Granting asylum to Christian converts

In recent years, thousands of people from Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries have changed their religion. They have - secretly - become Christians in their home country or after fleeing to Germany, as converting to another religion is a punishable offence in many countries.

More than 2000 Iranians, Afghans, Iraqis and Pakistanis live in Berlin alone, to name just a few countries,
who became Christians, were baptised and actively participate in church life. The two largest congregations currently have 1200 and 850 worshippers respectively.

Many of the so-called converts, i.e. people who have changed their religion, apply for asylum.

In Berlin, around 90% are currently having their asylum applications rejected. The situation is unlikely to be any different in other federal states.

As far as I can see, the main reasons for the high number of rejections are as follows:

• Poor quality of the translation at the hearing. Many - mostly Muslim - translators are unable or unwilling to do not translate Christian terms correctly. This leads to ambiguities and errors in the protocol.
• Lack of clarity about test criteria: There seems to be a lack of clarity on how to find out whether a person is actually a believer. Interrogators ask questions such as „When was Luther's birthday?“ or „What is the difference between the Christian denominations?“ to test the sincerity of faith. Baptism certificates and confirmations from pastors are often not taken into account.
• Lack of expertise: Some people - often far removed from the faith - find it difficult to imagine someone taking great risks and disadvantages because of their faith. To some it seems The people who live in these countries also lack knowledge about how people who turn away from Islam are dealt with in their home countries.

I personally know some people who I experience as lively and deeply religious people with whom I can pray and share my faith and who have not been granted asylum here. If they are deported, they face imprisonment or even the death penalty in their home country. I would like to prevent that.

What you can do

The situation affects thousands of people in Germany alone who need our protection.

One practical way of doing this is to draw the attention of political decision-makers to the situation.

Please sign and spread the Petition „Grant asylum to Christian converts“  

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