Islam and Christianity

Egypt, the Shari'a, and the rights of non-Muslims

2012-01-22T09:34:00.002-06:00

There is a fine article at the blog Free Orthodox Mind on the topic of the Islam being the basis of Egyptian law. The writer (a Copt) argues persuasively that it is impossible for Shari'a and Human Rights to co-exist.

Egypt today, England tomorrow, my friends. Read it all HERE. A sample:

-Gender inequality, the Islamic law hinders women from being judges, and fromtestifying in courts. A woman can't be a judge and can't testify in a courtbecause she is inferior to man.

-Apostates (riddah) lose theirpossessions; a convert from Islam would lose his/her worldly possessions aswell as other rights. In addition it's nearly impossible for them to changetheir religion in their IDs, and they have to be hidden from people in ordernot to be killed as according the Quran and the Islamic law the apostate shouldbe killed (Quran 2:217)
- Witnessingin courts, A “Just” witness has to be a “free Muslim, i.e. not a slave Muslim”;non-Muslims witness in court is not admissible according to Islamic law. (Quran2:282), on example happened in Shubra El Kehma court (case number1824/year 2008), when the judge refused to hear the testimony of a Christianperson Samy Farag in the case of a death of a Muslim old man.

- Thekilling of Non-Muslim does not lead to the same punishment as killing a Muslim;this requires taking a look at some modern history.

Muslims torturing and raping Christian children in Pakistan

2012-01-20T04:54:00.002-06:00

By David Virtue

Christian children have become the victims of recent violence. The shocking protest of a Catholic Member of Parliament in Pakistan: "In Karachi children are being raped and tortured to eliminate the presence of Christians."

Children raped and tortured, families extorted, abuse and violence taking place at the expense of terrified victims who remain silent: this is the reality of what is happening to the Christian community in some suburban quarters of Karachi, Southern Pakistan's biggest city and the capital of the Sindh province.

Speaking to Catholic news agency Fides, Michael Shind, a Catholic MP working in Pakistan's Sindh province, gave a shocking statement condemning the situation for Christians in the Country. A statement by Vatican Radio, warned that for months now, Christians in the areas of EssaNagri, Ayub Goth and Bhittaiabad, have suffered indescribable violence perpetrated by members of political movements, such as the Pashtuns that are characterized by a strong ethnic and Islamic identity. Christian families are going through living hell but "people are not reporting the abuse for fear of retaliation.

Just last month, 15 cases of rape were reported. In EssaNagri there are real "torture cells" where Christian children are imprisoned and tortured. "Captors ask for ransoms of up to 100.000 rupees and if families cannot pay, the little ones are tortured until they are beyond recognition." The result of the violence that has been going on over the past six months is that numerous families have decided to leave Karachi. "These acts of violence are aimed at eliminating Christian presence in the area; it constitutes a kind of ethnic cleansing: we are seen as slaves who are unworthy of setting foot on Pakistani soil."

In another case reported, a so-called "house of tolerance" was opened near a Catholic Church in Ayub Goth where "Christian girls from destitute families are forced into prostitution." Although the authorities have been made aware of this, they have not taken any action yet. Javed is launching an appeal to ask "for an end to the oppression of our community."

Ramon Llull and the 100 names of God

2012-01-19T04:12:00.002-06:00

For anyone who has been reading the blog for a while, you know that my great hero is Ramon Llull. He is the father of the Church's mission to Muslims, and in all the 700 or so years since his ministry we have not seen anyone like him arise, though there are some who came close (Temple Gairdner of Cairo being the only one I can think of).

I just noticed that Lullian Arts now has made available Llull on the 100 names of God. Check out that website (see my blogroll) or just download the PDF by clicking here.

I love how Llull can take very simple ideas like 'God is infinitely glorious' and work very simply up to the logical necessity of the Holy Trinity. I mean, who else can do that?

Still hoping he will become officially canonized one of these days too...meanwhile, Blessed Ramon Llull, we share in your intercessions for the conversion of the Saracens whom God loves with a perfect love.

--AD

Muhammad's argument against the divinity of Christ

2012-01-19T04:12:00.001-06:00

Here is Muhammad's argument against the divinity of Christ. Let me know what you think:

The Christians came to Muhammad and argued with him about Jesus, son ofMary. They asked him who his father was and uttered many lies and slanderousthings about Allah - he is the only god; he has neither wife nor child.Muhammad said to them: "Do you not know that our lord is living and that hewill not die? Jesus, however, was exposed to mortality." They said, "Yes."He asked them, "Was there a reason for Jesus being different?" Theysaid, "No." He said, "Do you not know that nothing is hidden fromAllah, whether on earth or in heaven?" They said, "Yes." He saidto them, "Did Jesus know more than Allah taught him?" They said, "No."He said: "Our Lord fashioned Jesus as he pleased, in his mother's womb. Doyou not know that our Lord neither eats nor drinks nor eliminates anythingunclean?" They answered, "Yes." He said: "Do you not knowthat Jesus' mother was pregnant with him and bore him as every mother does herchild; that he was nourished like every child, and that he ate, drank, andrelieved himself of impurities?" They said, "Yes." He said, "Howcan what you claim be true?"

Source: Ibn Hisham, as-Siratu'n-nabawiyya, Cairo 1955, Vol. 1, pp.224-225.

HT to http://www.light-of-life.com/eng/sources/

Abu Daoud on the Arab Spring

2012-01-15T14:41:00.000-06:00

From Part II of my interview with Don Warrington. Read it all at his blog and leave some comments already! Here is one of the questions:

6) Where do you see MENA going, especially in view of events such as the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and the Arab Spring?

This is the million-dollar question, isn’t it? First, the people who protested didn’t take political control, so as much as they wanted freedom and democracy, they just won’t get it, I’m sorry to say. The Egyptian elections were demonstrably corrupt, though the international press has not said so—I have no idea why. The Islamists will take power and they will not let it go. And why is this surprising? That is precisely what Muhammad did—engaged in diplomacy and compromise and so on, but once he had power he was ruthless. In the end, an Islamic society cannot be a free society. Islam and freedom are mutually exclusive.

The question I have is this: will it be like Iran? After the revolution in `79 Islam had a chance to prove itself in the political arena, and Islam, unlike Christianity, makes substantial guarantees in this area. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians have concluded that Islam failed—it did not deliver politically so it must be false in terms of its religious and spiritual claims too. They have turned to Christianity some of them, and some to secular humanism or atheism. Will this happen in these newly Islamist states? Perhaps. I pray it will. Islam’s love of political power may well be its Achilles’ heel. Meanwhile, that means the native Christians need to stay as long as they can, and foreign missionaries like me need to stay no matter what. I will do it. Maybe the kids and wife need to go back to the US, I will do everything I can to stay here even if all hell breaks loose.

Don Warrington interview Abu Daoud, Part i

2012-01-11T02:22:00.001-06:00

Don Warrington over at Positive Infinity keeps a fine blog which has been on my blogroll for years here at Islam & Christianity. Don interviewed me about being in the mission field in the Middle East, and the first part of the interview has been posted. Check it out HERE.

Here is one section of the interview:

2) What type of training did you obtain for this? Was it helpful? For others who might be considering this, what kind of training is best?

My own training was largely on my own. I will say that having a background in philosophy from a secular university is great. I mean, philosophy is all about listening very carefully to what people say and write, to the point where you understand them better than they understand themselves even. We debated and thought about the big questions—the relation of the soul to the body, the existence of God, the nature of good and evil, and so on. With that sort of background you are really able to interact with Muslims on a whole different level than what folks learn at the local bible college or what have you. Also, Muslims are aware that in the distant past they produced a couple of outstanding philosophers. I mean, these were the people with whom Thomas Aquinas was interacting! So when you say you are a scholar of philosophy and religions, which is what I am, and what I tell people when they ask me, ‘What do you do?’ they really respect it.

For more Click Here.

Also, if you know anyone interested in mission to Muslims please pass this on to them or link to it from your blog. I am not purporting to be a super-Christian or an example to everyone else, but even then, with my limited experience, I hope that there is something helpful in there!

Eliot on the Epiphany: Journey of the Magi

2012-01-06T01:52:00.000-06:00

One of the best poems ever. You can hear him read it himself at Poetry Archive.

Journey of the Magi
by T.S. Eliot

A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The was deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter."
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires gong out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty, and charging high prices.:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.

Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;
With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky,
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wine-skins.
But there was no information, and so we continued
And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.

All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we lead all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I have seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

Schmemann on the Eucharist

2012-01-05T14:57:00.000-06:00

See how excellent Orthodoxy is? Some words from Schmemann to start the year:

He is our bread—because from the very beginning all our hunger was our hunger for Him and all our bread was but a symbol of Him, a symbol that had to become reality.

Aside from the fact that the New Year started at Advent, happy New Year to all of you. May God make us all fruitful and wise in 2012, and fill us with a great desire to share his grace and love with all around us.

--Abu Daoud

'December' by Gary Johnson

2011-12-31T16:57:00.000-06:00

December

by Gary Johnson

A little girl is singing for the faithful to come ye
Joyful and triumphant, a song she loves,
And also the partridge in a pear tree
And the golden rings and the turtle doves.
In the dark streets, red lights and green and blue
Where the faithful live, some joyful, some troubled,
Enduring the cold and also the flu,
Taking the garbage out and keeping the sidewalk shoveled.
Not much triumph going on here—and yet
There is much we do not understand.
And my hopes and fears are met
In this small singer holding onto my hand.
Onward we go, faithfully, into the dark
And are there angels hovering overhead? Hark.

"December" by Gary Johnson. Used with permission of the poet.

Fr Seraphim on Prayer, a Coptic Orthodox perspective

2011-12-29T12:48:00.000-06:00

The latest St Francis Magazine (Vol 7:5) has two articles from non-western folks, kudos to them for that (in addition to an interview with Fr Boutros, which I am not even including in my count).

One is a meditation on the meaning of prayer from Abouna Serphim al Baramousy, a Coptic Orthodox monk in Egypt. Here is part of his reflection, which I commend to all of you:

This relationship between the Bible and prayer is essential, for
prayer inspires the ability to fulfill the calling of the Bible. It unleashes
the words of the Scripture from limitations of paper and ink
by intangibly etching and inscribing them deeply into the real life of
man’s existence; for it is this calling in prayer which enables the Holy
Spirit to provide day by day from the Priceless Treasure which
Christ left us.

Read it all HERE.

Bob Blincoe interviews Fr Zakaria Boutros

2011-12-27T12:26:00.000-06:00

The newest SFM (December) just came out. Has some great material in it. For instance, an interview with the famous (infamous?) Abouna Zakaria Boutros. (For those who may not know, ZB is probably the most important person in the 20th Century in terms of mission to Muslims, with the possible exception of Temple Gairdner. If you want to learn more read my article on him here.)

Anyway, Bob Blincoe (PhD, mind you), the director of Frontiers, one of the most influential and, you guessed it, controversial missionary agencies in the world, which focuses on unreached Muslim groups exclusively, interviewed him. And it is all there in SFM for your pleasure.

Check it out here: Bob Blincoe interviews Abouna Zakaria Boutros.

A Response to Aijaz Zaka Syed at Foreign Policy Journal

2011-12-23T06:02:00.001-06:00

I recently read an article by Aijaz at FPJ, which was commenting on the article by Pat Buchanan which I had recently critiqued. I posted this response at the FPJ site, and perhaps there will be a response. First, you do need to read Mr Syed's helpful article. And then my response, which follows:

Thanks for your thoughts on this Aijaz. I also wrote some comments on Pat's article at my blog.

I would first of all take issue with your characterization of Islamic society ruling the roost for 1000 years. So many of those accomplishments actually belonged to Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians. The relatively few Muslims who did great things we often educated by non-Muslims. Once the dhimmis were properly subdued and educational power given mostly to Muslims, well, there were no more accomplishments.

But that is not my main point.

I want to propose that there is no Islamic order that can really fulfill the desires of the young people who ousted the various dictators. Let me say it like this: They want the benefits of Christendom without the Christianity of Christendom. There are great stories about the justice that flourished during the days of the rightly-guided caliphs, but if you read the Islamic material from those days you will find complaints about rampant immorality, not a great golden age of justice and progress.

You can't make a vibrant future of human rights and justice out of the worn fairy tales of past Islamic greatness. If the young people of the Middle East want a brighter future, then they must find another religion, or even no religion at all. Islam will never get them there.

And finally, RE Turkey, it is doing well because it was founded on an explicitly anti-religion basis. So please don't use that as an example of what Egypt or Libya might look like some day.

I would love to hear your response to this comment. Salam. كل عام و انت بخير

Pat Buchanan: The Year's big winner is Islam

2011-12-21T04:12:00.001-06:00

Very interesting article here with some good background research. Here is a segment of it:

If demography is destiny, the future would seem to belong to Islam.

Consider. The six most populous Muslim nations – Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria and Turkey – had a total population of 242 million in 1950. By 2050, that 242 million will have quintupled to 1.36 billion people.

Meanwhile, Europe's fertility rate has been below zero population growth since the 1970s. Old Europe is dying, and its indigenous peoples are being replaced by Third World immigrants, millions of them Muslim.

Yet there is another side to the Islamic story.

In international test scores of high school students in reading, math and science, not one Muslim nation places in the top 30. Take away oil and gas, and from Algeria to Iran these nations would have little to offer the world. Iran would have to fall back on exports of carpets, caviar and pistachio nuts.

Not one Muslim nation is a member of the G-8 economic powers or the BRIC-four emerging powers – Brazil, Russia, India, China.

He then goes on to conclude (rightly, I think) that the new Islamist regimes will not be able to deliver the new jobs and freedoms that the revolutionaries wanted. And then, I think, he misses the point and fails to see where his argument is going in the long run. He starts asking questions about what will replace those regimes when they fail. I think the more interesting question is what will replace the European regimes when they fail? He gets the demographics right, and the logical conclusion is that Europe must start to perform poorly and be less educated, Europe must start to look more like the countries where its new population is from. France MUST look more like Algeria. Germany MUST look more like Turkey. The UK MUST look more like Pakistan.

When will this happen and how should other countries react to it--that is the real question, and it must be addressed sooner rather than later. It is more urgent than the question about the projected failure of the new Islamist regimes. These regimes will understand what they are doing as the will of God, and a god who doesn't make breaking a few eggs to make an omelet (worldwide Islamic hegemony, namely). They will hold on to power, and their ruthless reigns will not result any time soon in a new revolution, but in oppression and, guess what? More emigration to Europe, thus making the Islamization of that continent all the more pronounced. Cf Iran--massive emigration and a theocracy and no coupe.

Welcome to new readers from VirtueOnline

2011-12-20T00:01:00.000-06:00

Dear Visitors from VirtueOnline,

My friend David Virtue recently posted a short article I had written on Iranian Christianity, which originally appeared here on this blog some time ago, he also included a link to my blog at his website.

For new readers, I update the blog once a week or so, not as often as I used to. But I have had this blog for a long time, so please do try searching for any topics of interest to you, like Anglican or conversion or Europe.

I also want to invite you to check out my own articles on several topics, which appear in a menu on the right hand side of the blog in a menu. Some of those are the journal St Francis Magazine, and some are just posted right here on the blog. Let me recommend Islam and Victimhood, Reformed Islam and Apostates of Islam to begin with.

For nerdier folks who would like to hear about my ideas on applying early church practice to contemporary mission to Muslims today, check out my three articles from St Francis Magazine on Mission and Sacrament (part 1, part 2, and part 3). Responses are always welcome.

Please do feel free to leave any questions. If you or your parish would like to get our prayer updates do let me know and we will find a way to do this in a secure manner. I am especially happy to be in touch with people discerning a vocation to the mission field today (and I mean foreign missions here).

Sincerely,

Abu Daoud
abu_daoud [at] afm-us [dot] org

Peter Berger on Modernity, great quotes

2011-12-08T08:07:00.001-06:00

I have recently had the pleasure of reading Peter Berger's work on modernity. He is an astute critic and observer, I must say. I feel like Berger's material, which is sociology of religion as a discipline, is not a great deal more useful than all the lame evangelical material I've seen trying to relate the Gospel to late modernity (or post-modernity, as it used to be known). Here are some fine quotes from his book Facing up to Modernity: Excursions in Society, Politics, and Religion:

“…I am impressed by the intrinsic inability of thesecularized world views to answer the deeper questions of the human condition,questions of whence, whither, and why.” (160)

“All the same, Christendom provided both a social-structuraland a cognitive unity that was lost, probably irretrievably, upon itsdissolution at the beginning of the modern age.” (171)

“Could it not be that that ‘modern consciousness,’ far frombeing the pinnacle of man’s cognitive history, may rather be the result of animpoverishment of man’s grasp on reality?” (187)

“If there is goingto be a renascense of religion, its bearer will not be the people who have been falling all over each other to be‘relevant to modern man’.” (191)

“Transcendence has been, shall we say, declared‘inoperative’ by the major agencies that ‘officially’ define reality—theuniversities, the school system, the medical system, the communications media,and to some extent even the courts.” (202)

“I believe that such a world view without transcendence musteventually collapse, because it denies ineradicable aspects of humanexperience.” (210)

Italy: Morrocan murders wife, suspects her of trying to convert to Christianity

2011-12-05T10:43:00.001-06:00

Via bladna (Dutch):

Mohamed El Ayani (39), a Moroccan living in Brescello, killed his wife, Rachida Radi (35), since he suspected she was converting to Christianity.

The victim was killed with a hammer by her ex-husband, from whom she was divorcing. Once the investigation into her death is finished, her body will be flown for burial in Morocco.

Mohamed El Ayani turned himself in to the police shortly after the murder, holding his 4-year old daughter. He told the investigators his wife often went to chruch since she wanted to convert to Catholicism.

The city's mayor told Il Corriere della Sera that Rachida Radi most wanted to adapt to the customs of Italy. She performed small jobs for the parish to supplement her income.

Mohamed El Ayani came to Italy in 1995 and was revolted by his wife's and oldest daughter's wishes for autonomy He worked as a cleaner in Parma.

HT to Islam in Europe

Lausanne World Pulse and the Early Church

2011-12-03T05:39:00.001-06:00

I don't know if any single person has actually read my three articles on mission, sacraments, and learning from the early Church (aka, paleo-orthodoxy). Either way, here they are:

Part I
Part II
Part III

That having been said, I was very happy to see Lausanne World Pulse, one of the most influential magazines on evangelical mission, treat this great topic. From the most recent issue (December 2011), there is an article on prayer in the early church, and another on evangelism in the early church. Enjoy!

Evangelism and the Early Church by Jerry Root
Prayer in the Early Church by John Godson

Pray for Yemen: Saleh is gone

2011-11-24T12:23:00.001-06:00

Good news or bad news? Worst case scenario: Yemen disintegrates becoming another Somalia. Lord have mercy...

But do read this CNN article and pray for peace and stability and for the Gospel to advance and flourish there.

Yemen after Saleh

CS Lewis on Magic, Modernity and Reality

2011-11-23T09:49:00.001-06:00

A brilliant quote!

“For the wise men of old the cardinal problem had been how to conform the soul to reality, and the solution had been knowledge, self-discipline, and virtue. For magic and applied science alike the problem is how to subdue reality to the wishes of men: the solution is a technique: and both, in the practice of this technique, are ready to do things hitherto regarded as disgusting and impious.”

--C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man

HT to T19

The Breeders: Cannonball

2011-11-19T17:07:00.001-06:00

Totally unrelated to Islam or Christianity (as far as I know), but an awesome group and fun song. Hey, it's MY blog ;-)

The Arab Spring cartoon

2011-11-18T10:38:00.001-06:00

Alfred Nock on the central fact of Jesus' teaching

2011-11-16T14:32:00.001-06:00

From Alfred Nock's brilliant (if somewhat old) book, Conversion: The Old and the New in Religion from Alexander the Great to Augustine of Hippo. (Oxford U Press 1933)

“The central fact in the teaching of Jesus was not a noveldoctrine about God or man but the heralding of the kingdom. It was not new: ithad been in many Jewish // minds for a century and more: it had been urged withcompelling force by John the Baptist.” (pp 242, 243)

I also liked this one:

“Celsus…speaks of Christian rites as performed in cobblers’shops or fullers’ shops.” (p 202)

In this book he tries to narrow down just exactly what was new in Christianity? Was it the Kingdom of God? (No.) Was it the sacraments? (No.) Was it the incarnation? (Uh, sort of.) Was it vicarious atonement? (Yes.) And so on...

Response to Warrick Farah's questions on conversion and being a 'Christian'

2011-11-14T09:27:00.001-06:00

WarrickFarah at Circumpolar, a blog on the topic of mission to Muslims, asks someinteresting questions about converts from Islam to Christianity. In a nutshell,he is wondering if avoiding words like ‘Christian’ and ‘conversion’ in Islamiccountries (like Somalia, if you can even call that a country anymore), wouldnot lessen persecution. He poses three questions. Here they are, with myanswers.

People can be persecuted for Christ, or they can be persecuted for Western Christianity by calling themselves “Christians.” Of course the difference between the two is really difficult to discern, and I don’t pretend to know in Musa’s case here. But some persecution is unnecessary and more a result of association with the immoral West than with the glorious Jesus. I do wonder about Sayed Musa and this Somali MBB- what if they chose not to call themselves “Christians”?

Abu Daoud’s answer: I think it is a bit unfair to askMuslims who decide to follow Christ to notcall themselves Christians. They know the language of Christian andChristianity, and they find it in their history and in their book, the Qur’an.The concept of following Christ from within Islam is a Western, modernistconstruct—it represents an attempt to renegotiate boundaries traditionallyconsidered as immutable and objective. Not to be confrontational, but it isakin to same-sex marriage in this respect. All of this to say, these are not 21stCentury Americans who can deconstruct and reconstruct terms in order to firtheir picture of how reality should be, and we should not expect them to act insuch a way. (Anyone interested in further exploring this critique of modernityshould read Peter Berger’s important book TheHeretical Imperative.)

The language of “conversion” is politically loaded, and whenever persecution hits international headlines there are always other factors involved, as the article clearly shows. The NT language is really rich and diverse in describing the concept of conversion. Is there a better English word?

Abu Daoud’s answer: This is an interesting question,and I think there is more room for discussion here than with the word‘Christian’, which, I think, need not and can not be tossed out (with thepossible exception of Jews). The key word used in the NT to talk about peopledeciding to be disciples of Christ is repentance. But that is a technical wordthat will not make sense to people who do not know the NT well (including mostChristians I think). How would we say that? He repented and decided to followChrist? It lacks the concise nature of the word ‘convert’ that people in allfields understand to mean a significant turning away from something and toanother thing, in this case away from Islam and to Christianity. So is there abetter English word? For internet material meant for a wide audience ofnon-specialists? I don’t think so. Is there a better word in Somalian? I have no idea.

Public advocacy for the persecuted usually puts governments in very awkward situations with the end result usually ending in deportation. How should we stand for religious freedom without shaming Muslim governments into overreacting?

AbuDaoud’s answer: I think this is the most complex question, and all I can say isthat it needs to be handled on a case-by-case basis. Ultimately the West needsto wake up and realize that Human Rights and Islam are, I am sad to say,irreconcilable. I mean, the Prophet very clearly said, ‘whosoever changes hisreligion, slay him.’ That does not leave a lot of room for creativity, does it?This problem has been around for a while, and it led Kenneth Cragg to theconclusion that Christian mission to the Muslim world must contain a strongelement of advocacy for religious freedom.

Please chime in, either here or over at Circumpolar. I enjoy this sort of conversation, just keep it civil ;-)

--Abu Daoud

Two Turks who converted to Orthodoxy

2011-11-11T13:48:00.001-06:00

Kudos to Samn for this interesting link to an interview with two Turks who converted to Orthodoxy. I love how they talk about Christianity in the West, I find it to be quite true, I am sad to say, Here is a sample:

—It would follow that your path to Orthodoxy was the result of "local" experience, without any influence from outside of Turkey?

Achmet: Any influence from American or European Christianity can only do harm. I never felt comfortable with the Christians there. They repelled me from Christianity by turning it into psychotherapy. They go to church on Sundays to talk. However, religion has an aim of filling a certain other emptiness. In Europe, Christianity has been relegated to holidays without any connection to religion. Take the Nativity of Christ, for example. Many people greet each other with the words, ”Happy holidays,” instead of Happy Nativity.” In Europe, people have a superficial connection to Christianity, without an understanding of its spiritual meaning.

—How do the Christians in your country differ from Europeans?

Nejla: In that they are much closer to the essence and traditions of Christianity.

Achmet: And in that they are more religious.

Nejla: We go to church every Sunday, read the Holy Scriptures every evening, pray together, and strive to fulfill all the demands of our religion.

Read the whole interview at Pravoslavie (translated into English from Bulgarian).

Convert from Islam to Russian Orthodoxy

2011-11-09T12:58:00.003-06:00

Well, you don't run into many converts from Islam to Orthodoxy, but every now and then you do--especially if you can read Russian (which I can't). It seems like the Russian Orthodox Church is one of the very few Orthodox Churches that welcome in Muslims on a regular basis, good for them!

Here is the beginning of part of one convert's testimony (in English):

Do you remember, in 1984, five years after the Islamic Revolution, I was still a teenager, I met with a friend Ferdowsi Square in Tehran? I had come too early, and to kill time I decided to sit in the cinema and watch a movie... This film was "Jesus, son of Mary" - a stripped down version of the censored "Jesus of Nazareth" by Franco Zeffirelli! Remember how I forgot about the whole world, absorbed in Thee, in spite of the fact that the authorities deliberately mutilated the tape? Remember how there, in Iran, I would like to go to church, and how the spiritual fire kindled my heart at the sight of thy temple? Remember in 1989 the first time I dared to cross the threshold of the church - Catholic, in the heart of Karachi - and how disappointed I was not finding you there? I did not know that you are in His infinite love to keep me this grace, which makes thy truth, the Orthodox Church.

Read it all here (in English): Pravmir.

And I don't think I have any Russian-language readers, but what the heck. Here is the segment in Russian:

Помнишь, как билось у меня сердце, когда я встречал Твое имя в персидских стихах? Хафиз[1] и Руми упоминают о множестве людей, но лишь при Твоем дивном Имени, Иисусе, душа моя трепетала от неведомой радости. Пусть тогда я не знал Тебя умом, пусть кривое зеркало исламской мистической литературы изображало Тебя обычным человеком, мое сердце различило в Тебе красоту, много выше человеческой. Было ли то наитие Святого Духа, или Твой образ во мне, поврежденный, но не уничтоженный, узнал свой прообраз, когда я увидел Твое благодатное имя? Или, может быть, сердце, намного опередив разум, узнало в Тебе своего Создателя? Знаю только, что я ликовал, видя Твое благословенное имя.

What do you think? How does this Orthodox testimony compare to others who became evangelicals?

Fr Seraphim and a Coptic reflection on prayer

2011-11-06T23:21:00.001-06:00

I recently had the pleasure of being introduced to this wonderful man, a Coptic monk and priest (hieromonk, as the Greeks call them). I have very much enjoyed reading his reflection on prayer, which you can find HERE.

This is one portion which I found particularly beautiful:

The habitation of the longing, the meeting, the screaming and the tears is the heart, the wide place, in which God loves to dwell more than His own heaven. It is that sacred place wherein soft and gentle knocking is always heard; it is the place where Almighty God refuses to enter by force, because on its steps the freedom of Love is experienced. On its steps there is another departure (kenosis), not from the glory of Divinity, as in the Incarnation, but from using the power to impose His presence, for He will not allow Himself to break into the heart of man, unless this man genuinely and willfully opens his heart, earnestly desiring His Presence.

Read it all, and please make this wonderful article known through your own blogs.

Pray for me and my family as we prepare for travel. There are many obstacles in our way.

Gaudeul on why Muslims convert to Christianity

2011-11-03T11:05:00.001-05:00

One of hte best studies out there on why Muslims convert to Christianity is the study by the French Roman Catholic priest Jean-Marie Gaudeul, one of the White Fathers.

The name of his book in English is Called from Islam to Christ. He identifies a couple of broad categories of people who convert:

those fascinated by the personality of Jesus, they begin to pray, they experience the power and goodness, and they finally recognized as the Son of God;
those looking for a community according to God, they find that community in the Church;
those who, after recognizing their sin, want to experience free forgiveness, this being interpreted differently by Muslims;
especially those seeking a coherent message about life, and desire intellectual certainty, especially those educated in controversy, they discover in the Bible the consistent message of the Gospel which attracts them;
especially those who desire to meet God, to pray to him heart to heart, which is not the case in Islam where prayer is a set of rituals.

That is a rough translation of the French from this website. Here is the original list:

ceux que fascine la personnalité de Jésus, qu’ils commencent à prier, dont ils expérimentent la puissance et la bonté, et qu’ils finissent par reconnaître comme le Fils de Dieu ;
ceux qui recherchent une communauté selon Dieu, communauté qu’ils trouvent dans l’Eglise ;
ceux qui, après s’être reconnus comme pécheurs, aspirent à faire l’expérience du pardon gratuit, celui-ci étant interprété diversement par les musulmans ;
ceux qui demandent surtout un message cohérent en lui-même et avec la vie, et ont besoin de certitude intellectuelle : instruits dans la polémique, ils ont découvert la Bible et la cohérence du message de l’Evangile les attire ;
ceux qui ont surtout soif de rencontrer Dieu, de le prier coeur à coeur, ce qui n’est pas le cas dans l’islam où la prière est un ensemble de rites.

Albion Land inteviews Abu Daoud

2011-11-02T21:37:00.000-05:00

Some time ago I had the privilege to be interviewed by Albion Land, founder of the blog The Continuum. I think I mentioned it a long time ago but I recently re-read it and I think you might find it quite interesting.

Here it is:

Albion Land interviews Abu Daoud

Abu Daoud, now on Scribd

2011-10-29T21:19:00.004-05:00

Hi All,

I have opened a Scribd account, so for those of you who use that fine service, please feel free to follow me there, and I would also like to follow your activity.

It is also a convenient place to see all my published articles, which I am in the process of uploading:

www.scribd.com/abu_daoud

--Abu Daoud

Foreign Policy Mag: Libyans and Marriage; Demography

2011-10-28T12:26:00.002-05:00

The new issue of Foreign Policy, one of my favorite publications, along with St Francis Magazine and Time and First Things, has two new articles out that are very interesting.

The first is about Libya and how the men and women deal with various difficulties surrounding marriage. The new rebels used to be unemployed slackers, now they are heroes. What will happen? Will they be able to get married now? Will they be able to get jobs? As I have said before, getting rid of the dictator was the easy part.

Libya's Sexual Revolution by Ellen Knickmeyer

Also, readers of this blog know my opinion on the future: it belongs to those who procreate, not the smartest or fastest or most just or whatever. Those who reproduce will also emigrate, bringing with them their culture and religion. Something like 98% of the world population will be born and die with the same religion. As much as I devote myself to evangelism, and as important as every convert is, the future will be determined by demographics. This article is about that topic.

It's a Small World After All, by Colum Lynch

Check them out, enjoy!

--Abu Daoud

Calling Muslims: Ex-Muslims for Al Masih

2011-10-28T10:16:00.000-05:00

Interesting site here. It reports to be an online magazine run by ex-Muslims trying to reach Muslims. Lots of video and some debates between Muslims and Christians.

The only thing I can't find is the list of contributors. Who are the ex-Muslims contributing to the site?

Nonetheless, good topics and lots of material to check out. Let me know what you think.

Calling Muslims: Ex-Muslims for Al Masih

More on Chrislam

2011-10-21T14:57:00.002-05:00

Some time I noted the emergence of an interesting movement called 'Chrislam' in Nigeria. Here is that link.

Have turned up some more information on the interesting movement, which is actually two different movements, that appear quite different:

The larger one is Oke Tude (Yoruba for Mountain of Loosing Bondage, you ignorant Westerners). Here are some links:

Official Website
Article in the Christian Science Monitor
Article in Religion & Ethics

The other movement is obscure and I haven't found any articles that are about it alone. Founded by Tela Tella, it is both smaller and older than then Oke Tude group.

The key work, yet unfinished, on both groups is by Dr. Marloes Janson, and it can be read HERE.

(Dr Janson, if you ever do complete that paper please do let me know!)

Enjoy!

--Abu Daoud

Handy Map of the Middle East

2011-10-17T17:19:00.001-05:00

Soren Kierkegaard on Christian Scholarship

2011-10-06T20:31:00.000-05:00

"Christian scholarship is the Church's prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible."

Love it!

The New issue of St Francis Magazine

2011-10-05T14:24:00.003-05:00

Hi All,

Well, the new issue of SFM is out a few days late, but better late than never. I have not read the whole thing yet, but so far there are two articles that are noteworthy I think.

The first is Jeff Morton's harsh review of the missiology and theology of Carl Medearis. I have not personally read Medearis' book Muslims, Christians, and Jesus, but I have heard several people speak highly of it. So it is interesting to find such a critical review of his work. Here it is:

THE LYRICS OF CARL MEDEARIS: A POST-MODERN CROONS A SONG OF CULTURAL IMPERIALISM by Jeff Morton

Second, I actually put together a complete bibliography of SFM's first five years. Do check it out. I guarantee you will find some interesting articles that you will want to read. Also, you will most certainly enjoy my intelligent and penetrating insights into the journal's strengths and weaknesses ;-)

St Francis Magazine: A Complete Bibliography of the First Five Years by Abu Daoud

Or by all means, just download the entire issue if you prefer.

--Abu Daoud

Church History

2011-10-04T20:05:00.003-05:00

Brilliant :-)

Lamin Sanneh, suffering, and the central contradiction of Islam

2011-10-03T13:31:00.002-05:00

Lamin Sanneh over at Yale is himself an ex-Muslim Christian (and a Catholic one, at that). He is one of the best anaylzers of Islam that I have ever read. Here is a great quote:

It remains, surely, one of the supreme ironies that the suffering that radical violence wishes to inflict on the West is in the name of a God who is immune to suffering and yet who will receive sacrifice on His behalf. Right-minded people must press this contradiction and ask how morally plausible it is to lay down one's life for God when God is forbidden to lay down His life for humanity. [...] Few of those Muslims who who denounce the methods of radical terror have been willing to reject the end for which it is being undertaken, which is the punitive drive to convert an infidel West. It gives the radicals little incentive to cease and desist.

Sanneh, Lamin. 2008. 'Foreword' in Jesus and the Cross, David Singh ed. Regnum. p viii.

I recommend this book of his for curious parties.

Anonymous Missionary: What it's like to be detained by the Egyptian police

2011-09-22T12:39:00.001-05:00

Loved this (old) account of one missionary who was detained by the Egyptian police. One section:

Ala ‘The Terminal’, some people had been kept in that room for days if not weeks. The Bangledeshi men had no money and had been there for four days without eating. I was treated like a long lost Uncle after I bought them all bean sandwiches for breakfast (as much as they could eat!). In the midst of all this – it was hard (although still possible) to dwell on my own misfortune for too long – and to tell the truth – feeding of inmates aside – I was very happy to see the comparatively kind manner with which the Egyptian police dealt with these people.

Read it all at SFM.

Bret Stephens @ WSJ: 'What comes after Europe?'

2011-09-22T01:02:00.000-05:00

Great short article here:

And there was, finally, the whopping fiction that Europe had its own "model," distinct and superior to the American one, that immunized it from broader international currents: globalization, Islamism, demography. Europeans love their holidays and thought they were entitled to a long holiday from history as well.

All this did wonders, for a while, to mask European failures and puff up European pride. But there is always a danger in substituting grandiosity for achievement, mistaking pronouncements for facts, or, more generally, believing in your own nonsense.

Read it all at the WSJ.

Palestine to request recognition as a nation state by the UN.

2011-09-16T14:23:00.001-05:00

Palestine to request recognition as a nation state by the UN.

Read it all at the IHT.

Abu Daoud says: this is a big deal. A really big deal. Palestine will not get full recognition because the USA will veto that at the Security Council level. But the General Assembly will certainly give Palestine non-member status, like the Vatican has. This means that technically Palestine will have international recognition to have its own currency, secure its own borders, issue passports, and so on--none of which it presently does.

The times they are a changin'...

Woodberry: 9/11 led to an increase in the number of missionaries to Muslims

2011-09-09T10:52:00.001-05:00

One of the positive effects of 9/11 was that it forced Christians to seriously consider Islam and how they should respond to its growing global presence and authority:

The most significant missions development since 9/11 has been the increased number of students who want to be missionaries to Muslims. The first class I taught on Islam after 9/11 had 100 more students than usual. This interest built on the emphasis of the "AD2000 and Beyond" and Lausanne movements on the "10/40 window," the section of the world that includes major non-Christian religions. Increases in student numbers were also the result of interest in Muslims raised by the 1979 Khomeini Revolution in Iran. Todd Johnson, an editor of the Atlas of Global Christianity, has calculated a 26 percent increase between 2005 and 2010 in the number of missionaries working in Muslim-majority countries.

From Dudley Woodberry's article at Christianity Today, read the whole thing HERE.

'The Old Math' by Carol Catt, a poem about 9/11

2011-09-09T10:38:00.000-05:00

The Old Math

Out of the East on stolen wings they came,
like raptors,
innocent of pity.
Self-righteous, single-minded,
they slit the air with hate keener than box cutters,
fell on unsuspecting prey,
on one,
then on its twin some minutes later.

They'd got it wrong,
of course -- the direct access into Paradise.
By another reckoning,
souls in their hundreds leapt up to God as one,
leaving a hole in the morning sky,
in a thousand thousand hearts.

By Carol M Catt
from Selected Poems

HT to VirtueOnline

Turkey to restore properties to Christian groups

2011-09-08T08:56:00.000-05:00

Wow, and the good news for the Christians of Turkey does not cease. I recently posted on some good news HERE, and now we read this:

The Turkish government made a historic U-turn in state policy this past weekend, issuing an official decree inviting Turkey’s Christian and Jewish communities to reclaim their long-confiscated religious properties. [...]

Within hours of the surprise announcement, the boards of Turkey’s minority religious foundations in Istanbul were scrambling to review the status of their confiscated immovable properties. They must apply within the next 12 months to the General Foundations Board to recover each individual property.

Their former holdings include schools, churches, cemeteries, stores, hospitals, orphanages, houses, apartment buildings and factories that were seized by the Turkish state and re-registered as public or foundation properties. A number were later sold to third parties.

Read it all at CompassDirect, and good for Turkey. If you want to know more about the growth of the Protestant Church in Turkey, the best article I know of is James Bultema's article in IJFM, which you can read here.

Zakaria Boutros: 'Islam is not just a religion, it's a state.'

2011-09-02T14:08:00.001-05:00

Islam is not just a religion; this is a misunderstanding in the West. You think that Islam is like Judaism or Buddhism, so we give Islam lots of opportunities to grow in the West. No, Islam is a State, and religion is a factor to establish this state. It is a Kingdom, the Kingdom of Islam. Non-Muslims in their country are invaders. The invaders brought missionaries with them.

From Bob Blincoe's interview with Father (Abouna) Zakaria Boutros (or Botros), my favorite Coptic priest out there :-)This is from the third post on Blincoe's blog containing his interview.

I have written about Fr Boutros HERE and HERE, if you care to learn more about this impressive man. The second link there is one of the most commented-on posts I've ever have, if I'm not mistaken.Also, I develop a similar concept to what Fr Boutros said HERE: Islam, Religion Plus.

Pray for facility in travel for me and my family, please.--AD

Nulla Celebrior and the Crusades

2011-08-29T17:54:00.003-05:00

Kudos to T L Winslow who found this obscure papal document (which you can read HERE). This is the document whereby the Bishop of Rome (aka the Pope, aka the Greatest Bridge-builder) announced that the Patriarch of Jerusalem was to be residential, that is, the Patriarchate was no longer simply an honorary title but a real bishopric where the Patriarch had to live in what was then the diseased cesspool that was Jerusalem. A key reason for this decision was that the Protestants had established a bishopric there a few years earlier when they sent Rabbi-Bishop Michael Solomon Alexander there.

So here is what the pope said about the Crusades, just to show you that back then the West did not hate its own history:

The eyes of Christians are focused on Palestine, particularly on the Holy Sepulcher. When the city fell into the hands of the barbarians, European princes stood up to fight for it in harsh and repeated wars so as to liberate it and to rid the faithful from the enormous difficulties and extreme injustice they were suffering. We have stated all these facts to indicate that it was only fair that the Christian people treat Jerusalem with reverence whether in the old ages or at the present age.

PS: SPecial thanks to Fr Hanna Kildani for posting that document.

Good news for Christians in Turkey

2011-08-25T16:14:00.002-05:00

Turkish leaders smooth way for Christians

TURKEY The recently reelected Muslim prime minister of Turkey is making the country more comfortable for its Christian minority. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has granted Turkish citizenship to a number of young Eastern Orthodox bishops around the world. This makes the bishops eligible for leadership in the Patriarchate of Constantinople, currently run by 71-year-old Patriarch Bartholomew and an aging cohort. Erdogan's government has also allowed Christians to reclaim land they had lost illegally, restored old churches, and criticized ultranationalists responsible for recent violence against Christians.

From Christianity Today.

Trivia: the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem

2011-08-24T21:25:00.002-05:00

What was the name of the papal bull whereby the residential Latin patriarchate was re-established in the city of Jerusalem?

What pope issued it?

In what year was it issued?

What development in Protestant missions occasioned this event?

Answers will be posted in the comment section once I have some guesses. If anyone can actually find the text to the papal bull online (in any language), they will earn my eternal gratitude! Heaven knows I have looked...

--AD

Christian ex-Muslim to be executed in Iran

2011-08-18T16:07:00.003-05:00

Iran’s Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that Yosef Nadarkhani, a 32 year-old Iranian evangelical pastor, must reject his Christian faith or be put to death. It’s the latest incident in the Islamist Republic’s continuous and increased assault on its small Christian population.

Nadarkhani was first arrested on the charge of apostasy (leaving Islam for another faith) in October 2009 and sentenced to death by hanging for his refusal to teach Islam to Christian children. While Nadarkhani hadn’t practiced any faith before he became a Christian at age 19, he was born to Muslim parents and thus considered to be a Muslim under Islamic law.

Coming to a European city near you soon! Read it all at Front Page.

'...Islam is violent'? What do you think?

2011-08-07T21:48:00.001-05:00

It is forbidden to criticize Islam because Islam is violent, intolerant and world-conquering. Islam demands submission, and the West, decultured, indoctrinated, terrified, deluded, de-Christianized and in moral limbo, submits… because it cannot conceive of fighting back and saving its own civilization. How can it save a civilization that it hates, that it never really knew, and that is a constant reminder of the qualitative differences that inevitably exist between people, nations, ethnic groups, religions and races?

From Brussels Journal. Strong words. What do you think.

Read it all here.

The new St Francis Magazine

2011-08-02T22:41:00.003-05:00

Well, the August 2011 SFM just came out. This is the one and only journal which explicitly deals with questions related to Christian witness in the Muslim (and especially Arab) world. While I enjoy other publications like IJFM and IBMR, I do think SFM is able to offer more for multiple reasons, but I won't go into that right now.

Anyway, have by now read most of the new issue. Here are my thoughts:

Basil Grafas, 'Year of the Lab Rat'. Well, Grafas doesn't pull any punches, his main point is that converts from Islam to Christianity are the most vocal opponents to what is often, incorrectly, called 'contextualization', ie, using Islamic forms and Islamic identity while proclaiming to be Christ-centered. My experience with Arab and Iranian MBB's totally backs this up, but then again, the insider movements I read about are mysterious and no details are given about them, so I have no way to evaluate them.

JS William, 'Inside/Outside: getting to the center of the Muslim contextualization debate'. Well, this is the main article of this SFM, imho. The writer (using another lame pseudonym...come on, William as a surname? Good grief...) has read most of the material about 'contextualization' in IJFM, SFM, and Evangelical Missions Quarterly (EMQ). But he has a huge chink in his armor. What is it? He doesn't know where the word contextualization comes from, and appears to be unaware that how his sources are using the word is incorrect. Ouch. Well, evangelicals have always been really good at not knowing history (hint: if you have not read Shoki Coe, don't even try to write about the topic). Still, the best article in this issue.

Duane Alexander Miller, 'Book Review: Charles Thorley Bridgeman, The Episcopal Church and the Middle East (New York: Morehouse-Gorham, 1958)'. A brief book review on an obscure book. But still, as an Anglican I am glad to see anything on the topic of the history of Anglicanism in the Middle East.

Download the whole issue here if you like.

'Yemen on the Brink of Hell' in the IHT

2011-07-27T12:06:00.003-05:00

Please read this recent, insightful article and pray for Yemen:

+For foreign missionaries to be fruitful in the midst of a tough situation.
+For the Muslim-background brothers and sisters there to find a way to stay in their country and not leave for the West.
+For political stability and genuine freedom.

Politics and mission to Muslims

2011-07-27T11:41:00.003-05:00

Great quote from an article on the present-day reality regarding mission to Muslims:

The mere fact of one's citizenship affects the reception of one's message. A Western Christian worker in the twenty-first century cannot assume that he or she is bringing the message of the Gospel as Paul did, for Paul was a Roman citizen, traversing the provinces of an empire is which his language, his ethnicity, and even his views were given a fair and legal hearing (e.g., as in Acts 22). He was free to travel and speak as he saw fit. The situation is different today for Western missionaries.

from David Grafton's article in IBMR 31:3, 'The Legacy of Ion Keith-Falconer'

Bruce Forhnen on T.S. Eliot, culture, and secularization

2011-07-16T15:50:00.001-05:00

Eliot’s salient point does not concern the process of secularization; it concerns the definition of culture. For, in Eliot’s view, culture is not and cannot be separated from religion. In the West, culture is part and parcel of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Ironically, our culture’s problem of secularization arises from one of its own defining characteristics: the higher law tradition. The separation of law—and those who would interpret it—from the king, is the source of liberty. That separation has its roots in a religious tradition; the Jewish tradition, in which kings, even when they existed, were viewed as men rather than gods, as servants rather than masters of the laws. Unlike their Gentile neighbors, the Jewish people held their rulers to a law higher than their own will; a law handed down by God and applied equally to all.

From the essay, TS Eliot and the Necessity of Christian Culture, by Bruce Frohnen.

T.S. Eliot and the danger of democracy

2011-07-15T13:45:00.004-05:00

G. K. Chesterton defined tradition as "democracy extended through time," and for Eliot, tradition offered the advantages of democracy -- diverse viewpoints and a protection against tyranny -- nestled in the cocoon of time. Apart from tradition, democracy could too easily degenerate into hysteria. Eliot saw this as a particular danger in industrial society, which creates "people detached from tradition, alienated from religion, and susceptible to mass suggestion: in other words a mob. And a mob will be no less a mob if it is well fed, well clothed, well housed, and well disciplined" (Idea, p. 21) To guard against these moblike tendencies, Eliot lent his support to a class system.

Philip Yancey writing on Eliot. Read it all here.

And this is what the West wants for the Arab world? Say it ain't so...

England: 'Islamic extremists want to establish independent states with sharia law'

2011-07-13T15:11:00.002-05:00

From the UK's Daily Mail:

Under the heading 'Muslims should set up Islamic emirates in the UK', MAC [Muslims Against the Crusades] says: 'We suggest it is time that areas with large Muslim populations declare an emirate delineating that Muslims trying to live within this area are trying to live by the sharia as much as possible with their own courts and community watch and schools and even self sufficient trade.

Read it all HERE.

Augustine: "To Thee [O God] there is no such thing as evil..."

2011-07-08T10:53:00.002-05:00

Augustine on evil as lack of being:

To thee there is no such thing as evil, and even in thy whole creation taken as a whole, there is not; because there is nothing from beyond it that can burst in and destroy the order which thou hast appointed for it. But in the parts of creation, some things, because they do not harmonize with others, are considered evil. Yet those same things harmonize with others and are good, and in themselves are good. And all these things which do not harmonize with each other still harmonize with the inferior part of creation which we call the earth, having its own cloudy and windy sky of like nature with itself.

Confessions 7:13

What a fount of comfort and wisdom is this great African saint.

Augustine on the bankruptcy of Western academia

2011-07-07T21:26:00.002-05:00

Academics are hard to deal with for the most part. They tend to think their learning makes them superior to the common man. Well, Augustine disagrees (and he is smarter than they are, I know).

But those who strut in the high boots of what they deem to be superior knowledge will not hear Him who says, "Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls."

Confessions 7:9

Abu Daoud and the 'Arab Spring'

2011-07-03T09:20:00.001-05:00

My personal interpretation of why the Arab Spring is happening, and why it will fail:

Muslims want the benefits of Christendom without the Christianity of Christendmom.

Feel free to quote me on that.

--Abu Daoud

Al-Azhar's Grand Imam declares support for a constitutional, democratic state

2011-07-03T09:15:00.003-05:00

Al-Azhar's Grand Imam declares support for a constitutional, democratic state

From Ahram.org:

The document stressed its support for universal democratic rights such as free and democratic elections where the citizens as a whole constitute the sole and legitimate source of legislation.

The Grand Imam said that striving towards social justice needs to be a basic component in any future economic arrangement in Egypt. He stressed that affordable and decent education and health care services must become a right for all citizens.

The document was explicit in its support for freedom of expression in the arts and literary fields within the accepted boundaries of Islamic philosophy and moral guidelines. It highlighted the need for expanded scientific and popular campaigns to combat illiteracy and advance economic progress.

“We need a serious commitment to universal human rights, the rights of women and children,” El-Tayeb said.

In a clear reference to the status of religious minorities especially Copts, the Grand Imam stated that citizenship must be the sole criterion by which both rights and responsibilities are administered in society.

And now, why this is not good news for the Copts: Egypt is, by a large majority, Muslim. That Muslim majority will never allow Copts to have the same rights and the freedoms that Muslims have. So the Copts have citizenship, but they don't have numbers, and thus they will not have the same rights as Muslims.

Shifting ground in Australia

2011-06-28T12:56:00.002-05:00

Australia is undergoing a huge demographic shift. The numbers and trends in this article indicate an Australia that will be very different in 30 or 40 years. But it does not mean, necessarily, an Islamized Australia. Lots of the immigrants are from Vietnam and India. The former are not Muslims, the later may or may not be Muslims. What is clear is that Australia, in a few decades, will no longer be part of the West. That may not be such a bad thing, but meritocracy and rule of law will certainly suffer, as the country's Judeo-Christian foundations continue to erode.

Australia is undergoing its fastest population boom since the end of World War II, with a growth rate that peaked in late 2008 at double the world average – rather than where they are coming from.

“The angst is really about population growth above race or ethnicity,” says Ms. Betts. “Over the past couple of years Australians have really become pretty distressed about the rapid growth in immigration, particularly in the major cities. They see that infrastructure has not kept up. They see clogged highways, overcrowded hospitals, public transport under pressure, and rising housing costs and there is a lot of concern about that.”

From CS Monitor.

Ramon Llull: Muslims honor Muhammad more than Christians honor Jesus

2011-06-21T13:54:00.003-05:00

I recently went on a one-day retreat to spend some time in prayer and reflection, and during that time I read (most of) Ramon Llull's mystical reflections in his Book of the Lover and the Beloved, can be downloaded HERE. It is about 50 pages long and contains a short introductory essay from one of the foremost translators and scholars of Llull, E. Allison Peers.

Most of the meditations (366 of them) are on the nature of love and how the love of God is tied to grief and tribulation. From time to time he gets autobiographical and addresses missionary topic explicitly, in terms of how he has traveled far and wide to defend the honor of his beloved's name, and also his disappointment with the mediocrity of the average Christian of his medieval day.

But there is one verse that explicitly mentions Islam, and I wanted to share that with you:

The Lover (Llull) reproached Christian people, because in their letters they put not the name of his Beloved, Jesus Christ, to do Him the same honour that the Saracens do to the false prophet Mahomet, when they honour him by naming him before everything in their letters. v. 149

Presumably he is referring to a custom of writing the shahada at the beginning of any official communication, which does indeed name Muhammad.

You can find some other of my posts on Llull here, here, and here. A list of all the links is here.

Syrian bishop says government must crush the uprising

2011-06-15T20:49:00.001-05:00

HT to Reflecting by the Shore.

By John Pontifex

The Syrian government must resist the uprising – and has the people's backing in quelling forces seeking "destabilisation and Islamisation" – according to one of the country's most respected Catholic bishops.

In a strongly worded defence of President Bashar al-Assad's response to the protests and instability, Bishop Antoine Audo accused the media including the BBC and Al Jazeera of "unobjective" reporting, unfairly criticising the Syrian regime.

The Jesuit, who is the Chaldean Catholic Bishop of Aleppo, went on to warn that if Assad's government was overthrown, it would cause widespread instability, a breakdown of basic services such as electricity, increased poverty and a drive towards Islamisation.

Speaking from Aleppo in an interview with Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Audo said: "The fanatics speak about freedom and democracy for Syria but this is not their goal.

"They want to divide the Arab countries, control them, seize petrol and sell arms. They seek destabilisation and Islamisation."

"Syria must resist – will resist. 80 percent of the people are behind the government, as are all the Christians." [...]

Read the rest of it here.

Patron Saint of Muslim converts to Christianity?

2011-06-07T17:10:00.004-05:00

Ok, ok, so a lot of you don't believe in patron saints. The idea behind a patron saint is that certain saints have such an affection for certain kinds of people or people in certain situations that they intercede for the before God. If this is indeed the case, then Joseph, patron of travelers, has been interceding for me and my family for years. Also Francis Xavier, patron of missionaries. Also, Aquinas, who is a patron of scholars has been interceding for me. Lots of intercession there! Also, our city in the Middle East has a patron, and presumably that patron prays for us as residents of said city.

Which got me thinking--is there a patron for Muslims who convert to Christianity? I figured there was not, but that Bl Ramon Llull would make a fine patron, should he be recognized as a full-fledged saint some day (which he should).

But alas, it appears that there is a contender for Muslim converts to Christianity: St Casilda of Toledo (died c. 1050).

Augustine: ...in love with love

2011-06-04T12:12:00.000-05:00

I was looking for something to love, for I was in love with loving, and I hated security and a smooth way, free from snares.

-Augustine, Confessions 3:1.

Kenneth Cragg on Mission to Muslims

2011-06-03T12:16:00.002-05:00

The question about mission can never be 'whether': it can only be 'how.'

2000. ‘Being Made Disciples—the Middle East’ in The Church Mission Society and World Christianity, 1799-1999. Kevin Ward and Brian Stanley eds. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. Pp 120-143.

Nikides and the Bible and the Qur'an

2011-05-28T10:48:00.002-05:00

I really enjoyed reading Bill Nikides' recent, and very critical, evaluation of the popular book by Mark Siljander, A Deadly Misunderstanding: A Congressman's Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide.

I have not read Siljander's book, but I have read material by Nikides in the past and find him to be a competent and fair scholar. One quote from his article that I really liked follows:

The Qur’an is often unfathomable to Christian readers, just as the opposite is true, because it has no narrative, redemptive story organizing the text. With the exception of its first sura, it is simply organized from longest to shortest suras. It lacks the kind of logical flow we find in the Bible. This makes it difficult for Christian readers to understand the Qur’an, but it also makes it difficult for Muslim readers to adjust to the Bible’s underlying structure and logic.

Nikides' review of Siljander's book can be found HERE, in the April issue fo St Francis Magazine.

Easter in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 1697

2011-05-11T12:27:00.004-05:00

Thanks be to God for books.google! What a treasure trove of information that is :-)

My never-ending research into the history of Christianity in the Middle East brought me to this book, which was footnoted in a book by Kenneth Cragg, if I recall).

This is the account of one English pilgrim, Henry Maundrell, visiting Jerusalem in 1697 for Easter.

Free Grace Theology?

2011-05-04T09:11:00.001-05:00

Someone recently asked me about resources on Free Grace Theology. I don't know much about it. Does anyone have any links for good articles or websites or blogs on the topic?

Please do post your link in the comment section.

--Abu Daoud

Power of prayer and the Muslim world

2011-05-01T09:05:00.001-05:00

An old lady opened her atlas and began praying for a city not far from Tehran. Years later, an Iranian came to her church. After the service, she dashed over to him. “Where are you from in Iran?” she asked.

He replied, “You won’t have heard of it; it is an insignificant city,” but shared the name of the town.

“I’ve been praying for this city for thirty-four years!” she blurted out through tears.

“Thirty-four years?” the Iranian brother asked incredulously. “I got saved thirty-four years ago and now lead four hundred believers in the city.”

Read it all at LWP.

Part XXIII: The myth of Islamic religious tolerance through the ages

2011-04-25T09:12:00.007-05:00

Part XXIII: The myth of Islamic religious tolerance through the ages
by Abu Daoud

A reader of the blog asked this good question:

Abu Daoud,

I've heard various Western historians say that Islam has historically been more tolerant than Christianity. They point out the treatment of non-Christians, particularly the Jews, in Europe and compare that with the treatment of Christians in the Middle East. It is true that even after the Arab conquests, there was a substantial Christian population in the Middle East for many centuries. The Muslim overlords needed the jizya, so Christians were tolerated. I believe it was only after the Crusades and Mongol conquests, when Christians sided with the Mongols, life for Christians got tougher. Now, of course, with the rise in Muslim fundamentalism things have got a lot tougher.

What do you say? Has Islam been historically tolerant, more tolerant than Christianity? Or has Christians always had it tough since the days Muhammad blazed on the scene?

Here is my answer: Islam does, in general, tolerate religious groups like Jews and Christians, but in such a way that Christians and Jews (called dhimmis) have curtailed religious, political, and economic freedom. They are doomed to a long slow decline. For instance, they cannot in general build new churches, convents, or synagogues, and can only repair existing ones with government permission. Their women can be married off to Muslims (or enslaved) in which case all the children will be Muslims, but they themselves cannot take Muslim wives (who would then produce Christian children, as per the father's religion). Dhimmis must pay something called the jizya or the poll tax, which fluctuated throughout Islamic history, it could be a crushing burden or something rather light. Once a Christian converted to Islam they were no longer obliged to pay that tax. Certain positions in government and military were, at times, limited to Muslims only, which provided another incentive for dhimmis to convert to Islam.

Outbreaks of anti-Christian violence likewise occur to this day. But the Christians cannot really do anything about it, can they? If they defend themselves then they are guilty of fighting against Muslims, and all will be punished. The Islamic government will sweep it under the rug and rarely are those responsible punished. The violence occurs. It is ignored by the government. Christians have no choice but to accept the injustice. If they call for justice they will be punished. It is a long, slow strategy of elimination. It has worked well over the centuries, leading to massive emigration of Christians and Jews from Muslim lands.

In other words, Islamic countries have the inhumane system of dhimmitude which is the Islamic equivalence of 'tolerance'. There never has been, and never will be, in an Islamic country genuine religious freedom. The key test in this area is simple: can a Muslim convert to Christianity (or some other religion) without being persecuted or resisted by the government? There are a very few Islamic countries where a person can indeed legally convert (Turkey is the only one I can think of, and maybe Lebanon?). It is legal in Turkey because Ataturk felt Islam was outdated and antiquated, in Lebanon, if indeed it still legal, because of the historical predominance of Maronites.) As the Prohet said, "man baddala diinahu, fa'aqtaluuhu"--Whosoever changes religion, slay him.

Regarding Muslims in Christian countries, they enjoy genuine religious freedom, something Christians in Muslim lands never have and never will experience because religious freedom and Islam are, in esse, incompatible. Historically, we don't have examples of large numbers of Muslims in Christian countries until recently. The expulsion of the Moors from Spain was more political than religious. Many of the Moors (Muslims) were explicitly treasonous and sought to overthrow the current political order, Europeans are glad to let such people remain in Europe nowadays, but in previous days Europeans had a bit more common sense and realized that you can't have a substantial population in your country that wants to overthrow the government. Europeans then realized what they seem incapable of understanding now: that Islam is not a 'religion', it is rather an imperial political movement sanctioned by theological myth.

Regarding the Jews in the lands of Christendom, there is a mixed bag. Certainly there were times when the Jews of Islamdom were better off than the Jews of Christendom. That was not always the case, and Christendom never totally purged itself of Jews, which is indeed what dar al islam today has done. So when we are talking about getting Jews our of your lands, at least as it stands today, Muslims have been more successful than Christians, even taking into account the Holocaust, which is viewed favorably by many Muslims today.

Hope that answers your question. When people toss out these slogans it is worthwhile to do some good historical research, something most Muslims will not do, as it inevitably leads to the conclusion that the Qur'an is wrong and Muslims are by no means 'the best of all people'. It is also sad that some contemporary authors (non-Muslims) perpetuate these myths (Armstrong? Menocal?), but it is very PC to do so, and leads to grants, published articles, and cushy positions at Oxford. And in Western academia today, these things are much more important than trivial things like truth.

Horatio Southgate of Constantinople--accused of being an anglo-catholic!

2011-04-23T20:57:00.007-05:00

One of the interesting events of Southgate's life was a rather intense dispute he had with some Congregationalist and Presby missionasries from the ABCFM, which is the grand-daddy of all American mission boards.

Southgate was sent out by the Episcopal Mission Board in the 1840's, and eventually got into deep trouble because he read some sensitive material written by an ABCFM missionary to an Armenian Christian. It was about how a division in the Armenian Catholic Church (non-Chalcedonian Orthodox, for all you church history nerds out there) would be desirable.

Obviously, this caused a big stir. In a very obscure article which I wanted to bring to light in this post, a detailed description of the entire ordeal is giving. The article on the whole is very critical of Southgate. He did make a big mistake reading that material to an Armenian Christian in the Ottoman Empire, I suspect, but in the end the article's author finds fault with him for being high church Episcopalian.

Interesting article, if a bit long-winded. No author is given.

Tyler, Edward R, et al, eds. 'Bishop Southgate and Episcopal Missions' 1845. The New Englander and Yale Review. Vol 3:2, Pp 244-272.

What was the first Protestant family to permanently live in Jerusalem?

2011-04-21T22:56:00.007-05:00

What was the first Protestant family to permanently live in Jerusalem?

John (or Hans) Nicolayson. Originally a Lutheran employed by the venerable Church Missionary Society (CMS), was later ordained by the Anglicans and was the driving force behind the strenuous effort (the Arabic word jihad comes to mind!) it took to get the Ottomans to allow for the construction of what is now Christ Church.

The original CMS effort was actually directed at Jews, at least there in Jerusalem.

More details can be found here.

p 494.

Muhammad and the Jews of Medina (Yathrib)

2011-04-18T20:32:00.002-05:00

Muhammad before his move from Mecca to Medina (the beginning of the Islamic calendar) expected the Jews of Medina to accept him as a prophet, but, of course, they did not. Whereupon he launched a series of efforts (utimately successful) to the three Jewish tribes of the oasis killed, enslaved, or exiled. Here is a good hadith giving us a picture of the tense relation:

"It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira who said: We were (sitting) in the mosque when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) came to us and said: (Let us) go to the Jews. We went out with him until we came to them. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) stood up and called out to them (saying): O ye assembly of Jews, accept Islam (and) you will be safe. They said: Abu'l-Qasim, you have communicated (God's Message to us). The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: I want this (i.e. you should admit that God's Message has been communicated to you), accept Islam and you would be safe. They said: Abu'l-Qasim, you have communicated (Allah's Message). The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: I want this ... He said to them (the same words) the third time (and on getting the same reply) he added: You should know that the earth belongs to Allah and His Apostle, and I wish that I should expel you from this land. Those of you who have any property with them should sell it, otherwise they should know that the earth belongs to Allah and His Apostle (and they may have to go away leaving everything behind)".

Sahih Muslim vol 3, chapter DCCXXIII, verse 4363.

A warm welcome to readers of From the Pew

2011-04-18T20:21:00.002-05:00

Thank you Steve for your kind and encouraging words, and pointing some of your readers to my blog.

I recommend that new readers start by checking out some of my series on Islam, which you can see all in a row to the right hand side in a menu.

Please do let me know if you have any questions.

Salam!

Abu Daoud

Translations of the Qur'an and Islamic Apologetics

2011-04-18T08:59:00.000-05:00

Another ploy employed by these people is to blame the translators of the Koran, Hadiths and Sunnah. Even the eminent translator like A. Yusuf Ali is not considered as authentic translator. These bigots will never say which one is the authentic English version of the Koran, Hadiths, Sunnah, etc. They will simply say that one must be very good in Arabic to interpret Koran. This is akin to saying that one must be very good in Aramaic and Hebrew languages to understand the Bible and the Talmud. Or that you must be very good in Greek, Latin and Dutch languages to understand Aristotle, Roman laws, Copernicus' 'laws of heavenly bodies,' etc. These are absolutely illogical ideas. Strangely though, you will notice that these bigots will use the English translation of the Koran when it suits their purposes.

From Abul Kasem, an ex-Muslim (and not a convert to Christianity, incidentally).

I think he has really hit the nail on the head here with this critique of how some Muslims defend Islam. I have heard so many times, "Oh the Qur'an really cannot be translated...you have to read it in Arabic." And then you say, "Ok, fine, let's read it in Arabic--I can do that." And then you run into one of two responses. One, well, your a foreigner, so you can't really understand the classical Arabic of the Qur'an! Or, well, I don't know Arabic, so how can I trust you that you are translating it correctly! Ha! The whole thing is either sad or funny, depending on how you look at it. --AD

Amazing resource on Anglican/Episcopal Mission in the Middle East

2011-04-16T11:22:00.001-05:00

Hats off to anglicanhistory.org. They have a whole section of documents related to Anglican-Episcopal missions to the Middle East.

Very cool...

American Evangelicalism is Gnostic?

2011-04-13T09:37:00.002-05:00

I was re-reading an old article of mine from my three-part Mission and Sacrament series, which was published over at St Francis Magazine. Here is one paragraph about the importance of sacrament, and how sacramentality helps us resist Gnostic temptations inherent in American Christianity:

Without a robust sense ofmeaningful ritual, ritual that changes people and touches the deepest aspects of our beings and bodies inscribing the Gospel of Hope on our very flesh and blood, then we have half a Gospel: we have a one-sided coin, we have a message that so easily tends towards fads and seeking after the next, big thing (gnosis) which will finally bring us up “to the next level” (profoundly Gnostic language).

Page 2. If you have not read it before, do feel free to check it out HERE.

Islam: A mono-lingual religious empire

2011-04-10T14:12:00.001-05:00

At the police registries where Moroccans go to officially designate their childrens' names, non-Arab names like Jurgurtha and Messina -- the names of ancient Berber kings -- are blacklisted. Only Arabic names like Hassan and Ahmed are allowed.

"To Berber militants, this is a case of trying to completely eradicate any Berber heritage," Jalali Saib, a leading activist who teaches at Rabat University, told the BBC earlier this year.

The first language of most Moroccans is some form of Berber, generally called Tamazight, though there are a number of variants. But the constitution recognizes only Arabic as the official language.

Check it all out here.

Horatio Southgate, Episcopal missionary to the Ottoman Empire

2011-04-07T21:14:00.004-05:00

The Church of England sent out many a missionary to the Muslim world over the years, but less known (and less active) is the Episcopal Church in the USA. Horatio Southgate was one such missionary, he did two tours in what was then the Ottoman Empire. At one point, he got in trouble with some of his fellow missionaries, who wrote back to the USA about him, and he had to write a letter in his defense. You can read it here.

Note here one of the issues of complaint, and his defense of himself:

Never so much as once did I receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion from the [non-Episcopal] missionaries at Constantinople; never so much as once take any part with them in the administration of it. They may, perhaps, refer to a single instance in which I did receive it, from other Congregational missionaries, in another place. If so, why do they speak of sitting down "with us," "receiving from our hands," and "taking part with us? Those who write are the missionaries at Constantinople, and they say expressly, in two different places in their pamphlet, (pp. 5 and 30,) that they speak throughout only of what concerns themselves and their station. But again, they speak of this intercommunion as if it had been a habit with me; whereas I never but once partook of the Communion in connection with Congregational missionaries in Turkey[...]

New issue of St Francis Magazine

2011-04-05T23:28:00.004-05:00

Well, issue two of volume seven of St Francis Magazine has now come out. I'm not surprised it took a while longer than usual, given the tumult in the Middle East where several of the editors are. But that having been said, I'm really excited about several of the articles. Here they are, and let me share why I think they are worth your scrutiny. (Though let me admit that I have not yet read all of these, though I have read some of them.)

John Damascene in context: An Examination of “The Heresy of the Ishmaelites” with special consideration given to the Religious, Political, and Social Contexts during the Seventh and Eighth Century Arab Conquests, by D. Bryan Rhodes

I'm a big fan of church history, as long-time readers will know. I am looking forward to detailed analysis of the first documented commentary of a Christian on Islam.

What is the Qur’an? A Moroccan intellectual’s critique of the Qur’an’s ethical teachings, by Bassam M. Madany

Madany is a great source for translating and interpreting Arabic-language documents. Also, he's been doing ministry for longer than I've been alive.

‘Your swords do not concern me at all’: The liberation theology of Islamic Christianity, by Duane Alexander Miller

I love the idea of combining liberation theology and ex-Muslim Christians doing theology!

Enjoy the reading! And let me know what you think about the various articles.

--Abu Daoud

Annual 'Leave Islam Day'? Proposed by European politician

2011-03-27T17:57:00.003-05:00

Here is part of his address:

Another thing which we should do is support Muslims who want to leave Islam. An International Women's Day is useless in the Arab world if there is no International Leave Islam Day. I propose the introduction of such a day in which we can honor the courageous men and women who want to leave Islam. Perhaps we can pick a symbolic date for such a day and establish an annual prize for an individual who has turned his back on Islam or an organization which helps people to liberate themselves from Islam. It is very easy to become a Muslim. All one has to do is to pronounce the Shahada, the Islamic creed, which says - I quote "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah." It should be equally easy to leave Islam by pronouncing a counter-Shahada, which says "I leave Islam and join humankind."

Well, what do you think? Opinions? I suppose a key question is this: why do (some) Europeans feel like this?

The whole thing is here.

Islam, the natural religion of humanity?

2011-03-14T18:48:00.004-05:00

From a fine article 'Luther, Lutheranism, and the Challenge of Islam' by Adam Francisco in Concordia Theological Quarterly (Vol 71, 2007):

This motif that Islam is the aboriginal religion of humanity and history is prominent in the Quran. All the prophets beginning with Adam through Moses unto Jesus, Muslims allege, proclaimed essentially the same message that Muhammad preached. "God sent down to you (step by step), in truth, the Quran, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Torah (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the criterion [the Quran]" (3:3, 9:111). Despite the obvious contradictions, however, Muhammad did not start a new religion, the Quran claims. Instead, he revived the religion of Moses and Jesus, messages had been corrupted (tahrif) by Jews and Christians who purposely altered the biblical text and skewed the message of Moses and esus. Thus, God sent Muhammad to reiterate what truth was left in the Judeo-Christian tradition and to secure the full revelation of God once and for all in the Quran.

In other words, Islam has a tidy way of explaining the historical fact of Christianity while not really allowing for it to have a seat at the table in terms of influencing the future development of Islam.

What do you think?

Personal Relationship with Jesus Christ?

2011-03-08T21:27:00.002-06:00

To be honest, that phrase makes very little sense to the average Muslim in the Arab world, which is what I'm used to. Of course, I do get back to the West from time and time and I think it makes very little sense to the average non-evangelical there too. The emphasis on 'personal' means that thi form of Christianity has caved into Western-Cartesian concepts of the self. Very unhealthy.

Here is a bit from the post in question:

But I’m not sure that using the phrase “personal relationship with Jesus” in our witnessing efforts helps us gauge a person’s spiritual life like it used to. Times are changing. I have met and talked with people who assure me that they have a “personal relationship with Jesus,” even though their lives show no evidence of Christ’s indwelling presence. Others tell me they know Jesus personally but have no need for the local church. A few are all about “personal relationships” with key religious figures.

Read it all here, and chime in.

Mission Omission

2011-03-07T16:43:00.002-06:00

Tad de Bordenave has started a new blog, Mission Omission. Have known him for years, and he's a great guy and knows his stuff. Do check it out, add it to your blogroll, and your Google Reader, or whatever you use these days.

Mission Omission

Yemeni Jewish Chant

2011-03-04T16:56:00.000-06:00

Amazing...has Arabic and Hebrew. And Aramaic...

New Map of Europe?

2011-02-26T23:52:00.003-06:00

On the baptism of Muslims

2011-02-26T16:11:00.005-06:00

As many of you know, I really enjoy reading St Francis Magazine. Yes, yes, I have published articles there in numerous occasions, but that is not the only reason why I like it.

I was looking over some older articles and I ran across this one by one Azar Ajaj, a Palestinian (ethnicity) Israeli (citizenship) evangelical (spirituality). I thought his article on the topic of Muslims seeking baptism was really good.

I especially enjoyed his explanation of how people from an Arab-Islamic background understand what they are asking for:

I want to pause for a moment here, and try to explore the meaning of baptism for a person coming specifically from Islam. For many people in the west, Islam is seen only as a religion. But as a person who has lived among Muslims for more than forty years, I can say that Islam is much more than that; it is described as ‘the best nation’, or khayra ummah in Arabic (Quran 3:110). Muslims consider themselves as a nation, a family with similar traditions and points of view . Ummah is related to the word umm in Arabic, which simply means mother. For a person to leave Islam is to leave his ‘mother’, ‘family’, nation. Or maybe it is better to say (as they [un-converted Muslims] understand it) to betray them.

How is this related to our case? Well, Islam is a religion that emphasizes the practice of rituals [...]

Don't you want to read more? Check out his entire article here: Baptism and the Muslim Convert to Christianity by Azar Ajaj.

Feb 21, 2011: More reflections on the Middle East

2011-02-21T22:15:00.003-06:00

The developments in Egypt, and now Libya are really unprecedented. There was no way for anyone to expect this.

Well, let me qualify that. It has been known for some time that there was a demographic time bomb in many of these countries. You have several factors combining to create instability and revolution: a large population of young males who are largely a) unemployed, and b) unmarried. This always leads to instability, and now we have seen that boil to the surface, though, like I said, no one saw it coming right now and in this form.

In some ways, the self-immolation of the young Tunisian fruit-vender is what occasioned this whole series of revolutions. It is one of those small, obscure acts that parlayed itself into something much larger, like the assassination of a certain arch-duke.

But the real question is what does the future hold? A couple of points follow.

1) The Western press often stresses that the movements in Egypt and Tunisia had a lot of 'modern' or 'secular' people in them. To which I respond, who cares? What matters is coordination and organization. The Muslim Brotherhood has that. In Egypt, no one else does.

2) Islam and democracy are in esse incompatible. Islam is devoted to the imitation of the Prophet, who was totalitarian in his polity without any question. He consolidated all political, military, juridical, and religious authority into his own hands. Democracy, on the other hand, is based on a Judeo-Christian anthropology, and it seeks to spread power as widely as possible because it understands that humans in their sinfulness cannot be trusted with the totality of power.

3) Turkey. Everyone points to Turkey and says, see Islam and democracy can work! Sorry, but that is not quite right. The inspiration for Turkey's democracy was nationalism, not Islam. In fact, as Turkey has grown more Islamic in its polity, it is questionable to what extent democracy there can survive. Also, Turkey has undergone reforms in order to enter the EU. Tunisia and Egypt and Libya don't have that carrot dangling in front of them.

4) The foundational problems are not with regimes, but demographics, agriculture, and Islam. Too many children (especially in Egypt), too little arable land, and an Islamic society which, for whatever reason, is often tribalistic and nepotistic. A new regime, even a secular, democratic one, will not solve these problems.

5) Freedom. Ultimately, if people want freedom, they will have to find some other religion. Pure and simple. Not very PC. But there you have it.

So what does this all lead to? A struggle between nationalist kleptocratic militaries and Islamists. Not very much fun.

But let us pray. As Martin Luther said, 'Even the devil is God's devil.'

Abu Daoud

On the unrest in countries like Egypt, Yemen, and Jordan

2011-01-28T21:10:00.003-06:00

by Abu Daoud

Well, what can I say?

I have been surprised by the outbreak in massive riots in Egypt, and lessed such events in Yemen and Jordan. What really seemed like the moment when 'the levee's gonna break' was when folks in Egypt started calling for the resignation of Mubaarak.

You see, you can have riots, even violent, destructive ones, in the Middle East, for certain causes, like Islamic stuff (of course), and anti-American and anti-Israel stuff (of course), and even maybe for rather pragmatic things like the price of bread or sugar of tomatos. You can even call for new elections or a new parliament or a new group of ministers (the new boss...same as the old boss), a la Jordan. But you can't call for the top guy to be replaced, or to leave, or to step down, or anything. In fact, you should not even mention him, unless you are saying, hey this guy needs to save us from these corrupt jerks. Then it's ok.

Well, that's not what is happening in Egypt. The police are out of play, widely despised by people in general. Now the military has been called in, and what of that? Even if one or two main commanders tell their troops, you know, we're here to defend Egypt from Israel and Libya and fill-in-the-blank, so we're just not going to get invovled in this, either way....well, that will end up being decisive. If a couple of influential commanders do that, then a new regime in Egypt is not impossible.

But if the military by and large obey their orders (which seem illegitimate to me, but then again I'm American), then sooner or later, perhaps after much bloodshed, the iron will of the Mubaarak Dynasty will be enforced upon all.

The Rev Ghulam Masih Naaman, ex-Muslim, Kashmiri, Anglican priest

2011-01-27T11:52:00.002-06:00

Born in 1923 in Kashmir, he became a soldier, then a Christian, and then in 1960 an Anglican priest.

His story can be found here.

The Rev Sultan Muhammad Paul, Afghan, Anglican Priest, convert from Islam

2011-01-22T12:23:00.005-06:00

Sultan was born in Kabul in 1881, moved to India to study Islam, and became involved in polemics against other religions. During his hajj to Mecca he started to reflect on eternal salvation and wether or not Islam could actually provide it. He reflected on the hadiiths where Muhammad says that he cannot save anyone at all, even through his intercession. Then he found the verse in Matthew where Jesus issues the great invitation: 'Come to me all you heavy-laden, and I will give you rest....' He accepted.

In 1903 he requested baptism, and eventually received the sacrament of Holy Orders in the Anglican Church.

More can be read about him in Called from Islam to Christ by Fr. Jean-Marie Gaudeul. Or, if you are particularly resourceful in terms of finding books: Why I Became a Christian which he himself wrote (Gospel Literature Service, Bombay: 1978).

His entire testimony can be read HERE.

Question

2011-01-20T13:09:00.003-06:00

Question:

What was the name of the Anglican priest who was born in Afghanistan and was an ex-Muslim?

Will post the answer after a few people take guesses, or at least say, I don't know but I'd like to know.

Oscar Wilde's poem, 'On the Massacre of Christians in Bulgaria'

2011-01-20T12:06:00.001-06:00

HT to Jewel.

On the Massacre of Christians in Bulgaria
by Oscar Wilde

Christ, dost Thou live indeed? or are Thy bones
Still straitened in their rock-hewn sepulchre?
And was Thy rising only dreamed by Her
Whose love of Thee for all her sin atones?
For here the air is horrid with men's groans,
The priests who call upon Thy name are slain,
Dost Thou not hear the bitter wail of pain
From those whose children lie upon the stones?
Come down, O Son of God! incestuous gloom
Curtains the land, and through the starless night
Over Thy Cross, a crescent moon I see!
If Thou in very truth didst burst the tomb
Come down, O Son of Man! and show Thy might,
Lest Mahomet be crowned instead of Thee!

Jean Mohammed: Convert from Islam and Franciscan Monk

2011-01-18T22:42:00.001-06:00

Just learned about this guy today. Very interesting...

Read more here.

Mark Bradley on Christianity in Iran

2011-01-13T10:09:00.003-06:00

Bradley is one of the few people who has written on the current awakening happening in Iran. It is hard to get information related to it, and harder still to explain why it is happening in Iran, rather than in, say, Jordan or Syria, countries with great religious freedom (relatively speaking). Bradley proposes that the Shia-Sufi DNA of Iranian Islam is a key factor:

“The Shia faith instills the importance of a just Imam, who is willing to die for his people, yet still present to guide, and certainly determined to return to return in victory; and the philosophy of Sufism invites everyone to move beyond rigid religion, and embark on a journey where they deny themselves to experience the light. As disillusionment with the Islamic revolution has spread, so the appeal of a religion which shares so much with Shiism and Sufism has increased—especially when shed of its Western externals. Rather than being the enemy of Christianity in Iran, the dual religious identity of Iran might prove to be its best friend.” p. 22

Bradley, Mark. 2008. Iran and Christianity: historical identity and present relevance. London: Continuum.

If you are interested in the topic and want to read his ideas, that book I just quoted from is the more rigorous and detailed one, but it's hard to find and expensive. Rather, order his earlier and more basic (but much cheaper) Iran: Open Hearts in a Closed Country.

Unrest in Algeria

2011-01-08T16:24:00.001-06:00

Religious freedom as the path to peace

2010-12-31T13:57:00.000-06:00

Religious freedom expresses what is unique about the human person, for it allows us to direct our personal and social life to God, in whose light the identity, meaning and purpose of the person are fully understood. To deny or arbitrarily restrict this freedom is to foster a reductive vision of the human person; to eclipse the public role of religion is to create a society which is unjust, inasmuch as it fails to take account of the true nature of the human person; it is to stifle the growth of the authentic and lasting peace of the whole human family.

--Pope Benedict XVI

The UK: A bold leader in the Islamization of Europe

2010-12-29T15:56:00.003-06:00

Wow. Check out these numbers! Amazing.

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life estimates that there are 2,869,000 Muslims in Britain, an increase of 74 per cent on its previous figure of 1,647,000, which was based on the 2001 census. No demographic statistics are reliable in an era of open borders, but such an expansion is unprecedented.

Read the whole article here.

Damian Thompson, commenting on this, rightly asks about the future of women's rights in the UK. Also, we need to acknowledge that the future of gay rights is very dark. How many children do gay couples produce? How many children do liberal couples produce? Many fewer than Muslims do. Also, as countries like Pakistan and Yemen continue to disintegrate look for the numbers of asylum seekers to increase. And then there's always 'family reunion', which is ridiculous (both in the UK and the US). Anyway, demography and immigration make it certain: the future of Western Europe is Islamic.

Support Wikipedia

2010-12-17T13:49:00.000-06:00

Austrian MP sick of Turkish hypocrisy

2010-12-15T09:40:00.003-06:00

Wow, so at least some Europeans are aware of the reality.