(Editor’s Note: Our statistics agree with Mr. Wolf’s assessment; stories concerning worldwide persecution of Christians are among the lowest in total number of page views on The Aquila Report, and frankly, we do not understand why.)

At a time when some members of Congress are more focused on the U.S. economy and other national matters, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) continues his decades-long crusade for human and religious rights. His first book, Prisoner of Conscience: One Man’s Crusade for Global Human and Religious Rights, details his work for those who have no voice.

Elected to the House of Representatives in 1980, he has represented Virginia for 16 terms. During much of his tenure, he has brought national and worldwide attention to persecution in such far-flung places as China, Sudan, Ecuador, Kabul, Romania, Tibet and the former Soviet Union.

Wolf has also been active in presenting bills before Congress in support of human and religious rights. This summer, the House passed legislation sponsored by Wolf and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) to create a special envoy at the U.S. State Department for religious minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia. That bill is now before the Senate.

In October, the House approved reauthorizing the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a 1998 creation of the Wolf-sponsored International Religious Freedom Act. The Senate has yet to act on this issue as of late October.
Called a “modern-day William Wilberforce” by Chuck Colson in his book’s introduction, Wolf has seen firsthand the effects of human and religious right violations. The Christian Post recently spoke with Wolf about Prisoner of Conscience and his support of unpopular causes.

CP: Why do we as Americans tend to ignore human and religious right violations in other countries?
Wolf: I think it’s only lately that that’s become the case. The model for dealing with this issue is President Ronald Reagan. In 1983, Reagan spoke to the National Association of Evangelicals and gave that classic speech where he called the Soviet Union the evil empire. All during the Reagan administration, Secretary of State George Schultz had meetings in the American embassy in Russia with the refuseniks and dissidents. Another example is how Reagan took away Most Favored Nation trading status to Romania for its persecution of the church. This used to be a bi-partisan issue with both political parties really interested, but I think over the last several years, interest has decreased.

CP: Chuck Colson calls you in the book’s introduction the “Patron Saint of Unpopular Causes.” Why are human and religious rights unpopular?
Wolf: That’s hard to say. Human and religious rights used to be thought about a lot. It was a dominant issue in the 1980s. There are probably several reasons. People tell me it’s the economy. Things are tough in the United States and people tend to look inward.

When you look at what’s taking place, there is perhaps more persecution of people of faith now than anytime I can remember. For example, Christians in Iraq are having a tough time. In Egypt, 26 Coptic Christians were recently killed and yet we have given $50 billion-plus to the Egyptian government.

If you look at China, American businesses do business there, but you have Catholic bishops in jail or under house arrest, you have Protestant ministers in jail or under house arrest. Nobody seems to say anything, and I don’t know why.

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