By Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net)
NEW MALDEN, SURREY, UK (ANS – Jan. 17, 2018) — Isaac was taught that he should give up on his dreams. That, because he’s a Christian, all he can ever be is a cleaner.
José Gabriel missed out on vital years of school because his family were thrown out of their village and not permitted to register him at a local school.
Christian children in Nigeria are forced to take Muslim names just to get into school. Rohingya Muslim children in Burma see their schools knocked down. Baha’i students in Iran are expelled from university if their religious beliefs are discovered.
Across the world, children are denied an education simply because of their faith. And yet this issue receives very little attention.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (www.csw.org.uk) says that with your help, we can change that.
Stop hatred before it starts
“Education is our best hope for tackling fundamentalism,” said Michelle Chaudhry, one of CSW’s long-term partners in Pakistan.
Michelle is devastated by the religious fundamentalism that has rocked her country time and again, with terrorism claiming hundreds of lives over the past few years alone.
Yet she recognizes that to stop this tide of violence, we need to tackle hatred before it can take root. CSW’s ‘Faith and a Future’ report, launching in February 2018, looks at how we can effectively tackle this issue.
In a media update, CSW’s Dave Mance, CSW Campaigns team, said: “Together, we can ensure that every child is free to learn, whatever their religion. And children are taught about our common humanity, rather than being taught to hate.”
CSW is calling on British Christians to invite their local MP (Member of Parliament) to the launch of our it’s new campaign.
On its dedicated site for the campaign – Faith and a Future – at https://csw.e-activist.com/page/17654/action/1?utm_medium=email&utm_source=engagingnetworks&utm_campaign=faith+and+a+future&utm_content=MP+invite+email&ea.url.id=1231398&forwarded=true , CSW is encouraging believers in the United Kingdom to invite their local representative to the campaign launch event.
Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive, CSW said: “By Praying, protesting, providing and proclaiming, individuals and churches are helping to make religious freedom a reality. Please join them and get involved!”
Christian Soldarity Worldwide (www.csw.org.uk) is a Christian organization working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide, PO Box 99, New Malden, Surrey KT3 3YF, UK. Registered Charity No. 281836. CSW also has offices in Brussels and Washington DC.
Photo captions: 1) Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London.(CSW) 2) No child punished for their faith campaign photo. (CSW) 3) Michael Ireland of ASSIST News Service.
About the Writer: Michael Ireland is a volunteer internet journalist serving as Chief Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, as well as an Ordained Minister, and an award-winning local cable-TV program host/producer who has served with ASSIST Ministries and written for ANS since its beginning in 1989. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China, and Russia. You may follow Michael on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MichaelIrelandMediaMissionary, and on Twitter at @Michael_ASSIST. Please consider helping Michael cover his expenses in bringing news of the Persecuted Church, by logging-on to: https://actintl.givingfuel.com/ireland-michael
** ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net), founded some 25 years ago by author, broadcaster and journalist Dan Wooding, exists to “give a voice to the voiceless” – our brothers and sisters in Christ who do not have a voice to tell the world of their suffering for Naming the Name of Christ at Work, at Home, or in the Marketplace. Would you consider a one-time or more frequent gift to help sponsor our unique News Service dedicated to providing news and feature stories about the Persecuted Church Around the World? Please help as you can, by going to www.assistnews.net and then scroll down to where it says DONATE TO ASSIST NEWS and then put in the figure you would like to donate towards our service. If you prefer a check, just make it out to ASSIST and mail it to PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609, USA, with a note in the memo section saying: ‘Where Needed Most.’ Thank you so much on behalf of the Persecuted Church.
*** You may republish this, or any of or ANS stories, with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net). Please also tell your friends and colleagues that they can get a complimentary subscription to ANS by going to the website and signing up there.