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Washington DC: Meriam Ibrahim describes ordeal in Sudan prison


Meriam Ibrahim

Meriam Ibrahim

“God is good.” With those words, a beaming Meriam Ibrahim, a 27-year-old Sudanese woman who became an international symbol of religious persecution, delivered a speech to 500 people at the Values Voter Summit on Saturday night. Her words were spoken in halting and broken English, but the audience at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in northwest Washington DC heard them. The crowd clapped, whistled, and cheered its approval. To Ibrahim’s left was her wheelchair bound husband, Daniel.

Ibrahim described her captivity in a jail cell in the country’s capital of Khartoum. The daughter of a Christian mother and Muslim father, Ibrahim had been imprisoned and given a death sentence for allegedly apostasizing from Islam. She said the most difficult episodes were the visits of her husband to see her and the couple’s young son, Martin. Prison rules proscribed the visits to no more than 10 minutes. “Martin wanted to go with (Daniel) after the time limit was up, and I could do nothing to help him,” Ibrahim said. “I am not a criminal. The Lord is with us.”

Ibrahim gave birth to a daughter, Maya, while in shackles, according to media reports. Religious and political leaders, including Pope Francis, urged Sudanese officials to release her. In July, they got their wish after Ibrahim reunited with her husband, an American citizen. The couple lives in New Hampshire with their two children.

Ibrahim thanked many people who worked to secure her release, including Reps. Christopher Smith and Mark Meadows. She also praised God.

“We must believe in the Lord and follow him with all of your steps because he loves us,” she said before ending her 10-minute speech with one last spiritual exhortation. “Be strong and the Lord will be with you.”

Earlier in the program, speakers described the efforts that led to Ibrahim’s release.

Tina Ramirez, the president and founder of Hardwired, Inc., said her Virginia-based organization helped organize the five Muslim lawyers who secured Ibrahim’s release. Also, Ramirez gave credit to Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, the host of the three-day event. “Tony was at the forefront of getting media attention to her cause,” Ramirez said, adding that international journalists applied pressure on the Sudanese government to release Ibrahim.

Earlier this month, Ibrahim told Fox News that officials at the US Embassy in Sudan “refused to deal with her,” but she said Ambassador Jerry Lanier, the US Charge D’Affairs to Sudan, helped secure her release.

This extract from a report by Mark Stricherz is published with permission by Aleteia. For more information see: www.aleteia.org/en/news/list

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