{"id":181,"date":"2009-06-04T14:02:54","date_gmt":"2009-06-04T14:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/06\/obama-opens-door-now-action.html"},"modified":"2009-06-04T14:02:54","modified_gmt":"2009-06-04T14:02:54","slug":"obama-opens-door-now-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/06\/obama-opens-door-now-action.html","title":{"rendered":"Obama Opens Door – Now Action Must Follow"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barry, President Obama opened the door with a brief mention of religious freedom in his 55-minute speech to the Arab world. To his credit, he did bring up the importance of religious freedom, saying:  <\/span>“Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together. We must always examine the ways in which we protect it.”  <\/span>It’s a good beginning, but President Obama must use this opportunity to take some real action – to engage this issue with those in the Middle East who have a notorious record for persecuting Christians and others who do not embrace Islam.   <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font> <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font>He did include a couple of lines about ‘religious diversity’ – “Among some Muslims, there is a disturbing tendency to measure one’s own faith by the rejection of somebody else’s. The richness of religious diversity must be upheld – whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt.”<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Barry, this is an issue where President Obama must use his presidential clout – this isn’t just about religious ‘tolerance’ – it’s about real life-and-death issues facing those who want to practice their religious faith.  <\/span>We have just completed detailed reports about the persecution of Christians in Saudi Arabia <\/a><\/font>and Egypt<\/a>. <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/font> <\/p>\n

The persecution of Christians who make up the ‘minority’ religion in many countries is on the rise.  <\/span>That’s exactly why we sent a letter to the White House <\/a><\/font>outlining specific incidents involving the persecution of Christians in the Middle East.  <\/span>And, that is exactly why we called on President Obama “to resolve to establish policy that would bring safety and security for the Christian minority who desire to practice their faith, but who continue to live in fear for their lives in the Middle East.”<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

The ‘religious freedom’ reference in the speech was fine.  <\/span>But, if President Obama is truly committed to upholding what he calls “the richness of religious diversity” – he must begin to put words into action.  <\/span>People of all faith – including Christians being persecuted in the Middle East – deserve nothing less.<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font> <\/p>\n

To subscribe to “Lynn v. Sekulow” click <\/font>here<\/font><\/a>.<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Barry, President Obama opened the door with a brief mention of religious freedom in his 55-minute speech to the Arab world. To his credit, he did bring up the importance of religious freedom, saying:  “Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together. We must always examine the ways in which…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[123,4,162,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-president-barack-obama","category-religious-freedom","category-religious-persecurtion","category-white-house"],"yoast_head":"\nObama Opens Door - Now Action Must Follow - Lynn v. 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Jay Sekulow has also served as a faculty member for the Office of Legal Education at the United States Department of Justice.  As a member of the faculty he instructed Assistant United States Attorneys and investigators in the First Amendment issues associated with prosecution of obscenity. An accomplished and respected judicial advocate, Sekulow has presented oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in numerous cases in defense of constitutional freedoms. Several landmark cases argued by Sekulow before the U.S. Supreme Court have become part of the legal landscape in the area of religious liberty litigation.  In the Mergens case, Sekulow cleared the way for public school students to form Bible clubs and religious organizations on their school campuses.  In the Lamb's Chapel case, Sekulow defended the free speech rights of religious groups, ensuring that they be treated equally with respect to the use of public facilities.  And, most recently, in McConnell v. FEC, Sekulow ensured that the constitutional rights of young people remain protected with a unanimous decision by the high court guaranteeing that minors can participate in political campaigns. A nationally recognized and respected defender of religious freedom, Sekulow has assembled one of the most prestigious law firms in the nation.  Founded in 1990, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses in constitutional law.  The ACLJ, under Sekulow's direction, is involved in public interest and public policy issues working to protect religious and constitutional liberties. In 2007, the Chicago Tribune concluded that the ACLJ has \"led the way\" in Christian legal advocacy.  In 2005, TIME Magazine named Sekulow one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America and called the ACLJ \"a powerful counterweight\" to the ACLU.  Business Week said the ACLJ is \"the leading advocacy group for religious freedom.\"  Sekulow's work on the issue of judicial nominees - including possible vacancies at the Supreme Court - has received extensive news coverage including a front page story in The Wall Street Journal.  In addition, The National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \"100 Most Influential Lawyers\" in the United States (1994, 1997).  He is also among a distinguished group of attorneys known as \"The Public Sector 45\" named by The American Lawyer (January\/February 1997).  The magazine said the designation represents \"45 young lawyers outside the private sector whose vision and commitment are changing lives.\" Sekulow brings insight and education to listeners daily with his national call-in radio program, Jay Sekulow Live!, which is broadcast throughout the country on nearly 850 radio stations.  Sekulow also hosts a weekly television program, ACLJ This Week, which tackles the tough issues of the day and is broadcast on a number of networks nationwide including the Trinity Broadcasting Network and FamilyNet.  Sekulow is also a popular guest on nationally televised news programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, CNBC, and PBS.  He frequently contributes articles and commentary to national publications and is often quoted in the nation's leading newspapers including USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times. A graduate of Mercer University, Sekulow graduated cum laude receiving both a bachelor's degree and doctor of jurisprudence from Mercer University where he served on the Mercer Law Review as an editorial staff member.  Following graduation, Sekulow served as a tax trial attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service.  In that capacity, Sekulow prepared and brought to trial tax cases on behalf of the United States Department of Treasury in United States Tax Court. He also received a Ph.D. from Regent University, with a dissertation on American Legal History, and is the author of numerous publications and law articles. Sekulow serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, DC.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/author\/jsekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}