As all of you who have read (some of) his articles will know, Isaac is very critical about radical Islam. He witnessed the results of a culture of radical Islam, he saw the effects of this ideology of hatred and ignorance, how people are forced to live, first-hand. As a result, he understands that Muslim extremists do not just pose a threat to the West, but also to every single person living in 'Muslim countries'.
As a result, it should be obvious to anyone with any basic knowledge about this subject, it is not exactly safe for him, an apostate, to live in a country in which Muslim extremists have quite some power. He came from Pakistan, was educated in Saudi Arabia, later in the United States and now lives in Canada.
He is currently involved in the battle of his life: in January 2007 one judge will decide whether he should be granted refugee status in Canada or be deported to Pakistan.
He met with the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada yesterday. You can read his account of how it all went here.
started getting ready for the big day at 4 a.m. I put on my suit and then went to Toronto. My meeting was at 9:30 a.m. I had breakfast and then entered the building at 8:45 a.m.
[...]
was presented with a few documents such as the photocopy of my personal file and the supporting papers that I had provided them a few months earlier. A curious two-page document called the Screening Form was also given to me. Basically, in there, my claim was boiled down in a few words. I wasn't satisfied with the summary. In turn, the person(s) who made the Screening Form weren't satisfied with my claim.
For example, a part of the "Claim Description" in the Screening Form:
"PAKISTAN, Punjab, Lahore
Fear is unspecified/unclear
appears to fear persecution because of his anti-Islamic views."
[note by MichaelvdG: seldom read anything as ignorant as that part of the Screening Form]
Apparently, I have done an atrocious job of presenting my case. Fortunately, I still have three months to rectify the situation (since I can mail in documents at least 20 days before the hearing).
I asked a few questions about the summary. I was told that it comes down to credibility or rather the lack of it. The Refugee Protection Officer tried to console me by saying that that is the problem with everyone in my situation.
Isaac concludes:
The officer made a phone call to schedule the time for my hearing. She inquired if X day in January is alright. I thought to myself for a second and then asked if it was possible to make it the day after that. The officer went back to the call and in a few seconds answered in the affirmative.
[...]
On the trip back, only one thought echoed in my mind: On my next birthday, I will fight for my life.
You can help. If you have links to relevant article about the treatment of apostates / not-good-Muslims / etc. in Pakistan or just want to show Isaac your support, please use the e-mail button at his blog, drop it off in one of the comment sections at his blog and or just leave a link or even simply a word of support in the comment section here.
You can also send links and / or words of support to me, I will forward them to Isaac.
7 comments:
Thanks for sharing this. I will spread the word.
Maybe this man can help
Ali Sina is the founder of Faith Freedom International,a secularist organization dedicated to persuading Muslims to leave Islam. His website describes him as an ex-Muslim and as a Canadian writer of Iranian descent.
I'm glad you wrote about this Michael. And, I would encourage Isaac to write on this subject here as well.
I would say most of us are very interested to hear how things proceed.
Avenging Apostate,
I am guessing that it would be unwise for Isaac to use his blog as evidence in support of his "apostasy". I'm guessing they would then reject his request because they would believe him to be a racist and therefore an undesirable person.
There are support organisations (in Britain at any rate - and probably worldwide) for apostates who convert to Christianity.
From http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1470584,00.html
"....With other converts, Yasmin has helped to set up a series of support groups across England, who have adopted a method of operating normally associated with dissidents in dictatorships, not democracies. They not only have to meet in secret, but cannot advertise their services, and have to vet those that approach them for infiltrators.
“There are so many who convert from Islam to Christianity. We have 70 people on our list who we support, and the list is growing. We don’t want others to suffer like we have,” she said. ..
[SNIP]
.....Patrick Sookhdeo, director of the Barnabas Trust, which helps persecuted Christians around the world, said that it was finding increasing work in Britain: “It’s a growing problem. Today, conversion is seen as linked to Bush trying to convert the world — democratisation is confused with evangelism.
“The difficulty in Britain is the growing alienation between the minority Muslim communities and the mainstream Christian one. Christian mission work in inner cities is seen as an assault,” Dr Sookhdeo said. “We are only asking that freedom of religion should be applicable to everyone of every faith.”
Maybe the Barnabas trust/fund could help. Their website is http://www.barnabasfund.org/
Pastorius: "I'm glad you wrote about this Michael. And, I would encourage Isaac to write on this subject here as well."
I am working on a massive post. I'm aiming to have it up by September 20.
I'll provide links and post excerpts from it on IBA and at Liberty and Justice.
I'll also send it to Faith Freedom International and the Western Resistance blog.
Hey, does anyone know if the Yasmin that ROP refers to in his comment is our Yasmin?
If so, obviously, I was unaware of her activities.
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