Archbishop of Canterbury Tries to Save Iraqi Christian from Deportation

The senior bishop in the Church of England is trying to stop an Iraqi Christian from being deported after a harrowing escape from ISIS.

Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has written a letter on behalf of a Christian man who reportedly fled Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, in August 2014, after ISIS took over the city.

"{The man} is clearly someone who wishes to contribute to society," Welby wrote in a letter to support the man's case for refugee status. "He is someone who would be a great asset to the United Kingdom. I strongly endorse {his} desire to seek asylum in the U.K."

But his asylum case has been rejected twice and now is appealing for a third time.

Senior aide to Archbishop Welby, Mark Poulson, also wrote a letter to the U.K.'s Home Office saying that he "unequivocally" endorses the man's desire to stay in the U.K.

The Christian told Britain's Guardian newspaper that going back to his homeland was out of the question and that he "feels safe in Britain."

"I can't go back to Kurdistan, it's a different government, it's not our country," the man told the newspaper. "They don't deal with us like people from the same place."

Welby has spoken out numerous times against the Islamic State's atrocities against Christians and has urged religious leaders to "stand up and take responsibility" for the extremists views within Islam.