A vision for liberal reform of Islam

Every now and again one runs across a writing by a Muslim who is really, sincerely wants to see a liberal, progressive Islam. I don't think that such a project will ever succeed on a large scale and over time. I don't think that such a 'reform' would be even remotely close to the ethos the founder of Islam.

But still, when one sees such a thinker it is interesting to point it out.

So here is a tidbit from Dr. Habib Fayad at the Lebanese University:

Renewing Islam means cleansing it from prejudices, falls, myths and changes that have affected it throughout the course of history, and apply it in a manner consistent with the spirit of the time and era. It also means going back to reading the religious texts with the reason, morality and spirituality of the Prophet, and not merely literally.

Read it all HERE.

Mark Steyn on the reprimitivization of the post WWII world

Mark Steyn is a provocative author and there is a great deal of panache in his style.

He recently wrote a post titled Living History which argues that the world after World War II is becoming more primitive and savage, not more enlightened and free. I find this thesis compelling.

Throughout the article he is debunking (and ridiculing) this Tweet from one Max Fisher:

People who think Christian sectarian militias are the solution to Iraq's problems could stand to read a history of the Lebanese civil war.

Here are a few sections that caught my interest:

A lot of things have gotten worse. If Beirut is no longer the Paris of the east, Paris is looking a lot like the Beirut of the west - with regular, violent, murderous sectarian attacks accepted as a feature of daily life. In such a world, we could all "stand to read" a little more history. But in Nigeria, when you're in the middle of history class, Boko Haram kick the door down, seize you and your fellow schoolgirls and sell you into sex slavery. Boko Haram "could stand to read" a little history, but their very name comes from a corruption of the word "book" - as in "books are forbidden", reading is forbidden, learning is forbidden, history is forbidden. 

Well, Nigeria... Wild and crazy country, right? Oh, I don't know. A half-century ago, it lived under English Common Law, more or less. In 1960 Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe, second Governor-General of an independent Nigeria, was the first Nigerian to be appointed to the Queen's Privy Council. It wasn't Surrey, but it wasn't savagery. 

Like Lebanon, Nigeria got worse, and it's getting worser. That's true of a lot of places. In the Middle East, once functioning states - whether dictatorial or reasonably benign - are imploding. In Yemen, the US has just abandoned its third embassy in the region. According to the President of Tunisia, one third of the population of Libya has fled to Tunisia. That's two million people. According to the UN, just shy of four million Syrians have fled to Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and beyond. In Iraq, Christians and other minorities are forming militias because they don't have anywhere to flee (Syria? Saudia Arabia?) and their menfolk are facing extermination and their women gang-rapes and slavery.

And he has more to add to that. Check out the whole article HERE.

Christians in the Middle East

Middle East Call to Prayer
How did the area of the world known as the birthplace of civilization and later Christianity become a place so hostile to the followers of Jesus? Explore some of the history of Christianity in the Middle East, the current decline in Christian population and the glimmers of hope that are visible if you know where to look. And as you study the scenario from a spiritual perspective, use the prayer ideas to guide you as you talk to God about the Middle East.

How the US attacking Syria could plunge the region into war

So 90% of the American people want NO military action in Syria, but President Obama, it seems, is intent on doing just this. This will be very bad for the whole region, though. Here is a likely scenario:

In fact, it is being reported that cruise missile strikes could begin "as early as Thursday".  The Obama administration is pledging that the strikes will be "limited", but what happens when the Syrians fight back?  What happens if they sink a U.S. naval vessel or they have agents start hitting targets inside the United States?  Then we would have a full-blown war on our hands.  And what happens if the Syrians decide to retaliate by hitting Israel?  If Syrian missiles start raining down on Tel Aviv, Israel will be extremely tempted to absolutely flatten Damascus, and they are more than capable of doing precisely that.  And of course Hezbollah and Iran are not likely to just sit idly by as their close ally Syria is battered into oblivion. 

We are looking at a scenario where the entire Middle East could be set aflame, and that might only be just the beginning.  Russia and China are sternly warning the U.S. government not to get involved in Syria, and by starting a war with Syria we will do an extraordinary amount of damage to our relationships with those two global superpowers. (From HERE)

Grim stuff. Instability is already spilling from Syria into Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. But that can be contained. This, however, would be a game changer, and certainly not in a good way. America needs to stay out of Syria. Totally and completely. Just send tents and food for women and children refugees (not men), and don't resettle ANY of them in North America or Europe. That is my advice.

Kathryn Kraft on converts from Islam and community

The most recent issue of St Francis Magazine (volume 6:6) just came out. You can browse the contents here. I am particularly interested in Kraft's article entitled 'Faith is live out in community: Questions of new community for Arab Muslims who have embraced a Christian faith'. You can DL the entire article HERE. And of course you can download the entire volume 6:6 HERE. I have been busy (extremely busy) with many other things, so I have nothing in this issue of SFM, alas.

Kraft makes some great points, based on real field work, and not just hearsay and anecdotes, which makes her research all the more valuable in my sight. For example:

As the number of converts in a region grows and the group also grows, a different set of challenges presents itself, and enthusiasm and commitment can decrease as people become more anonymous. There is often a subsequent loss of cohesiveness (Pitchford, Bader and Stark 2001:385-386). One man, who is one of the most experienced known converts in the city where he lives, has seen the number of converts grow from almost none to a group that is too large to keep together. He

sees that there is good in having different groups for different types of people, but also misses the cohesiveness that he felt when there were few converts [...]

Roman Catholic Church in Lebanon complains about people evangelizing Muslims

Thank God for the Catholic Church! Without their bringing this horrible reality to light Muslims might be converting to Christianity, which, as we all know, would be terrible.

In Lebanon, the Roman Catholic diocese and Muslim groups have accused the evangelical Christians of trying to convert Muslims. One bishop said Bonnie Penner Witherall, the missionary killed by a gunman [in 2002], combined preaching about Christianity with the distribution of toys and food to Muslim children.

From HERE.

Almanacs and Irony

The word 'almanac' is an Arabic word. But the first printed almanac in Arabic was put together by a bunch of American Presbyterians living in Beirut in 1867.

Ijtihad, malaise, Al Nahdah, the Maronites of Lebanon

The Arab World lacked the ability to revitalize itself until the
Renaissance (al-Nahdah) of the 19th century. The increasing role
of Europeans including their colonial rule in the Arab World and
the growing realization of Arab backwardness by many Arab in-
tellectuals, led to a desire for a renaissance. [...]

The thesis that the malaise of almost 1000 years in the Arab
World was related to the processes of Islamization, with its rule
against ijtihad, seems to be confirmed by the fact that the Renais-
sance was most vibrant in Lebanon where Christians formed a
majority.

Stringer, John. 'Christian Mission and Ecumenism' in Saint Francis Magazine, Vol 5:1, Feb. 2009. p 6.

France: it's the new Lebanon

Ya rrab! Philip Jenkins sure sounds Apocalyptic when he says stuff like this. And note that he speaks of a shrinking wealthy population and growing poor one. Um, Pakistanis in the UK? N. Africans in France? Turks in Germany? Sounds like most of Europe to me:

I have an image in my mind from Lebanon. I don't know how many of you remember some of the images of that war but some of them were so much from a science-fiction fantasy. The key battle in Beirut in 1976 was the battle of the Holiday Inn, and you have the battles of the hotels, when Shiite militias finally put enough cannon in the Ramada to take out the Holiday Inn. Sometimes I wonder if something like that might be a face of civil conflict in Europe. However, I would be most alarmed not where you necessarily have a growing population or a shrinking population, but where a growing poor population meets a shrinking rich population. That to me would seem to be a Lebanon in the making.

And we know how the Lebanese story is ending: the Christians lost.

Book Review: Spiritual Warfare in the Middle East

Just finished reading this and found this book review to be adequate:

Spiritual Warfare in the Middle East
by Glenn Patton
Brentwood Christian Press 1992

An interesting little book. However, one would expect the author, a Southern Baptist missionary in Lebanon and Jordan during the 70's, to actually know how to spell "Maronite" since it is, after all, the largest and oldest church in Lebanon--there is no such thing as the 'Marionite' church.

Also grating is his overarching emphasis on being Baptist, as opposed to simply evangelical or even Christian. He has not one positive thing to say about the historical Christian communities of Lebanon and Jordan who managed to stay Christian through centuries of brutal Islamic rule, and one senses that he does not see them any differently than the Shi'a and Sunni Muslim communities in those countries.

In one story though he almost seems apologetic about how his missionary agency (the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Conference) is so focused on Baptists only. He is invited to speak to a group of Christians and teach them, he is later told he must cease because they are not formally baptists.

That having been said there are several truly touching moments throughout the book, and it can not be doubted that his years of sacrifice and ministry demonstrate a true and deep Christian longing to see the Gospel (according to the Baptists) increase. The story about the exorcism of a young Jewess is precious, the testimonies about changed lives of both Muslims and nominal Christians are also encouraging. His call for missionaries to the Middle East must be heard.

Finally, the insights into the political and historical situations leading up to the Lebanese Civil War and the attempt of the Palestinians to overthrow the Jordanian monarchy were quite interesting to me, though politics is not his main concern.

In sum, it is a short read and if you happen across it, it will be worth your while to read it, though his treatment of non-Baptist Christians will be annoying to non-Fundamentalists.

[Abu Daoud says: for a better, though different, group of missions testimonies see Ten Muslims Meet Christ by William M. Miller.]

Syria and the Christians there

On the whole, Christians feel relatively safe in Syria, but far from being free and equal. Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim worries about the future of Christians in Lebanon and Syria because of the escalating waves of emigrations, yet he still is confident there will always be a Christian presence in this Holy Land country, finding it "inconceivable that Christians will live in all lands except that in which their Lord and Savior chose to live." He estimates a total population of 2.2 million Christians of which a million are Orthodox. The Syrian government, following its secular principles, refuses to ask citizens about their religious affiliation.

Atallah Mansour
Narrow Gate Churches p. 156, 7
Hope Publishing

Abu Daoud says: it is precisely because the government is run by the Ba'th party (which was founded by a Christian) that Christians feel safe. It is precisely because there is no Syrian democracy that the government is secular (well, more than others in the region). Democracy, as one Syrian Christian told me, would be a disaster for the Christians there.

The Maronite Church; gunbattles break out in Beirut

After massacres of Christians by Druze and Muslims under the Ottoman Empire, and then massive foreign pressure from Europe (back when they still actually liked Christians) Greater Lebanon was established as a special region to ensure the security of Christians (mostly Maronites). But as time has passed the Muslim population has grown and the Christian population has (relatively) shrunk. There was a bloody and lengthy civil war from 1975-90 between the Christians and the Sunnis.

Not it looks like war has started between the Sunnis and the Shias. My understanding is that the Christian community has supporters for both sides, though I don't see why anyone would support Nasrallah and Hizbullah, but this is a strange part of the world.

The Maronite Church is quite interesting in itself. In full communion with Rome, it is not a Uniate church. Rather it dates back to very early (5th C.?) and became cut off from the outside world as Christians moved to mountainous, protected regions to defend themselves from Muslims and Druze. When contact was reestablished with Roman Catholic clergy it was found that no schism had separated the two churches, but rather that they had simply lost touch with each other. (The graphic above should give you an idea of what I'm talking about.)

But here is the most recent bad news from CNN:

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Gunfire broke out in downtown Beirut on Thursday after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said recent government actions amount to "a declaration of open war."

There are reports of open street battles in at least one neighborhood. Video showed people throwing stones at each other, as Lebanese soldiers used tear gas to disperse the crowds.

The violence is limited to Beirut's Shiite and Sunni neighborhoods and has continued into the evening hours.

Shortly after Nasrallah's speech, CNN's Cal Perry reported from Sodeco Square in downtown Beirut during an intense gun battle.

"Just in the past few minutes ... things have gotten a lot worse," he said, taking cover with the Lebanese army. He said government forces have not reacted to the violence.

The Lebanese army, which is charged with trying to keep peace in the capital, is in a precarious position, Perry explained.

"When you're talking about this much gunfire, when you're talking about [rocket-propelled grenades] fire, it's absolutely ludicrous to think that the army will put themselves between these two factions," he said.

Video of the scene showed empty streets and shuttered stores. There were no reports of violence in Beirut's Christian neighborhoods. Witnesses and journalists described a long line of cars on the main road leading out of Beirut after the violence broke out.

In his televised speech, Nasrallah offered harsh words for the government, blaming it for declaring war by banning Hezbollah's telecommunications system.

"We believe the war has started, and we believe that we have the right to defend ourselves," the Hezbollah leader said. "We will cut the hand that will reach out to the weapons of the resistance, no matter if it comes from the inside or the outside." [...]

First Printing Press in the Middle East

Lebanese Maronites had maintained friendly relations with Rome and the rest of Europe since the Crusades. Maronite clerics went to Europe to study in Catholic institutions and a special Maronite school was established in Rome in the 16th century. In 1610 graduates of this school in Rome established the first printing press in the Middle East--at the Maronite monastery of Dair Quzhayya. Soon the region's first books were printed--religious and literary--helping to usher in the cultural revolution.

Atallah Mansour
The Narrow Gate Churches, p. 85
Pasadena: Hope Publishing, 2004

The first Muslim printing press? In Turkey in 1727, 121 years later.

Middle East Hemorrhaging Christians

From Christianity Today:

But we should be ... distressed about the decline story, especially that of Christianity in the Middle East. No one knows precisely how many of the Middle East's 293 million people are Christians, but nearly everyone acknowledges that Middle Eastern Christianity has been in steady decline for decades. In some local areas, officials record declines of 75 percent or more. Recent violence in the region is accelerating that decline. Some observers estimate that the region's population of 10 to 15 million Christians will continue to spiral downward during the next 50 years.

On paper, Egypt is the country with the greatest number of Christians—5.8 to 11 million, or 8 to 16 percent of Egypt's 75 million people. But despite their numbers, "Copts," as Egyptian Christians are known, have suffered from oppressive legal restrictions. Until very recently, permission to repair a church roof anywhere in Egypt could only be obtained from the president himself. Those few Muslims who wish to become Christians experience intense persecution. Many Christians in Egypt are seeking a new future in the West.

Until half a century ago, Lebanon was the only Middle Eastern country with a Christian majority. But because of immigration and higher birth rates among Muslims, Lebanon's Christian population has dwindled from around 58 percent at the outbreak of World War I in 1914, to an estimated 39 percent (1.4 million) today. So sensitive is the issue that the Lebanese government has not conducted an official census of religious affiliation since 1932. Lebanon's Christians, mostly Maronites (Eastern Rite Catholics), have been traumatized by the killings of Christian politicians and the work of the terrorist group Hezbollah, and have thus fled the country. ...

Abu Daoud says: Take it to the Lord in prayer. There are more Muslims converting than ever before, but it is not nearly enough to balance this Christian exodus from the MENA. Is God calling YOU to go to the Middle East or North Africa to support the Christian population and share the Gospel with Muslims? Ask yourself this question seriously. You are never too old or too young, never too educated or un-educated, too sick, too tired.

Maronite Patriarch on Lebanon

Lebanon is characterized, in this region of the world, by what can't be found in other countries, an atmosphere of freedom and humane warmth. This freedom does cloak it with charm that makes it lovable to Easterners and Westerners alike, if it were not for the frivolity of some of its children who want to monopolize it and mark it with a character of violence and individuality. Over and above, God has granted it with beauty of nature, moderate climate, rich history and culture which made its children be open up to the East and West. The Lebanese have spread over most countries in the world, this brought the poet Hafez Ibrahim to say about them: "They sought the springs in the world, and if it were found in the milky way there they would ride up to". In spite of that, the authorities here have been reluctant, since long, to register them as citizens having, like other citizens in the world, the right to participate in parliamentary elections and national life. Doing so is enriching the homeland and is a fortune for it.

From Here

Pray for Lebanon, it is the only Arab country where a person can legally convert from Islam to Christianity.

Christian Split in Lebanon Raises Specter of Civil War

From NYT, hat tip to Titus 1:9:

With the Islamist group Hezbollah having brought Lebanese politics to a standstill, the country’s once-dominant Christian community feels under siege and has begun re-establishing militias, training in the hills and stockpiling weapons.

Many Lebanese say another civil war — like the 15-year one that started in 1975 — is imminent and that the most dangerous flash points are within the divided Christian community.

Christian youth are signing up for militant factions in the greatest numbers since the end of the civil war, spray painting nationalist symbols on walls and tattooing them on their skin, and proclaiming their willingness to fight in a new civil war — in particular, against fellow Christians.

“When the war begins, I’ll be the first one in it,” said Fadil Abbas, 30, flexing his biceps in Shadow Tattoo as an artist etched a cross onto his shoulder. “I want everyone to know I am a Christian and I am ready to fight.”

The struggle is over who gets to be the next president, a post reserved for a Christian under Lebanon’s Constitution, and which must be filled by the end of November. But the larger question — one that is prompting rival Christian factions to threaten war — is whether Lebanese Christians must accept their minority status and get along with the Muslim majority (the choice of the popular Gen. Michel Aoun) or whether Christians should insist on special privileges no matter what their share of the population (the position of veteran civil war factions like the Phalange and the Lebanese Forces).