A minister campaigning to save the family of a Muslim convicted under anti-terrorism laws from eviction is appealing to Baptists for support.
Rev. Gary Serra di Migni is backing a campaign to save the family home of Munir Farooqi from being seized by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), according to an article in the Nov. 4 edition of The Baptist Times.
Farooqi was found guilty of trying to recruit fighters to join the Taliban in Afghanistan. He is appealing his conviction.
Following his conviction, prosecutors applied to the Crown Court for forfeiture of the family home, which is occupied by five members of the family, including Farooqi’s 8-year-old daughter, Khadija, and baby granddaughter.
The home is in the name of Farooqi’s wife. Family members, who are not guilty of any crime, will be made homeless if the CPS succeeds in its action.
Serra di Migni, a minister with Urban Expression in Manchester, is supporting the campaign called SaveTheFamilyHome, which is backed by many in the local community.
Recently, Farooqi’s daughter, Khadija, delivered a petition containing 10,000 signatures to the director of the Manchester CPS.
Serra di Migni believes now is the time for Baptists to show their support to right “this gross injustice.”
In The Baptist Times article, he encouraged readers “to sign the e-petition, if they haven’t already done so, promote the e-petition in their churches, and among friends and associates,” he said.
“We also like them to pray that the Crown Prosecution Service will withdraw their application to the Crown Court for forfeiture of the family home.”
Serri di Migni also spoke of his concern that the authorities are viewing the situation as “Muslim-only.” So far, only local imams have been invited to meetings with the police.
“The very diverse local community – Muslims, Christians, people of other faiths, and people of no faith, Asians, Europeans and Africans – have demonstrated their support for the family, verbally, by signing the petition, and by attending a community meeting,” he said.
“This is not a Muslim-only issue: this is a universal human rights issue.”
The petition can be found at SaveTheFamilyHome.com.
This article appeared originally in TheBaptistTimes of Great Britain.
