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| Someone needs to tell the Family Research Council that fighting religious persecution and fighting anti-LGBTQ persecution is not an either/or situation |
On Tuesday, the Family Research Council praised Trump for supposedly calling out Nigeria for its persecution of Christians:
As toxic as our culture can be, Americans still take going to church safely for granted. In places like Nigeria, the simple act of showing up to worship can be deadly. Late last month, the world was horrified to read that another remote village in the African country lost another 19 people to a mass shooting at church. Radical Islamists walked into the service and opened fire, killing two priests and 17 others. The ones who survived watched helplessly as the Muslim herdsmen set fire to more than 50 of their homes. And the violence shows no sign of stopping.
Yesterday, in a joint press conference with the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, President Trump called out Buhari for not making more of an effort to protect the country's men and women of faith. "We are deeply concerned by religious violence in Nigeria including the burning of churches and the killing and persecution of Christians. It's a horrible story," Trump said bluntly. "We encourage Nigeria and the federal state and local leaders to do everything in their power to immediately secure the affected communities and to protect innocent civilians of all faiths including Muslims and including Christians."
It was a bold move to challenge Buhari publicly -- one that proves the president's deep sincerity on the issue of religious liberty. Although Nigerian officials have taken the threats of ISIS and Boko Haram more seriously, the Fulani herdsman are proving to be more deadly than either. The situation becomes even more delicate when you consider that Buhari is Fulani and also Muslim, which has led several people to wonder if he's trying hard enough to end the bloodshed.
Don't get me wrong. If this happened the way the Family Research Council claimed it did, then good for Trump. People shouldn't be imprisoned, murdered, or persecuted in any way for their religious beliefs.
And the same goes for sexual orientation. Too bad the Family Research Council doesn't feel that way.
