Sparking subdued outrage internationally, a Sudanese judge has condemned to death Miriam Ibrahim, the wife of Daniel Wari and mother of an 18 month old. Mrs. Ibrahim is also pregnant with the couples second child!
Married in a formal church wedding in 2011, Mrs. Ibrahim’s “crime” is “adultery and refusing to renounce Christianity.” Miriam is the daughter of a Christian mother and Muslim father–a dad who abandoned the family shortly after Miriam’s birth. Her husband, a US citizen, is also a professing Christian. Because she married a non-Muslim, she is being accused of adultery by the Islamic judge, because Islam does not recognize as legitimate ANY marriage outside the Islamic faith! This “infidel marriage” plus the fact that she won’t renounce her Christian faith has resulted in the pending death sentence.
According to the judge’s ruling, Mrs. Ibrahim must give birth to her child and nurse him for a period prior to her execution. However, immediately after the birth, she must face flogging with 100 lashes for her “crimes.”
Even as believers around the world pray for this couple, Americans are waiting for a strongly worded statement from the Obama administration denouncing this latest example of enforcement of Islamic Shariah Law. As many of you know, until about a year ago, the Obama administration had as its “Ambassador At Large for International Religious Freedom” Dr. Susan D. Johnson Cook. I’ve met this dear lady on two occasions. She is a stalwart defender of religious liberty and has done phenomenal work attempting to defend persecuted Christians, including the imprisoned Pastor Saeed Abidini. Because of intense pressure against her for her firm Christian beliefs, she was forced out by Obama and his Muslim-friendly State Department! To date, no replacement has been named.
I wonder when/if President Obama will wade into the middle of this tragedy like he has other completely insignificant issues? I wait with baited breath for him to “call to encourage” Mrs. Ibrahim like he did NBA player Jason Collins when he “come out” as the NBA’s first professed homosexual! As well, I wonder if those who vehemently expressed their support for Michael Sams (when he kissed his “boyfriend” live on ESPN this past Saturday) will equally support an innocent woman who has been sentenced to death by a completely “evil religion” (to use a phrase by Dr. Franklin Graham)? Of course, if I’m holding my breath, I’m in trouble! I seriously doubt that Obama, Kerry, Hillary or anyone else will say, much less do, anything substantive regarding this!!! If they won’t do anything about almost 300 girls kidnapped by Islamic factions, they’ll certainly be mute on this, as well!
For those who doubt the purely evil nature of Islam, this unfortunately tragic situation should clear your thinking! For some who may think that those of us who are issuing a clarion alarm relative to Islam’s diabolical designs are overstating our case, think again!!! No, this is what Islam is–pure and simple! There is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY to overstate the demonic agenda of Islam toward Israel AND America! Any attempt to pacify, placate, nullify or negate the truth about Islam is sheer folly! This situation, as well as Islam’s deceptive designs as a whole, must be clearly and directly denounced by ALL who cherish liberty and Christianity! That means that we as preachers must do our diligent homework and proclaim the truth, rather than hiding our proverbial heads in the sand! Unless uncovered and decried, Islam will continue its subtle and sinister advance unabated! That MUST NOT HAPPEN unchecked! God’s people MUST be informed and energized with the truth, resisting the error of Islam, while reaching out to the enslaved victims with love and compassion! I am committed to this task! Are you?
Dave Kistler is the President of HOPE Ministries International and President, North Carolina Pastors Network (NCPN)
Dear Pastor Kistler:
As a first-time reader of your writing, I was surprised by your summary comments about reaching out with “love and compassion.” Most everything you wrote before would not be interpreted by most as loving and compassionate. As a Christian I often wonder about how to deal with issues that don’t seem right to me. I’m challenging myself as I write this. My first impulse is to respond with anger for your comments about our President, your assumptions about others; motives, and your implying that non-Christians are not of worth unless they become Christians. Perhaps, as Rodney King said when confronted with racism and a system not structured to address his needs, “Can’t we all get along.” I hope we can. I read the Bible, but I also am taking a course in Social Psychology. Perhaps an answer can be found in combination.