Cynical AP: 'There's No Overlooking' Refugee Conversions from Islam Might Be Faked

September 9th, 2015 7:06 PM

Illegal aliens coming into America are almost always treated as sympathetic hard workers longing to “come out of the shadows.” There is no cynicism about their arrival.

But on September 4, AP reporter Kirsten Gieshaber reported from Berlin that Middle Eastern refugees arriving in Germany might be cynically faking conversion from Islam to Christianity to plead for asylum now that they’re likely to persecuted back in their home countries.

The headline was “At a Berlin church, Muslim refugees converting in droves.” Gieshaber began:

Mohammed Ali Zonoobi bends his head as the priest pours holy water over his black hair. "Will you break away from Satan and his evil deeds?" pastor Gottfried Martens asks the Iranian refugee. "Will you break away from Islam?"

Gieshaber isn’t really accepting refugees claiming their conversions are sincere:

Like Zonoobi, most say true belief prompted their embrace of Christianity. But there's no overlooking the fact that the decision will also greatly boost their chances of winning asylum by allowing them to claim they would face persecution if sent home.

Martens recognizes that some convert in order to improve their chances of staying in Germany — but for the pastor motivation is unimportant. Many, he said, are so taken by the Christian message that it changes their lives. And he estimates that only about 10 percent of converts do not return to church after christening.

"I know there are — again and again — people coming here because they have some kind of hope regarding their asylum," Martens said. "I am inviting them to join us because I know that whoever comes here will not be left unchanged."

Being Christian alone does not help an applicant, and Chancellor Angela Merkel went out of her way this week to reiterate that Islam "belongs in Germany." But in Afghanistan and Iran, for example, conversion to Christianity by a Muslim could be punished by death or imprisonment, and it is therefore unlikely that Germany would deport converted Iranian and Afghan refugees back home.

None will openly admit to converting in order to help their asylum chances. To do so could result in rejection of their asylum bid and deportation as Christian converts. Several candidates for baptism at Martens' church would not give their names out of fear of repercussions for their families back home.

Most said their decision was based on belief, but one young Iranian woman said she was convinced most people had joined the church only to improve their chances for asylum.

Congregation member Vesam Heydari initially applied for asylum in Norway and converted there in 2009. But his case was rejected because the Norwegian authorities did not believe he would be persecuted as a Christian in Iran, so he moved to Germany to seek refugee status here — and is awaiting a decision. He criticized many of the other Iranian church members, saying they were making it much harder for "real, persecuted Christians" like himself to get approved for asylum.

"The majority of Iranians here are not converting out of belief," Heydari said. "They only want to stay in Germany."

The British tabloid the Daily Express recast this tale under the headline “Hundreds of Muslim migrants convert to Christianity 'to increase chances of asylum'.” They even included a graphic which asked if migrants should be “allowed to switch religions” in their new country, and the results are half and half!