The same Germany that took in over a million Muslim migrants in 2015 and ten thousand non-vetted Afghans in 2021 — all people who, by definition, could not be experiencing religious persecution back home as they themselves are Muslim — has refused asylum to a Muslim convert to Christianity, even though one of his relatives was tortured and murdered for the same “crime” of apostasy in his native Iran.
Meet “Hassan”
Going under the pseudonym of “Hassan” to protect his identity, the 44-year-old cabinetmaker applied for asylum in Germany in 2018. The authorities based their rejection of his testimony on their belief that no one would convert to Christianity if they knew what happens to converts in Iran. In this, they were referring to Hassan’s brother-in-law, who introduced Hassan to Christianity, and was later arrested and killed in prison for participating in a house church. German authorities concluded that it was “not particularly likely” that Hassan would become — certainly not remain — a Christian after such an event, as the persecution and murder would have a “deterrent effect” on any other would-be converts, namely Hassan.
After Germany closed its doors to him, Hassan took his case to the European Court of Human Rights. It, too, recently denied his appeal. The 44-year-old apostate from Islam is now set to be deported back to the Islamic Republic of Iran, an act that seems the equivalent of sentencing him to death, or at the very least, extreme persecution and imprisonment.
Hassan’s Testimonial
Before German authorities rejected his request for asylum, Hassan had offered the following testimonial to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees:
My wife’s brother had become a different person by becoming a Christian. We wanted to see if we would get this feeling when we became Christians ... . I had had many problems in Iran ... I had many [religious] questions, but I was not allowed to ask them. When I asked questions, I was beaten at school. This led me to want to know which God I was facing. One day my brother-in-law said to me and my wife that he had good news. There is a treasure, there is a living God, Jesus Christ, we are His children and not His slaves ... . He said there is a free salvation available.
Christ in Iran
The Islamic Republic of Iran, it’s worth noting, is one of the worst nations to persecute Christians — especially Muslim converts. As one human rights group explained back in 2017:
A great many Iranians have been coming to Christ and it’s something which the authorities are clearly very unhappy about. So there are periodic arrests, detentions, [and] imprisonments. There have been a lot of charges lately which are suggesting an even greater clampdown — sentences of 10-15 years in some cases for Christians. And usually, the authorities will suggest that this [is] the result of undermining the state or seeking to collaborate against the state and will use more political charges than say apostasy or blasphemy laws.
“In Germany I share the gospel, I organize prayer circles here in the accommodation,” he said. “I want to be a good example, to win the others to faith in Jesus Christ. My greatest goal would be for my children to be able to find Christ in freedom, and to do good.”
Why Did Germany Find Hassan’s Faith Unintelligible?
Here we come to a critically important though overlooked question: Why did the German authorities find Hassan’s testimony — that he became Christian despite knowing the dire consequences — unintelligible in the first place? The obvious answer is that, as atheists/materialists, the authorities simply could not believe that anyone would risk their lives just to be Christian.
As Lidia Rieder of ADF, who are assisting Hassan, observes,
There are national and international guidelines for asylum applications based on religious grounds ... . Unfortunately, this guidance is being used very selectively by the German decision-makers. They do not understand that maintaining a religious belief when persecuted can be appealing to others and not just a deterrent as seen from the history of Christianity.
“Where Is Your God Now?”
There are, in fact, many other examples of “Western decision makers” — particularly at the United Kingdom’s Home Office, which runs its immigration program — employing sarcasm and mockery in their decisions to deny asylum to persecuted converts.
Thus, an Iranian female asylum seeker was sarcastically informed in her rejection letter from the Home Office that “You affirmed in your AIR [Asylum Interview Record] that Jesus is your saviour, but then claimed that He would not be able to save you from the Iranian regime. It is therefore considered that you have no conviction in your faith and your belief in Jesus is half-hearted.”
“You affirmed that Jesus is your saviour, but claimed He would not be able to save you from the Iranian regime. It is therefore considered that you have no conviction in your faith and your belief in Jesus is half-hearted.”
Discussing her experiences, the rejected woman explained her plight: “In my country if someone converts to Christianity their punishment is death or execution.” Concerning the asylum process, she said that whenever she responded to her Home Office interviewer, “he was either chuckling or maybe just kind of mocking when he was talking to me ... . [H]e asked me why Jesus didn’t help you from the Iranian regime or Iranian authorities.”
Similarly, in his rejection letter from the United Kingdom’s Home Office, one Iranian man was told that several biblical passages were “inconsistent” with his claim to have converted to Christianity after discovering it was a “peaceful” faith. The letter cited biblical excerpts — including from Exodus, Leviticus, Matthew, and Revelation — as supposed proof that the Bible is violent, before concluding: “These examples are inconsistent with your claim that you converted to Christianity after discovering it is a ‘peaceful’ religion, as opposed to Islam which contains violence, rage and revenge.”
In short, Western countries welcoming millions of religious Muslims are sending Muslim apostates off to their deaths.
