AMERICAN Baptist and Southern Baptist leaders spoke out against a death sentence imposed on a pregnant Sudanese woman who refused to recant her Christian faith in front of a court that considers her Muslim.
Roy Medley, general secretary for American Baptist Churches USA, condemned the sentencing of to death for apostasy as “a violation of the fundamental human right to religious liberty.” He urged the international community to voice opposition to “such a heinous act.”
Russell Moore, president of Southern Baptists’ Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, wrote Secretary of State John Kerry to condemn the death sentence. Moore encouraged Kerry to denounce Ishag’s sentence as “cruel and inhumane, to demand her release, and to use the diplomatic influence of the State Department to advocate for this most fundamental human right, the freedom of religion and belief.”
A Khartoum court not only sentenced Ishag to death, but also convicted her of adultery with a penalty of 100 lashes because her marriage to a Christian man is considered void under Sharia law.
