CNN: Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush Responds to Trump's Religious Liberty Commission
Watch HereDuring the 1976 presidential campaign, The New York Times ran a front-page story on Jimmy Carter’s Baptist faith. “There has been no serious challenge to Mr. Carter’s sincerity or his spiritual credibility,” the reporter concluded. “Most uneasiness appears to stem from a fear that an evangelistically minded President might use his power to advance his beliefs or violate the separation of church and state.”
Carter, who died Sunday at the age of 100 in Plains, Georgia, went on to win the presidency and spent the decades of his post-presidency championing human rights around the world and building houses through Habitat for Humanity. He taught Sunday school classes before, during, and after his time in the White House. No matter what you think of his actions as president, there was no serious challenge to his spiritual credibility. Jimmy Carter faithfully followed Jesus.
After months in detention, we finally received the good news that Ohio chaplain Ayman Soliman was released from jail as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) dropped his deportation case. Soliman was an interfaith chaplain at a children’s hospital and a longtime leader of the Ohio Muslim community with deep ties to interfaith work across the state. As ProPublica reported, Soliman’s asylum status was restored and his application for a green card was revived. This news came through the dedicated hard work and advocacy of many organizations, particularly CAIR-Ohio and his colleagues at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, who were fired for speaking out on his behalf.
Earlier this year, during the holy month of Ramadan, ICE agents followed Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil home after he broke his fast and forcibly detained him without a warrant. Khalil, a Palestinian activist, was then disappeared into an unmarked vehicle and taken to an unknown location as his pregnant wife watched and pleaded for information. It was later revealed that Khalil had been moved to a detention center in Jena, Louisiana, where he faced deportation. He was held for over three months in poor conditions, missing his graduation and the birth of his first child.
In early July, Ayman Soliman, a former Cincinnati Children’s Hospital chaplain, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after his asylum status was terminated in June. In response, local faith leaders organized a prayer vigil, rally, and peaceful march; during the march at least 15 protesters were detained by local police and charged with felony rioting.