-f ... persecuted


UK foreign secretary urges Parliament to withhold aid to nations where Christians are persecuted
APR 11, 2019 5:00 PM
BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS


The United Kingdom’s foreign secretary is urging Parliament to withhold aid to nations in which Christians are persecuted. “‘I think we should do more for the estimated 240 million Christians who face persecution for their faith around the world,’ Jeremy Hunt told members of parliament.”

It is worthwhile to note that all but two of the top 17 states where Christians are most persecuted in the world are Muslim countries.

While Jeremy Hunt is urging Britain to do more to help persecuted Christians, given the deplorable record of the UK government in kowtowing to Muslims, it is highly unlikely that anything will be done, beyond a false public impression created that the UK actually cares about persecuted Christians.

Take some recent examples in the UK:

The asylum application of a Christian family facing a death fatwa in Pakistan was rejected by the UK Home Office three times;
The UK also deported a Christian back to Pakistan despite his receiving beatings and threats from Muslims in that country;
The UK Home Office rejected the asylum bid of an Iranian convert to Christianity, mocking him and saying that “Christianity is not a religion of peace.” The Home Office also made fun of the Iranian national for believing in Christ and wrote to him: “You affirmed in your AIR that Jesus is your saviour, but then claimed that He would not be able to save you from the Iranian regime….It is therefore considered that you have no conviction in your faith and your belief in Jesus is half-hearted.”
The British government barred Asia Bibi from entering the country, for fear that if she did, Muslims would riot.
If the UK decides to help Christians, this would be something to be celebrated, but evidence suggests that nothing will be done.

The United Kingdom’s foreign secretary is urging Parliament to withhold aid to nations in which Christians are persecuted.

“I think we should do more for the estimated 240 million Christians who face persecution for their faith around the world,” Jeremy Hunt told members of parliament.

The U.K.’s foreign aid budget in 2017 was about $18 billion.

Hunt, responding to questions from lawmakers, said an ongoing review will ensure the U.K. is pressuring nations in which Christians are persecuted.

“Where the U.K. makes large aid payments, such as in Afghanistan,” he said, “it is absolutely essential that we make it clear to the government in those countries that we are expecting progress on freedom of religious belief.”

The review, led by Philip Mounstephen, the bishop of Truro, monitors persecution of Christians in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

The review will assess how much support the U.K. currently provides and recommend how government ministers should respond.

Hunt cited the worldwide Christian group Open Doors’ estimate that more than 4,300 Christians were killed because of their faith over the last year.

The U.K.’s Christian Institute said the real figure probably is much higher, as friends and relatives of victims often are afraid to report incidents.

In the meeting with lawmakers, Hunt was asked about Open Doors’ prediction of a 14 percent increase in persecution of Christians this year.

Hunt said Open Doors has documented four out of five people worldwide who suffer persecution for their faith are Christians.

“The most striking statement [in the Open Doors report] is that the vast majority are in the very poorest countries: this is not, on the whole, a problem affecting people who live in affluent countries,” Hunt told lawmakers…..