CON’VERT THE MUSLIMS
CON’VERT THE MUSLIMS
Compiled by IMTIAZ BASHEER AHMED
Islam, the second largest Religion in the world and it is the fastest growing Religion in the world. There are around 1.5 billion adherents of Islam in the world and unfortunately Islam is the most misunderstood Religion in the world.
For centuries Christianity was the dominant Religion in the world, it felt no threat from any other way of life or any other philosophy prevailed at that time. And Christianity was dominating and church had the highest authority, but it was all until Islam emerged in the main stage of the world and People accepted Islam in huge waves, the conversions were so massive that Islam became the threat to the faith and creed of Christianity because Christianity was loosing its customers in every nation where Message of Islam reached through the Muslims. First time in the history of Christianity it faced a very strong competitor, a very strong opponent according to the followers of the Christianity.
The enmity of Islam grew very much amongst the learned men of Christendom and they wanted to respond to the call of Islam in every possible way and this even included the military action against the Muslims.
CRUSADES
Pope Urban II , in 1095, gave a rousing speech urging all Christians to unite against the Islamic threat and save Jerusalem from “the wicked race†of Saracens (a fairly nasty term for Arabs & Muslims). On July 15 1099, the crusaders from western Europe conquered Jerusalem, falling upon its Jewish and Muslim inhabitants like avenging angels from the Apocalypse. About 40,000 Muslims were slaughtered in two days. A thriving populous city had been transformed into a stinking charnel house.
The enmity against Islam was so immense, the venom of hatred against Islam was inculcated in the minds and hearts of people that even small children’s were against Islam, In the year 1212 the first children crusade was led by Stephen of France, a 12 year old shepherd boy. Stephen said that God had appeared to him in a vision on a hillside near Cloyes in France. God told him that only innocent children could drive the bad guys out of the Holy Land. His Zeal attracted thousands of kids, most of them under 12 years old. About 30,000 children went on a “Holy Mission†to drive out “bad guys†from the Holy Land. The slimy merchants finally loaded the exhausted little crusaders into old, rotten ship for “free transport of the Holy Landâ€Â. Two of the ship sank, and all board drowned. The Kids on the other ships were sold into slavery.
Thus between 1095- 1270 there were Eight Crusades (“Holy Warâ€Â). In a boarder sense all the wars between the Muslim power and the Christian power of Eastern Europe were considered Crusades. The Reconquista of Spain was considered a Crusade. (Above all When the British occupied Jerusalem, in 1917, which has been just vacated by the Ottomans, they declared it as the end of Crusades.)
This hatred does not end here it continued in the minds of the westerners even in 20th century, Jeremy Johns, in his book “Christianity and Islam†in John McManners, edition 1990, in page 194 he states In 1920, when the French army entered Damascus, their commander marched directly to Saladin’s tomb and declared, famously: “Nous revoila, Saladinâ€Â- “We’re back!†or “here We are againâ€Â.
Christian Dilemma
All the military actions against Muslims didn’t restrict Islam from spreading, because Islam triumphed every time when these western forces tried to wipe out Islam from this world. The Christians were in quagmire, they really needed to stumble the rise of Islam, as the Christians very well know that Islam is the only religion that could overcome Christianity and ultimately put an end to it. The rise of Islam will be downfall of Christianity. The Military action against Muslims is not always possible, they required to tackle Islam intellectually, to defeat Islam intellectually for this the Christians adopted, experimented various methodologies to discredit Islam and to win over Muslims to Christianity by converting them.
The distortion of Islam was necessary to cease people from accepting Islam and second Missionaries should work on Muslims to convert them to Christianity.
Missionaries and their Methodologies
The military response from Christianity in form of crusades didn’t yield the fruit for the Christians so they adopted to attack Islam by systematic distortion of Islam. For this goal to attain Islam had to be discredited. The easiest way to do this was through lies, false propaganda, and misrepresentation. The denomination prepared the European masses for the Crusades. If we examine the early literature a number of themes emerge.
The Early Christian writers focused their attack on the character of the Prophet (pbuh). The Qur’an and the facts about the Prophet’s life were distorted to justify Christian arguments that he was not a divine messenger. The reason behind this attack was if Prophet’s character could be destroyed, the Qur’an would be proved a forgery. Books about Prophet (pbuh) are given titles like Demoniacus to reinforce this message. In most works he is described as a robber, adulterer, a murderer, a poor pagan who schemed himself into power, and maintained it by pretending revelation, spread it through violence. This early tendency continued and found its way into popular medieval literature.
Question Demands an Answer
Early Christian literature had to answer a difficult question. If Islam was so evil, why were so many people attracted to it? This is evident even today; its agreed upon unanimously that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, especially in the west, Europe etc. The argument given was that evil often triumphs.
“The underlying problem for the West is not Islamic fundamentalism. It is Islam…â€Â.
(Samuel Huntingdon, The Clash of civilizations).
Again, the Christians couldn’t give a fitting reply to Islam, in regards to restrict the growth of Islam. Now they had no choice then to depend upon the evangelizing the Muslims, baptizing the Muslims, Christianizing the Muslims. The plan to destroy Islam was not only depended on evangelizing but Christians carried out political agenda to bring down Islam, which we won’t be dealing with in this article.
Let us now concentrate on Christian missionaries and there methodologies which they are adopting in their mission of converting Muslims.
The many different models or approaches to Muslim evangelism fall into five major categories:
1. Confrontational model
2. Traditional Evangelical model
3. Institutional model
4. Dialogical model
5. Contextualization model
The above categories are taken from :
Copyright © 1996 Evangelism and Missions Information Service. This article originally appeared in the April, 1996 issue of Evangelical Missions Quarterly (EMQ). And compiled by:
JOHN MARK TERRY is associate professor of missions and evangelism at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky. His article is based on a paper given at the Southeast regional meeting of the Evangelical Missiological Society, March, 1995. He holds a Ph.D. in missions from South-western Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Tex. and previously served as a missionary int he Philippines from 1976 to 1989.
1. Confrontational.
In the 18th and 19th centuries some missionariesâ€â€Henry Martyn, Karl Pfander, and St. Clair Tidall, for exampleâ€â€tried to win Muslims by public debate. They also preached in the bazaars and produced apologetic and polemical literature in English and the vernacular. Their approach was never very successful in terms of converts, and it often aroused increased Muslim antipathy toward Christianity.
This approach is not widely used today. First, most Muslim countries do not allow it. Those earlier missionaries often worked under the protection of colonial governments. Second, today’s missionaries prefer to emphasize the positive nature of the gospel, rather than expose objectionable elements in Islam. Finally, this method is not usually successful. Occasionally, a Muslim intellectual is convinced, but the debates do not move the masses.
Well, the above statement is from Christian himself so you can expect him to say that Christian defenders were not good enough for debating with Islamic scholars. As an example, when British ruled India, they poured in Missionaries like frogs in rainy season just only to convert the Muslims of India and there were various records of debates between Christian scholars and Muslim scholars and Christians had to pay heavy price for debating with Muslims. Rev. C.C.P. Fonder who had written a book in Urdu entitled “Meezanul Haq†the open intention of which was to cast doubts into the minds of the Muslims about the authenticity of the Qur’an and Islam. In response to it Maulana Rahmatullah Kairnavi wrote a book entitled “Izhar-ul-Haq†this was recognized as one of the most authoritive and objective studies of the Bible in 1864. In this book there are few debates mentioned which happened between Islamic and Christian scholars. Eventually, as a whole these debates didn’t get the result what the Christians expected.
2. Traditional evangelical model.
Samuel Zwemer (1867-1952), the "apostle to the Muslims," was the pioneer of this method. During his early years (1890-1916), he tended toward confrontation. In his books, The Disintegration of Islam (1915) and Mohammed or Christ (1916), he called for "radical displacement," a complete rejection of Islam by its adherents. However, later in his career he followed a more anthropological and Christocentric approach. He wrote empathically of Muslims as seekers after God, though he still maintained that only Jesus could satisfy their needs.1
Zwemer believed that evangelism must emphasize the incarnation, atonement, and mediation of Christ. The evangelist must call Muslims to repentance, to submission to Christ, and to involvement in the church. Zwemer in later years advocated witnessing to individuals and small groups. He advised his students to engage in friendship evangelism. He believed the human personality was the best bridge for conveying the gospel.2
Zwemer was a prolific writer and evangelicals have followed his example. They have produced innumerable books and tracts. They have distributed the Scriptures as widely as possible. They have propagated the gospel by means of radio and Bible correspondence courses.
The traditional approach has resulted in Western-style churches. Missionaries have told their converts to break with Islam and publicly identify with a church. Zwemer rejected the idea of allowing a convert to remain in Islam as long as possible so as to influence other Muslims.3
The main criticism against the traditional approach is simply that it has not been very effective. Critics also say it is too Western. But defenders say the approach is biblically sound. They see themselves as sowing seed that will bear fruit in time. They admit meagre results, but attribute this to political, historical, and social barriers beyond their control. They continue to sow faithfully, hoping for more favourable results.
3. Institutional model.
Several denominational missions have used this model. For example, Presbyterians and Congregationalists tried to win Muslims through hospitals, schools, and orphanages. The Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention has operated three hospitals in Arab countries, as well as schools and orphanages in Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel (for Palestinians).
The assumption is that demonstrations of love, compassion, and humility will break down the walls of prejudice. Some missiologists say we should send more teachers, doctors, nurses, and agriculturalists, because their deeds will speak louder than their words.4
The institutional model continues to be valid. Institutions are a good way to overcome prejudice and win a hearing for the gospel. However, institutions face difficult times. For one thing, governments are taking over many of their services. Also, inflation makes it hard to maintain them. Nevertheless, in some countriesâ€â€Yemen, for exampleâ€â€institutions are the only Christian presence allowed.
4. Dialogical model.
The dialogical approach was pioneered by Temple Gairdner (1873-1928) and developed more fully by Kenneth Cragg. Dialogue is motivated by a sincere love that seeks to reconcile Muslims and Christians. It has four purposes:
(1) to learn what Muslims believe and to appreciate their beliefs in relation to their culture;
(2) to seek to establish both contact and rapport on the basis of sincere, honest friendship;
(3) to learn how to witness to them; and
(4) to bring them ultimately to salvation in Christ.5
This approach must not be confused with the syncretistic, universalistic dialogues sponsored by some ecumenical groups. The missionary does not surrender his convictions. Rather, he affirms them in a way that permits him to grow in his understanding of Muslims.
5. Contextualization model.
In this approach missionaries try by every possible way to become like Muslims so they can present the gospel in religious and cultural forms that Muslims can identify with. This model does not forget "the offense of the gospel," but seeks to avoid objectional factors.6
It calls for changes in missionary lifestyle, worship forms, theological terms, and strategy.
Proponents argue that missionary strategy for Muslim evangelism needs a major overhaul, including:
1. The missionary should make initial contact with Muslim leaders. Even if they do not become Christians, the missionary can reduce the possibility of overt opposition by befriending them.
2. People on the fringes of society should not be the focus of witness, but rather opinion leaders of the community.
3. Families, relatives, and groups of friends should be the initial conversion goal rather than individuals.
4. In the beginning only basic theological concepts should be presented. 7
5. We must allow adequate time for change to take place.
6. It is best not to encourage converts to repudiate Islam. Instead, it is better to allow them to "remain in the state in which (they were) called" (1 Cor. 7:20). This way they can influence their peers.
7. In many cases, baptism should be postponed, so converts will have a greater opportunity to win other Muslims. Confession of faith should be open, but baptism is seen as a political act in some countries.
8. Missionaries should study animistic practices among Muslims to discover areas of felt need. These may provide useful points of evangelistic contact.8
Conclusion
The institutional model will have to be used in Arab countries where no other ministry is permitted. The dialogical model provides a way to approach Muslims in different settings. The church-oriented emphasis of the traditional model is biblical and should be stressed. The contextualization model has drawn on the insights of anthropology to suggest long-needed reforms that will lead to truly indigenous churches.
I have tried to incorporate elements from all the models, bearing in mind that Muslims vary culturally from place to place. One strategy does not fit all situations. These are some general rules that should characterize a strategy to evangelize Muslims.
1. Any model must be church-oriented. As Kenneth Cragg said, "No man comes into a churchless Christ." 9 However, the church must be contextualized. Any model that does not bring new converts into a nurturing church is sure to fail.
2. The successful model will emphasize worship. Worship should be designed to meet the needs of the people. The forms will be different in Africa and Asia, but here again contextualization is the key.
3. Missionaries should use certain passages from the Koran as a springboard for explaining the gospel. They should feel free to use the names Allah and Isa (Jesus).
4. Missionaries in Muslim countries will have to adjust their lifestyles for the sake of the gospel. Mission agencies would do well to give candidates special tests to see if they are psychologically fit for service among Muslims.
5. New missionaries should be given several years to study the language and culture of their assigned country, as well as Islam itself. Intensive preparation and reasonable expectations will reduce missionary dropouts and enhance productivity.
6. Missionaries need to adapt their preaching to the culture of their people. Storytelling may well be more effective than sermons.
7. We should increase our use of the media. Radio, television, and literature could all be used more fully. Programming and writing must be contextualized. Drama would be more effective than the traditional hymn and sermon format.
8. Above all, whatever model we use, it must be characterized by love and prayer for Muslims. A Muslim convert wrote: It is stimulating to think that cases of conversion through sheer reasoning between dogmas of two religions are very rare, perhaps nonexistent. In cases of conversion where prosperity, social status, security, vengeance against native society, emotional experimentation and the like are not the motives, the change of faith is motivated perhaps more frequently by love for charming virtues, of a magnetic person, or love for a group of lovable associates, than by cold religious arithmetic.10
END NOTES
1. Lyle Vander Werff, "Our Muslim Neighbors: The Contribution of Samuel Zwemer to Christian Mission," Missio-logy 10 (April, 1982), p. 191.
2. Ibid., p. 195.
3. Samuel M. Zwemer, The Cross Above the Crescent (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1941), p. 261.
4. C. George Fry and James R. King, Islam: A Survey of the Muslim Faith (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1980), p. 133.
5. Ray G. Register, Jr., Dialogue and Interfaith Witness With Muslims (Fort Washington, Pa.: Worldwide Evangelization Crusade, 1979), pp. 11, 12.
6. Bashir Abdol Massih, "Incarna-tional Witness to Muslims: The Models of Jesus, Paul, and the Early Church," World Pulse, Sept. 12, 1982, pp. 1-8.
7. Phil Parshall, New Paths in Muslim Evangelism (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1980), pp. 92, 93.
8. John D.C. Anderson, "The Missionary Approach to Islam: Christian or Cultic"? Missiology 4 (July, 1976), pp. 295-299.
9. Kenneth Cragg, Sandals at the Mosque (New York: Oxford University Press, 1959), p. 143.
10. Frank Khair-Ullah, "Evangelism Among Muslims," in Let the World Hear His Voice, J.D. Douglas, ed. (Minneapolis: World Wide Publications, 1975), p. 824.
Missionary Claims:
• A major evangelistic effort in Spain, uniting local churches with specialized missions and organizations, takes place every summer. In July and August, the highways fill with 800,000 Moroccans and Algerians who are either going on, or returning from, vacation. The Muslims are concentrated in Alicante, Almería, Málaga, and Algeciras. According to the Bible Society, in 1994 workers distributed 3,374 Bibles, 188,179 New Testaments, 399,970 Gospels, 131,450 Bible portions, 22,542 audio and video cassettes, and 5,544 books.
• There are about 400 known Christians meeting in 10 or more small groups in Morocco, according to Arab World Ministries (Upper Darby, Pa.). "There are groups of Christians in all major cities and new people meeting the Lord almost everywhere," a ministry source reports. In addition, about 150 Christian tentmakers work in the country.
Christianity has confronted Islam since the age of Mohammed. From the time of Raymond Lull (13th century), missionaries have sought to win Muslims to Christ. Generally, this has been a difficult, discouraging task, but as the reports above show, there are some encouraging signs.
• "A combined mission umbrella organization in Côte d’Ivoire has called its first ever conference of 150 converts from Islam for mutual encouragement," WEC International (Fort Washington, Pa.) reports. "When people were invited to stand together by people groups or regions, it was discovered that over the whole country Muslims are coming to Christ." WEC says a committee was formed to help those who lose everything when they convert.
• The leader of the Muslim Tong-Gan people of Kyrgyzstan has invited the Great Commission Center (Lewisville, Tex.) to send as many as 20 medical, development, and educational specialists. Short-term workers will establish clinics and water treatment systems and will teach computer use, Chinese, and other subjects. The 300,000 Tong-Gan people of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were driven from China a century ago. "This is a ministry of pre-evangelismâ€â€it requires love, kindness, patience, compassion, and a high degree of sensitivity. This is a very rare opportunity for Chinese Christians to serve among Muslim people of our own kindred," Thomas Wang of the Great Commission Center stated. "In my lifetime, this is the first invitation of its kind that I have witnessed."
• As part of a strategy called "Pillars of Hope," local Christians and workers with the Christian and Missionary Alliance have started a church of Muslim converts in western Côte d’Ivoire. Two Lebanese missionaries are working among Middle Eastern Muslims in Abidjan, while four couples have been assigned to work through 20 Alliance churches to reach out to Muslims in Bouake.
• Members of the international Yemen Prayer Fellowship report continuing spiritual interest in that civil war-battered country on the Gulf of Aden. At one undermanned hospital, YPF says, "A vital witness continues and signs of hunger for the truth are evident." A broadcasting agency says it received 134 letters responding to broadcasts in April, compared to a monthly average of 33 during 1994. Christ Church in Aden, "almost totally destroyed at the end of the war" in 1994, has appointed a new chaplain to oversee the church, the planned rebuilding, and the establishment of a clinic. YPF also states that some of the 50,000 Iraqi refugees in Yemen have turned to Christ.
A year after the September 11 terrorist attacks, Christians in many countries report fresh momentum in the spiritual battle of presenting the gospel to the world's 1.2 billion followers of Islam. While not all stories of Muslims finding freedom in Christ are as dramatic as Samuel's, the church has entered a new era of opportunity.
Stan Guthrie states:
Dudley Woodberry, professor of Islamic studies at the School of World Mission at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, says he sees increased openness to the Christian message among Muslims. "I am noticing in various parts of the world…a significant increase in conversion," says Woodberry, a former pastor to the international community in Saudi Arabia. "I don't know all of the factors involved. All I can say is, at this point, in numbers of areas, there has been an increased level of responsiveness."
Just 6 percent of current missionaries are focused on Muslims. Yet the signs of a breakthrough are clearly visible. Twenty mission agency leaders, former Muslims, and workers among Muslims spoke to Christianity Today about current progress and problems in reaching Muslims.
Reaching Muslims has always been one of the most difficult of missionary tasks. In 1900, there were just fewer than 200 million Muslims among the world's 1.6 billion people, or 12 percent. Today, after what had been optimistically labelled a "Christian century," there are 1.2 billion Muslims, or 19 percent, among a global population of 6.2 billion people. Missionary Nik Repkin (a pseudonym) estimates that an average of only one person per church-based evangelical agency working in the Horn of Africa is becoming a believer in Christ every year. Meanwhile, 80 percent of Muslim "seekers" there have returned to Islam.
Impressive growth
Signs of progress have abounded, even before September 11. In North Africa, the numbers of Christians from Muslim backgrounds (in missions jargon, Muslim-background believers, or MBBs) have multiplied. In Morocco, the growth was from 300 people (and eight to ten groups) in 1979 to 900 people (20 to 25 groups) in 1999. In Tunisia, there were perhaps 30 MBBs and two or three groups in 1979. Twenty years later, there were 150 believers and five or six groups. Even Libya has grown from no known MBBs to as many as 10. AWM says the number of believers has doubled there in the last three years.
In Algeria, 120,000 people have died in a civil war that broke out in 1992 when the military government cancelled legislative elections that Islamists were widely expected to win. Church growth has been impressive there, especially among the repressed non-Arab minority Berber peoples, who constitute perhaps 40 percent of the population. In 1979, there were 1,200 believers and 12 to 18 groups. Three years ago, there were 12,000 and 60 to 80, respectively. Many are from the Kabyle Berber community.
Maher Fouad of the Cairo-based Arab World Evangelical Ministers Association (AWEMA) told CT, "I cannot mention the names of countries or cities for security reasons. I can say that…10 years ago, the underground churches in North Africa did not exceed more than 2,000 persons, but now the numbers of believers [have] reached over 50,000 persons."
Unstable, Ripe Countries
North Africa is but one area where Muslims are turning to Christ. Countries facing political instability and natural disasters have been particularly ripe, especially when Christians combine practical relief and development ministries with their words of witness. Over the last 40 years, Christian growth rates have been double population growth in Bangladesh. In 2000, the rate of increase for Christians was 3.2 percent yearly, versus 1.8 percent for Muslims.
Operation World reports that the number of MBBs of Iranian descent was just 500 worldwide in 1979 at the start of the Iranian Revolution. Abe Ghaffari was in the country for several years before the shah fell, and he saw only one Muslim come to Christ. Ghaffari says that most Iranian Muslims were nominal in their religion, more interested in economic advancement than in founding a pure Islamic state. Then Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seized power.
"After the revolution, they were really exposed to Islam," says Ghaffari, who helps resettle Iranian refugees through his organization, Iranian Christians International. "They saw that Islam didn't provide all the answers and that the Islamic clergy were corrupt."
Ghaffari estimates there are now 30,000 Iranian believers from Muslim backgrounds worldwide, including 15,000 in Iran itself. Annual growth, he estimates, is between 7 and 10 percent, with pockets of revival in places such as Germany. He is uncertain how much of a factor the terrorist attacks may become in Iranian evangelism.
In Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, the Christian minority may have reached 34 million adherentsâ€â€far above official estimates. Many people became Christians in the mid-1960s, when government reprisals left 500,000 communists and sympathizers dead. Operation World reports that churches on the heavily Muslim island of Java have grown by 5 percent annually since 1992, despite persecution, political upheaval, and economic woes.
Evangelical Christianity is making steady gains in Turkey, which is an island of relative stability in the Muslim world. Three decades ago, Christians began offering Bible correspondence courses to interested people in the 99 percent Muslim nation. Today there are as many as 1,500 evangelical believers in the country, up from just a handful, according to missions observers. Christians in Turkey are becoming increasingly bold, especially in the cities. Luis Palau preached to hundreds of people, including Muslims, in 1999. A ministry leader in the country told World Pulse, "Now Turkish fellowships are beginning to emerge with a new confidence. They are renting or purchasing meeting places and are doing outreach. Steady numbers of believers have managed to change their identity cards from 'Muslim' to 'Christian.' "
Pat Cate noted in EMQ, "It really can be said that Islam is the most studied and least evangelized religion." The International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention is one of the few denominational mission boards with a large and concerted outreach to Muslims. imb personnel are working with more than 300 predominantly Muslim people groups in 75 countries. The 2001 Annual Statistical Report says that Southern Baptist missionaries and their partners overseas started 121 churches and recorded 3,405 baptisms among these groups. Avery Willis, senior vice president for overseas operations, says the biggest problem in bringing Muslims to faith is not theological.
"All we want to do is give them an opportunity to know the truth in Jesus Christ, and then they make the decision," Willis says. "The biggest difficulty is just getting an opportunity for them to be exposed to the truth."
Stan Guthrie is associate news editor of CT and author of Missions in the Third Millennium. For an interview with David Johnstone, see
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/132/54.0.html.
PLANS TO CON THE MUSLIMS:
CHURCH PLANTING IN THE ME & IDENTITY OF MUSLIM CONVERTS By David Zeidan
In the Middle East we are often dealing not with a "normal" situation, but with an emergency situation where believers from Muslim background can expect severe persecution and even death. Our choices must be governed by the relevant situation in the country we are working in.
POSSIBLE MODELS IN MUSLIM LANDS
1. Integrate fully with the local Evangelical Christian minority (if one exists) and its churches. This means a break with the Muslim community and becoming a minority (Muslim believers), within a minority (Evangelicals), within a recognised (nominal Christian) minority. In very Islamic societies, or where fundamentalists are strong, this means persecution as apostates and even death - or emigration. This option usually results in a break with family and society.
In a mainly secular state like Turkey and Israel this option might work. The danger is that these states are coming under increasing religious, even fundamentalist, pressures and may have to reach an accommodation with their religious constituencies that always comes at the expense of the Muslim (or Jewish) believers.
2. Establish Muslim fellowship groups independent of Evangelical Christians, yet in visible fellowship with them. Worship is partly contextualised, but much interaction with local and foreign Christians occurs. This option might work well in a fairly secularised though nominally Muslim state (Syria, Iraq?).
3. Sufi-type Muslim "followers of Jesus" fellowships remaining in their local contexts yet forming closed groups. Meet in designated zawiyas (can be private homes, but recognized as a Sufi meeting place); have their own Sheikhs (elder, pastor); develop their own worship forms based on Sufi "dhikr", "hadra" and "sama`" models. They remain within their culture and society yet operate as a visibly separate group. This option might be able to function in more Islamically oriented states with a Sufi tradition (Egypt, Sudan, the Maghreb, also Turkey, Iran, etc.).
4. Isma'ili-type secret small-cell groups of Muslim believers who do not publicly profess their faith, but keep it as a secret to be divulged only to a very restricted group of trusted relatives and friends. They evangelise secretly, meet secretly, practise taqiya, and develop their own secret recognition patterns. Each believer is introduced only to one or two other believers. This option might be suitable for extremely Islamic societies (Saudi Arabia).
Missionaries of the 90's Target Muslims
By Masood Cajee
Mike and Cindy Bowen of LaGrange, Georgia first went to Malaysia in 1987, on a short-term outreach for the Pentecostal Holiness Church. According to the Bowens, it was on the plane home that God confirmed His call to them.
"We both knew that God would eventually bring us back home to Malaysia to teach and preach to the Malay people who haven't heard," says Cindy Bowen, of her husband-and-wife team.
This year, the Bowens will leave their home in Georgia and commit full time to proselytise in Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur. They have been preparing nearly ten years for this opportunity. Since their first trip to Malaysia, Mike got a bachelor's degree in Missions and Evangelism from the South-western Assembly of God College in Waxahachee, Texas; Cindy majored in Christian Education. They will join an estimated contingent of 559 Christian missionaries (370 Catholic, 189 Protestant) in Malaysia.
'The Bowens plan to help establish two Pentecostal Holiness churches in Kuala Lumpur by training the pastors and bringing forth leaders to start plant more churches in this emerging Southeast Asian Muslim-majority nation of 19 million. A spokesperson for the National Evangelical Fellowship of Malaysia claims that 600 Christian churches have started there since 1992. Evangelical Christians like the Bowens tout Muslims as the largest block of unreached peoples in the world. Having scored remarkable successes among Catholics in Latin America, notably in Brazil, and spurred by the fall of the Soviet Union, missionaries in the 1990s regard Muslims as a "final frontier" for evangelism. Their strategies call for ''creative access, cultural sensitivity, and church-planting in the 10/40 Window." The 10/40 Window is evangelical-speak for the rectangle with boundaries of latitudes 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator; encompassing most of the Muslim World.
Muslim countries especially targeted are the newly independent states in Central Asia - particularly Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and the Southeast Asian tigers, Malaysia and Indonesia. Nevertheless, Frontiers and other Christian groups strive to place missionaries throughout the tough "10/40 Window." Most Muslim countries remain closed, either because of the strong linkage between ethnic and religious identity amongst Muslims, or because of heavy restrictions on proselytization. This restricted access has led U.S. Christian mission groups such as Frontiers to lobby Congress on the issue of "the persecuted Church" in Muslim countries. These lobbying efforts have spurred the creation of a US State Department Commission on Religious Freedom, albeit one whose original stress on persecuted Christians has been slightly diluted. The Commission will now include representatives from multiple denominations and faiths, including Dr. Laila AlMarayati of the Muslim Womens League.
The "persecuted Church" primarily within the 10/40 Window has been a rallying point and foreign policy crusade for the Religious Right in their quest to gain wider access to the untapped millions of non-Christians within the Window. Frontiers, a mission group devoted completely to converting Muslims, boasts that "through creative approaches, patient sowing, and fearless proclamation, more Muslims have come to Christ in the last 25 years than in the previous 1400 years combined!" The Mesa, Arizona-based group claims to have 500 missionaries in 30 countries, or about 20% of all North American Protestant missionaries serving among Muslims. Frontiers seeks missionaries for the 90's with the motto: "Muslims. It's their turn. It's all we do. Whatever it takes." From Bosnia to Bangladesh, American missionaries apparently have been doing whatever it takes to penetrate often resistant and hostile Muslim target countries. Two popular missionary approaches to Muslim countries involves setting up business ventures or non-profit relief and NGO work.
Christian relief groups have made inroads in places like Somalia (which is 99% Muslim) by taking advantage of humanitarian crises like the famine in 1992 that precipitated U.S. intervention. Some missionaries reportedly even hook up with the CIA, blurring religious and political goals. The Washington Post revealed February, 22 that CIA officials admitted a "controversial loophole" exists that permits the agency to "employ clerics and missionaries for clandestine work overseas. By far; however; the most popular long-term method has been to establish front export businesses, a growing strategy used by missionaries to gain access into a target country. Often, missionaries start branch offices of American companies overseas or enter as consultants. Cindy Bowen speaks proudly of her husband's creative access to Malaysia, which capitalised on his landscaping business in LaGrange, located 6O miles Southwest of Atlanta.
Ahmad Baharrudin of the Malaysian Islamic Study Group, a leading Muslim student organisation, says the problem of attrition among Muslim Malays, particularly among young women, has alarmed him. "Every year, the Department of Religious Affairs changes many Muslim names to Christian names, says Baharrudin. "Many Muslim activists say the Ulema should step out of their air-conditioned offices and reach out to the people."
The Bowens of LaGrange, Georgia, preparing to leave for Malaysia, are brushing up on their Malay language and customs. "We encourage our friends to pray for our success in this stronghold of the 10/40 Window," says Cindy Bowen. "Please pray especially for a supernatural move of God to reveal Jesus to man Muslims on the Night of Power in Ramadan."
From the Minaret Magazine - January, 1997 (USA)
Article provided by Br. S. Motala.
Plans Under Way for Christianizing Iraq
BY MARK O'KEEFE
c.2003 Newhouse News Service - March 26, 2003
Two leading evangelical Christian missionary organizations said Tuesday that they have teams of workers poised to enter Iraq to address the physical and spiritual needs of a large Muslim population.
The Southern Baptist Convention, the country's largest Protestant denomination, and the Rev. Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse said workers are near the Iraq border in Jordan and are ready to go in as soon as it is safe. The relief and missionary work is certain to be closely watched because both Graham and the Southern Baptist Convention have been at the heart of controversial evangelical denunciations of Islam, the world's second largest religion.
Both organizations said their priority will be to provide food, shelter and other needs to Iraqis ravaged by recent war and years of neglect. But if the situation presents itself, they will also share their Christian faith in a country that's estimated to be 98 percent Muslim and about 1 percent Christian.
It’s conversion time in Valley
Slowly and discreetly, Christian evangelists make inroads into Muslim heartland of Kashmir
SRINAGAR, APRIL 5 2003: Amid booming guns and endless violence, Kashmir is witnessing a discreet spurt in conversion  from Islam to Christianity. Christian groups are putting the number of neo-converts at over 10,000 and a Sunday Express investigation confirms that conversions have been taking place regularly across the Valley.
At least a dozen Christian missions and churches based in the US, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland have sent evengelists to the Valley and are pumping in money through intermediaries based in New Delhi.
In the Valley where death and trauma are a way of life, the missionaries are getting immediate attention because they reach out to the poor, needy and those affected by violence. Also, they bring in a lot of money.
Though conversions have not encountered any resistance from Muslim organisations, it has led to tensions between Kashmir’s native Christians  a miniscule community of 650  and the enthusiastic evangelists.
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_s...ontent_id=21530
WAKE UP CALL FOR MUSLIMS
It will be shocking for some or it will be unbelievable for others. Some will think that Missionaries reports are not to be taken as whole truth nothing but truth, they exaggerate the reports to collect more donations from their people.
Well, it’s true that Missionaries are exaggerating the reports just to appease their community they don’t want to lose their milking cow. But the fact is which we Muslims can’t brush it away i.e. Christians are working on converting or to say “CONâ€Âverting Muslims. It becomes impediment upon Muslim community to strengthen up their community with right guidance and by sticking to Islamic guidelines i.e. making more efforts to follow the tenets of Islam, not only just to follow also to make our family and friends to practice Islam completely.
Allah states in the Holy Qur’an that Muslims are the Khaira-Ummath in Sura Ali-Imran chapter 3 verse 110
“Ye are the best of peoples evolved for mankind enjoining what is right forbidding what is wrong and believing in Allah. If only the People of the Book had faith it were best for them; among them are some who have faith but most of them are perverted transgressors.â€Â
And it’s obligatory upon every Muslims to enjoin the Good and forbid the Evil, so it’s really important to resist this Missionary onslaught on Muslims and deter the onslaught of kufr upon Muslims. We should make more effort to save the innocent and ignorant Muslims from these Missionaries false propaganda. As for Islam, Allah has promised that He will make His Deen prevail over all religions.
In Surah Tawbah, chapter 9 verse 33
“It is He who hath sent His apostle with guidance and religion of truth to proclaim it over all religions even though the pagans may detest (it)â€Â.
In Surah Al-Fat-h chapter 48 verse 28
“It is He who has sent His Apostle with Guidance and the Religion of Truth to proclaim it over all religion: and enough is Allah for a Witness.â€Â
Allah warns of severe consequences of those who fail to abide by His commands
In Surah Tawbah chapter 9 verse 24
“Say: If it be that your fathers your sons your brothers your mates or your kindred; the wealth that ye have gained; the commerce in which ye fear a decline; or the dwellings in which ye delight are dearer to you than Allah or His apostle or the striving in his cause; then wait until Allah brings about His decision: and Allah guides not the rebellious.â€Â
And in Surah Muhammad chapter 47 verse 38 Allah warns that He will substitute with another community if we fail to do our duty
“If ye turn back (from the Path) He will substitute in your stead another people; then they would not be like you!â€Â
These are very strong verses from Holy Qur’an, if we fail to heed to these warnings then its we who will be in severe loss, it will be a rebellion against Allah and Allah guides not the rebellious.
ISLAM AND THE WEST
Inspite of all these attacks on Islam and Muslims yet Islam is the fastest growing Religion in Europe, America etc.,
Fast-growing Islam winning converts in Western world
April 14, 1997
Web posted at: 11:41 p.m. EDT (0341 GMT)
From Correspondent Gayle Young for CNN
Fastest-growing religion
The second-largest religion in the world after Christianity, Islam is also the fastest-growing religion. In the United States, for example, nearly 80 percent of the more than 1,200 mosques have been built in the past 12 years.
Some scholars see an emerging Muslim renaissance as Islam takes root in many traditionally Christian communities.
Islam has drawn converts from all walks of life, most notably African-Americans. Former NAACP President Benjamin Chavis, who joined the Nation of Islam recently, personifies the trend.
"In societies where you have minorities that are discriminated against, I think they may find an appeal in Islam," said Waleed Kazziha of American University in Cairo.
Many moderate Islamic countries such as Turkey and Egypt are becoming more conservative.
Two decades ago, few middle-class Egyptian women wore scarves or veils on their heads. Now they crowd into special emporiums that advertise Islamic clothing.
The shift toward Islamic fundamentalism worries many in the secular world, a fear underscored when splinter groups target Westerners with violent attacks.
Interest in Islam mounts after hijacking atrocity
Martin Bright
Sunday September 1, 2002
The Observer
A year ago they feared their religion would be tarred by the atrocities that left over 3,000 dead in the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. But Muslims across Britain are now crediting an '11 September factor' for the upsurge of interest in their religion.
From Islamic bookshops and university comparative religion courses to the dusty corridors of Whitehall, non-Muslims are rushing to find out more about the beliefs of Islam and the life of the Prophet Mohammed.
Sales of the Muslim holy book, the Koran, have gone through the roof. Penguin, the publishers of the best-known English-language translation of the Koran, registered a 15-fold increase in the three months following 11 September and sales have held up well since.
Dilowar Khan, director of the East London mosque which holds open days for non-Muslims four times a year, said that visits from schools, university students and even tourists had increased over the past year. At the same time he said there had been an average of two or three people asking to convert every month.
'A similar thing happened during the Salman Rushdie affair. A lot of people converted to Islam as they struggled to understand what was happening. Of course, there has been the opposite effect as well, some people have become more hostile, said Mr Khan.
Islam growing fast in America
In the US, where Muslims number over six million, the Islamic faith has in many estimates surpassed Judaism and is believed to be the second largest religion in America. Anayat Durrani profiles some new US converts to Islam
March 10, 2000
Islam, a religion that was for centuries believed to have been ‘spread by the sword’ is currently the fastest growing religion in the United States and in the world. Adherents to the Islamic faith number 1.2 billion worldwide. And growing… In the United States, where Muslims number over six million, the Islamic faith has in many estimates surpassed Judaism and is believed to be the second largest religion in America after Christianity. While part of the rise in the population of Muslims in the United States is due to immigration, the phenomenal growth of Islam in the past 10 years has come from an increasing number of Americans converting to Islam from other religions.
Islam continues to draw followers at an estimated rate of 135,000 converts per year. During the Gulf War alone, it was reported that approximately 3,000 Americans converted to Islam.
American women make up the second largest group of converts to Islam.
At the rate that Islam is spreading, demographers predict that by the year 2025 one out of four people in the world will be Muslim.
The increase in the number of American Muslims may be a result of the presence of more mosques and Islamic centers that are sprouting up in several cities across the United States. There are approximately 2,000 mosques, Islamic centers and schools in the country. Non-Muslims are often invited to mosques and Islamic centers where they are provided with information about Islam.
The continued growth in the number of converts to Islam should finally put to rest the myth that Islam was ever ‘spread by the sword’. The great number of adherents to the Islamic faith is evidence enough of Islam’s powerful message.
Islam, U.S.A.
Are Christians prepared for Muslims in the mainstream?
Between 1989 and 1998 the Islamic population in Europe grew by over 100 percent, to 14 million (approximately 2 percent of the population), according to United Nations statistics. During the same period, the Muslim population in the United States grew by 25 percent. Islam is the second-largest religious group in the world, with more than a billion members worldwide (some estimates put it closer to two billion). An estimated 4 to 6 million Muslims live in the U.S. today, and that number is growing. Islam could be the second-largest religion in America by 2015, surpassing Judaism, according to some estimates. By other estimates, Islam has achieved that rank already.
Muslims moving to the West are changing the cultural and religious landscape. A hospital in Detroit offers Muslim patients copies of the Qur'an; Denver International Airport includes a chapel for Muslim prayers; the U.S. Senate has invited a Muslim cleric to open its session in prayer; the military has hired four Muslim chaplains; the White House sends greetings (like its Christmas cards) on Id al-Fitr, the feast that ends Ramadan; the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington D.C. sends 100 Qur'ans a month to prisons while imams (spiritual leaders) send volunteers to teach Arabic. "On Capitol Hill…weekly Muslim prayer services and forums to expose congressional staffers to Muslim viewpoints have become regular fare," notes Ira Rifkin of Religion News Service (Nov. 30, 1999), "and a bill has been introduced in Congress to issue a postage stamp commemorating Ramadan."
Muslims are fully exercising the rights and freedoms available to them in the West. Last fall, the watch dog Council on Americanâ€â€Islamic Relations (CAIR) objected to the season premiere of Touched by an Angel, which featured a story line about slavery in Sudan and forced conversions of Christians living in the south. A CAIR official said the show was tantamount to "thinly disguised anti-Muslim propaganda and political partisanship."
CAIR's 1999 annual report on Muslim civil rights stated that American public schools are a "major area in which Muslim apprehension about the lack of religious accommodation is growing." Still, the report cited progress in Chicago, where alternative foods are available when pork is served; Fairfax County, Virginia, where a "pig" sign on school menus indicates items that include pork; and in Paterson, New Jersey, where the school district cancels classes on two Muslim holidays.
The Mecca-based Muslim World League spearheads a "massive Islamic missionary effort," notes Mission Frontiers (October 1999). "Vast sums of [oil] money are used to propagate Islam around the world: aid to countries considered sympathetic, building mosques, sending missionaries, literature, radio, etc. The world's largest printing presses are located here, and they churn out 28 million copies of the Koran every year for worldwide distribution."
Islam is gaining most of its U.S. converts in prisons and on university campuses. The majority of American converts to Islamâ€â€85 to 90 percentâ€â€are black. Of the estimated 6 million Muslims in the U.S., 2.6 million are black. "One out of every 15 blacks identifies him or herself as Muslim," notes Carl Ellis. Anglo women make up another demographic with a surprisingly high conversion rate in the U.S.
April 3, 2000, Vol. 44, No. 4, Page 40
WHY ISLAM CONTINUES TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE DEVELOPED WORLD
ISLAM CONTINUES TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE DEVELOPED WORLD, AND ELSEWHERE, BECAUSE ITS CALL IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE NATURAL INCLINATIONS OF MANKIND, AND IT ADVOCATES THE BEST OF HUMAN VALUES, SUCH AS TOLERANCE, LOVE, MERCY, TRUTHFULNESS AND SINCERITY.
Islam educates people and lifts them up to righteous conduct, good manners and virtue. Its call is distinguished from others by its realism, balance and moderation. Islam pays due attention to both the soul and the body. It neither suppresses physical desires nor allows extravagance in this regard; it makes a distinction between the natural inclination to enjoy the pleasures of this world and forbidden desires that come under the heading of depravity and perversion.
People embrace Islam because they find security, comfort and peace in it, they see a cure for their problems in it, and through it they are able to get rid of their feelings of confusion, anxiety and loss.
Mankind is basically inclined towards Tawheed (pure monotheism), as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) reported that his Lord (Allaah) said: “I created all my slaves as ‘hunafa’ (pure monetheists), but the devils turned them away from their religion.†(Reported by Muslim). For this reason the one who becomes a Muslim after having been a disbeliever is described as having “reverted†to Islam, as this is more correct than saying that he “converted.†When Islam enters a country where there is no nationalism or great legacy of jaahiliyah (ignorance), it spreads quickly because of its strength and the small number of obstacles.
You may also see that Islam is suitable for all people, educated and uneducated, male and female, old and young; everyone finds in it what he wants and needs. Those who become Muslim in developed countries realize what their country’s civilization and laws, which have been fabricated from men’s whims and desires, have done to them, and they realize the extent of the misery in which people in developed countries are living. They see how prevalent psychological illnesses, nervous breakdowns, insanity and suicides are, despite the technological advances and great number of discoveries and inventions and modern systems of management. This is because all of that is concerned only with the physical and the outward, but it neglects the inward and fails to nourish and nurture the heart and soul. Allaah says of these people (interpretation of the meaning): “They know only the outside appearance of the life of the world, and they are heedless of the Hereafter.†[al-Room 30:7]
Islam will continue to succeed, with the permission of Allaah, so long as those who work for its sake are sincere and its followers adhere to it and believe in it, and apply its laws.
The fact that there are those who are not committed or who fall short will not prevent Islam from succeeding, with the permission of Allaah, and nothing can distort its beauty. Its light will not falter because some people abandon it or fail to adhere to it. What Islam has given humanity in the way of progress and civilization, and lifting them up from the darkness of oppression and enmity, is pride enough.
I hereby conclude this article by quoting two verses from the Glorious Qur’an in Surah Baqarah chapter 2 verse 285 and 286
“285.The Apostle believeth in what hath been revealed to him from his Lord as do the men of faith. Each one (of them) believeth in Allah Hisangels His books and His Apostles "We make no distinction (they say) between one and another of His Apostles." And they say: "We hear and we obey; (We seek) Thy forgiveness Our Lord and to Thee is the end of all journeys."
“286.On no soul doth Allah place a burden greater than it can bear. It gets every good that it earns and it suffers every ill that it earns. (Pray): "Our Lord! condemn us not if we forget or fall into error; our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which Thou didst lay on those before us; Our Lord! lay not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Blot out our sins and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. Thou art our Protector; help us against those who stand against faith."
Aameen Ya rabbil Alameen
Compiled by IMTIAZ BASHEER AHMED