Two British judges have argued that Muslims lied about converting to Christianity and deceived Anglican clergy to apply for asylum and remain in the country.
The allegations have sparked debate within the government, media and church over whether there should be further investigations into clergy who claim to have converted from one religion to another. In the UK, people who convert from Islam to Christianity can apply for asylum if they risk facing persecution in their home country because of their new faith.
The controversy has raised concerns among Christian leaders that it could undermine the asylum claims of legitimately converted individuals.
“Converts to Christianity in some countries are among the most persecuted minorities in the world,” former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey wrote in a US column. telegraph paper. “True converts in countries that are at considerable risk through ‘apostasy’ find themselves weakened by a small number of spurious incidents in which people are taking advantage of the system.”
Justin Welby, the current Archbishop of Canterbury, said the church had done nothing wrong.
The judges say the clergymen accepted their asylum claims too easily. In one case, a judge found that “a church leader was deceived by an Iranian immigrant who could not even name the church.” premier christian news report. According to the immigrants, communication was “limited to greetings and asking how people were doing.” [with] Broken English and hand signals. ”
In a separate case, the judge said the pastor “uncritically accepted the asylum seeker at face value” and did not consider other motivations for joining the church, Premier Christian News reported.
Suela Braverman, a former member of parliament and the government’s former home secretary, made the claim in a column in the US. telegraph paper Some individuals in immigrant communities are “taking advantage of the system.”
“Upon arrival in the UK, migrants are directed to these churches as a one-stop shop to strengthen their asylum claims,” Mr Braverman wrote. “Attend Mass once a week for a few months, make friends with the pastor, write down your baptismal date in your diary, and then, bingo, you’re a member of the clergy who is a God-fearing Christian.” If you are taken away to a Muslim country of origin, you may face a certain amount of persecution. It has to stop. We have to deal with the problem wisely. No wonder the former abbot of Liverpool Cathedral pointed out that in four years they had converted around 200 asylum seekers to Christianity, but that they had baptized Muslims who were already British citizens. I have no memory.”
Mr Welby said in a statement on February 7 that the role of clergy was being misperceived.
“Churches across the country are committed to caring for vulnerable people from all backgrounds,” Welby said. Said. “For refugees and people seeking asylum, we simply follow the Biblical teaching of caring for the stranger. It is the government’s job to protect borders, and it is the courts’ job to adjudicate asylum cases. . The Church is called to love mercy and do justice. I encourage you to avoid irresponsible and inaccurate comments. And at the center of this conversation, I urge you to avoid making irresponsible and inaccurate comments. Let’s not forget that these people are precious and vulnerable.”
Carey, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, has both defended and criticized the church. He said: “It is the job of the Home Office and the judiciary to apply asylum rules, not the church.” He also pointed out that the Church of England’s guidelines “provide information to clergy on how to ‘start a personal campaign’ if their application is refused”.
“There is not much advice available on how to determine whether the conversion is genuine, long-standing, and life-changing,” Carey wrote. “While it is true that most clergy have sufficient experience in dealing with pastoral situations of this kind, the Church should do more to insist that baptismal preparation is rigorous. be.”
Mr Carey argued that Britain needed to get its broken immigration system under control. He said the UK’s population was growing at a very fast pace and the poor were suffering.
“My concern and concern…is with people affected by severe shortages of housing and services, conditions that are reaching breaking point in impoverished areas,” he wrote. “While the elites are well protected, Britain’s poorest have a different experience. An experiment in mass immigration has been imposed on them without their consent, changing their lives and communities.”
Image credit: ©Getty Images/Patricia Hamilton
Michael Faust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His story was published in Baptist Press. Christianity Today, Christian Poecent, of leaf chronicle, of toronto star and of knoxville news sentinel.
