WASHINGTON (BP) — The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved a bill requiring appointment of a special envoy for the promotion of religious liberty in such countries as Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Syria.
The head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s religious freedom entity hailed passage of the “forward-thinking legislation” as the “right thing.”
In a Sept. 18 roll call, House members voted 402-22 for the legislation, which would direct the president to name an envoy within the State Department to advance freedom for religious minorities in the Near East — also referred to as the Middle East — and South-Central Asia. The Senate has yet to act on the measure.
A two-fold reason undergirds Christian support of such legislation, said Russell D. Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
“Jesus told Saul of Tarsus that his intended persecution of Christians in Syria was persecution of Jesus himself. That’s one of the reasons the body of Christ must stand firm against the torture and harassment of believing communities in the Middle East and elsewhere,” Moore said in a statement to Baptist Press.
Categories: Americas