Iranian Man Refused Asylum in UK Because He Converted from Islam to Christianity
U.K. immigration officials cite 'violence' in the Christian religion
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The UK government has rejected an Iranian man's application for asylum because he had converted from Islam to Christianity, according to a report from The Times.
Immigration officials in the UK responded to the man's application and 'explained' why they were discriminating against him.
Biblical passages from the books of Leviticus and Revelation were cited by immigration officials to back up their rejection for asylum.
According to The Times report:
Immigration officials wrote to the man citing violent passages from the Bible to prove their point. They said that the Book of Revelation was “filled with imagery of revenge, destruction, death, and violence.”
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It then states:
“These examples are inconsistent with your claim that you converted to Christianity after discovering it is a ‘peaceful’ religion, as opposed to Islam which contains violence, rage, and revenge.”
According to a report from The Independent:
The Home Office said its rejection letter was “not in accordance” with its policy approach to claims based on religious persecution, and said it was working to improve the training provided to decision-makers on religious conversion.
Lawyers and campaigners condemned the letter saying shows a “distortion of logic” and a “reckless” approach to asylum seekers’ lives, stemming from a tendency by the department to “come up with any reason they can to refuse” cases.
The reports also note that the Church of England condemned the immigration officials for their “lack of religious literacy.”
Christians are known to face untold hostility in Iran.
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Just over a hundred Christians were arrested in Iran just before Christmas as they celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ.
In 2017, Iran arrested four Iranian ' pro-Israel' Christians and sentenced them to ten years in prison for “promoting Zionist Christianity.”
Last year we reported that the UK accepted over 1,100 Muslim Syrian refugees but refused Christians.
Even despite the suffering of Christians during seven years of civil war, including the persecution by Islamic State, the UK government still refused to accept Christian refugees.
In official figures, 4,832 Syrians invited to settle in the UK last year; only 11 were Christian.
According to a Daily Mail report from last year, The 1,112 Syrian refugees admitted to the UK last year were among 1,358 recommended for resettlement by the UN refugee agency UNHCR.
Just four were Christians were picked the UN agency, but none made the final list.
Barnabas said UN criteria for resettlement took account of disability and sexual orientation but did not give priority to those who may be targeted for their religious faith.
'We don't want them to prioritize Christians – we want to prioritize people on the basis of their vulnerability,' said Martin Parsons, head of research at Barnabas.
