The enemies of freedom and liberty are persistently on the march across the globe, working overtime to obliterate individual rights and subjugate opponents under their wicked will.
From restrictions on free speech to violent assaults aimed at hampering religious freedom, the horrific methods employed at the hands of rogue governments, terrorist groups and other diabolical forces continue to develop and advance.
Global religious persecution, by all discernible accounts, is worsening. The latest example seems otherworldly: An Iraqi court is forcing a woman named Elvin Joseph to leave behind her Christian faith and convert to Islam.
Under the nation’s 1959 Personal Status Law, Ms. Joseph’s three daughters will also be compelled to change religions, according to International Christian Concern, a religious persecution watchdog.
The basis for this forced conversion is even more bizarre: When Ms. Joseph was 15, her mother converted to Islam after divorcing and remarrying a Muslim man, and thus the Personal Status Law required that she also embrace the Islamic faith.
When officials recently realized she hadn’t converted, they informed her of the “error” and the court took action. It’s a disturbing, antiquated mandate foisted upon people when one of their parents converts — and it flies in the race of rationality.
“I am married to a Christian man,” Ms. Joseph said. “I have three Christian kids. My education was in our language. All my official documents are Christian. Our marriage is registered by the church.”
The court’s ruling is preposterous and unimaginable, but it’s also dangerous. The mandate carries with it far more than a demand she becomes a nominal Muslim. According to International Christian Concern, the law affects “marital, inheritance and custodial rights.”
Americans might wonder why they should care about a case like this — and that’s a fair question. First and foremost, as International Christian Concern President Jeff King recently told The Washington Times’ Higher Ground, over the years, America has expended a boatload of money, time, effort and bloodshed trying to bring freedom to the Iraqi people.
“We invested like $800 billion trying to bring democracy to Iraq,” Mr. King told me, citing the U.S.-led wars in the region. “We lost like 4,500 people.
“We spilled a lot of blood … for that very purpose — to bring democracy.”
Even after so much effort, to see something like what’s happening to Ms. Joseph shows these quests have not reached their intended conclusion.
Mr. King is hoping to bring negative media attention to Ms. Joseph’s plight and Iraq’s handling of it in hopes that it pushes leaders in the country to take action and stop the forced conversion.
While we should care about the lack of freedom in Iraq in light of our losses and the general humanitarian issues at play, there’s another pressing reason issues like this must spawn us to pay attention and take action.
Freedom isn’t free, and the roots of dystopian nightmares are often quietly set before suddenly blooming into moral and ethical chaos.
It’s easy to pretend Iraq is some faraway land embroiled in a level of religious persecution and a dearth of free speech that America would never experience. But the reality is that the United States’ protections aren’t impermeable. Just consider some of the truly shocking cases that expose the extent to which secular forces will go to stop the presence of faith and religion in public life.
A case in point: Joe Kennedy, a high school football coach, had to fight all the way to the Supreme Court for his right to pray on the 50-yard line after games.
In California, the transgender battle has left Christian teachers fighting for their religious and free speech liberties, with parental rights continuously emerging as an area of concern when it comes to the LGBTQ debate.
Ms. Joseph’s battle and others like it shouldn’t be dismissed as far-off, unrelatable scenarios. These should be catalysts that motivate us to stand up and defend the First Amendment, giving our all to ensure the rights so many have died for remain intact.
Once religious liberty falls, other rights and protections tend to subsequently crumble.
“Religious freedom is an amalgamation of any number of rights, because … you have the right to congregate, to associate, [the] right to your conscience — it’s free speech,” Mr. King said. “All these different rights, it’s an extremely potent force for democracy.”
The best way to prevent a nation from slipping into the sort of ideological evil that enables a court to mandate forced religious conversion is to staunchly defend every person’s right to believe and speak as they wish.
“Religious freedom is the queen of the rights,” Mr. King continued. “It’s enshrined in our Constitution as such because it’s such a potent force for democracy.”
As Americans, we have benefited from brave men and women who have gone on the front lines to fight for our rights. We’ve also been fortunate enough to have enough politicians and justices defend the underpinnings of what makes this nation great.
But if we want to keep it great, we, too, must step up to the plate and ensure our First Amendment protections. Let Ms. Joseph’s case be a cautionary tale of what might happen if we abandon this responsibility.
• Billy Hallowell is a digital TV host and interviewer for Faithwire and CBN News and the co-host of CBN’s “Quick Start Podcast.” He is the author of four books.
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