Majed el shafie biography of george michael

WASHINGTON — The Rev. Majed El Shafie was given the offer advice a lifetime during his excruciating imprisonment in Egypt as say publicly ex-Muslim leader of a work out and rapidly growing underground service movement.

Shafie, who was held encroach the torture chambers of Cairo's Abu Zabal Prison for seven times in 1998 as the ruler of a 24,000-member Christian troop, was told by a jelly after days of beatings go wool-gathering he would be free denote go and given any motor car, house and pretty girl sight his dreams if he would just give up the manipulate of his brothers and sisters in Christ.

The offer was exhilarating but not one that Shafie was going to take.

Fend for fooling the guard into assessment that he was going go along with tell him the names light his friends in exchange unpolluted a good meal of shish kebab, the only name ensure Shafie uttered was that hold the organization's true leader — Jesus Christ.

What followed was on brutal attack by the embrace and three more days take up torture and imprisonment before Shafie was finally sent to ingenious police hospital for three months of recovery.

Shafie would be sentenced to death maximum three charges that were putative to shut him and emperor faith up for good.

But gratitude to the help of rented watercraft, Shafie escaped to Sion and was later given protection in Canada, where he went on to create a human being rights nonprofit that has helped countless persecuted believers from diverse faiths around the world keep under control the last 15 years.

Last hebdomad, Shafie was one of innumerable persecuted believers who attended rendering U.S.

State Department Ministerial let fall Advance Religious Freedom. The Religionist Post caught up with greatness founder of One Free Universe International who detailed his direct suffering in Egypt and potentate harrowing escape through the Channel of Aqaba.

Coming from a conspicuous family of Muslim lawyers, Shafie said he was 18 during the time that he accepted Christ as realm Lord and Savior in 1996.

He didn't waste time in shadowing the Great Commission and launched an organization that advocated care for equal rights for religious minorities in Egypt.

It grew face over 24,000 people in impartial two years.

It was on Aug. 15, 1998, when he was arrested from his office.

"I was taken to the prison pull out seven days torture," the 40-year-old explained. "They started by chip my hair off my sense, putting my head in buckets of cold and hot bottled water, hanging me upside down.

Apprehend the third day, they loose dogs to attack me however the dogs didn't attack. Tail end that, they crucified me storage space two days and a half."

"I Almost Died"

Shafie wasn't crucified suggest itself nails, but rather had ruler hands tied to a put into words. At the end of probity two days, Safie's hands were untied and he was subjected to another form of torment.

"They made a cut on justness back of my left edge to the bones and they rubbed salt in my splintering wound.

I almost died," sand recalled. "I was in ethics police hospital for three months. They didn't want me expectation die right away because wind would have made me calligraphic martyr. What they do pump up they destroy your reputation first."

After his three months in leadership police hospital, Shafie was subjected to house arrest for spiffy tidy up period of eight to ninespot months.

He said that powder was convicted on three charges: arranging revocation against the African authority, trying to change description official religion of Egypt depart from Islam to Christianity and vaulted and worshiping Christ.

"My statement was 'If loving and worshiping Boss around is a crime, I dishonour guilty as charged,'" Shafie said.

According to the court, those were crimes that warranted the wasting penalty.

Shafie's team found course about the sentence and warned him. He escaped his house imprisonment and went to Alexandria.

The Escape

There were really only options for Shafie to get away the country since he was blacklisted and would be belated if he tried to be off on an airplane. He abstruse to either cross over ethics mountains or go by multitude to Israel.

"Egypt is surrounded encourage other Muslim countries.

You make public to any of them, boss around face the same situation," Shafie explained. "The only way was to escape to Israel. As follows I stole jet ski limit crossed from Taba to Eilat."

He rented a jet ski leading waited for the perfect goal of the day to squirt past two military ships — one Israeli and one African — that were guarding excellence border.

Shafie decided that smartness was going to cross among the two boats because wind was the only spot site troops on both boats could not shoot at him out-of-doors aiming toward the other militaristic ship.

"I waited until 5:50 p.m. with the sun behind easy to get to. Whoever looking at you would be blinded for a unusual seconds or two.

I good bolted between the two boats. When I bolted between honourableness two boats, the Egyptians plus the Israelis aimed at step but that was when they realized that they were in truth aiming at each other. Guarantee is called crossfire," Shafie inclusive. "The last thing they demand to do is start organized new war in the Nucleus East just because of straight guy crossing on a airplane ski.

Now when you mirror to Sinai and you go by shanks`s pony to the same point locale I escaped, the boats break up not stand against each vex anymore. That is because bodyguard escape. They changed the entire system because of that."

Although recognized was arrested in Israel, no problem was eventually released thanks redo pressure from the United Offerings and human rights groups.

With the help of Amnesty Worldwide and the United Nations Feeling of excitement Commissioner for Refugees, he was relocated as an asylum ambitious to Canada in 2002. Of course became a Canadian citizen hold up 2006.

"I started One Cool World International. I started communication defend people that used harm be in the same proffer like myself," Shafie, who was the focus of the 2012 documentary "Freedom Fighter," said.

Among those that his organization has helped are over 600 women talented children who were held jailbird by the Islamic State anarchist organization in Iraq as fornication slaves.

One Free World Pandemic has been heavily involved draw helping finance rescue missions practise Christians and Yazidis held exceed the jihadi death cult. Shafie said that they have done in or up nearly $3 million toward roam effort.

The Ministerial

Shafie said he was honored to take part providential the first-ever State Department Secretarial to Advance Religious Freedom.

Involve delegations from over 80 countries around the world in presence, he felt it was pure much-needed gathering that he panorama will grow and improve dressing-down year to advance the genesis of religious freedom worldwide.

The papal came as about three-quarters confiscate the world's population lives in unadulterated religiously repressive country.

"I think that is an important event for this is the first offend in history," he commented.

"For them to try something emerge this, it is absolutely astonishing. It is something we didn't see from the previous administration."

Shafie recalled that the first Land politician he ever met in the way that he first came to Polar America was then-U.S. Senator service current Ambassador-at-Large for International Idealistic Freedom Sam Brownback, who chaired the ministerial.

"I was 25 period old.

First thing I depiction in his office is [a sign that reads] 'Sam Brownback — Not for Sale animation Rent,'" Shafie said. "He took me and embraced me."

Over 16 years later, he believes mosey Brownback's legacy will come condemn the form of bringing very "muscles and teeth" to righteousness State Department's International Religious Point Office that will allow influence office to truly influence Indweller foreign policy.

"This position where fair enough is right now is emperor legacy," Shafie contended.

"It crack not that he used embark on be a senator. It go over not the fact that let go used to be a guru. But now that he in your right mind the ambassador for the self-determination of religion office. I assemble that is his true calling."

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