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Fighting For Freedom

Yesterday Bill, Denise, Caroline & I spent the evening in the beautiful old Ottawa railway station, high vaulted ceilings, beautiful architecture and a feeling of tranquility meet you when you enter the building from Rideau Street and out of the bustle of Ottawa's Winterlude.  Yet, what we witnessed and heard yesterday evening did not paint a tranquil picture of our world. We gathered with 100 other religious leaders, Members of Parliament and media to watch a screening of the new documentary "Freedom Fighter" created by One Free World International.

The documentary tells the story and passion of the organizations Founder and President, Rev. Majed El Shafie. A Muslim from Egypt who converted to Christianity while in law school, Rev. El Shafie was persecuted and severely tortured after building an underground congregation and appealing for equal rights for Christians in the late 1990s. He fled to Israel to escape execution and spent over a year in jail while Amnesty International and the United Nations investigated and intervened on his behalf. He eventually came to Canada, where he started OFWI. Read more about Rev. El Shafie story here.

This documentary follows the efforts of Rev. Majed El Shafie and his organization One Free World International over a four-year period as he travels on fact-finding missions to investigate and document human rights abuses against religious minorities around the world.

I was left in complete and under shock at not only what this one man has gone through but what Christians and other religious minorities have to endure on a daily basis around the world. We have it so good in Canada, so good. I feel frustrated with why this can happen in our time, under our watch. Why we are not praying for and speaking up more for our brothers and sisters around the world.

I would like to advocate that this is a topic that is brought up in our churches; that this is addressed by leaders in our community. Yes, the government has a big part to play in the policy making but we, as Christians, have just as big a part to play in advocating for religiousfreedom, staying informed on what is happening to Christians around the world, telling our friends, neighbours and family members about the persecution that is taking place and most importantly PRAYING for the persecuted church. Persecution is not something that only happened in Bible times, it is happening now, to our generation of Christians. Do not turn your back on the world through ignorance. As Edmund Burke explained in the 18th Century "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

For more information on Rev. Majed El Shafie, One Free World International and to order a copy of "Freedom Fighter", visit onefreeworldinternational.org.

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