IDC Celebrates its Sixth Annual National Leadership Conference
On September 10th and 11th, In Defense of Christians hosted its National Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. with its sixth Solidarity Dinner on September 10th at the Hamilton Live and Capitol Hill Day on September 11th on Capitol Hill.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- On September 10th and 11th, In Defense of Christians hosted its National Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. with its sixth Solidarity Dinner on September 10th at the Hamilton Live and Capitol Hill Day on September 11th on Capitol Hill.
At the Solidarity Dinner, United States Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, Samuel Brownback, was awarded the Charles Malik Human Rights.
Award for his efforts in protecting religious freedoms. Ambassador Brownback discussed the current state of Christians worldwide, stating that "There is more persecution of Christians now, arguably, than any time in the history of the world.....there's a big guilt complex in a lot of the West that we shouldn't be standing up for Christians."
The dinner also included messages of support from both President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo. The letter from President Trump discussed the importance of religious freedom, and commended IDC's role in protecting them by stating that "...IDC's efforts are essential to advancing religious liberty." Secretary Pompeo echoed the words of President Trump in a video message, where he said that "..You (IDC) amplify the voices of those who otherwise would have no voice." He went on to note IDC's important work in providing information by saying "You share invaluable insight with top U.S. policy makers, you truly do the Lord's work.
The Solidarity dinner was attended by several Members of Congress, senior State Department and White House officials, members of the diplomatic corps, and leaders of the religious community.
IDC President Toufic Baaklini and Vice President Tonia Khouri gave remarks at the Solidarity Dinner, where they both highlighted the work of IDC and thanked the community for their support. Mr. Baaklini also thanked President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Secretary Pompeo for their continuous support for IDC's mission of preserving Christianity in the Middle East.
Additional speakers included Dr. Brian Grim of the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation, His Excellency Neemat Frem of the Lebanese Parliament, and Mrs. Mona Rowan of Stone Hill College.
Representative Jackie Speier received the Congressional Champion Award for supporting Christians and Yazidis targeted by ISIS and for calling for recognition of the Armenia Genocide. Representative Gus Bilirakis also received the Congressional Champion Award for his work as the Co-Chair of the International Religious Freedom Caucus.
Following the Solidarity Dinner, Capitol Hill Day began with opening remarks from Representative Daniel Lipinski of Illinois. Following his remarks, Mrs. Khouri moderated an expert panel discussion, which included Ambassador Edward Gabriel of the American Task Force for Lebanon, Ms. Sara Salama of Coptic Orphans, Mr. Jeremy Barker of the Religious Freedom Institute, and Mr. Aram Hamparian of the Armenian National Committee of America.
Subsequently, several groups had meetings with prominent Senators and Representatives, where they discussed IDC's focus issues for Christians in the Middle East, such as the Syrian displaced return to Syria, security in Lebanon, equal rights for Copts in Egypt, safe return of Christians to Iraq and the recognition of Armenian genocide.
SOURCE In Defense of Christians
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