Beginning with his advocacy for dissidents in the Soviet Union as the director of the Society of St. Stephen, Reverend Keith’s lifetime commitment to the liberty struggle made him a hero in our eyes. His kindness, sacrifices and relentless work on behalf of the weak, persecuted and tortured around the globe left a great impact on the human rights universal community. He will be remembered by many generations for the hard work he consented to, along with his wonderful family.
As I can testify since I landed on these shores as an immigrant in 1990, Reverend Keith Roderick is an American-born founding father of the human rights coalition that defended the rights of minorities, women and oppressed in the Muslim World since 1993. Aside from Middle East Americans who came from other shores, Keith was the leader who launched the very first US based coalition to speak on behalf of the persecuted around the world. His action was behind many initiatives, legislations and declarations. Americans and people around the world will soon learn about a modest but great hero who sacrificed everything in his life, to defend the silenced people. He was also a personal friend and an inspiration to many of us in the field of the human cause.
Rest in Peace Father Keith, our sorrow is great but we know where you are right now
***
Father Keith Roderick has served as Secretary General of the Coalition for the Defense of Human Rights (CDHR) since 1993. The Coalition is a consortium of over fifty-five organizations working together to champion the rights of minorities living in Islamic countries. Members of the Coalition include Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Assyrians, Armenians, Bahai, Copts, Lebanese, Indonesians, Iranians, Pakistanis, Indians, Sudanese, Nigerians, and others. He has testified to the Senate and House of Representatives on the issue of religious freedom and human rights concerns of non-Muslim minorities in Islamic countries. He has been interviewed and published articles on minorities in the Middle East for national and international media. Father Roderick continues to work with leaders of the minority communities in the Middle East to promote security and equality.
Formerly he was the Director of Spoon River College in Macomb, Illinois and taught religion and philosophy for fifteen years. He founded the Society of St. Stephen in 1982 that worked on behalf of religious prisoners of conscience and their families in the former Soviet Union. He served as Christian Solidarity International’s Representative in Washington, D.C. until 2009. He served as the Co-Director of the International Task Force, formerly The Task Force on Soviet Jewry, Executive Director of the Sudan Campaign, Co-Chairs the Coalition to Save Iraq’s Christians and Other Defenseless Minorities. Is on the Board of Directors/Advisors of the Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy (Darfur), Religious Freedom Coalition (Washington, D.C.), Institut de l’Europe Libre (Paris), International Christian Union, and Middle East Concern (Cyprus) and International Christian Union. In June 2013, he became member of Coptic Solidarity Advisory Council.