July 25, 2025 • 20 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, what does freedom of religion really mean? For Mariam Ibrahim, it meant the difference between life and death. Born in Sudan and sentenced to execution for her Christian faith, Mariam escaped religious persecution and built a new life with her family in the U.S. Her journey is a powerful reminder of the cost of belief—and the courage it takes to live it.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we continue with our American stories. Our next story
comes to us from a mother of two living in Virginia,
but it begins far from there. Let's take a listen.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
I am Mariam Abrahim. I was born on November third
and nineteen eighty seven in a refugee camp and a
siri of Kadariv from Suran. My mother of fleat war
from Ethiopia. When she's ten years old with her sister.
(00:48):
They lost all their families and they're the only survived
members of the family and the subtle and a refugees camp.
When my mom was sixteen, she met with my father
and they got married. My father originally from Therefore, the
(01:10):
background of the story is that he killed a men
from a different tribe. But the man is the honor
killing because the man is a relationship with my aunt,
my father's younger sister. So my father find out about them,
they meet and know each other, so he gets so
angry and he went on and killed the man. And
(01:32):
when he came to this far away area just to
hide because the other family are second revenge. So that's
why he met with my mom. Later after my youngest
sister was born, the situation gets really very bad. I
remember lots of the fight. She's been beaten and when
(01:55):
we came, my brother and I went in the middle
to stop the fighting. We betn also, so he left
and they got divorced. We decided to move from the
refugee camp. I always have many questions about my father's family.
When we moved to that lets, she had to change
(02:17):
our last name and everything, because I didn't know this
until later on the time. That's that's what I always
question her, like why I don't want us to know
my dad's family, Why I don't want us to be
connected to them. So she on that actually for our protection.
So we moved to that city and it's actually a
(02:41):
lot of Muslims groups in that area. So I have
my youngest brother his name is Hassan, and the younger sister.
So my brother was totally different than my mom and
I because he's extremely Muslim. And then when we moved
to the big city, he really fell to the trap
of the imams. My mom was really upset for him,
(03:04):
like if she ever tried, like to stop him, or
do she get immediately get killed. So she tried her
best to convince him. I did try my best but
he didn't help. So in Suran and many Muslim countries,
all students, no matter what's your religion, do you have
to pass those four subject Arabic, English, math, and Islamic stories.
(03:31):
Islamic study include study Agida Kuran and Sunna Kuran. You
study gorannul okay, you mamarize a scripture Sunna about the
life of Muhammad. And then I did about the life
of the Sahaba. And I was supposed to be married
in business, and they have a structure for everything you do,
even the way like use the bathroom, marriage, the way
(03:54):
you communicate with unbeliever, the way you do a world,
the way you do business with bank, managing money, everything,
so we have to do that, like I have all
the knowledge about Urant. And then in that situation, I
was targeted by my teachers because we are Christian and
they're sitting next to Muslim students and you hear the teacher,
(04:16):
you know, say it louder and you have to rebeat
after her. The verses are are saying how to treat
the unbeliever and how God will punish them, and how
they are bad they are, you know, how they go
to hell. And I was like I don't rebet after her.
So they start like talking to me, No, you have
to follow this. You have to say this because I
lost said, and Muhamma said, and I just don't want it,
(04:37):
like I don't want it. The same time, when I
come home, I tell my mom that, oh no, don't
do that. They're gonna kill you. That's what my mom
will say. And I'm like, I have seen these people
always respond to the aggressive behavior of emams and Muslims
and leaders. The respond from us, the religious minority is
(04:58):
that we can had to do what they want to
be in peace like that is in peace. That's weakness.
And I always argue with them. So close to my graduation,
I lost my sister first and then few months Lera,
(05:20):
my mom passed away. She worked. She had a restaurant
on the highway between the city of Galabad border and Gadariv,
and one of the things she does she helped there's
a lot of human trafficking smuggling in that area. And
one of the things my mom did is when those
(05:43):
smugglers bring on those gales, she questioned them. She seen
them like nineteen years old, so she when she questioned them,
she offered them her if you needed her. So and
she went on and report that. But the correct office
said went on and told the smuggle as this woman.
You have to be careful about this woman because she
(06:06):
started talking to the girls. You guys bring in girls
and boys. So I get to know she was not.
It was an accident, as I was taught it was. Yeah.
So the other now here my mom died and spend
(06:28):
a lifetime with Zennants. I get to know my sister
in law she's in a wheelchair and my priest with
like you, Miriam, I'm the only person I would trust.
So that's how became friends. And then I get to
know her brother. They get married to him. So after
(06:50):
I have my oldest, my first child. When my husband
left us, he lived in the United States, so come
and go to Surran. So after we're married, he came
to an state and I was. He left me pregnant
with alf his child. So I started my own business.
That my mom left farming land and she left the
(07:13):
house and she left some saving for me, so I
used that and I started business. I solved her restaurant.
I did very well on that and then out of
the suren I my husband also went back to Sudan.
At that time, my son was crawling. And then I
started receiving this phone call about family members that are
(07:36):
looking for me, and then we come from them to police.
See the phone call, I have to go to the
policy station, question, this is your family and they want
you back. And I'm like, that's why my mom always
not wanted me to connect with you guys. So and
(07:59):
I find out they know where I live and everything, like,
why don't you guys come unlock my door? Because we
know you're living a wrong life. So what do you
mean because we know you got to church and you're
married to CHRISTI and I'm holding my son. I told
the officer, I have a family of my own. Now,
why does not family the family don't bring their daughter
(08:21):
to the policy station. So he said, no, this is
their family and they want you to back, and they
are right. The officer said, they are right because if
you're their daughter, your father is the Muslim, You're not
supposed to be living this life. So you break too
many law? I said, really, I'm like, who did I kill?
(08:42):
Who did I hurt? So I'm like, building a business
is that providing jobs for many people, including even like
refided people that area, So like, no, you are committing adultery.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
And you've been listening to Miriam Ibrahim share her story
of life in Soudan before he came to America to
live in Virginia. When we come back, more of this
remarkable story here on our American stories, and we continue
(09:39):
with our American stories and with Miriam Ibrahim's story, and
so many millions of Americans end up at our shores
suffering from some type of persecution, religious or otherwise. Let's
pick up where we last left off with Miriam and
her story.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
So in September twenty thirteen, go in back to court
every day, just question who you are. They said their
name Muslim name, and I say my Christian name, and
I say I'm Christian. They said she's a Muslim. So
the judge want, I mean, just to say accept what
they said. And you know, I said, okay, you must
(10:23):
go to do your family. I said, what's going to
happen to my children? My child at the time, I
don't know what's pregnant. So my child you have to
go to the orphan because he's a little bit child.
And then you're gonna get flogged a hundred lashes and
go to your family. And the Christmas Eve of twenty thirteen,
I was sent to jail. They responded, like, you know,
(10:45):
you can't respond as a girl, as a woman. You
don't dare to open to look at the judge's face
or talk to him. You can't do that. So you
just be bouning your head down and covering your facet,
your hair and just quiet, not even breathing, like you know.
Then even so, and before I go to jail, I
(11:05):
have to go through to do medical tests, and then
I'm including pregnancy and I really wasn't prepared to have
a second child at that time. Martin is young. But
this trial starts happening, and I don't think that's the
good time. I mean, but gods have a different wall.
They said, you're pregnant. I'm like, what, I'm going to
(11:27):
jail getting a news and I'm pregnant. I supposed to
be really happy. I was happy, but like, what hell?
I mean, just you know, I'm very confused, and I'm
very upset and freaked out. So I sent there and
there's the other woman when I walk in, all these
face bruises and so sad and horrible situation. I'm holding
(11:49):
my son. So somehow Martin was long day. He just
fell asleep and I just closed my eyes and said,
let me pray. So when I of the sudden, I
hear this deep voice, you are not alone. And I
opened my eyes and I'm like, what did you say it?
Who you are? Where are you? I'm like, So the
other women in the cell start laughing, and they called
(12:12):
the office to say I'm crazy. They put Chance on
my feet. Chance because my crime is an adultery and
a bosta see now. And I supposed to receive death
sentence for a boss see ande hundred slashes for adultery,
but it didn't read the sentence. Give me three days,
a judge. So I remember my on the track back
(12:34):
from court to prison, I was praying and I was like, okay, God,
three days. And it's just like, oh, Johanna was in
the well for three days. Jesus wasn't the tom for
three days. These have to be miracles that I really,
(12:54):
you really have for me, and I'm just waiting for
that miracle. We're back again to the end of the
trial and again I was put up on the kid
and there's like fifty officer around the kid, big like kid,
and there's pension there. The mom came in and then
(13:17):
the judge came in. He asked me to stand up,
and he was very angry. The judge was very angry,
so he asked me again. I'm going to ask one
more time. Are you Muslim or Christian? And he would
say my Islamic name Abra, and I said, I'm Christian
(13:40):
and I was always Christian and I always be so
because a lot of people really can see in their eyes,
they wanted me to they wanted me to say what
he said, really because death, you're gonna die. But they
don't see what I see, like they don't see what
I see. I see fear into his eyes. But that's
(14:04):
wasn't on me, that's not in my heart, and I
do I do that moment really felt so bad for
him to be in that position. And I just remembering
that the word Jesus had said on the cross when
he was crucified, Father, forgive them for they did not
(14:25):
know what they are doing. So I received my sentence
that day, but the end of his word, because you
are pregnant, And that was my miracle. Because you are pregnant,
you're given two years you give birth and as the child,
(14:48):
I give birth two years and as a child, and
then said the child, tell two years look into the
orphan and they held my execution. H so my church
is involved. That's how the body can't get involved. And
then my husband is a US citizen, my children and
a U citizen. The fair thing we start asking before
(15:11):
we got sent to jail, we knocked the embassy's door
and we asked for help. It just happened that day.
Was called into the office and I was told to
bring all my items my staff. I wasn't even given
a chance to save by to the other inmates and
(15:33):
the ladies I know. So I left prison. From prison,
I was asked to go find a safe place because
my house is no longer a safe place and the
US embassy is almost like outside for two city. So
we stayed at the embassy for a month, and then
(15:54):
that night, just we've been called, I left Sudan to Italy.
I said, they asked for one stains and Italy and
I really wanted to come to the state because that's
what I feel. It's my child. Don't wear the air
plong too, So yeah, I was told to scape to
(16:16):
them before during my trial and everything. And I said,
now I'm not going to do that, like I'm not,
you know, going to do that. That's why I was
called crazy. I was called stupid. I'm not smart. I
don't know how to you know, to play well. But
it just wasn't easy for me because my faith and
(16:36):
my beliefs is not like a jacket or a mouse
I would wear when I'm saving and then take off.
It's the way I will live my life. The way
I made a decision that knowing my relationship with God
is is not involved anyone else. It's between me and him.
That's the thing that my mom teaches me always. She
tells me. She tells me like, don't let any want
(17:00):
to put fear into your heart, because if it does happen,
that's how that's how you control you, you know, But
fear and come control. With fear come control. So and
God said, don't fear. And I know I wasn't afraid
(17:20):
of the stread of the enemies of their no matter
how they try to think themselves are big and strong,
but I see them weak. I isn't terrorists. Isn't the
use terrors? They use fear. But I don't comply with that,
because none of not my life or my future or
(17:41):
anything that is not in their hands, in God's hand.
So yeah, I'm here today. I in the United States.
My children, Martin is nine years old, from nine months
old in prison, nine years old now seven. They love Jesus.
(18:04):
They go to Catholic school. They share Martin as an
altar server at the church. May I want to do
music when she gets her first communion. She's going to
get her first communion on me. So she wanted to
do music ministry. And she loved to sing. She do ballet,
(18:26):
she do Martin do basketball, they do karate, their cub Scout.
I volunteered a lot on the community with the Woman's shelter,
so they help me with stuff like that. There's a
lot of good.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
Stuff and a terrific job on the production and storytelling
by Greg Special thanks to Miriam Ibrahim for sharing her story,
her family story. The book is Share One Woman's dramatic
triumph over persecution, gender abuse, and a death sentence. And
(19:06):
you can get it at your local bookstores or wherever
you buy your books. What a trial scene this is.
It's better than anything in the movies that I've seen.
And I'm almost visualizing what this was like for her
to sit there and have to answer, are you a Muslim.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Or a Christian?
Speaker 1 (19:24):
In America, we don't do that. George Washington wrote a
letter to a synagogue in Rhode Island assuring them religious
bigotry would not be sanctioned in this country. And he
wrote these words for happily, the government of the United States,
which gives to bigotry, no sanction, to persecution, no assistance,
requires only that they who live under its protection, should
(19:47):
demean themselves as good citizens in giving it, on all
occasions their effectual support. And those words are true. It's
why Miriam brought her family United States. A story of
religious persecution and in the end, a story of courage
and triumph. Miriam Ibraheim's story here on our American Stories
And we continue with our American stories. Our next story
comes to us from a mother of two living in Virginia,
but it begins far from there. Let's take a listen.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
I am Mariam Abrahim. I was born on November third
and nineteen eighty seven in a refugee camp and a
siri of Kadariv from Suran. My mother of fleat war
from Ethiopia. When she's ten years old with her sister.
(00:48):
They lost all their families and they're the only survived
members of the family and the subtle and a refugees camp.
When my mom was sixteen, she met with my father
and they got married. My father originally from Therefore, the
(01:10):
background of the story is that he killed a men
from a different tribe. But the man is the honor
killing because the man is a relationship with my aunt,
my father's younger sister. So my father find out about them,
they meet and know each other, so he gets so
angry and he went on and killed the man. And
(01:32):
when he came to this far away area just to
hide because the other family are second revenge. So that's
why he met with my mom. Later after my youngest
sister was born, the situation gets really very bad. I
remember lots of the fight. She's been beaten and when
(01:55):
we came, my brother and I went in the middle
to stop the fighting. We betn also, so he left
and they got divorced. We decided to move from the
refugee camp. I always have many questions about my father's family.
When we moved to that lets, she had to change
(02:17):
our last name and everything, because I didn't know this
until later on the time. That's that's what I always
question her, like why I don't want us to know
my dad's family, Why I don't want us to be
connected to them. So she on that actually for our protection.
So we moved to that city and it's actually a
(02:41):
lot of Muslims groups in that area. So I have
my youngest brother his name is Hassan, and the younger sister.
So my brother was totally different than my mom and
I because he's extremely Muslim. And then when we moved
to the big city, he really fell to the trap
of the imams. My mom was really upset for him,
(03:04):
like if she ever tried, like to stop him, or
do she get immediately get killed. So she tried her
best to convince him. I did try my best but
he didn't help. So in Suran and many Muslim countries,
all students, no matter what's your religion, do you have
to pass those four subject Arabic, English, math, and Islamic stories.
(03:31):
Islamic study include study Agida Kuran and Sunna Kuran. You
study gorannul okay, you mamarize a scripture Sunna about the
life of Muhammad. And then I did about the life
of the Sahaba. And I was supposed to be married
in business, and they have a structure for everything you do,
even the way like use the bathroom, marriage, the way
(03:54):
you communicate with unbeliever, the way you do a world,
the way you do business with bank, managing money, everything,
so we have to do that, like I have all
the knowledge about Urant. And then in that situation, I
was targeted by my teachers because we are Christian and
they're sitting next to Muslim students and you hear the teacher,
(04:16):
you know, say it louder and you have to rebeat
after her. The verses are are saying how to treat
the unbeliever and how God will punish them, and how
they are bad they are, you know, how they go
to hell. And I was like I don't rebet after her.
So they start like talking to me, No, you have
to follow this. You have to say this because I
lost said, and Muhamma said, and I just don't want it,
(04:37):
like I don't want it. The same time, when I
come home, I tell my mom that, oh no, don't
do that. They're gonna kill you. That's what my mom
will say. And I'm like, I have seen these people
always respond to the aggressive behavior of emams and Muslims
and leaders. The respond from us, the religious minority is
(04:58):
that we can had to do what they want to
be in peace like that is in peace. That's weakness.
And I always argue with them. So close to my graduation,
I lost my sister first and then few months Lera,
(05:20):
my mom passed away. She worked. She had a restaurant
on the highway between the city of Galabad border and Gadariv,
and one of the things she does she helped there's
a lot of human trafficking smuggling in that area. And
one of the things my mom did is when those
(05:43):
smugglers bring on those gales, she questioned them. She seen
them like nineteen years old, so she when she questioned them,
she offered them her if you needed her. So and
she went on and report that. But the correct office
said went on and told the smuggle as this woman.
You have to be careful about this woman because she
(06:06):
started talking to the girls. You guys bring in girls
and boys. So I get to know she was not.
It was an accident, as I was taught it was. Yeah.
So the other now here my mom died and spend
(06:28):
a lifetime with Zennants. I get to know my sister
in law she's in a wheelchair and my priest with
like you, Miriam, I'm the only person I would trust.
So that's how became friends. And then I get to
know her brother. They get married to him. So after
(06:50):
I have my oldest, my first child. When my husband
left us, he lived in the United States, so come
and go to Surran. So after we're married, he came
to an state and I was. He left me pregnant
with alf his child. So I started my own business.
That my mom left farming land and she left the
(07:13):
house and she left some saving for me, so I
used that and I started business. I solved her restaurant.
I did very well on that and then out of
the suren I my husband also went back to Sudan.
At that time, my son was crawling. And then I
started receiving this phone call about family members that are
(07:36):
looking for me, and then we come from them to police.
See the phone call, I have to go to the
policy station, question, this is your family and they want
you back. And I'm like, that's why my mom always
not wanted me to connect with you guys. So and
(07:59):
I find out they know where I live and everything, like,
why don't you guys come unlock my door? Because we
know you're living a wrong life. So what do you
mean because we know you got to church and you're
married to CHRISTI and I'm holding my son. I told
the officer, I have a family of my own. Now,
why does not family the family don't bring their daughter
(08:21):
to the policy station. So he said, no, this is
their family and they want you to back, and they
are right. The officer said, they are right because if
you're their daughter, your father is the Muslim, You're not
supposed to be living this life. So you break too
many law? I said, really, I'm like, who did I kill?
(08:42):
Who did I hurt? So I'm like, building a business
is that providing jobs for many people, including even like
refided people that area, So like, no, you are committing adultery.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
And you've been listening to Miriam Ibrahim share her story
of life in Soudan before he came to America to
live in Virginia. When we come back, more of this
remarkable story here on our American stories, and we continue
(09:39):
with our American stories and with Miriam Ibrahim's story, and
so many millions of Americans end up at our shores
suffering from some type of persecution, religious or otherwise. Let's
pick up where we last left off with Miriam and
her story.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
So in September twenty thirteen, go in back to court
every day, just question who you are. They said their
name Muslim name, and I say my Christian name, and
I say I'm Christian. They said she's a Muslim. So
the judge want, I mean, just to say accept what
they said. And you know, I said, okay, you must
(10:23):
go to do your family. I said, what's going to
happen to my children? My child at the time, I
don't know what's pregnant. So my child you have to
go to the orphan because he's a little bit child.
And then you're gonna get flogged a hundred lashes and
go to your family. And the Christmas Eve of twenty thirteen,
I was sent to jail. They responded, like, you know,
(10:45):
you can't respond as a girl, as a woman. You
don't dare to open to look at the judge's face
or talk to him. You can't do that. So you
just be bouning your head down and covering your facet,
your hair and just quiet, not even breathing, like you know.
Then even so, and before I go to jail, I
(11:05):
have to go through to do medical tests, and then
I'm including pregnancy and I really wasn't prepared to have
a second child at that time. Martin is young. But
this trial starts happening, and I don't think that's the
good time. I mean, but gods have a different wall.
They said, you're pregnant. I'm like, what, I'm going to
(11:27):
jail getting a news and I'm pregnant. I supposed to
be really happy. I was happy, but like, what hell?
I mean, just you know, I'm very confused, and I'm
very upset and freaked out. So I sent there and
there's the other woman when I walk in, all these
face bruises and so sad and horrible situation. I'm holding
(11:49):
my son. So somehow Martin was long day. He just
fell asleep and I just closed my eyes and said,
let me pray. So when I of the sudden, I
hear this deep voice, you are not alone. And I
opened my eyes and I'm like, what did you say it?
Who you are? Where are you? I'm like, So the
other women in the cell start laughing, and they called
(12:12):
the office to say I'm crazy. They put Chance on
my feet. Chance because my crime is an adultery and
a bosta see now. And I supposed to receive death
sentence for a boss see ande hundred slashes for adultery,
but it didn't read the sentence. Give me three days,
a judge. So I remember my on the track back
(12:34):
from court to prison, I was praying and I was like, okay, God,
three days. And it's just like, oh, Johanna was in
the well for three days. Jesus wasn't the tom for
three days. These have to be miracles that I really,
(12:54):
you really have for me, and I'm just waiting for
that miracle. We're back again to the end of the
trial and again I was put up on the kid
and there's like fifty officer around the kid, big like kid,
and there's pension there. The mom came in and then
(13:17):
the judge came in. He asked me to stand up,
and he was very angry. The judge was very angry,
so he asked me again. I'm going to ask one
more time. Are you Muslim or Christian? And he would
say my Islamic name Abra, and I said, I'm Christian
(13:40):
and I was always Christian and I always be so
because a lot of people really can see in their eyes,
they wanted me to they wanted me to say what
he said, really because death, you're gonna die. But they
don't see what I see, like they don't see what
I see. I see fear into his eyes. But that's
(14:04):
wasn't on me, that's not in my heart, and I
do I do that moment really felt so bad for
him to be in that position. And I just remembering
that the word Jesus had said on the cross when
he was crucified, Father, forgive them for they did not
(14:25):
know what they are doing. So I received my sentence
that day, but the end of his word, because you
are pregnant, And that was my miracle. Because you are pregnant,
you're given two years you give birth and as the child,
(14:48):
I give birth two years and as a child, and
then said the child, tell two years look into the
orphan and they held my execution. H so my church
is involved. That's how the body can't get involved. And
then my husband is a US citizen, my children and
a U citizen. The fair thing we start asking before
(15:11):
we got sent to jail, we knocked the embassy's door
and we asked for help. It just happened that day.
Was called into the office and I was told to
bring all my items my staff. I wasn't even given
a chance to save by to the other inmates and
(15:33):
the ladies I know. So I left prison. From prison,
I was asked to go find a safe place because
my house is no longer a safe place and the
US embassy is almost like outside for two city. So
we stayed at the embassy for a month, and then
(15:54):
that night, just we've been called, I left Sudan to Italy.
I said, they asked for one stains and Italy and
I really wanted to come to the state because that's
what I feel. It's my child. Don't wear the air
plong too, So yeah, I was told to scape to
(16:16):
them before during my trial and everything. And I said,
now I'm not going to do that, like I'm not,
you know, going to do that. That's why I was
called crazy. I was called stupid. I'm not smart. I
don't know how to you know, to play well. But
it just wasn't easy for me because my faith and
(16:36):
my beliefs is not like a jacket or a mouse
I would wear when I'm saving and then take off.
It's the way I will live my life. The way
I made a decision that knowing my relationship with God
is is not involved anyone else. It's between me and him.
That's the thing that my mom teaches me always. She
tells me. She tells me like, don't let any want
(17:00):
to put fear into your heart, because if it does happen,
that's how that's how you control you, you know, But
fear and come control. With fear come control. So and
God said, don't fear. And I know I wasn't afraid
(17:20):
of the stread of the enemies of their no matter
how they try to think themselves are big and strong,
but I see them weak. I isn't terrorists. Isn't the
use terrors? They use fear. But I don't comply with that,
because none of not my life or my future or
(17:41):
anything that is not in their hands, in God's hand.
So yeah, I'm here today. I in the United States.
My children, Martin is nine years old, from nine months
old in prison, nine years old now seven. They love Jesus.
(18:04):
They go to Catholic school. They share Martin as an
altar server at the church. May I want to do
music when she gets her first communion. She's going to
get her first communion on me. So she wanted to
do music ministry. And she loved to sing. She do ballet,
(18:26):
she do Martin do basketball, they do karate, their cub Scout.
I volunteered a lot on the community with the Woman's shelter,
so they help me with stuff like that. There's a
lot of good.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
Stuff and a terrific job on the production and storytelling
by Greg Special thanks to Miriam Ibrahim for sharing her story,
her family story. The book is Share One Woman's dramatic
triumph over persecution, gender abuse, and a death sentence. And
(19:06):
you can get it at your local bookstores or wherever
you buy your books. What a trial scene this is.
It's better than anything in the movies that I've seen.
And I'm almost visualizing what this was like for her
to sit there and have to answer, are you a Muslim.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Or a Christian?
Speaker 1 (19:24):
In America, we don't do that. George Washington wrote a
letter to a synagogue in Rhode Island assuring them religious
bigotry would not be sanctioned in this country. And he
wrote these words for happily, the government of the United States,
which gives to bigotry, no sanction, to persecution, no assistance,
requires only that they who live under its protection, should
(19:47):
demean themselves as good citizens in giving it, on all
occasions their effectual support. And those words are true. It's
why Miriam brought her family United States. A story of
religious persecution and in the end, a story of courage
and triumph. Miriam Ibraheim's story here on our American Stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
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