UK faith leaders call for death sentence on Mariam Ibrahim to be dropped

Faith leaders across the UK have called for the death sentence on a Christian woman in Sudan to be dropped. Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra and Bishop Paul Hendricks from Southwark Diocese, write: "As Co-Chairs of the Christian Muslim Forum, we call for compassion in this situation and for the death sentence against Mariam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag to be dropped. Our religions tell us that human interactions should be shaped by compassion and humanity, not by death sentences. It is vital that all people should enjoy freedom of conscience and be able to follow their own religion, as we have already highlighted in our Ethical Witness Guidelines. See: www.christianmuslimforum.org/downloads/Ethical_Guidelines_for_Witness.pdf

Christians and Muslims should be able to coexist alongside each other, we emphasise that force and compulsion are not characteristics of either faith.

Archbishop Justin Welby said he "wholeheartedly" endorses the call. A patron of the Forum himself, the Archbishop said: "The Christian Muslim Forum brings together both leaders and scholars from the range of Muslim and Christian communities in this country. This statement therefore has weight and deserves to be widely shared. I wholeheartedly endorse this call from the Christian Muslim Forum for the death sentence against Mariam Yahya to be dropped."

For more information and a petition, see: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/President_of_Sudan_Omar_AlBashir_Save_Mariam_Yahya/?tKEUnbb