Christian leaders recently came together to send a letter to President Donald Trump, warning the commander-in-chief about the dire situation for Christians and other minority groups inside Syria.
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The letter, written by Dede Laugesen, president of Save the Persecuted Christians, was delivered before Trump held a meeting last month with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, with its contents imploring the president and other U.S. leaders to act on behalf of minority factions.
Individuals like Dr. Ben Carson, author Eric Metaxas, Pastor Jack Hibbs, and many others implored Trump to press al-Sharaa on the matter. Matthew Faraci, religious freedom advisor to the National Association of Christian Lawmakers, spoke to CBN News about the effort.
Faraci, who decried the “gruesome” events unfolding inside Syria, said Trump is committed “not only to protecting Christians in Syria, but around the world.”
“What [Trump is] saying is … that ‘America First’ means that we protect Christians and we protect against Christian persecution,” he said, noting leaders want to be sure Trump extends this to Syria and the Christians under assault there.
Faraci said Trump reportedly spoke with al-Sharaa about these matters after receiving the letter and also addressed some of the disturbing background on the Syrian president.
“This is a former Al-Qaeda fighter,” he said of al-Sharaa. “He fought Americans in Mosul during the Iraq War. He was the commander of the area.”
He continued, “Then, of course, he went to Syria, joined another terrorist group and that terrorist group ended up overthrowing [Bashar] al-Assad.”
Faraci and others are working hard to try and push for humanitarian aid and assistance in Syria.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that religious freedom is the most sacred human right of all,” he said. “Think about that. If you don’t have religious freedom, what do you have? Religious freedom is the canary in the coal mine. If you don’t have religious freedom, underneath it, you’re going to have terrorism.”
