Fleeing Persecution Asylum Claims in the UK on Religious Freedom

egularly <strong>in</strong> both oral presentations at <strong>the</strong> hear<strong>in</strong>gs and written submissions to <strong>the</strong> APPG and <strong>the</strong>
AAG. The follow<strong>in</strong>g are key areas of concern emerg<strong>in</strong>g from evidence presented to <strong>the</strong> APPG and
<strong>the</strong> AAG.
Credibility Assessment
Home Office and UNHCR guidel<strong>in</strong>es warn aga<strong>in</strong>st assess<strong>in</strong>g credibility of <strong>the</strong> applicant’s religious
beliefs or conversion through questions that focus on religious knowledge. However, <strong>in</strong> all
submissions to <strong>the</strong> APPG and <strong>the</strong> AAG, <strong>the</strong>re is a clear pattern of decision-makers us<strong>in</strong>g knowledge
test<strong>in</strong>g at <strong>in</strong>terview, with an absence of cases where decision-makers had pursued a l<strong>in</strong>e of
question<strong>in</strong>g to establish <strong>the</strong> personal narrative of <strong>the</strong> applicant, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>ir feel<strong>in</strong>gs and
experience of <strong>the</strong>ir religious faith. Despite calls by o<strong>the</strong>r organisations, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> Evangelical
Alliance <strong>in</strong> its 2007 ‘Altoge<strong>the</strong>r for <strong>Asylum</strong> Justice’ brief<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>the</strong> issue of religious persecution
asylum cases, 83 <strong>the</strong> concerns raised <strong>in</strong> such reports rema<strong>in</strong>.
In a written submission to <strong>the</strong> APPG <strong>in</strong> May 2016, Ms Attieh Fard, a solicitor focus<strong>in</strong>g on asylum
claims, highlights that Home Office questions asked to Christian converts from Islamic background
cont<strong>in</strong>ue to detailed factual questions about <strong>the</strong> Old Testament and <strong>the</strong> New Testament such as
<strong>the</strong> story of Adam and Eve, <strong>the</strong> names of Apostles, <strong>the</strong> story of <strong>the</strong> feed<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> five thousand,
<strong>the</strong> mean<strong>in</strong>g of lent, <strong>the</strong> Holy Communion and whe<strong>the</strong>r Easter is celebrated every year on <strong>the</strong> same
date. Given that conversion to Christianity from o<strong>the</strong>r religions is often a very complicated and
burdensome process, frequently lead<strong>in</strong>g to an ostracisation from <strong>the</strong>ir family and local community,
expect<strong>in</strong>g a convert to have <strong>the</strong> same level of knowledge as an <strong>in</strong>dividual even born <strong>in</strong>to a Christian
family is illogical. Converts knowledge about <strong>the</strong> Bible is often <strong>in</strong> accordance with <strong>the</strong> teach<strong>in</strong>gs of
<strong>the</strong>ir Church which can be limited to <strong>the</strong> Gospels or particular parts of <strong>the</strong> Bible. Tak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to account
<strong>the</strong> Church Pastor’s evidence, who knows <strong>the</strong> convert’s history well and story of conversion, is
important <strong>in</strong> such cases.
Home Office <strong>in</strong>terview<strong>in</strong>g officers' knowledge of churches and liturgies is also sometimes based
on a quick survey of churches' websites, which may have limited or <strong>in</strong>correct <strong>in</strong>formation. In one
case, Ms Fard outl<strong>in</strong>es that <strong>the</strong> Home Office caseworker had not realised that an Anglican Church
can also be an Evangelical one and thus found <strong>the</strong> applicant’s testimony <strong>in</strong>consistent as it did not
match <strong>the</strong> Church’s public <strong>in</strong>formation on its website.
In an <strong>in</strong>terview with <strong>the</strong> APPG <strong>in</strong> May 2016, Mr Hamid Delrouz, an Iranian convert to Christianity,
stated that his asylum claim had been rejected twice by <strong>the</strong> Home Office on <strong>the</strong> basis of his be<strong>in</strong>g
‘unable to demonstrate, as a matter of truth that he is a Christian’. Mr Delrouz outl<strong>in</strong>ed that dur<strong>in</strong>g
his <strong>in</strong>terviews with caseworkers, he was asked to name all ten of <strong>the</strong> Commandments –someth<strong>in</strong>g
that he was unable to do at <strong>the</strong> time.
In <strong>the</strong>ir written submission, ELAM M<strong>in</strong>istries stated, “dur<strong>in</strong>g a Home Office <strong>in</strong>terview <strong>in</strong> 2014, one
Christian asylum seeker was asked, among o<strong>the</strong>r questions, ‘How many chapters are <strong>the</strong>re <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>
book of John?’ Ano<strong>the</strong>r was asked, ‘What is Ash Wednesday?’” In ano<strong>the</strong>r submission to <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>quiry
team, <strong>the</strong> example of a Muslim woman from an Asian background who converted to Christianity
while <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>UK</strong> was given. This evidence notes, “…her application for asylum was rejected because
her conversion was not considered to be genu<strong>in</strong>e. This decision was based on two factors: She
could not recite <strong>the</strong> Lord’s Prayer and she did not know how many books <strong>the</strong>re are <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> New
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Evangelical Alliance, AllToge<strong>the</strong>r for <strong>Asylum</strong> Justice: <strong>Asylum</strong> Seekers’ Conversion to Christianity, (2007),
available at ,
(accessed: 16/05/16)
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