I am glad to see this call from Providence magazine to grant Asia Bibi asylum… anywhere. (More on her story here.)
The obvious shouldn’t need saying, but it is clear that there are many Muslims in the UK, whether new immigrant or native born, who believes—like those martial heroes memorialized in the London park—that Britain is worth fighting for. So a part of the test at hand is for everyone to figure out what it means to be a Brit—how to join in solidarity over a handful of commonly shared universal values—like freedom of speech, belief, and worship grounded in justice, order, and peace—while retaining essential particularities that make a pluralistic society the enriching joy that it ought to be.
But the Asia Bibi case is a test for more than the UK. Every free nation on the planet ought to be climbing over each other to get to the front of the line to invite her in. In my own country, President Trump has an excellent opportunity to prove that his immigration policy is not the moral horror that many claim, to prove that it can bear the requirements of discernment, justice, security, and compassion all at the same time. He should invite Bibi to the United States today. He should demand that she be allowed to come. Right now. He should send his jet to get her.
Matthew Loftus
Matthew Loftus teaches and practices Family Medicine in Baltimore and East Africa. His work has been featured in Christianity Today, Comment, & First Things and he is a regular contributor for Christ and Pop Culture. You can learn more about his work and writing at www.MatthewAndMaggie.org
