How Will Rashad Hussain Contend with Sharia-Supremacist Hostility Towards Everyone’s Religious Freedom?
***NEWS RELEASE***
For Immediate Release
November 1, 2021
CONTACT: Hamilton Strategies, [email protected], Kate Piacentino, 610.584.1096, ext. 104, or Deborah Hamilton, ext. 102
Coalition Seeks Ambassador-Designate’s Answers to Questions Prior to Senate Vote
WASHINGTON, D.C.— An open letter organized by the Save the Persecuted Christians Coalition was sent today to President Biden’s controversial choice to be the next U.S. Ambassador-at-Large (AAL) for International Religious Freedom (IRF), Rashad Hussain. The letter’s 124 signatories ask the nominee to address a series of important questions that were not posed during his largely pro forma hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week.
The questions seek to clarify, among other things, how President Obama’s special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), whose devotion to Islam prompted him to memorize the entire Koran, will address threats to the religious liberty of non-Muslims, a right not recognized by the Islamic doctrine of Sharia. For example, the letter asks:
“In light of differences in the understanding of personal rights and freedoms under Sharia rules versus those protected under international laws concerning human rights and religious freedom, what standard would you advocate for when issues arise affecting the freedom of non-Muslims to practice their faiths – especially in Muslim-majority nations – if confirmed as Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom?”
In light of Mr. Hussain’s ties to the OIC, the letter also asks:
“Sharia law is sometimes interpreted to permit faithful Muslims to punish and even kill those who blaspheme against Islam. In your testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, you professed a commitment to work against blasphemy laws. Yet, the OIC historically has championed such laws as part of their efforts to “criminalize” criticism of Islam. If confirmed as AAL for IRF, would you expressly reject the OIC’s Sharia-blasphemy agenda and seek the repeal of blasphemy laws worldwide?”
In addition, the signatories request Mr. Hussain’s view of the Sharia-supremacist Muslim Brotherhood and the access it should enjoy to him and others in the U.S. government, including:
“Do you believe that groups promoting the positions of the Muslim Brotherhood should be able to freely interact with and influence the U.S. government – notably at the White House, the National Security Council, and the State Department, including with the Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom (OIRF) and the office of the Ambassador at Large for IRF?”
In light of Mr. Hussain’s involvement in promoting the false narrative of Benghazi, the letter asks:
In your capacity as Special Envoy to the OIC, you were among the U.S. officials who promoted on September 12, 2012, the false narrative that the murderous and pre-planned jihadist attack in Benghazi which resulted in the death of the US Ambassador to Libya and others was actually a spontaneous – and, by implication, an understandable – response to an anti-Islam video with, as you put it, “disgusting images.” Do you repudiate that position today?
The open letter’s signers respectfully request that Mr. Hussain respond to their questions before the U.S. Senate is asked to vote on his nomination.
The mission of Save the Persecuted Christians is to save lives and save souls by disseminating actionable information about the magnitude of the persecution taking place globally and by mobilizing concerned Americans for the purpose of disincentivizing further attacks on those who follow Jesus.
With so much of the world’s Christian population being imprisoned and/or harassed for their beliefs, such as Christians in Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, and Nigeria, the need has never been greater for the sort of grassroots campaign STPC’s SaveUs Movement is working to foster. Its efforts are modeled after a miraculously successful one that helped free another population suffering from heavy persecution—Soviet Jews—by penalizing those in the Kremlin responsible for such repression. Through this movement, Save the Persecuted Christians endeavors to provide American policymakers with the popular support they need to effect real change worldwide and alleviate systemically the suffering being experienced by so many of those following Christ.
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To interview representatives of the Committee on the Present Danger: China contact [email protected], Kate Piacentino, 610.584.1096, ext. 107, or Deborah Hamilton, ext. 102.