A whistleblower asylum seeker told the Express he knows of migrants who have deliberately converted to Christianity simply to increase their chances of staying in the UK.
Bilal Jaf claimed that he was well established among migrant groups Arriving in Britain, I realized that changing religion was an effective method of supporting an asylum claim.
“The best way to get a paper (giving you the legal right to stay) in Europe is to be able to convert from Muslim to Christian,” he told Express. “If they know you’re an atheist and you convert, it’s not (as effective). They will visit a church until they get a paper (to stay in Britain). After that, they don’t care and don’t leave.
“The second way (to strengthen claims) is to change one’s sexuality to become gay or lesbian or to say that one identifies (with a different gender).”
A video broadcast on social networks and obtained by Express supports Jaf’s assertions. In it, a man urges a devastated friend whose asylum application has just been refused to convert to Christianity, telling him he knows two other people who have managed to stay in the UK this way.
Iraqi Kurd Jaf revelations come as MPs prepare to question senior church officials over how conversions are used to strengthen asylum claimsduring a hearing Tuesday.
The Home Affairs Select Committee has been tasked with examining how churches assess the ‘authenticity of a conversion’ and the approach they take to supporting migrants who change religion when applying to stay UK.
Conservative MP Marco Longhi, who called for the investigation, said he was happy to have the opportunity to question Church leaders following the Express’ findings.
“The archbishop and other bishops have consistently thwarted all attempts by the government to combat illegal immigration and go against the will of the people,” he said.
Tim Loughton, Conservative member of the Home Affairs Select Committee, added: “This confirms what we suspected all along, that there are fake asylum seekers gaming our immigration system and taking advantage of the generosity of British taxpayers.
“I fear that some Church leaders have been too gullible in accepting some of these Damascene conversions and I welcome the recent announcement that the Church of England is reviewing its guidance on this issue, but there are others churches which have been played and which have no formal guidelines at all and this must be urgently sought to be remedied.
“So even when asylum seekers denounce what is happening, it is normal that they are questioned.”
A devout Muslim, Jaf takes a dim view of anyone who chooses to use religion to manipulate the system. He was also frustrated to learn that such cases were moving forward while he had been waiting for a decision on his case for three years.
“A lot of them don’t care about their dignity, their religion, nothing is important to them, they just want to get the paper (allowing them to stay in Britain),” he added .
Jaf reported people to the authorities who he believed were trying to manipulate the system. But he added that a tougher stance taken by the Home Office had led to an escalation in the behavior of those who claimed to have converted to Christianity.
In several cases, of which Express has seen video evidence, asylum seekers in Britain have filmed themselves burning and burying the Quran live on Facebook. These acts were used, Jaf claims, to generate death threats in order to support an asylum application.
The migrant added that he was not surprised by converted asylum seekers who had committed horrific acts of violence, such as Abdul Shokoor Ezedi who attacked a mother and child with acid earlier this year or Emad Al Swealmeen who attempted to bomb a Liverpool hospital. in 2021.
“The guy who converts for the simple reason (of staying in Britain) is not a good guy, he has no humanity or morality,” he said.
The asylum seeker revealed it was also well established among migrants that convincing a vicar to support an application was a powerful tool.
Chris Howson, chaplain at the University of Sunderland and staff priest at Sunderland Cathedral, is a Church of England priest who has overseen many conversions of asylum seekers seeking to remain in the UK.
Howson rebuffed any suggestion that the system would be used.
“You have to go to court as a witness (to support a convert’s case) and the Home Office will, quite rightly, grill you properly,” he told the Express.
“They make sure you’ve gone through a long baptism course and it’s properly translated into languages people understand. We do not baptize just anyone or refer classes to people we do not believe are authentic.
The North East-based priest said the number of converts he had overseen had declined sinceCovid because fewer asylum seekers were accommodated in the area. But many of those he helped said they were fleeing persecution from the Islamic regime in Iran, a similar region where Jaf is from.
Howson claimed that the higher number of Iranians converting was both the result of a growth of Protestantism in the country and the Anglican Church’s efforts to work with asylum seekers once they arrived.
“People were welcomed warmly and lovingly into churches in towns and villages across the country,” he added. “It was a different experience from the experience of Islam at home and they wanted it and became Christians.”
This was a point Jaf disagreed with, suggesting that there were tens of thousands of Christians existing peacefully in Iran and Kurdistan.
The Sunderland-based priest admitted that because converts to Christianity often moved away, once they were granted the right to stay in Britain, it was difficult to keep track of everyone he knew converted.
“They face all kinds of racism when it comes to houses and that sort of thing, so it’s a tough environment to stay (in Sunderland). There are very few jobs for them and people are leaving.” , he continued.
“We try to stay in touch as much as possible. (But) it’s not possible to continually chase down people who have gone through the system. »
We asked the Church of England how it justifies and proves the truth of those who convert to Christianity and are desperate for a way to stay in the UK.
The Church did not answer this question directly, but in a statement from a spokesperson it said: “Baptism marks the beginning of a lifelong journey with God. This is a time of joy to give thanks for what God has done for us in Christ, to turn from sin, to make serious promises and to declare our faith, not as a step into the asylum system or immigration.
L’Express also asked how the Church opposed people acting in the way described by Jaf. A Church spokesperson responded by saying: “It is the duty of the Home Office, not the churches, to make decisions on asylum applications.
“Christians are persecuted in many countries. While some people come to faith in Christ after seeking asylum in this country, others have fled their home countries because of persecution related to their faith and seeking baptism is a natural progression of a journey of faith already begun.
“The Church of England welcomes all and celebrates with those who choose to commit themselves to Christ. Of course, as our guidance makes clear, there is also a need for discernment so that clergy must be sure that those seeking to be baptized fully understand what this means. Indeed, our experience shows that people do not take baptism lightly – many worry about the repercussions that their family members still in their country of origin might experience.
Responding to questions raised in this article, a Home Office spokesperson said: “All asylum applications are carefully considered on their individual merits, in line with immigration rules. This means that religious conversions do not guarantee asylum.
“We have engaged with a wide range of stakeholders to help us improve our policy guidance, training for asylum decision-makers and to ensure we approach applications involving religious conversion in the appropriate way. »
