The issue of asylum seekers using baptism as a means to secure leave to remain in the UK on religious grounds was discussed at a hearing of the Home Affairs Select Committee, following claims that Clapham attacker Abdul Shokoor Ezedi gained asylum through his conversion to Christianity. The Rev Matthew Firth testified that there was a conveyor belt system of baptisms, with many of the requests coming from Iranians and Syrians who were appealing their asylum claims. Firth said that when he arrived at St Cuthbert’s Church in 2018, he found a surprising number of baptisms being sought by asylum seekers.
Asked who brought the asylum seekers to him, Firth said that there was a particular individual who had received right to remain in the UK through the asylum application system. This individual brought groups of Iranian and Syrian young male asylum seekers, who wanted to be baptised as a way of gaining asylum.
The Bishop of Chelmsford, the Right Reverend Guli Francis-Dehqani, told MPs that she had spoken to other clergy who had turned down people for baptism, because they did not meet the criteria. She also claimed that the figures given by Firth did not add up. However, there is no guidance for clergy on baptisms for asylum seekers.
The Church of England and other faith institutions have issued guidelines to clergy on how to engage with the Home Office and provide references for asylum seekers. The process usually takes 10-12 weeks, while the Baptist Church claims to be able to complete the process in around six weeks. Home Office minister Tom Pursglove has stated that Christian conversion is not a “determinative factor” in the decision-making process, which involves testing for credibility among a range of factors, including claims of religious persecution
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More