SWEDEN: Syriac Member of Swedish parliament Yusuf Aydin new Christian Democrats’ spokesman for Christian minority rights
STOCKHOLM – Syriac Member of Swedish Parliament Yusuf Aydin has been appointed as the Christian Democrats’ new spokesman for the rights of Christian minorities around the world. His party announced this in a press release.
Christians are one of the largest discriminated or persecuted religious groups in the world. According to NGO Open Doors, the number is about 360 million. Aydin, in his new spokesmanship, will research the opportunities for Christians worldwide to practice their faith.
“I am grateful for the task of being able to defend the rights of Christian minorities and that the party really emphasizes this issue. Christians are the world’s most vulnerable religious group, and Sweden can do a lot in its work with countries where persecution occurs,” Yusuf Aydin said in the press release.
Yusuf Aydin, who is serving his first term in Swedish parliament, is already a member of the Riksdag Finance Committee and in the future will also serve on the Foreign Affairs Committee, where he will oversee Sweden’s work to ensure that Christian minorities can practice their faith freely and safely around the world.
Aydin’s (40) family is originally from the Syriac village of Hah in Tur Abdin, Turkey (number 41 on the Open Doors World Watch ranking which counts as the main threats agianst Christians in the country: Islamic oppression and religious nationalism). He is now living in Norsborg in Stockholm County and is a member of the Syriac Orthodox Church. He was previously a city council member, active in several Syriac associations in Sweden, and he also served as a board member of Syriac TV channel Suryoyo Sat.