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To: NATIONAL AND RELIGION EDITORS

Contact: Audrey Mullen, +1-703-548-1160, Audrey@advocacyink.com, for Christian Leaders for a Nuclear-Free Iran

WASHINGTON, July 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A coalition of Christian leaders representing 25 million Americans of faith sent letters to President Obama, Congress, and foreign Ambassadors and Heads of State, requesting that they take the immediate steps necessary to keep Iran from repressing its citizens, developing nuclear weapons and supporting terrorism through its proxies.

The letter comes as an Iranian man, Youcef Nadarkhani, is facing the death penalty if he refuses to recant his Christian faith. The U.S. State Department issued a release calling on the Iranian government “to respect the fundamental rights of all its citizens and uphold its international commitments to protect them.”

“While Iran’s leaders hypocritically claim to promote tolerance, they continue to detain, imprison, harass, and abuse those who simply wish to worship the faith of their choosing,” the statement included.

The leaders further detailed the threats posed to Middle East security by Iran’s alignment with terrorists such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as well of the dangers of unilateral actions by the Palestinians which will harden extremists on both sides and only make peace between Israel and the Palestinians harder to achieve.

Christian Leaders for a Nuclear Free Iran detailed their concerns in a letter to Ambassadors and to the White House and Congress that reads, in part:

While continuing to develop nuclear weapons, support terrorism and repress its own people, the Iranians are also backing the brutal suppression of pro-democracy forces in Syria and backing a unilateral declaration of independence of Palestine at the United Nations as a way to sabotage real negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Indeed, without the threat of active nuclear weapons Iran has already expanded its hegemony through its active support of Hamas. The recent agreement between Iran-backed Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas means that Israel no longer has a true partner for peace and that Iranian influence threatens to extend into the West Bank. Iran already has immense power in Lebanon through its Hezbollah allies which now dominate the government. The Muslim Brotherhood may soon take a share of power in Egypt. Control of the West Bank by Islamic extremist fundamentalists would complete the encirclement of Israel and put major sites of importance to Christians and Christianity at risk.

We ask you to act now, for the sake of security, regional stability and hopes of an eventual Middle East peace, by using all the diplomatic means at your disposal to pursue security and peace. We urge you to work with our allies to isolate Iran and to persuade the Palestinians to reject terrorism, respect previous agreements and recognize Israel’s right to exist as a nation state of the Jewish people. We know America will stand with us at the United Nations this September – but we cannot be alone. Thus, as American Christian leaders we urge you to uphold these principles and to reach out to America’s friends.

Christian Leaders for a Nuclear-Free Iran is an ad-hoc coalition of evangelical, Roman Catholic and other faith leaders who have come together as a united voice that is reaching out to policy makers and opinion leaders calling for urgent action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The coalition argues that Iran’s nuclear weapons program will destabilize the Middle East, lead to an arms race in a volatile part of the world, and threaten the United States and its allies in Europe.

    The signers of the letter include the following Christian leaders:
    Dr. Richard Land, President of Ethics and Religious Liberty
     Commission, Southern Baptist Convention
    Dr. Richard G. Lee, President, There's Hope America
    John C. Hagee, Senior Pastor, Cornerstone Church, San Antonio, Texas
    Dr. James Merritt, Senior Pastor, Cross Pointe Church
    Dr. Mark A. Smith, President, Ohio Christian University
    Elmer F. Hansen, Jr., Director, Catholic Leadership Conference
    Dr. Jim Garlow, Chairman, Renewing American Leadership
    Jordan Sekulow, Director of International Operations at American
     Center for Law and Justice
    Paul F. Crouch, Jr., Chief of Staff, TBN
    Deal Hudson, President, Catholic Advocate, Washington, DC
    Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman, Liberty Counsel
    C. Preston Noell, III, President of Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
    Gary J. Palmer, President, Alabama Policy Institute
    Benny Tate, Senior Pastor, Rock Springs Church
    William Donohue, PhD., President and CEO, Catholic League for
     Religious and Civil Rights
    Jerry Newcombe, D. Min., Christian author/TV producer
    James Robison, President and Founder, Life Outreach International
    Jim Martin, Chairman, 60 Plus Association
    Barrett Duke, PhD., Vice President for Public Policy and Research,
     Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist
     Convention
    Dr. Jack Graham, Pastor, Prestonwood Baptist Church
    Troy A. Miller, President, COO, National Religious Broadcast Network,
     Inc.
    Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
    Dr. Robert E. Reccord, President, Total Life Impact Ministries
    Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council
    Dr. Rusty Hayes, Pastor, First Free Church, Rockford, Illinois
    Anthony Verdugo, Founder and Executive Director of Christian Family
     Coalition
    Gary Bauer, President, American Values
    Garry Poole, Author and Minister, Willow Creek Community Church
    Micah Clark, Executive Director, American Family Association of
     Indiana
    Rev. Louis Sheldon, Chairman, Traditional Values Coalition
    Michael D. Little, President and Chief Operating Officer, Christian
     Broadcasting Network
    Penny Nance, CEO, Concerned Women for America
    Jay Dennis, Author and Senior Pastor of Church at the Mall

SOURCE Christian Leaders for a Nuclear-Free Iran

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