Dutch Reformed Christian MEP, Bert-Jan Ruissen, along with Open Doors and SDOK (Foundation of the Underground Church) has organised an exhibition about persecuted Christians in the building of the European Parliament in Brussels.

The exhibition shows dozens of photos of victims of Christian persecution: among others, a photo of a Chinese believer who was hung by the police with his legs from a horizontal pole.

The exposition will be open until 22 September.

Last May, the European Parliament hosted an exhibition depicting LGBT Jesus that was criticised by parliamentarians.

Ruissen: “The EU has a moral duty to credibly protect freedom of religion”

Ruissen opened the exposition with a conference attended by over a hundred people, where he denounced that “the EU claims to be a community of values but is now too often silent on serious violations”.

“The thousands of victims and families must be able to rely on EU action. As an economic power bloc, we must hold all countries accountable that all believers are free to practice their religion”, he added.

The MEP recalled that 10 years ago now, the EU adopted directives to protect freedom of religion, but “those are too much on paper and too little in practice”. The EU “has a moral duty to credibly protect this freedom”, stressed Ruissen.

Also speaking at the conference was Jelle Creemers, director of the Institute for the Study of Freedom of Religion or Belief at the Evangelical Theological Faculty (ETF) Leuven, who pointed out that “an EU policy that promotes freedom of religion is not only about individual freedoms but also helps fight injustice, actively supports threatened communities and is a foundation on which people can blossom”.

Een premie van € 2.500 om een predikant te doden - de realiteit in Nigeria! Gisteren organiseerde ik een conferentie over christenvervolging en opende ik een expositie hierover in het hart van het Europarlement. De EU is te stil over christenvervolging! pic.twitter.com/kxbYRRDAbR

— Bert-Jan Ruissen (SGP EP) (@hjaruissen) September 19, 2023

Sub- Saharan Christians

Anastasia Hartman, advocacy officer at Open Doors in Brussels focused her talk on the importance of “strengthen Sub- Saharan Christians and make them part of a solution to the complex regional crisis”.

“Enforcing freedom of belief should be high on the agenda, because when both Christians and non-Christians see their fundamental freedoms protected, they can become a blessing for the whole community”, underlined Hartman.