Monthly Newsletter-October 2020
Message from IDC President Toufic Baaklini
Hello IDC Friends and Supporters,
During the last several months, IDC has been tirelessly working to ensure that the voice of persecuted Christians remains active in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. At our Digital Summit on September 23rd, we hosted more than 13 Members of Congress, countless religious leaders, and a variety of leading experts on our policy initiatives. IDC has also hosted several press conferences on important issues, such as the genocide of Christian Nigerians and Turkish aggression towards Armenian, Greek, and Syriac Christians. Additionally, we’ve continued to advocate for a variety of legislative initiates, which can be found here.
Please read through our newsletter for more updates.
2020 Digital Summit:
Combating Global Christian Persecution
The 2020 Summit showcased IDC’s achievements in 2019-2020 and highlighted the bipartisan 2020 recipients of the Congressional Champions Award.
The Summit was hosted by Tracy Sabol, Lead Anchor at EWTN Nightly News and was co-chaired by Representative Anna Eshoo and Representative Jeff Fortenberry.
Speakers included: His Beatitude Cardinal Al-Rai, Maronite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch; His Eminence Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York; Senator Chris Van Hollen; Senator Marsha Blackburn; and Representative Ro Khanna.
Watch the livestream of the event here:
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Remarks from Members of Congress:
Members of Congress include:
Senator Lankford, Representative Crenshaw, Representative Fortenberry, Representative Eshoo, Representative Wolf, Representative Wilson, Representative Khanna, Representative Hill, Representative Raskin, Representative Bilirakis, Representative Lipinski, Representative Buck, Senator Blackburn, Senator Van Hollen
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Press Conferences
Genocide of Nigerian Christians
June 25, 2020
Panelists include:
-Bishop Matthew Kukah of the Roman Catholic Diocese
of Sokoto, Nigeria
-Archbishop Benjamin Kwashi of the Jos Province in the
Anglican Church of Nigeria
-Mr. Toufic Baaklini of In Defense of Christians
-Dr. Gregory Stanton of Genocide Watch
-Rep. Frank Wolf, Author of 1998 International Religious
Freedom Act
-Rev. Johnnie Moore of the United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom
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Turkey is committing another Christian Genocide.
Why is the Trump Administration Silent?
October 16, 2020
Panelists Include:
-Toufic Baaklini, IDC President
-Aram Hamparian, ANCA Executive Director
-Robert Avetisyan, Permanent Representative of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic to the United States
-Michael Rubin, AIE Resident Scholar
-Endy Zemenides, HALC Executive Director
-Rich Ghazal, IDC Senior Advisor
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Press Coverage
Catholic News Agency:
New calls for US sanctions on Turkey for Christian persecution
The Christian Post: Sen. Van Hollen: Christians are most under threat minorities in the Middle East
The National Interest: The United Nations Has a Lebanon Problem
The Washington Free Beacon:
Three Republican Senators Get Failing Grades for Protecting Christians in the Middle East
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Senior Advisor Rich Ghazal on EWTN Nightly News Discussing Turkish Aggressions and the Hagia Sophia
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Action Alerts
Turkey has a long history of denying its genocides of Christians across the Middle East. It has persecuted Christians within its borders, in Syria, in Artsakh, and elsewhere. It has gone so far as to bring jihadist fighters to terrorize Christians in Artsakh.
America should never consider a country like this an ally.
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Lebanon is the last beacon of pluralism in the Middle East and the only country where Christians and Muslims have worked together to build a democracy representative of both groups. In the wake of the devastating explosion, tell your Members of Congress to stand with Lebanon by signing House Resolution 1077 and Senate Resolution 682.
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Armenian Christians are facing another genocide because of the Turkish-supported aggression of Azerbaijan. Ask your Representative to help them by supporting H.Res.1165.
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Turkey’s history—from its Ottoman past, to the regime of its current Islamist president—has been defined by its poor treatment of its Christian minority. in July 2020, supported by the questionable jurisprudence of Turkey’s highest administrative court, President Erdogan has decided to convert the Hagia Sophia, the world’s once-largest Christian cathedral into a mosque. The conversion of this ancient Christian landmark and UNESCO World Heritage Site is not only an affront to Eastern Christians, but to all Christians and people of good will. In solidarity with the persecuted Christians of the Middle East and Africa, we call on consumers to:
- Boycott tourism and travel in Turkey. Moreover, if traveling in Europe or Asia, try to book fights that do not include layovers in Turkey on the travel itinerary. British Airways, Air France, and Lufthansa all have layovers in the U.K., France, and Germany. These are good options if one cannot fly direct.
- Boycott Turkish Airlines.
- Boycott Peyman (dried seeds and fruit company)
- Boycott Beko (home appliance company)
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