The Rev. Franklin Graham said Thursday that Sharia law should be banned in the U.S. because it persecutes women, Christians, and gays.
"The BBC just published a story about life under radical Islam — what it’s really like. This is a vivid reminder of why Sharia law should be banned in the U.S. and all countries that cherish freedom and liberty,"
Graham wrote on Facebook, linking to the BBC report "Inside Mosul."
"Some western governments are actually considering allowing Sharia law in certain Muslim communities in their countries — can you believe it? ISIS is imposing Sharia law on hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Syrians who want to be free. Women are oppressed, Christians and minorities are persecuted and murdered, homosexuals are tortured and killed."
The BBC report, which draws on videos secretly filmed inside the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, shows the violent conditions once-moderate Muslims are forced into a year after the city was captured by the extremists.
"We had heard stories of men being flogged because their wives didn't put their gloves on. Another woman's parents were banned from driving their car. Those who objected would be beaten and humiliated," said one woman featured in the tapes who was forced to wear a niqab, a veil for the face.
Another woman, Mariam, a gynecologist who is a Christian, said in the tapes that she used to render her services for woman of all faiths, but fled when the Sunni extremists came to town.
"After moving to Irbil [in Iraq's Kurdistan region] I received shocking news: Islamic State had confiscated my house and marked it with the letter 'N' [for Nasrani: a word used by IS to refer to Christians]. I immediately telephoned my friends in Mosul and begged them to save my books," she said.
"But it was too late. They called back saying my library had been emptied onto the street. However, some of my neighbors were able to rescue some precious books that remain hidden."
In the face of the violence visited on the Middle East, Graham called on his congregation to pray for peace.
"President Obama seems to be at a loss as to what to do. Pray that God will give him and our leaders wisdom, and pray for all those living under Islam," he concluded.
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