Sudan

We heard a Catholic priest describe life for Christians in Sudan, and here are some of the disturbing claims made:

• The constitution favors Islam over other religions.
• For a Christian person to attend high school and beyond, he/she either has to convert, or adopt a fake "Islamic" name, to sneak into the school system.
• Christian people, especially pregnant women, avoid the public hospitals for fear that they would be given inadequate, or even bad, medical advice.
• He claimed that outside countries were funding the central goverment, and the systematic persecution of Sudanese Christians was part of a move to make the entire country Islamic.
  

Clearly he was emotional, and was probably wanting to communicate how desperate their situation was. But even if half of what he was saying was true, it is a bleak picture. For what its worth, even Wikipedia has an entry on this issue.

Earlier this year, I highlighted the inadequacy of the U.S. policy towards Sudan. Here's hoping that the MSM starts covering Sudan! Religious freedom, including the freedom NOT to worship, is something we in the West are lucky to have. Hopefully, our foreign policy promotes this basic right, not suppress it.