Michelle Obama did a great job at raising awareness of the hundreds of girls kidnapped by terrorists in Africa. She lent credibility and awareness to #BringOutGirlsBack – the twitter hashtag devoted to making the world be informed about their terrible plight.
But where is Michelle Obama on another human rights victim — someone of interest to pro-life advocates and Christians around the world?
The First Lady has been silent on the plight of Meriam Ibrahim, the Christian woman sentenced to death in Sudan for rejecting Islam who is being shackled by Sudanese officials despite the fact she is eight-months pregnant. The Islamic court is waiting until Meriam Ibrahim, 26, gives birth before carrying out the sentence but she is reportedly held in chains until then.
SIGN THE PETITION! Save Meriam Ibrahim, Don’t Hang her to Death for Her Faith
Writing at The Federalist, Leslie Loftis takes Obama to task for her silence when it comes to Meriam.
It is easy to ignore the religious motivation for the girls’ kidnapping under the horrible drama of the actual event. But Meriam is in shackles in Sudan because she is a Christian. A Sudanese court has found her guilty of 1) adultery, for having sex with her husband—she is married to a Christian but since her absent father was Muslim, the court considers her a Muslim and therefore does not recognize the union, and 2) apostasy, refusal to renounce her Christian faith. For the adultery, she received a sentence of 100 lashes, stayed until she gives birth sometime in early June.
For the apostasy, she was sentenced to death, stayed until her baby turns two. (That turns the breast-is-best wars on it’s head. Breastfeeding is important enough to stay the execution, but the mother/child relationship is not enough for mercy? Ponder the attitudes toward women packed in that delay; they are plenty, but still not enough to overshadow the religious nature of this injustice.) And the reason her toddler is in the cell with her, the court also considers him Muslim based upon his maternal grandfather, therefore his Christian father is an unacceptable caregiver.
For Christian persecution, the US State Department, even at the behest of New Hampshire’s Senators, can hardly even muster a delayed and infamous-as-it-is-ineffective “sternly worded letter.” There is comparatively little press coverage. Not even a hashtag campaign.
