September: Middle East Concern

Middle East Concern supports those in the Middle East & North Africa who are persecuted for being or becoming Christians

We work with Christian churches and community leaders to monitor discrimination and persecution. Upon the request of the local church leadership, we provide support in the following ways:

Assisting victims of persecution:
 Offering encouragement and informed, trustworthy expertise
 Mobilising world-wide prayer, in open or confidential networks
 Initiating political advocacy on behalf of victims of persecution
 Providing practical and financial support, for example to those fleeing life-threatening persecution

Challenging laws, policies and attitudes:
 Undertaking research-based advocacy on legal and structural issues that underlie persecution
 Campaigning for the re-instatement of civil rights to converts from other faiths
 Addressing unhealthy responses to persecution such as hasty relocation to the West

Equipping Christians to face persecution:
 Conducting seminars to help Christians respond Biblically to suffering and persecution
 Training community leaders on constitutional rights and international law
 Providing practical training on issues such as crisis management and handling arrest and interrogation

The Suffering Church
Persecution takes many forms.
From oppression and discrimination to blatant denial of constitutional or inter-nationally recognised freedoms, religious persecution is the deliberate suppression of a person or community’s right to hold and manifest their religious beliefs.
For centuries, Christians in the Middle East and North Africa have been discriminated against, marginalised and at times violently persecuted.
Some have been imprisoned, tortured or even killed for their faith in Jesus Christ. Their pain and suffering are often silent. They are cut off from family and Christian fellowship. They are vulnerable to abuse by state security services, extremist groups, their communities and their families.
We believe that all Christians are called to stand with those who are persecuted. Christians are called not only to expect persecution but to also fight injustice.
Responding to the injustice of persecution is part of the Christian calling.

Organisation
Our vision is that Christian communities and individual Christians in the Middle East and North Africa will be able to practise their faith freely.
We are a coalition of Christian agencies and individuals advocating for the human rights of Christians.
In addition to the Bible, we take our mandate from the following documents:
 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 (Article 18)
 The Lausanne Covenant, 1974 (Paragraph 13)
 Dignitatis Humanae (Declaration on Religious Freedom), 1965
We were founded in 1991 in response to needs expressed by Christian leaders in the region. Our individual and corporate membership includes Christians living and working in all countries of the Middle East and North Africa.

On the web:  Middle East Concern