Barnabas Aid January/February 2008

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barnabasaidTHE MAGAZINE OF BARNABAS FUNDHOPE AND AID FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH

India: how Christiansfit into her rich diversity

Islam and love: sorting fact from fi ction Iraqi Christian refugees: building for the future

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008


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JAN/ FEB2007 BARNABASAID 3

From the director

Barnabas, Josephand AgabusIn 1989 I was asked by the World Evangelical Fellowship and the LausanneMovement to convene a conference in Cyprus about Christians in Muslimcountri es. Leaders came from across the Muslim world. The stories they broughtwere heart-rending as they spoke of the difficulties they faced and whichChristi ans had faced in history, even torture and death. The realit y of persecutionin the Muslim world was little known at that time, for most Christians attentionwas on the plight of Christians in the communist worl d. The conference delegatesagreed to create two organisations: (1) an institute for research and information tomake known t he situation of persecuted Christians in the Muslim world ( 2) a reliefagency to be call ed the Barnabas Fund.

The name Barnabas was chosen

because the Apostle Barnabas came from

Cyprus. He was a good man full of the

Holy Spirit and faith (Acts 11:24).

His gentleness, compassion, courage,

faith, integrity and generosity are clear

a wonderful model to follow. His name

means son of encouragement and what

Christians in the Muslim world at the time

most needed was to be encouraged, to be

remembered, to be helped.

Very soon the institute was set up.

Meanwhile I contacted various mission

and aid agencies requesting that perhaps

1% of their bud get be given to assist

Christians in the Muslim world, but sadly

this was not possible. With the appeal

coming from Christian leaders in the

Muslim world, we found it necessary in

1993 to bring into being the Barnabas

Fund, to be a channel of help and hop e.

Little did we r ealise at the time what a

popular name Barnabas was for many

Christian ministries. Nor did we dream

how the Lord was going to bless the workof Barnabas Fund and m ake it grow.

Barnabasoriginal name was Joseph

(Acts 4:36), a name which recalls the

Joseph we read abou t in Genesis, the

eleventh son of Jacob. Joseph was the

man whom God sent ahead of his father

and br others (Psalm 105:17), allowing him

to be sold into slavery in Egypt. By th e

time famine afflicted the land, Joseph h ad

risen to be in charge of the wh ole country,

under Pharaoh, and had organised the

storage of surplus grain to tide Egypt over

the famine years and indeed to help those

starving in neighbouring countries.

Thus he was able to help his brothers

when the famine struck Canaan. God had

prepared, years ahead of time, a means

to help Jacob and his sons when the ha rd

times came.

The Bible tells us also of another famine,

many centuries later, when God prepared in

advance for help to come to His people.

It happened while Barnabas and Saul

(Paul) were spending a year at Antioch

teaching the Christians there. Agabus

came from Jerusalem to the church in

Antioch and prophesied a famine.

The Christians in Antioch imm ediately

organised an offering to help the Christians

in Judea where the famine would

apparently strike first. The offering was

sent through Barnabas and Sau l who

carried it to Jerusalem.

(Acts 11: 25-30)

It is striking that the Antioch Christians

took up the offering before the famine

started. Thr ough the faith and generosity

of this fledgling church, aid was sent to the

elders of the church in Jeru salem before

the need had even arisen.

Forwarding gifts for Christians affected

by famine is something which the Apostle

Barnabas did in the first century and wh ich

it is our privilege at Barnabas Fund tocontinue doing in the twenty-first century.

(See page 5 for one example.) We also

support long-term feeding programmes

in countries such as Iraq, Pakistan and

elsewhere, to help Christians who are on

the brink of malnutrition and h unger.

But feeding is just one of many ways we

help needy Christians.

As we enter a new year, it must be with

hope and confidence, remembering that the

God who knew the famines would come is

in control, and has prepared help for His

people. Bu t we must also recognise that

we live in times of increasing instability,

especially for Christians, as we see the

rise of Islamic fundamentalism and anti-

Christian violence.

D r P a t r i ck S o o k h d eo

International Director

Project newsThese are the pages where we keep you informed about how your gifts arehelping Christians under pressure because of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.Several reports in this issue are concerned with training of various kinds - forpastors, Christi an teachers, and Christian writ ers. In places where the Christiancommunity is generally poor and does not have many resources, short trainingcourses add to the skills and knowledge of committ ed and hard-workingChristians serving t he Lords people in various ways. The courses usually costvery litt le but t he results can be dramatic. What the church leaders in Ethiopiaand Sierra Leone have learnt will make them far more effective in strengtheningthe faith of ordinary Christians so that they can withstand the pressures and

challenges which may face them from other faiths. The Christian teachers inSudan will be more effective in educating the children in their schools, and thiswill result in a new generation bett er able to support t hemselves and developtheir community as a whole. The Christian writ ers in Pakistan will be able toproduce materials wit h greater impact, to encourage and edify more of theirfellow- believers. Please pray that t he Holy Spirit wil l remind all w ho have takenthese courses and workshops of what they have learned and help them to put itinto practice. Pray also for the other projects described here. Thank you for yourprayers and for your gifts which make these projects possible.

EQUIPPING FOR CHURCH MINISTRY IN ETHIOPIAAND SIERRA LEONEA grant of 3,575 (US$7,507;

NZ$9,653; A$7,865; 5,005) covered

some of the costs of two training

courses, each 5 days long, which

were held in different locations in

Ethiopia in October. Altogether

150 church m inis ters were trained,

and each was given eight books to

take home afterwards. The courses

focused particularly on preaching

skills and also looked at the Bible in

Morningdevotionsstartedeachdayof a trainingcourse forpastorsin Sierra Leone

barnabasaidJANUARY/FEBRUARY2008

Contents

Cover: An Indian Bible Schoolstuden t praying. (Photo: Gary

S. Chapman)

Toguard thesafetyof Christiansin hostileenvironmentsnameshaveoft en been changed or omitted. Thankyoufor your understanding.

3 Project News Training a few brings bl essing

to many

6 Country Profile: Christians in India

Informationpull-out

Islam, love and a response to theMuslim open letter

11 TestimonyPeace, joy and persecution in Jordan

12 The Other Nine Where are they?Can you t ell them?

14 NewsroomA martyr in Gaza

15 In Touch

When God matches people to projects

17 FocusThink big and think long-term:a new project to help Iraqi Christians

18 New BookFaith and Power byPatrick Sookhdeo

overview, as well as studying in detail

key theological concepts such as

grace, justification, regeneration and

sanctification.

Another grant of 7,475

(US$15,698; NZ$20,183; A$16,445;

10,465) covered similar training for

pastors in Sierra Leone earlier in the

year. Both Sierra Leone and Ethiopia

face a strong challenge from the

growing presence of Islam.

Reference 46-679

URDU CHRISTIANLITERATURE ANDWRITERS WORKSHOPA long established Christian

publishing house produces Urdu-

language materials used by many

Christian groups in Pakistan. One

of their current projects is to publish

1,000 copies of a Bible Concordance

and 2,000 co pies of a Bible Dictionary,

both in Urdu. Barnabas Fund sent

a grant of 10,313 (US$21,657;

NZ$27,845; A$22,687; 14,438) to

help subsidise the production costs.

A further grant of 956 (US$2,000;

NZ$2,580; A$2,103; 1,338) paid for

a writersworkshop for 15 Pakistani

Christian writers held over 4 days

in early October. The aim of the

workshop was to encourage the

production of original and auth entic

Pakistani Christian literature, rather

than relying on translation of foreign

works . Here are some comments

from the participants:

Being together with other like-

minded people gives more inspiration,

motivation and incentive to write.

In the workshop I received a

great pile of blessings.

I learnt that we need to write

by faith and that in writing we face a

spiritual battle.

Please pray that those who

attended the workshop all of them

mature Christians will use what

they have learnt to produce powerful

new material in Urdu for theological

training, Bible study, Sunday schools,

womens groups, children etc.

Reference 41-596

Aworkshopf or Pakistani Christian writers


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4 BARNABASAID JAN/ FEB2008 MARCH/ APRIL2007 BARNABASAID 5

Project news

Primary school teachers discussingt eachingmet hods

SUDAN: TRAINING

CHRISTIAN TEACHERSFOR CHRISTIANSCHOOLSAccording to the United Nations,

only 2% of Southern Sudanese have

completed primary schooling. This

reflects the colossal disruption of

normal l ife which occurred during the

civil war of 1983-2005.

As life in the South begins

s lowly to return to n ormal, and the

infrastructure is rebuilt, education is

seen as the priority. The popu lation

of the South is mainly Christian,

Project news


A grant of 4,000 (US$8,400;

NZ$10,800; A$8,800; 5,600)

is Barnabas Fun ds most recent

contr ibution to the running costs

of a Christian sch ool for African

refugee children (mainly Sudanese) in

Egypt. The school provides a feeding

programme, giving each s tudent a nd

teacher a hot meal each school day.

Many of the children are underweight,

and this school lunch is probably the

only nutritious meal they have in the

day. A school doctor visits twice a

week to care for the many medical

needs of the children.

Two recent grants to countries in

very different parts of the world ha ve

gone to fund bee-keeping projects to

help persecuted Christians support

themselves.

In a certain country of Central

Asia Samir, a convert from Islam

to Christianity, has six children to

support. As a convert, he finds it

virtually impossible to get work,

because those who have left Islam are

so despised in this society. H e thought

of going to Russia to look for a job, but

his pas tor counselled him to find a way

to start his own small business so that

he would n ot have to leave his family.

Samir has experience in keeping bees

and already has some equipment.

Therefore a grant from Barnabas Fun d

of 322 (US$650; NZ$870; A$708;

450) was all that he needed to repair

his 25 bee hives and to buy a swarm for

and church growth during the

terrible war years was enormous. In

both the South and the North i t is

important that chu rch-run schools

are established to give Christian

youngsters an education in a Christian

environment; otherwise they would

probably have to s tudy in government

schools with a strongly Islamic

environment (if available) or have no

education at al l . But there are many

teachers who have never had a ny

training for the job they are doing.

Barnabas Fund has been ass is t ing

a large church-run programme of

teacher training, by means of coursesrun during the school holidays. A

recent gran t of 11,787 (US$24,752;

NZ$31,825; A$25,931; 16,500)

completed a set of four grants over

two years used to fund various kinds

of teacher training. The programme

included training for pre-school

teachers , pr imary teachers , and head

teachers, as well as training in how to

make educational resources. One of

the parts of the programm e ass is ted

by Barnaba s Funds grants was

training 13 teachers to be trainers of

other teachers .

Reference 48-494

The school began the current

academic year with 468 students.

Of these, 111 are at the secondary

school, and the res t at tend the

primary school in two shifts each day.

Not only the students, but alsomany of the teachers are refugees,

so there is a high turnover of both as

people leave for Western countries

or return to South Sudan. Despite

the inevitable disruption, the school

has achieved good academic results.

Seven s tudents graduated from Grade

12 in June 2007, and one pupil has

transferred to the top international

school locally. The staff have also

been delighted to hear from s tudents

who have moved with their families

to the US and Australia that they have

been able to keep up well in their new

schools there.

Reference 11-439

Regular readers of Barnabas Aidwill

remember a report las t year on aid

for famine victims in the tiny central

African nation of Burundi. Although

this famine received virtua lly no

attention in the media, for its victims

it was all too real. Severe floods in the

north-west of the country destroyed

the crops , and to make matters

worse there had been drought in

the preceding months . People were

beginning to die of hunger. Every

day they would come to the church

leaders asking for food, but as one

senior leader wrote to Barnabas Fund,

we have nothing to offer them apart

from prayers . I have urged members

of the church to collect food for

those in need but they themselves

are hungry. Another church leader

wrote to us that many Christians weretempted to convert to Is lam in order

to get aid from Muslim charities.

In this s i tuation, Barnabas Fund

was thankful to be able to send

grants tota lling 31,955 (US$63,910;

NZ$86,279; A$76,692; 47,933) which

were used by church leaders to buy

beans, maize and salt to help 4,868

families. The gran ts were also used

to provide seed to enable a new crop

to be sown. We are reportin g this

again in order to share with Barnabas

Fund supporters the encouragement

of comments recently received from

some of those who were helped. It is

due to your generosity that we were

able to assist.

FEEDBACK ON FAMINE RELIEF

Our families owe their lives

to the relief. We really thank you

very much. We are amazed that

you found our village out of all the

villages in the whole world to h elp

us in our time of hun ger.

A village elder

I was almost dying. I had

nothing to eat or plant but God

loved me so much and He gave me

something to eat and plant. I have

not enough words to thank you.

A mother

I brought the food home and my

family danced and rejoiced because

we had food.

A village elder

We want to say thank you to

Barnabas Fu nd the relief helped

give seeds for new crops. Six

hundr ed and forty-two families in

the village received seed and maize

for food. Please pray for peace

for Burundi because th is is the

foundation of development. Please

also pray that we can come out

of our hunger. After the drought

there was a flood, and we want to

come out of dependency and we

dont want to keep asking for h elp.

A village ch ief

Reference 67-681

Distributing food tofamilies affected bylastyears famineinBurundi. Myfamily danced and rejoicedbecausewehad food,said oneof therecipients

each hive, 200kg of sugar and some other

equipment needed. Sam ir plans that ,

if all goes well, he will repay the sum to

his church leaders after one year, so they

will be able to use it to help other s in his

church, most of whom are converts from

Islam.Reference 00-356(small business start-up fund)

In the Kurdish regions of northern Iraq

the security situation is better than in the

rest of the country, and many Christians

from Baghdad and Basra have fled to the

north.

Here is part of a letter from a committeerepresenting 41 Christian families:

Following the fall of the criminal

regime of Saddam , the instability, terror,

fear, horrors, blind killing and kidnapping

started in these cities [i.e. Mosul and

Baghdad, where the families had settled

after their village in Kurdistan was

destroyed in 1961 by the Iraqi army].

Terror gangs with religious and sectarian

names appeared and started to kill people

indiscrim inately, especially in the last

period as the chu rches were bombed and

Christian fam ilies were threatened and

our children kidnapped. This forced us

to leave our houses and furniture and all

that we had behind u s and seek refuge in

the north as there is security and stability.

The time is ch anged and Kurdistan region

has become secure, so we returned to ou r

villages in the last two months. Other

families, who get the chance, are returning

as well.

We appeal to you to offer any sort of

suppo rt as all the fam ilies are residing

now in the villages school building, wh ichis the only bu ilding left in the village and is

half destroyed. We lack blankets, kerosene

and food.

Barnabas Fund is helping to provide

the basic need s of Christians like this,

but the long-term solution is to enable

them to support them selves. A grant

of 9,500 (US$19,950; NZ$25,650;

A$20,900; 13,300) is being used to set

up 20 bee farms each employing three

people, thus providing support for 60

families. This sum covers the hives,

other equipment and some training.

The cost per bee farm is 475 (US$997;

NZ$1,282; A$1,045; 665) and the cost

per fam ily is 158 (US$330; NZ$427;

A$348; 220).

Reference 20-689

Barnabas Fund has enabled 20 bee-keeping projectstobe established innorthernIraq, whichwillprovidean incomefor 60 Christian families

SUDANESE REFUGEES FOOD AND SCHOOLING

BEE-KEEPING TOSUPPORT CHRISTIANSIN CENTRAL ASIAAND IRAQ


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6 BARNABASAID JAN/ FEB2008

Country Profile

In the Middle Ages Assyrian

Christians were active in spreading

Christianity to India, and an Assyrian

community emerged there. From the

sixteenth century onwards the first

Roman Catholic missionaries arrived

in India, and enclaves of Catholics

were established on the coasts,

particularly in Goa.

The first Protestant missionary to

arrive in India is thought to have been

the Dane, Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg,

who began to evangelise in 1706. He

worked among the Tamils in Southern

India. By 1733 the first Tamil pastor

was working in the area. By the end

of eighteenth century missionary work

began to expand, through such figures

as the father of modern missions,

William Carey, who tra nslated

the Bible into Indian languages

such as Sanskrit and Bengali , and

several other dialects. Throughout

the nineteenth century Protes tantmissionaries of all denominations

preached and founded churches

throughout the subcontinent.

Country Profile India

India is a vast country which

is home to more tha n a bil l ion

people: one in every six people

in the world is Indian. Modern

India is heir to a rich and eclectic

civilisation which spans thousands

of years and the influence of Indian

culture permeates beyond the Indian

subcontin ent into Asia. Within Indiasborders th ree of the worlds major

religions were birthed Hinduism,

Buddhism and Jainism. Indian

history has witnessed the rise and

fall of many dynasties and rulers

who have sought to dominate it; for

more than 400 years i t was under the

foreign rule of the Muslim Mughals

and th e British Raj. While foreign

rulers have been influential, Indian

civilisation has always retained its

own distinct identity. It gained its

independence from Brit ish rule

in 1947.

Modern India is a country growing

in confidence and seeking to assert

itself on the world stage, econ omically,

militarily and politically. It is the

largest functioning democracy in

the world. However, it is riven by

internal divisions and sometimes

seems almost bewilderingly diverse.

The population comprises hundreds

of ethnic groups, over 1500 languages

are spoken, and there are numerous

religious affiliations. India frequently

witnesses inter-ethnic, inter-religious

and political conflict as these diverse

elements clash. In such an uncertain

climate, Indias Christian m inority

is being placed under increasing

pressure.

Christianity in IndiaChristianity has a long and rich

history in India. According to

tradition it was the Apostle Thomas

who first brought the Gospel to India

as early as 52 AD. He is said to h ave

established seven congregations,

before dying in Madras. While the

visit of Thomas to India is a matter

of debate, there is some evidence

for its plausibility; he is celebrated

in the poems and oral tradit ionsof Christians in South India, and

in 1293 Marco Polo described his

tomb as a place for pilgrimage. The

modern Mar Thoma (Saint Thomas)

Christians in Kerala state in the south

believe themselves to be descendants

of the original Christian community

established by the Apostle Thomas.

In the second and third centuries

there are r eports of Assyrian or

Persian missionaries arriving in

India and also from other parts of

the Middle East. By 200 AD the

Syriac Chronicle of Edessa described

the existence of a church of the

Christians in India. So , far from

being recently introduced under

colonialism, Christianity is an

authentic part of Indian culture with a

long history, and no less Indian than

any other religion practised there.

India


At first mission usually focussed

on the elites in Ind ian society, but

this began to change a s Protes tant

missionaries realised that there was

a great willingness to hear the Gospel

amongst rural people and members

of the lowest castes (see box for more

on the ca ste system). Various mass

conversion movements occurred

amongst them. These movements

often began through local initiative,

with low caste people themselves

seeking out the missionaries. An

illustration of this is the way many

of the Chuhras came to Chris t .

They were one of the lowest castes

in the Punjab area in North India

(half of which is now Pakistan).

They followed a kind o f islamised

Hinduism which included belief

in a mediator and the offering of

sacrifices. In 1873 an illiterate elderly

Chuhra called Ditt was converted

to Christianity by a young Hinduconvert. Ditt sought out Presbyterian

missionaries who baptised him. He

returned to his village where he

faced ostracism and rejection, but

he s tayed there and before long

his family becam e Christians. Ditt

preached the Chris t ian message as he

travelled from village to village selling

hides, and a Christian presence grew

in the area. Missionaries became

more active amongst the Chuhras

and thousands of them embraced

Christianity.

Someof theneedyIndian Christian childrenwhoget an education in aChristianenvironment, with help fromBarnabas Fund

Hindu73%

Muslim 13%

Christian6%

Ethno/tribalreligions4%

Sikh 4%

Non-religious1%

Other (Buddhist,Jain, Bahai, Parsee,Zoroastrian, Chineseuniversist)1%

Religions of India(approximate percentages)

Left and below: Indian Christians worshipping

The Hindu Caste SystemEvery Hindu is born into a caste

or level in society. There are 3,000

castes and 25,000 subcastes, each

of which is related to a sp ecific

occupation. There are four main

categories, called varnas, into

which all the castes are grouped:

B r a h m i n s, who are priests

Ksh a t ry a s , who are warriors

Vaishyas , who are traders and

craftsmen

S h u d r a s, who are labourers

It is not possible to change your

caste. Your caste will dictate notonly your occupation, but also

other areas of life such as what

to eat and h ow to interact with

other cas te members . Higher

caste members enjoy greater

wealth with their s tatus and m ore

opportunities. Discrimination

on the basis of caste is prohibited

by the consti tution, but the cas te

system is strongly embedded

in Indian society and social

s tructures .

Da l i t s

Occupying one of the lowest levels

in Indian society are the Dalits

(also called scheduled castes

and formerly untouchables

or outcastes). Their status

is so low that they are outside

the caste system. Dalits, who

comprise about 16-20% of the total

population, have the worst jobs,

such as toilet cleaning or refuse

collection. The literacy rate among

Dalits is 37%, which compareswith 57% for non-Dalits. A large

proportion of Indian Christians are

Dalits. When becoming Christians,

Dalits have often been able to

improve their social position,

but even within the Church there

are unfortunately often still the

remnants of cas te prejudices and

loyalties.

In the modern era Christianity in

India has shown continuing growth.

Christian mission continues to make

a huge impact am ongst the Dalits

(see box on caste) and also has been

very successful amongst tribes who

Continued ov erleaf


5/13

amongst the Hindu m ajority. Hindu

nationalism ha s been resurgent in

India s ince the 1920s and from th is

have grown man y organisations

including the Bharatiya Janata Party

(BJP) which has been a force in

Indian politics since its formation

in 1980. Th e BJP, and other Hindu

nationalist groups, strongly tie Indian

nationality to the Hindu religion.

Thus, the implication is that to be

Indian is to be Hindu. The BJP and

Hindu nationalists have also sought

to undermine secularism in India and

have s tirred up antipathy towards

religious minorities. Wh ile the Indian

people as a whole display a tolerant

attitude towards religious minorities,

pressure from Hindu nationalists is

making life much more difficult forChristians.


Country ProfileCountry Profile

have been excluded by the Indian

mainstream. For many years most

evangelism has been spearheaded

by Indian Christians themselves

spreading the Gospel. The growth

of the Church in recent years has

been rapid, but there is no precise

record of how many Chris t ians

there are in India. Th e 2001 census

put the num ber at 25 mill ion, but

most Christians feel this is a serious

underes timate.

Just as India is a country of huge

variety, so the Christians in In dia are

diverse. The most important divide

between them is between those in the

North and those in the South. The

majority of Indian Christians 70%

- live in the South. Christianity in the

South is very much integrated into

Indian culture and society. In manyareas in the South, such as am ongst

some of the Tamils, Christianity has

strong roots. Figures such as the

renowned Tamil poet, Vedanayakam

Sastri, showed that Christianity and

Indian culture could complement

each other. There is also a significant

number of Christians living in the

north-eas t part of India bordering

Nepal, Bangladesh and Burma, with

25% of India s Christians living ther e.

However, the situation for

Christians in the north-west is quite

different. In these highly populated

Hindi-speaking areas, there is a very

small number of Christians only

650,000 amongst a population of 350

million.

Christianity has contributed

significantly to modern Indian society.

Christian missionaries established

hospitals, schools and co lleges all

over India. In addition the teachings

of faith, peace and goodwill have

influenced many intellectuals and

philosophers, finding their way

into the Indian consciousness,

including Mahatma Gandhi. The

compassionate and serving side of

the Christian faith is reflected in that

a disproportionately high numb er of

doctors and nurses are Christians. In

fact i t is estimated that as m any as

30% of nurses are Christians. It is

also generally accepted that Christian

institutions will tend to give a higher

quality of medical care and education

than can be found in government-run

hospitals and schools.

Religious libertyin modern IndiaIndias first prime m inister after

independence, Jawaharlal Nehru,

was a champion of secular ism and

envisaged India as being a country

where religions were equal and where

religious liberty was protected. Indias

constitution has consistently provided

safeguards for religious freedoms

since it was dra fted following Indias

independence. However, secularism

has never been universally accepted

in India, particularly by some

Wh a t i s H in d u tv a ?

Hindutva (literally meaning

Hinduness) was a term coined

by Hindu nationalist Vinayak

Damoda r Savarkar in the 1920s. It

is a philosophy which str ives for

India to be a single, united nation.

It has been criticised for its overt

communalism, tradit ionalism

and its negative attitude towards

religions which did not evolve in

India, and which are therefore seen

as being not compatible with the

Indian social ethos. It has been

particularly influential in Indian

politics since the 1980s.

Anti-conversion lawsThe constitution provides for freedom

of worship and freedom of witness

for all faiths. But India has a federal

political system, so individual Indian

states are allowed to establish their

own laws on some issues. Sinc e

the 1960s there have been attempts

to introduce laws which restrict

conversion from one faith to another.

These are rather absurdly called

Freedom of Religion Acts and

popularly known as anti-conversion

laws. Curren tly there are seven

states with anti-conversion laws in

place (Rajasthan, Gujarat, Arunchal

Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya

Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa) but

the laws are only actually enforced

in the last four listed. An eighth

state, Uttarakhand, is considering

introducing such laws.

The stated aim of these laws is

to prevent forced conversions usingfraudulent methods or inducements .

In practice the laws are mostly used

to prevent the legitimate evangelistic

activity of Christians. Often the laws

are seen as giving a green light to

Hindu radicals to attack evangelists

and other Christian workers. When

the victims of these attacks report the

incidents to the police, they often find

themselves under arres t , rather than

their attackers.

Each time a new anti-conversion

law is put in place, ther e is a


correlating rise in anti-Christian

violence in the state. Almost all the

states with anti-conversion laws

are governed by the BJP. However

Himachal Pradesh s tate, which

introduced its anti-conversion law

in 2007, is controlled by the Indian

National Congress, which is the ruling

party of the federal government and

is usually more inclined towards

secularism. This is a particularly

worrying development as it shows

acceptance of anti-conversion laws

by those who are not s tr ident Hindu

nationalists.

Legal discriminationagainst minoritiesOfficial measures and restrictions

against Christians are sometimes

more subtle. An example of this is that

India practises a policy of affirmative

action where places are reserved

in educational establishments for

Dalits, but currently Christian and

Muslim Dalits are denied access to

these places. It is hoped that a review

currently being conducted by the

Indian Supreme Court will lead to this

being changed.

Reconversion campaignsHindu nationalists have organised

large scale reconversion campaigns

which aim to convert Christian

Dalits and tribal people to Hinduism.

Ironically these campaigns

sometimes feature intimidation and

inducements , which are methods that

Hindu nationalists often falsely accuse

Christian evangelists of using.

Militant Hindu groupsAmongst Hindu nationalists there

are many who a re prepared to resort

to violence, particularly groups

such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad and

Bajrang Dal. A rapid increase in the

number of incidents of violence or

persecution made against Chris t ians

has been evident since the mid-1990s.

Between 1964 and 1996 there were

only 36 recorded incidents but now

there are an average of four incidents

every week, most of which involve

radical Hindu groups. Very oftenthey are trying to force con verts from

Hinduism to return to their old faith.

Many incidents are attacks on church

services or other Christian meetings

and events. Typically the building and

furniture will be dam aged and the

Christians beaten up, with a special

focus on the church minister. Ma ny

attacks occur in rural areas .

The president of the Global

Council of Indian Christians has said,

Christians tend to be soft targets,

because they do not fight back. Hindu

radicals use them for target practice

before they go after the Muslims.

Dr John Dayal, General Secretary

of the All India Christian Coun cil,

has also commented on the violence

by Hindu militants. The pattern of

violence indicates a design. The anti-

Christian violence is not the sort of

communal violence recorded between

other commu nities. A tiny minority

is the target and it never retaliates.

He also noted th e polices frequent

unwillingness to take action against

the perpetrators , even when the

evidence against them was plentiful.

Islamic pressureIndia is home to the second largest

Muslim population in the world,

numbering around 130 m illion and

growing. This is a legacy of the

conquest of much of India by Muslim

rulers. There has been a spate of

attacks on converts from Islam to

Christianity in Muslim-majority

Kashmir, including at least one

beheading. I t is thought that some

of these attacks were linked to theA minister in Goa was beaten up on 10 June 2007. A local Hindu became unhappy that

his wife had begun attending the church, and he approached the Bajrang Dal for help.

The Hindu husband and 25 Hindu extremists attacked the minister at the church.

New accommodation for Christian children orphaned in the2004 tsunami. Barnabas Fund is covering the costs

This Christian centrewillprovide accommodationfor destituteChristians, bothelderly and orphans.Barnabas Fund is contributingtothe buildingcosts

Continued ov erleaf

Which states have themost Christians?

Which states have themost persecution?


6/13

Islam and LoveThis pull-out supplement l ooks at the place of love in the Islamic fait h. It is an issue which has become very relevant in theWest because Muslims are beginning t o say to Westerners that l ove is as central in Islam as it is in Christianit y. This claimis far from true, as the main art icle in th is supplement wi ll show. After the main arti cle, a case study analyses a recent andvery prominent example of Muslims claiming that love is central to their faith.

Introduction: the contrast withChristianityGods love is the central them e of the New Testament

and th erefore of the Christian faith. Love is Gods main

attribute and very essence. The main message of the New

Testament is that God is love in His very being, and th at

this love was revealed in Jesus Christ and His supreme act

of love, His self-giving in his sa crificial death o n the cross.

(John 3:16; 1 John 4:7-12)

In Islam, however, the focus is on subm ission, so

love is never more than one of many secondary themes.

Modern Muslim apologists in the West sometimes assert

that God is a God of love. This is not a concept which

tradit ional or thodox Is lam would accept, but appears to

be a modern s tance of adaptation to the environment they

find themselves in.

Love in the Quran and hadithLove is mentioned in the Quran over 50 times, mainly

in the sense of love between persons and love of material

things. There are several verses that speak of humanslove

towards God, for example:

Yet there are men who tak e (for worship) others besides

Allah as equal (with Allah); they love them as they shou ldlove Allah. Bu t those of faith are overflowing in th eir love

for Allah. If only th e un righteous cou ld see behold they

would see the penalty that to Allah belongs all power and

Allah will strongly enforce the penalty. (Q 2:165) 1

A few verses speak of Gods love towards specific categories

of humans (good Muslims). One of the Beautiful Names of

God isAl-Wadud (The One who Loves, The Most Loving,

The Most Affectionate, The Beloved). This is based on Q

85:14 And H e is the Oft-Forgiving, full of loving-kindness

[al-wadud]. Wadud, f rom the root wd d, is somewhat akin

to the Old Testament Hebrew word dod or dodim (plural)

used extensively in the Song of Songs for the p ure love

between man and woman. From it we get the nam e David

(the beloved).

The word m ost often used in th e Quran for love is hubb

and its derivatives (mahabba, yuhibbu , etc.). This is linked

to the Hebrew Old Testament word ahabah (root ahb )

which is the on e mostly used to den ote love, both Gods

love to man and m ans love to God. For example:

I have loved you,says the Lord. (Malachi 1:2)

Love the Lord your God w ith all your heart and with all

your soul and with all your strength. (Deuteronom y 6:5)

Mahabba, the most common Islamic Arabic term for love,

denotes an affection inspired in hum ans by grati tude

for God s blessin gs. On Gods side mahabba is usually

bestowed as a r eward for a good believer who follows

Muhammad a nd submits to God.

Say: If ye do love God, follow me: God will love you and

forgive you your sins: For God is Oft-Forgiving, Most

Merciful. (Q 3:31)

Love in the Quran mainly mea ns liking or preference.

It derives from Gods will, rather t han from His very

nature. God loves the righteous.

verily Allah loves those who act aright. (Q 3:76)

For Allah loves those who do good; (Q 3:134)

And Allah loves those who are firm an d steadfast.

(Q 3:146)

For Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He

loves those who keep them selves pure and clean.

(Q 2:222)

For Allah loves those who are fair (and just). (Q 49:9)

Truly Allah loves those who fight in His Cause in battle

array as if they were a solid cemented stru cture. (Q 61:4)

However, God does not love sinful people and he r ejects his

enemies .

He loves not those who reject Faith (Q 30:45)

Verily He loveth not the arrogant. (Q 16:23)

Love appears also in the hadith collections, which record

tradit ions about what Muhammad and h is companions

said and did. In the hadith, love appears in a variety of

contexts: love for things, for martyrdom, for God, and

Gods love for Muha mm ad and for deserving Muslims.

1 Quotations in this article are taken from The Holy Quran:Text Translation and Commentary by A. Yusuf Ali (Leicester: The Islamic Foundation, 1975 an d many oth ereditions) unless otherwise stated. Please note that different translations of the Quran have slightly different verse numbers. So in another translation , it may benecessary to look at the verses just before or just after the text references given here in order to find the same text.

i

Country Profile


PULL-OUTSUPPLEMENT

This series of pull-out supplements is intended to provide background information for Christians seeking to understand

the nature of Islam and its contemporary expression. On e aspect of this relates to understanding the reason for the

oppression and persecution of Christians in various Islamic parts of the world, and another to the growing challenge

which Islam poses to Western society, culture and Church.group Lashka r-e-Toiba, a terrorist

organisation fighting for Kashmir to

be part of Pakis tan.

Six martyrs in one yearBarnabas Fund is aware of at leas t

six Christians active in evangelism

who were martyred in a 12-month

period recently. The deaths occurred

in five different states, three of them

in a Hindu context, two in a Muslim

context and one possibly linked to

Burma.

1 6 Se p te m b e r 2 0 0 7 ,

JHARKHAND state

Ajay Topno was shot dead, apparently

by Hindu extremists. It is believedthe background to his murder

was a dispute involving Ra shtriya

Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and

Hindu Jagran Manch who had

reconverted a Christian fam ily in

the area. This had caused anatgonism

between Christ ians and Hindus a nd

had also been reported in the local

media.

4 July 2007, MANIPUR state

A Burmese Lutheran pastor,

Pastor Pau Za Khen (aged 62), was

kidnapped and later found beheaded.

He had previously worked as a pastor

in a church in Chin s tate, Burma.

28 June 1 July 2007,

ASSAM stat e

Hemanta Das (aged 29) was beaten so

severely on 28 June that he died of his

injuries three days later. The atta ck

is thought to have been the work of

Hindu extremists. Before becoming a

Christ ian, Hemanta Das had h imself

been a m ember of a Hindu extremist

group, and he had received several

threats because of his Christian

outreach work.

14 April 2007, J AMMU &

KASHMIR s ta te

Manzoor Ahmad Chat, a convert from

Islam, was abducted and beheaded.

His head was left in a plastic bag

outs ide a mosque. I t is thought that

Islamic extremists are responsible.

A house church sometimes met in

his home.

20 February 2007, ANDHRA

PRADESH s ta te

A 29-year-old church m inister, Goda

Israel, was found stabbed to death.

A news report quoted a comm ent

that he had no personal enemies , but

he had previously been threatened

by Hindu extremists due to his

involvement in preaching the Gospel

in the area

21 November 2006, JAMMU &

KASHMIR s ta t e

Ahmed Tantra y, a 50-year-old

Christian convert from Islam, was

shot dead. Tantray had been a

Christ ian for about ten years and was

active in ministry as well as being an

engineer. It is not known whether

he was killed by Islamic militants or

whether a member of his family was

responsible.

Barnabas Fund at workin IndiaBarnabas Fund has been supporting

projects to help Indian Christians for

many years. These have included

helping converts from Islam and

supportin g Indian evangelists. After

the 2004 tsunami we assisted with

a variety of needs e.g. rebuilding

Christian homes and churches , and

creating income-generation projects

for those whose livelihoods were

destroyed by the terrible wave.

Some of our current projects include:

Many Christian families are

simply too poor to afford schoolfees. Barnabas is enabling nearly

500 Christian children in India to

have an education in a Chris t ian

environment by helping to cover their

school fees. Assistance is also given

with school uniforms and books. In

some ins tances accommodation for

the pup ils is also provided in hostels.

Project reference 21-510

Barnabas Fun d is currently

contr ibuting towards the construction

of a Christian home for the destitute

elderly and orphans .Project reference 21-688

Since the tsunami on December

26th 2004, Barnabas Fund has been

supporting 25 Christian children

who were tragically orphaned in the

disaster. As the children are getting

older, many now reaching their

teens, we are currently funding the

construction of a new accommodation

block which will have purpose-built

separate dorms for the boys and girls.

Project reference 00-540

On 8 June 2007 Laxmi Narayana, a church-planter in Karnataka state, was set upon by amob of 250 people, who beat him and tried to set him on fire by pouring kerosene on him

and throwing a burning Bible at him. Then they stripped him naked, tied a board on hischest reading I am one who converts peopleand paraded him through the

town for more than an hour.

Who is responsible forincidents of persecutionof Christians in India2005 2007?

Hindu Militant Groups55%

Community18%

Government - Local/Regional 8%

Islamists4%

Police 10%

Unknown 7%

Family 1%

This baptismis onthe AndamanIslands, aterritoryowned byIndia. Theislands werebadly affectedbythe2004 tsunamiand Barnabas Fund has helpedwithmanyprojects to rebuild Christianhomesand churches and tocreate income-generationopportunities for Christians wholosttheir livelihoods


7/13

PULL-OUTSUPPLEMENTVeiled threat

On the surface th e letter looks like a well intentioned

plea for better unders tanding between Muslims and

Christians, so as to avert an apocalyptic war between the

two largest religious blocs in the world.

If Muslims an d Christians are not at peace, the world

cannot be at peace . . . the very survival of the world itself

is at stake . . . S o let our differences not cau se hatred and

strife between u s.

However, the letter goes on to lay the blam e for all

wars in which Muslims and Christians are involved on the

actions of Christians.

As Muslims, we say to Christians that w e are not against

them and that Islam is n ot against them so long as

they do not wage war against Muslims on accoun t

of their religion, oppress them and drive them out of

their homes . [emphasis added]

This implies that the war against Islamist terrorism

is a global war of Christianity against Islam, and that

Christianity is the aggressor against Islam (which isthe radica l Islamist view). There is no sense of sorrow

for the wrongs inflicted by Muslims on Christians

historically, or indeed currently in many Muslim lands.

There is no recognition that in many places things may

be the opposite, with Muslims oppressing Christians

and driving them from their homes (e.g in Iraq, Sudan,

Nigeria, Indonesia and Pakistan). There is no admission

that Muslim actions could have played any part in the

alienation between Muslims and Christians.

So an apparently moderate appeal for reconcil iation

actually contains a subtext of warning and threat.

Expression of Islamic mission (dawa)Although presented as interfaith dialogue, the letter can

equally be viewed as a classical example of Islamic dawa

(mission). It is a call to accept the Muslim concept of

the unity of God (tawhid) and therefore to reject the

incompatible Christian views of the Trinity and the deity of

Christ.

In their s tress on monotheism and the un ity of God,

the Muslim leaders quote verses from the Quran which

express the Muslim concept of a God with no associates

and no partners verses which are always traditionally

interpreted as a direct attack on the basic Christian

doctrines of th e Trinity and Christs deity. For instance,

Q 3:64, quoted numerous times in the letter, calls the

People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) to agree not

to ascribe partners to God and not to take other Lords

beside him.

Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to a com mon word

between us and you : that we shall worship none bu t God,

and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him , and that

none of us shall take others for lords beside God. (Aal

Imran 3:64) 2

In the Saud i-sponsored English Quran of Hilali and

Khan,3 this verse has a footnote which quotes the letter

Muhammad sent to the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius,

calling upon h im and his people to embrace Is lam

and threatening that otherwise there would be severe

consequences. It may be that a similar frame of mind lies

behind the letter in which this verse is so often quoted.

Other Quranic quotations in the letter have a similar

message about the unity of God: [emphasis added]

Yet there are men who take r ivals unto God: they love

them as they shou ld love God. (Q 2:165).

Say: Lo! my worship and my sacrifice and my living and

my dying are for God, Lord of the Worlds. /He hath no

partner ... (Q 6:162-164)

Hadith quotes support the same theme:

The best that I h ave saidmyself, and the prophets that

came before meis: there is no god but God, He Alone,

He hath no associate ... (Sun an Al-Tirmidhi, Kitab Al-

Daawat, Bab al-Dua fi Yawm Arafah, Hadith no. 3934).

He who says: There is no god but God, He Alone, He

hath no associate, His is the sovereignty and His is the

praise and He h ath power over all thingsone hun dred

times in a day... Sahih Al-Bukhari, Kitab Bad al-Khalq,

Bab Sifat Iblis wa Junudihi; Hadith no. 3329.

A hidden message for MuslimsIt is unusual to see Islamic scholars basing their

presentat ion of Islamic doctrin es mainly on the Quran

alone. Usually the scholars also make good use of

th e hadith and a number of recognised methods of

interpreta tion. Yet the open letter cites only three

quotations from the hadith in i ts main text (although there

are several more in the footnotes).

Significantly, all the Quranic verses chosen for

quotation in the letter are ones tha t have hadith comments

and other recognised interpretations which would be

well known to most Muslim readers. In most cases these

comments and interpretations are more aggress ive to

Christians, Jews and other non-Muslims than the stance

taken in th e letter. Selectively quoting from th e Quran in

this way conveys a message to Muslims that this is not a

letter of appeasement but a call to submit to Is lam.

For ins tance, the fatiha (Q 1) is quoted in the letter and

presented as the greatest chap ter in the Quran, remind ing

humans of their duty of praise and grati tude to God for his

mercy and goodness. Included are verses 6 and 7:

Guide us u pon the straight path. The path of those on

whom is Thy Grace, not those wh o deserve anger nor

those who are as tray. [emphasis added]

In Muslim interpretations and commentaries on these

verses, it is explained th at those who deserve Gods anger

are the Jews, while those who are astray are the Christians.

Most Western readers of the open letter will not realise

this, but for Muslims reading the letter, the meaning is

clear: a call to Christians and Jews to avoid Gods anger

and judgement by accepting Islam.

Loving GodThe letter suggests that Islam has much to say about

loving God. For examp le, it quotes a hadith of Muhammad

describing God with a string of Quranic phrases:

He Alone, He hath no associate, His is the sovereignty

and His is the praise. The letter asserts that each phrase

describes a mode of love of God, and d evotion to Him.

iii

Love in Islamic theologyAccording to Islamic teaching, Gods essence and natu re

canno t be known. Ther efore a statem ent like God is

love (which app ears in the Bible, 1 John 4:8,16) would be

theologically wrong in classical Islam.

Islam does teach th at Gods attributes can be kn own,

and these are described in the form of the 99 beautiful

nam es. Love is one of these 99, as we have seen above,

but only one. The names emph asise much mor e Gods

omnipotence and om niscience, his mercy and com passion,

his sovereignty and inscrutable will.

In Islam God reveals himself mainly through his law

(sharia) which calls for submission and obedience. While

in Christianity God is personal and establishes personal

relationships of love with humans, in classical Islam God

is seen as totally self-contained and beyond personal

relationships. In Islam, although God loves certain Muslim

people of whom he approves, he is not b o u n d to love them

even if they deserve his love. Ultimately God is not obliged

to do anything, but acts as he wills, sometimes in an

entirely capricious manner.

Orthodox classical Islam is mor e concerned with Gods

greatness and transcendence, with sharia law and i ts

applications, tha n with Gods love. God is absolutely other,

unknowable, far beyond what can b e known or imagined

(waral wara i.e. beyond the beyond). The role of hum ans

is to submit, fear and obey God and his law. For example,

following the call in March 2005 by a well-known Islamist

scholar, Tariq Ramadan , for a m oratorium on the brutalhudud punishments still implemented in some Muslim

states (amputation, stoning, flogging etc.), several Islamic

scholars opposed the suggestion. Sheikh Muham mad

al-Shinqiti, director of the Islamic Center of South Plains

in Lubbock, Texas, claimed that harshness was part of

sharia and any attempt at softening it was giving in to

Western Christian concepts which were incompatible with

Islam. Shinqiti stated that a personalised faith, like that

of Christians, leads to corruption and immo rality. He

preferred the detachment and severity of Islam, citing the

Quranic verse

And let not pity for the twain withhold you from

obedience to Allah, if ye believe in Allah and the Last Day.

And let a party of believers witness their punishm ent.

(Q 24:2, translation not specified)

In this view, harshness rather than love and mercy are

at the heart of Islam. The inference is that Christianity isweak and contemptible because i t has love and mercy at i ts

very core.

Love in SufismIt was left for Islamic mysticism (Sufism) to try to red ress

the balance and introduce the theme of love into Is lam.

Sufism offered an escape from the dry and intellectual

legalism of the orthodox Islamic teachers and scholars.

I t focused ins tead on the hu man yearning for an authentic

personal experience of God. Su fism taught that this

experience could be had by a spiritual interpretation of

the Quran aimed at finding its secret meaning, and by the

disciplines of asceticism, repetition of Gods nam es, breath

control, meditation and trance.

Rabia al-Adawiyya (died 801) introduced the t heme of

Divine Love into Sufism . She longed to love God only for

himself, not for hope of any reward in paradise nor out of

fear of judgement and hell. After her death the love theme

becam e a dominan t feature of Sufism, expressing the Sufis

endless search for unity with the divine Beloved. Th e

yearning for a love relationship with God was expressed by

Sufis in the lan guage of hum an love, similar to the Bibles

Song of Songs and some psalms. Sufi poetry described

symbolically the relations between God the Divine Lover

and the human person searching for his love. In addition

to the Quranic terms mahabba an d w udud , Sufis coined

the term ishq for love. Ishq denotes an unquenchable and

irresistible desire for union with t he Beloved (God).

While Sufism used to be found in every branch of

traditional Islam, the strict Islamist reform movements

which have developed in recent times have rejected much

of Sufism as pagan additions and innovations which

should be purged from Islam. The concept of love is

downplayed by such movements and condemned as a

pagan, Christian or Western notion incompatible with

true Is lam.

Case study:An open letter from Muslim leaders

about love, 13th October 2007To mark the end of Ramadan last year An Open Letter

and Call from Muslim Religious Leaders was published,

dated 13th October 2007. Th e letter was addressed to

Pope Benedict XVI and 26 other named heads of Christian

denominations as well as to Leaders of Christian

Churches, everywhere.. It is ostensibly a presentation

of Islamic teaching on love for God and love for ones

neighbou r. (The text of the open letter is available at http://

www.acommonword.com/lib/downloads/CW-Total-Final-v-

12g-Eng-9-10-07.pdf)

The 138 signatories represent a wide spread of Muslim

leadership from 43 nations and from Sunni, Twelver

Shia, Zaydi, Ibadi and Sufi background s. Amongst the

signatories are traditionalists, Islamists and several liberal

Muslims. Some of the signatories are known for their

moderation and peaceful intentions , while others are

known for their Islamist extremist inclinations.

Intended audienceWhile addressed to a specific group of named Christian

leaders, the fact that it is an open letter widely

disseminated by the world media means tha t world public

opinion is another intended audience. Furthermore,

certain terminology in the letter, as well as the choice

of Quranic quotations cited, indicate that the letter is

also intended for the global Muslim audience. Different

messages are delivered to the different audiences, a

practice which is frequently found in Islamic discourse,

and is permitted according to the Is lamic doctr ine of

dissimulation (taqiyya). The message for the Christian

audience and for the general public is that Is lam and

Christianity are basically identical religions, both focussing

on love to God and neighbou r. But , as we shall see there is

a very different message for Muslims.

2 The open letter did not specify which English translation of the Quran was used for the quotations. 3Interpretation of the Meanings of the Noble Quran in theEnglish Language by Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, 15th edn. (Riyadh: Darussalam Publishers and Distributors, 1996)


8/13

Testimony

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A similar assertion occurs at the end of the section

about loving God. Again the statement that God has

no associate appears, carrying the implication that

Chrisianity strayed from this by making Jesus an associate

of God.

we can now perhaps understand the words The best

that I have saidmyself , and the prophets tha t came

before mea s equating the blessed formula there is no

god but God, He Alone, He hath no associate, His is the

sovereignty and His is the praise and He hath power

over all thingsprecisely with the First and Greatest

Comm andm entto love God, with all ones heart and

soul, as found in various places in the Bible. That is to

say, in other words, that the Prophet Muhamm ad PBUH

was perhaps, through inspiration, restating and alluding

to the Bibles First Comman dment. God knows best,

but certain ly we have seen their effective similarity in

meaning.

In this part of the letter it is argued that Mu ham mads

emphasis on the unity of God who has no associate is a

re-statement of the Bibles comma nd abou t loving God with

all your heart, soul and mind. The letter states that thesetwo concepts are similar in meaning, although this is hard

to derive from a straightforward reading of the two texts.

Perhaps the authors of the letter hoped that by s imply

telling Christians that two different statements were really

the same they would be believed in the same way that

history has shown people can be convinced of nonsensical

assertions if they are presented forcefully enough.

Alternatively they could have had in mind the Muslim

belief that Christian and Jewish Scriptures have been

distorted, so that Muhamm ads statement is correcting the

falsified Biblical teaching to what it was originally mea nt to

have been.

Loving your neighbourThe letter suggests that loving your neighbour is a concept

comm on to both Islam and Christianity. Bu t it ignores the

fact the Muslim concept of love for your neighbour can

only operate within the limited scope ofsharia. Therefore

in Islam there can be no absolute love for all humans, as

in Christianity. Islam tre ats specific groups of people in

specific ways: Christians and Jews are to be humiliated and

brought under Is lamic dominion as second rate subjects ;

infidels (polytheists, pagans) must accept Islam or be killed;

apostates are to be killed if they do not return to Islam;

Islamic sects considered heretical are to be fought and

annihilated. Thus neighbour is a very limited concept

in Islam.

Furthermore, the word used for neighbour in the

Arabic version of the letter is jar, a term which carries only

a geographical mean ing. It is not equivalent to the Biblical

Hebrew word for neighbour, which is rea (denoting

kinship, even as close as a brot her or sister). Yet there is

another word for neighbour in Arabic which is closer

to the meaning of the Hebrew rea and which could have

been used. This is the word qarib, which is used in Arabic

Bibles and which more closely translates the Biblical

original. This choice of differently nuanced vocabu lary for

different audiences appears to be another example

of taqiyya .

Search for common groundIn seeking common ground, the open letter suggests that

the central Muslim concept of unitar ian monotheism

and the central Christian concepts of love to God andlove to neighbour are beliefs held in common by both

religions. It stresses that the two commandments to love

are the basis of what is common to both religions. But

presenting love to God and neighbour as central to Islam is

a misrepresentation of the truth.

The message is th at if Christians will accept Islam s

concept of the unity of God (thus denying the basic

doctrines of the Trinity and d eity of Christ), Muslims will

accept the Christian values of love for God and neighbour

as central to Islam. Thus a radical revolutionary change

in Christianity is demanded in exchange for a superficial

change of emphasis in Islamic perceptions.

For a full version of Barnabas Fun ds response to

the open letter and call from Muslim religious leaders

to Christian leaders, 13 October 2007, go to

www.barnabasfund.org/responsemuslimletter

For further reading on the concept of love in Islam,

see J. Windrow Sweetman,Islam and Christian

Theology: A Study of the Interpretation of Theological

Ideas in the Two Religions, Part 1, Vol. 2, London an d

Redhill: Lutterworth Press, 1947 especially sections B

The grace of God and B(IV) The love of God.

I was born in Amman, the capital of

Jordan, one of five children in a well

known and affluent Muslim family.

In the quiet neighbourhood where we

lived there was a church, very near to

our house. As a child I found m yself

attracted to the church, wanting to

know what was inside the building,

and whenever I went there I felt a

peace an d joy such as I never felt in

my own home. I found something in

the church which I felt I needed, and

I loved the image of the cross, thoughI did not understan d why. So I went

to my mo ther, who was very religious,

and began to ask her about God.

Of course, she told me her beliefs and

urged me to go to the mosque and

read the Quran. She was very pleased

to see me so thirsty for God, especially

because my father was greatly

occupied with his business, with

travelling and other worldly things.

When I went to pray in the

mosque, many questions would come

into my mind. Why is this

mosque different from the

church ? Why cant I find

joy here? Wh y do I feel

barr iers between me and

God when I am here? I did

not like the talk about

jihadand fighting

others, because I had

many Christian friends

and I loved them. I

kept asking, is it fair for

them to go to hell when

they are very good and

honest people? One day

one of the teachers in the

mosque tr ied to rape me,

but I somehow managed to

escape and went back

home crying. I did not

tell anyone what had

happened, but I jus t

avoided going to

the mosque again and refused to talk

about religious things.

Because of my experiences in the

mosque, I grew up denying God.

Yet for many years I continued to

search for Him, thinking, reading

books etc. One day I watched the film

The Passion of the Christ which

made me cry a lot . I wished that I

could have been on the cross instead

of that decent man. I went s traight

from seeing the film to the church, to

talk to Christ, and He explained manythings to me. I felt very peaceful that

night, af ter I had spoken to Him.

At that t ime there were many

problem s in my family. My paren ts

got divorced and so did my sister.

My youngest brother and I were living

with my father and I had a job with

a big translation comp any. I started

to read the Bible and found myself

praying , calling my Lord by a new

name, Jesus and also our Father.

I felt very sorry for my m other

because of the divorce, and also

because she was wasting so much

time and money organis ing meetings

to study Islam and going several

times on pilgrimage to Mecca. I

thought to myself that we are in a free

country and that Jordan is known as a

peaceful oasis in the Middle East, and

I saw Christians and Muslims living

peacefully together.

So I began to talk to my mother about

Islam and Christianity and tried to

get her to face many things

about her religion. But her

expression changed

and she

threatened to reject me if I converted

to Christianity and to tell the whole

family about me. Even though my

father was very occupied with his

work, he noticed that something was

happening to me. One day he found

me reading the Bible. He took it from

me and threw it away, and he pulled

from my neck a cross which I used to

wear. He said he would not hesitate

to do an ything to s top me converting,

and he cut me to prove his threat was

genuine.I went again to the church n ear

our house to talk to the minister. H e

welcomed me, but when I told him I

wanted to become a Christian his face

changed and he asked me to leave.

I tried several other churches and was

rebuffed by them all. No on e would

baptise me. This made me think that

even God didnt want me.

Then through the internet I found

people I could ask about Jesus, people

who did not know my family. One of

them devoted much time to helping

me s tudy the Bible and teaching me

about Jesus and the church. I began to

have peace again, and during that t ime

I had man y visions. In one of them I

saw Jesus Himself baptising me. After

a few months , the minis ter I knew

through the internet put me in touch

with a church in an other Arab country

who were willing to baptise me. So

I travelled there and was baptised on

27th May 2005.

Two months earlier my father had

died, and my mother had returned to

live in the family home and started

bringing women to the house to

The price for seeking peace and joy

Continued ov erleaf

Barnabas Fund, 2008

AmosqueinAmman,Jordan, with achurchin thebackground,toppedbya cross.Thesymbolof thecross played apartin MosescomingtoChristandinthepersecution hesufferedafterwards


9/13

The Other Nine

JAN/ FEB2007 BARNABASAID 1312 BARNABASAID JAN/ FEB2008

The Other Nine

Testimony(cont. from p11)

study Islam. S o I had to move out

and live by myself, in order to ha ve

some freedom with my Lord.

Some Christians at my workplace

saw me going to church and asked

my boss if I was a Christian. My bosswas furious and asked me why I was

going to church. He insulted me and

the cross and Jesus Himself, fired

me from my job, refusing to give me

my salary or a reference. H e tried

to spread rumours about me, which

made i t hard for me to find any other

job in Jordan.

After my baptism I returned to

Jordan but things got worse and

my whole family was against me. I

got an offer of a job in Sud an, so I

seized the opportunity to go there as

quickly as I could. But I found things

were much worse than in Jordan. In

Sudan the Islamic law on conversion

from Islam was applicable, which

would have meant a death sentence

for me. I started going to church

secretly, but one d ay I was arrested

at the door of the church when I

had to show my ID which had myMuslim name on it. I was taken

away and beaten with cables for a

whole night. In the morning, they

agreed to accept everything I owned

in exchange for letting me go free. I

still went to church every Frida y for

Holy Commun ion, but was even more

careful than before.

One day my boss noticed that I

was wearing a cross. He searched all

my things and found my Bible. Then

he s tar ted watching me. I used to

come back home in the evening and

find that someone had messed up my

place. Several times someone broke

in at night and attacked m e or s tole

things . One night he attacked my car

and wrote on the windows maseehi

baleed meaning Christian fool.

I told the minister of the church

and he a dvised me to leave Sudan

immediately. I went to the countrywhere I was baptised. Here I go to

church but I a m careful not to mingle

with many people so that nobody

knows me. I pray, thankin g God first

for salvation. I believe that God will

not allow us to experience something

beyond what we can bear .

God bless you.

Mo se s

Since writing this testimon y, Moses

has been able to m ove to a safe Western

country, with help from Barnabas Fund

who paid his airfare. He is active in

Christian m inistry and also writes

man y Christian songs and hymns.

In SaudiArabia beinga Christianmeans .. ....you could be arrested

in your own home, andyour Bible and Christianbooks confiscated, forno reason except thatyou were meetingwith others to pray asChristians.

What does being aChristian mean to you?For Christians in Saudi Arabia it

means you are at the mercy of the

dreaded religious police, the mutawaa ,

also known as the Commission to

Promote Virtue an d Prevent Vice.

They could raid your worship service

and arrest you just for gathering with

other Christians to pray. If you are

from a Western country, you would

probably be deported but if you are

from a non-Western country you

could be held in d etention for months ,

and probably be tor tured.

In Saudi Arabia any form of

non-Muslim religious practice is

forbidden. The state rigidly enforces

the s tr ict and puritanical form of

Islam called Wahhabism.

Even if you are not harassed by

th e mutawaa, daily life is difficult for

you as a Christian because society

in general despises Christians.

School children in Saudi Arabia are

taught from a young age not to trus t

Christians or to be friends with them.

According to the Annual Report

2007 of the United States Commission

on International Religious Freedom,

The government of Saudi Arabia

engages in systematic, ongoing, and

egregious violations of the right to

freedom of religion or belief.

The Report chronicles numerous

infringements of religious liberty of

Christians, including:

March 2005 An India n

Christian was arrested and his

religious materials confiscated.

He was released after four months.

April 2005 A Filipino Christian

service was raided and Bibles were

confiscated.

April 2005 Forty Pakistani

Christians and five African

Christians holding a private service

were arres ted and held in d etention

for up to a month.

May 2005 Eight Indian

Christian leaders were arrested;

s ix were deported and the

whereabouts of the other two are

still unknown.

April 2006 An Indian church

minister was deported for

conducting a religious service.

June 2006 Four Ea st African

Christians were arrested and

deported af ter a month for leading

a private worship ceremony.

October 2006 A Filipino

Christian leader was detained and

Bibles confiscated.

Although most Christians in Saudi

Arabia are foreigners, there are also

some Saudi nationals who ha ve

converted from Islam to follow Christ.

They must be secret believers, becauseif their conversion were to become

publicly known, Saudi law would

have them executed as apostates from

Islam.

Please pray for Christians in Saudi

Arabia. It is difficult to get news outfrom Saudi Arabia and it is difficult

to get help in. But nothing can

prevent us praying for our brothers

and sisters, and we are praying

to a God who has incomparably

great power, the power which

raised Christ from the dead

(Ephesians 1:19-20).

1 in 10 Christians lives with discrimination and persecution www.theothernine.org

Where are the other nine?When Jesushealed ten men with leprosy, one of them came back to Jesus, praisingGod in a loud voice, and threw himself a t Jesus feet to tha nk him. Jesusasked,Where are the other nine? (Luke 17:11-17)

If one in ten Christians in the world today lives with discrimination and

persecution, that means the other nine are blessed with religious liberty.

These other nine can u se their f reedom to help the on e who is persecuted.

But where are they?

If you are reading this magazine, you are probably already aware that

your freedom to practise your faith without discr imination, harassment or

persecution is a blessing which many Christians in other contexts do not

have. But do all your Christian friends realise this as well? Does everyone

in your congregation know it? Can you help to get the rest of the other

nine involved? Their p rayers, their time and th eir gifts can all be used by

the Lord to help the one in ten who are suffering.

Ple a se h e lp u s to g e t a l l th e o th e r n in e in v o lv e d .

Ask your national Barnabas Fund office or the UK office for our free

The Other Nine resource pa ck. (Addresses on the ba ck cover.)

The resource pack contains a guide with ideas about how to m ake

others in your church aware of the

plight of the persecuted Church plus

resources to help you do it, such as a

poster, DVD, prayer card s, leaflets, and

response cards. The guide also contains

information about the kind of pressures

and persecution faced by the one in

ten Christians living out their faith in

difficult contexts, and gives ideas of how we, the other nine, can respond

in terms of prayer, action and giving. The pack also contains a booklet

entitled A Christian Response to Islam .

Urge your friends to subscribe to Barnabas Aidwith its daily prayer

diary to help them pray for the one in ten (visit www.barnabasfund.org or

contact their nearest Barnabas Fund office). Can you ad d another n ine to

our mailing list?


10/13


11/13

JAN/ FEB2007 BARNABASAID 1716 BARNABASAID JAN/ FEB2008

Building new communitiesfor refugees to sett leBarnabas Fund is therefore working

with senior leadership of all the main

Christian denominations in Iraq a nd

Syria to build a new community and

infrastructure where Iraqi Christian

refugees can settle and re-start

their lives.

Thanks to the generosity of the city

authorities, a plot of

land for the building

project has been

purchased at

a fraction of

its real value.

On this will be

built around

350 apartments together with

facilities such as a clinic, school and

comm unity hall. At a later stage small

businesses will be started to pro vide

employment opportunit ies.

Will you help to make thisa reality?The whole project will cost an

estimated to tal of 2,850,000 (US$5.7

million; NZ$7.7 m illion; A$6.3

million; 4 million). So the cost to

provide one fam ilys needs - home a nd

amenities - is approximately 8,100

(US$16,300; NZ$22,000; A$18,000:

11,400). With many churches and

individuals around the world all

playing their part, the whole sum can

be raised.

Your gift WILL make a difference.

Please send your gift to

your neares t Barnabas

Fund office or visit www.barnabasfund.org to make

a donation.

Please quote project

reference 20/49-710 when

you send your gift.

May we also ask

for your prayers

that the Lord

will protect and

guide in every

aspect of this

project.

Iraqi Christian refugeesin Syria. Familieslike thisnow realise that they will not be able toreturnhome toIraqin the foreseeable future, andthat onlya few will be able tomove on toanother

country. Most must settle down in Syria andre-start t heir lives. But the first problem istofind affordableaccommodation. BarnabasFundislaunchinga project tobuild350 apartmentsfor refugeeslike this

Focus

Christians in Iraq are facing extermination at the hands of Islamic extremists

who want to cleanse their country of any trace of Christianity. Th ese extremists

threaten Christians that they must convert to Islam, leave or be killed.

Iraqi Christians will not abandon their faith, and many of them have already

been killed. Some ha ve fled to the relatively safe Kurdish areas of Iraq and

huge num bers are fleeing to neighbouring Syria. Those who have escaped the

genocide need help to survive in their new locations.

Barnabas Fund has been helping to provide food and b asic needs for Iraqi

Christian refugees in Syria since just after the invasion of March 2003. But

now it has become clear that the refugees will not be able to return to theirhomelan d in the foreseeable future. A longer term solution is needed.

Iraqi Christians face genocide but you can help save them

BackgroundSyria hasat least 1.5 million refugees

from Iraq. According to the UnitedNations, Christianswere 5% of thepopulation before the 2003 invasion, butmake up 35-40% of the refugees. (Thisdisproportionately high figure reflectsthe specifically anti-Christian nature ofmuch of the violence in Iraq.)

The recent influx of Iraqi refugees(adding to 3.5 million Palestinianrefugeesalready in Syria) hassent pricesspiralling upwards. Many basicfoodshave tripled in cost, and rentshave goneup five-fold or more. Only 30% of therefugee children can go t o school.

Muslim agenciesare building 150,000

unitsof housing for Muslim refugees.But many Christiansare staying inchurch buildings, old peopleshomesand other kindsof lodging which arenot appropriate for long-term familyaccommodation.

Christian refugeesfill the churches

in Syria each Sunday. There are largenumbersof women and children amongstthem. Recent arrivalsare poorer thanthose who fled a year or two ago, andhave little realisticprospect of movingon to settle in any other country. Theymust wait in Syria until peace isrestored

in Iraq.

Thispiece of landin a Christian area of a Syrian cityis tobetransformedintoa thrivingcommunityfor 350 Iraqi Christianrefugee families. Please praythat t he Lordwill guide everyaspect of the project

In Touch

an investment about to mature whichhe wan ted to re-invest in the Lords

work. The sum was 8,500. He told

us he would like it to be spent onconstructing a church, preferably

built of local materials with local

labour. His gift will be sent to SriLanka where Christians are stillrebuilding churches destroyed by

the 2004 tsunami. The costs of such

a church are approximately 2,750

to buy the land and approximately4,850 to build. This mean s there will

be arou nd 900 left over from this gift

to help with furniture and equipmentfor the new church.

A very gener ous offer camefrom a supporter who wanted to give

39,000 to help Christian children and

orphans in s i tuations of great need.We contacted th e school for African

refugees in Cairo (see page 4) which

Barnabas Fund has been helping

to support for a num ber of years .Many of the children attending this

school have lost their parents in the

Sudan ese civil war. We asked if theyhad any current n eeds not covered

by donations. Yes, they replied, they

had a shortfall of around 50,000 on

their running costs for the current

academ ic year. We were delighted tobe able to forward the gift of 39,000

to cover a large proportion of the

need.

Praise God with us for the

encouragement of these matches

and for the p riv ilege of Barnabas

Fund being involved as the channel

and link . I t is wonderful to see

how He p rompts b elievers by g iv ing

them a desire to help their brothers

and sis ters with a certa in k ind of

need at just th e right t ime. We are

very grateful, too , for the generosity

of the donors.

All these examples happen ed in

2007. What will He do in 2008?

Cycling for Cana Regular readers of Barnabas Aid

may remember some of the previous

exploits of Canon John Bowers of

West Kirby, Wirral, Cheshire in the

UK who has raised large sums for

Barnabas Fund by his sponsored cycle

rides. This year he chose to cycle in

the footsteps of the Pilgrim Fathers

in New England and raised 16,248

(at the time of writing) for the Cana

Girls Rescue Home in Kenya (project

reference 2

Barnabas Aid January/February 2008

Documents

Transcript of Barnabas Aid January/February 2008