Faith Under Fire-The Global Threat to Religious Freedom Dear Concerned Citizen,Please join us for this eye-opening http://faithunderfireconference.org/on the worldwide crisis in religious freedom. This Conference is designed to address the plight of persecuted religious minorities in Muslim countries. Join us to learn the real nature of their hardships and what each of us can do to advance religious liberty for suffering indigenous communities.

Faith Under Fire

The Global Threat to Religious Freedom

We look forward to seeing you and your friends at this crucial Conference on Saturday, 10 March 2012 where the complex issues surrounding Faith Under Fire: The Global Threat to Religious Freedom are illuminated by eyewitness accounts, and key members of our U.S. Congress join international and national experts to work together to contribute discussion in the policy arena and deliver recommendations to U.S. leadership to act on behalf of these persecuted religious minorities.

Crystal Palace Banquets

1070 South Elmhurst Road

Mt. Prospect, Illinois 60056

Registration: $39 per person, $25 per student

Registration includes continental breakfast,

large buffet luncheon and refreshments.

For more program information and to register for the Conference, please visit www.faithunderfireconference.org.

For any questions, please call 773-540-6592 or contact by e-mail faithunderfire.info@gmail.com.

by Michael Avramovich

In early January 2012, Harold Sterling of the Calgary Herald wrote an article in which he observed that the so-called Arab Spring has led to a chilling winter for Christians in the Middle East. Mr. Sterling wrote:

According to reports, non-Muslims, most notably Christians, are being increasingly harassed, intimidated and even subjected to persecution and violence, including murder, in a number of foreign countries. Paradoxically, one development which has un-expectedly worsened the situation for some Christian communities in the Middle East has been the dramatic Arab Spring revolutions which, while welcomed by many for overthrowing or weakening repressive and corrupt regimes, have also unleashed anti-Christian actions and violence against Christian communities.

In Egypt, following the fall of President Mubarak, Moslem clerics and politicians from the Moslem Brotherhood, have sought to severely restrict Christians (and Jews) politically. In Iraq, since the fall of Saddam’s regime, more than one million Christians have fled that country. In Syria, press reports have indicated that more than 7,000 have been killed in the past several months, including many children, by government forces against protestors seeking greater political freedom and the ouster of Syrian dictator Hafez Al-Assad. In Ethiopia, Iran, Nigeria, Algeria, Pakistan, Sudan and other Islamic nations, Christians are experiencing great persecution.

To educate American Christians on the threat posed by radical Islam to Christians in the Middle East, an important Conference presented by the Center for Security Policy will take place on Saturday, March 10th, 2012. The Faith Under Fire: The Global Threat to Religious Freedom Conference will be held from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM at Crystal Palace Banquets, located at 1070 South Elmhurst Road in Mount Prospect, Illinois, outside of Chicago. Among the speakers are the following:

• Representative Peter Roskam (R-IL)
• Representative Joe Walsh (R-IL)
• Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., President and CEO of the Center for Security Policy
• Paul Marshall, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Security Policy
• Dr. Ashraf Ramelah, President and Founder of the Voice of the Copts
• Juliana Taimoorazy, President and Founder of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council
• Very Rev. Father Roderick, Secretary General of the Coalition for the Defense of Human Rights (CDHR)

Ticket prices, which includes continental breakfast and buffet lunch, are only $39.00 per person for this all-day event. Student tickets are only $25.00. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit the Conference website at: http://faithunderfireconference.org/. If you are interested in group pricing discounted rate tickets, please contact the Center for Security Policy at 202-835-9077, and I am sure that they will be happy to assist you in processing your order by phone.

I am certainly looking forward to participating and learning about what is going on elsewhere and what we as Christians can do to assist our brothers and sisters throughout the Islamic world. I hope to see many of you there, and if you cannot attend, please let your friends know about Faith Under Fire: The Global Threat to Religious Freedom. I hope to see you there!

Dear Concerned Citizen,

Please join us for this eye-opening Chicago area Conference on the worldwide crisis in religious freedom. This Conference is designed to address the plight of persecuted religious minorities in Muslim countries. Join us to learn the real nature of their hardships and what each of us can do to advance religious liberty for suffering indigenous communities.

Leaders of the indigenous communities describe their plight.
Eyewitnesses offer riveting testimony about this harsh reality.
Key members of U.S. Congress discuss action to prevent genocide.
Global experts offer critical analysis of the international threats.
Panelists discuss policy issues and opportunities for action.

Location:
Crystal Palace Banquets
1070 South Elmhurst Road
Mt. Prospect, Illinois 60056

Registration:
$39 per person by 1 March 2012
$45 per person after 1 March 2012
Registration includes continental breakfast, large buffet luncheon, and refreshments.

For more program information and to register for the Conference, please visit www.faithunderfireconference.org.

For any questions, please call 773-540-6592 or contact by e-mail faithunderfire.info@gmail.com.

We look forward to seeing you and your friends at this crucial Conference on Saturday, March 10, 2012 where the complex issues surrounding Faith Under Fire: The Global Threat to Religious Freedom are illuminated by eyewitness accounts, and key members of our U.S. Congress join international and national experts to work together to contribute discussion in the policy arena and deliver recommendations to U.S. leadership to act on behalf of these persecuted religious minorities.

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8-9

With the pending Iranian execution of Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani on charges of apostasy for refusing to recant his faith, the following Saturday conference concerning religious freedom takes on immediacy:

Saturday, March 10 2012, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.0 p .m.

Faith Under Fire

The Global Threat to Religious Freedom

Dear Concerned Citizen,

Please join us for this eye-opening Chicago area Conference on the worldwide crisis in religious freedom.

This Conference is designed to address the plight of persecuted religious minorities in Muslim countries.

Join us to learn the real nature of their hardships and what each of us can do to advance religious liberty for suffering indigenous communities.

 

Joe Walsh

 

Peter Roskam

 

Leaders of the indigenous communities describe their plight.

Eyewitnesses offer riveting testimony about this harsh reality.

Key members of U.S. Congress discuss action to prevent genocide.

Global experts offer critical analysis of the international threats.

Panelists discuss policy issues and opportunities for action.

Location:

Crystal Palace Banquets
1070 South Elmhurst Road
Mt. Prospect, Illinois 60056

Registration:
$39 per person
$25 per student

Registration includes continental breakfast, large buffet luncheon and refreshments.
For more program information and to register for the Conference, please visit www.faithunderfireconference.org.

For any questions, please call 773-540-6592 or contact by e-mail faithunderfire.info@gmail.com

 

Peter Roskam and Joe Walsh are among the speakers Saturday at the Faith Under Fire conference.

We look forward to seeing you and your friends at this crucial Conference on Saturday, 10 March 2012 where the complex issues surrounding Faith Under Fire: The Global Threat to Religious Freedom are illuminated by eyewitness accounts, and key members of our U.S. Congress join international and national experts to work together to contribute discussion in the policy arena and deliver recommendations to U.S. leadership to act on behalf of these persecuted religious minorities.

Best Regards,

Eric Voogd
Conference Director

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8-9

Chicago Catholic Examiner
February 18, 2012

If you’re like most Chicagoans, you may remember a passing story about an attack on an Iraqi Church last fall. The mainstream media didn’t dwell on the details much.  On October 31, 2011, an al-Qaeda-linked Sunni Muslim insurgent group, the Islamic State of Iraq, attacked a church in Baghdad, killing 58 people and wounding another 78. Gunmen took around 52 hostages during the Sunday services and both hostages and police were killed, until Iraq security forces stormed the church. “Chaldean Church Attacked by Terrorists”didn’t mean much to American ears. Many of us have never heard of a “Chaldean”. Perhaps the carnage would have hit home a little more personally, if Chicago’s Catholic community was aware that the Chaldeans are fellow Catholics.

Sadly, the assault on Our Lady of Salvation during their Sunday Mass is just one of countless examples of the persecutions of Christians in the middle east, many of whom belong to historic churches that trace their lineage back to the first century Christians and the apostles themselves. Iraq once had about 1.5 million Christians but the number has fallen sharply in recent years, and was estimated to less than 400,000 in 2011. Pope Benedict XVI condemned the attack and so did most Christian clerics in the region, but where are American Christians to stand with the most vulnerable members of our faith? It seems many Americans just don’t think about those things because we’re used to being in an open society where religious freedom is taken for granted.

Perhaps the most important reason why Christianity needs to be preserved in the middle east is that part of the world is the birthplace of our faith. Many of the most famous events in the Old Testament – and pivotal events in the life of Jesus – occurred in areas that are part of modern day Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, and Palestinian territories of Israel like the West Bank.  Christians have continually had a presence in those lands for far longer than we’ve had a presence in America.  While Christianity in the American Midwest dates back a few centuries, Christianity in the Mideast dates back two millennia.

On the plus side, there are people in Illinois who feel it’s time to step up to the plate and bring this matter to the public’s attention.  In March, there is a presentation coming to Chicagoland entitled “Faith under Fire: The Global Threat to Religious Freedom”. It is an all day conference sponsored by the Center for Security Policy in Washington, DC. This event is being held to discuss the plight of persecuted religious minorities in Islamic countries. Speakers include both religious leaders of different faith communities, and government officials. Included are key members of the U.S. Congress who will provide updates about legislation and what definitive action steps need to be taken to prevent future ethnic and religious cleansing, and potential genocide. Additionally, international and national policy experts will offer analysis of global threat to religious freedom, and what US citizens must understand regarding Islam and Sharialaw. By doing so, they will deliver recommendations in specific areas for the U.S. government to act to help these persecuted religious minorities.

Steps are being taken now to ensure this will be a high profile event for all Chicagoans. A request was made for U.S. Congressman Peter Roskam (IL-6) to be the keynote speaker during the luncheon portion of all the day conference, which has now been coordinated and confirmed. Congressman Roskam sat down with event organizers in his Washington, D.C. office in December 2011 to discuss his role in this event and to ensure it goes well.  As someone who has campaigned for Congressman Roskam in the past and heard him speak to supporters, I am certain his role in this event will be a memorable one.  Congressman Joe Walsh (IL-8), another outspoken Illinois official who was part of the 2010 freshman “tea party” class, has also confirmed his attendance as a speaker, and will be on panel in the afternoon.  Walsh is himself a Catholic and has been at odds with the Obama administration on many issues regarding religious freedom – most recently over the contraceptive mandate in America. An Assyrian radio station in Evanston covered news about this event in early February, and a 20 second commercial spot for the conference is also running on Illinois radio stations.  An E-Card has sent out via email with a detailed run down of the day’s events, and a printed version is also now available. The conference registration website is up and running, and The Center for Security Policy is offering a discount to those who sign up in advance for the conference.

Heads of religious leadership from Greek Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Assyrian, Chaldean, Syriac, and Lebanese Maronite are invited to participate in this conference (most Christians in the middle east are Catholic or Orthodox, while Protestant Christianity is rare in that part of the world.)  Many of the attendees at this event will include members of the US military (active and retired), ACT for America members, Tea Party activists, political leaders, conservative Christian ministry organizations, and churches from throughout the Chicago metro area, including Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.

So ,if you’re wondering – no, this event won’t be free. However, it appears to be well worth the price of admission.  The final details for the Conference state that “Faith under Fire: The Global Threat to Religious Freedom” taking place from 8:30am to 4:30pm on Saturday, March 10, 2012 at Crystal Palace Banquets in Mt. Prospect, Illinois. The Crystal Palace Banquet facility seats 600 people. The cost for this conference is $39/person, which includes a continental breakfast, 7 course luncheon and refreshments throughout the day. Tickets purchased by March 1, 2012 are $39/person; after the 1st of March, tickets are $45/person. (For directions, or any questions about park for the event, it is advised to call Crystal Palace Banquets at (847) 956-7400). Their address is:

Crystal Palace Banquets

1070 South Elmhurst Road

Mt. Prospect, IL 60056

Speakers for this event include such figures as:

• Cynthia Farahat, Coptic Christian activist, and co-founder of the Egyptian Liberal Party (who  testified before a special committee of Congress chaired by Congressman Frank Wolf, on December 7, 2011)

• Dr. Ashraf Ramelah, Founder and President of Voice of the Copts

• Juliana Taimoorazy, Founder and Executive Director Iraqi Christian Relief Council

•  Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., President and CEO of the Center for Security Policy

• Hon. Fred Grandy, former US Congressman from Iowa and National Security Affairs Sr. Fellow, as well as Executive Vice-President at the Center for Security Policy

• Clare Lopez, former CIA official for two decades, strategic policy and intelligence expert with a focus on Middle East, national defense, WMD, and counterterrorism issues. She will speak on specific areas of expertise include Islam and Iran.

• Paul Marshall, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom and the author and editor of more than twenty books on religion and politics (he is Nina Shea’s counterpart at Hudson Institute).

• U.S. Congressman Joe Walsh (IL-8), Catholic and tea party activist

• U.S. Congressman Peter Roskam (IL-6), Keynote speaker

What I believe is most important when it comes to spreading the word about persecutions in the middle east is the way it impacts our society’s view of that part of the world. Many people woke up to reality after 9/11, only to see it die down in recent years as people began to feel that Islamic terrorists and other extremist groups just aren’t that threatening to religious freedom. Recently, much of Ron Paul’s foreign policy views have become popular and trendy in America society – a friend of mine recently posted a facebook graphic claiming that Islamic extremists only lash out at us when we bomb them first.  This is certainly news to Christians in the Middle East, who have been minding their own business for centuries only to see their way of life continually wiped out simply because they choose to exist alongside fundamentalists in another faith. The “Faith Under Fire” conference illustrates why a child-like posture of “they will be nice to us if we are nice to them” is a fantasy.  If it were true, Constantinople would still be a Christian city today, instead of the almost 100% Islamic city of Istanbul.

If you can’t afford it, maybe you know someone who can. What I would ask my faithful readers to do is at least stand with them in spirit by helping to get the word out about this event. Lent is coming up next week, and part of the biggest part of lent is charity and almsgiving.  As Catholics, we need to represent the persecuted Church and speak up for our Congressmen who are doing their part to bring relief to our persecuted brothers and sisters abroad. Now is the time to put March 10 on your calendar and set aside time for this very important event.  “Faith under Fire: The Global Threat to Religious Freedom” promises to be a truly eye-opening Chicago-area conference on the worldwide crisis of religious persecution.

The website to learn more about this event is http://faithunderfireconference.org/  and you support relief efforts for persecuted Christians in the middle east by visiting http://www.iraqichristianrelief.org/donate.html.  March will be a time of penance for Chicago Catholics. Will you be doing your part to set the example?

Formerly he was the Director of Spoon River College in Macomb, Illinois and taught religion and philosophy for fifteen years.  He founded the Society of St. Stephen in 1982 that worked on behalf of religious prisoners of conscience and their families in the former Soviet Union. He served as Christian Solidarity International’s Representative in Washington, D.C. until 2009.    He served as the Co-Director of the International Task Force, formerly The Task Force on Soviet Jewry, Executive Director of the Sudan Campaign, Co-Chairs the Coalition to Save Iraq’s Christians and Other Defenseless Minorities.  Is on the Board of Directors/Advisors of the Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy (Darfur), Religious Freedom Coalition (Washington, D.C.), Institut de l’Europe Libre (Paris),  International Christian Union, and Middle East Concern (Cyprus) and International Christian Union.

He is an Episcopal priest of the Diocese of Springfield, presently serving as Dean and Rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Carbondale.

Rep. Peter Roskam

Peter has long fought for commonsense conservative solutions to the problems our nation faces, now doing so at the GOP leadership table. Considered a “Rising Star” by a variety of news outlets, Roskam serves on the Ways & Means Committee where he’s earned a reputation as a leader championing innovative conservative solutions on taxes, trade, and healthcare.

The Washington Post writes that “Roskam’s positions should debunk the notion that there is some gap between GOP leadership and the grass roots.”

In addition to being the party’s chief deputy whip, Roskam is the co-chair of the Republican Israel Caucus and the U.S. Korea Working Group, dedicated to increasing pro-American export policies. In 2010, Peter served as the vice-chair of America Speaking Out, the organization that created the GOP’s Pledge to America.

A lifelong Illinoisan, Peter’s roots run deep in Chicago’s western suburbs. He was born and raised in Glen Ellyn, graduating from Glenbard West High School as a varsity athlete and school leader. After graduating from the University of Illinois and then the Illinois Institute of Technology Law School, Peter worked on Capitol Hill for his predecessor, the legendary Congressman Henry Hyde.

Following that, Roskam ran a non-profit scholarship program for disadvantaged youth in Chicago, Educational Assistance Ltd.

Before his election to Congress in 2006, Roskam was a member of the Illinois Senate from 2000-2006, serving as the Republican Whip and Floor Leader. There he served alongside then-State Senator Barack Obama. He served in the Illinois House before that from 1993 to 1998. His work earned him awards from businesses, health care, and pro-family organizations and in 2005, Americans for Tax Reform named him a “Hero of the Taxpayer.”

Peter now lives in Wheaton with his wife of 23 years, Elizabeth, and their four children, Gracey, Frankie, Steve, and AJ.

Joe Walsh

Joe began his career with Jobs For Youth, working in inner-city Chicago teaching high school dropouts basic academic and job skills; he worked on state and local public policy issues with the Heartland Institute, a free market think tank; he ran the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund, a Chicago-based privately funded school voucher program which gives high school scholarships to low-income Chicago eighth graders; he helped launch the Legislative Education Action Drive and Americans for Limited Government, national organizations working to get fiscally conservative state legislators elected in targeted states and advance the causes of limited government; he raised funds for and helped advance the cause of school choice for two of the nation’s leading school choice organizations, the American Education Reform Council and the Milton & Rose Friedman Foundation; and he continues to build support for an international charity which uses education and micro-enterprise to deliver Nicaraguan children from poverty, the Fabretto Children’s Foundation.

For the past couple of years, Joe has worked with local groups focused on raising early stage investment capital for new and small businesses and entrepreneurs. He has also consulted with the United Republican Fund, an Illinois-based state PAC helping to elect Republican state legislators.

Joe has a BA in English from the University of Iowa and a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Chicago. He has taught American government and American history at the community college level for a number of years, at Oakton Community College and the Hebrew Theological College.

Joe has run spirited campaigns for elected office twice, first as a Republican candidate for the United States Congress in 1996 and then as a Republican candidate for the Illinois State House in 1998.

As a life-long advocate for limited government and a vibrant private sector, Joe is troubled by the recent rapid growth of government spending and involvement in our lives. This concern has convinced him to move back to McHenry, IL, and run for the U.S. Congress. He intends to be a loud, forceful voice against this expanding government which will stifle economic growth and bankrupt our children and grandchildren.

Joe was born and raised in the heart of the Eighth District, growing up in a family of nine children. He and his wife Helene together have five children.

Hon. Fred Grandy

He is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard University, a successful actor in Hollywood on the hit TV series, The Love Boat, and a four term Congressman from Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives. Despite these influences he remains a solid conservative who for the past eight years has informed and entertained Washington, DC radio audiences on his popular daily  morning show The Grandy Group.

In addition to his careers in show business and politics, Grandy has been a respected non-profit executive as President and CEO of the internationally known and respected health and human services organization, Goodwill Industries International. He has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Affairs and holds a Master’s of Fine Arts Degree from George Washington University.