Muslim British cabinet member rues persecution of Christians

January 20, 2014

Writing in L’Osservatore Romano, Sayeeda Warsi, the United Kingdom’s Minister of State for Faith and Communities and Senior Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, lamented the persecution of Christians in the Middle East.

“The bitterest irony of this persecution -- ostracism, discrimination, abuse, forced conversion, torture and even murder -- is that it is taking place in a region where Christianity has its roots,” said Baroness Warsi, a Muslim. “Sometimes these cases are examples of collective punishment: people lashing out at Christian minorities in response to events happening many miles away. Other times, a Christian is just a convenient 'other' -- a scapegoat.”

“What is taking place is not acceptable,” she added. The UK government is committed to standing up to such persecution, and that requires international political consensus.”

 

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Further information:

• Threats to religious freedom (L’Osservatore Romano, p. 4)