most definitely!
Absolutely! I'm truly surprised that more freepes have not participated in this discussion.
My Maronite Catholic pastor is from Lebanon and speaks 8 languages, including Arabic. He also reads Aramaic, Latin, Hebrew and Koine Greek. Earlier this year, he attended a seminar given at a Cathoic College on the topic of Shar'ia. He intentionally brought along another parishioner for support. After the 'convert' finished delivering her presentation to a large audience of Muslims, she asked if there were any questions. My pastor, fully dressed in his clericals, raised his hand. He asked her why the Muslim holy book denied him his right to practice his Catholic faith. She assured him that it did not. He stood there defiantly and read the Sura from the Koran. She blushed and suggested that he had misunderstood it. He assured her that he had not misunderstood anything and then read the same Sura in Arabic. Everyone present turned towards him and then back to her, awaiting her response. Her blush rapidly flared into a violent shade of red. Ignoring his comments, she asked if there were any other questions. Father again raised his hand but she ignored him. He then passed his question to his companion.
Coming from a country where Christians have learned to co-exist with their Muslim neighbors, the Maronite Catholic priests live the words of Jesus Christ. During this summer's 30 day war, Muslims fled north into the Christian villages. There, they were housed, fed, and attended to by the Maronites. They were also invited to attend prayer services at the local Maronite parishes. One of the priests maintains a blog where he posted the most remarkable stories of children asking questions about Jesus. One boy asked him for a cross to wear. The priest told him he would give it to him if his parents gave their permission. They did.
After the cease fire, the Muslims returned to the south but invited the priest to come visit them. He did. On his first visit to their homes, one of the families explained to him that - had the tables been reversed - the Muslims would NEVER have welcomed the Maronite Catholics into their homes. They then proceeded to ply him with questions about Jesus and His teachings.
My pastor often refers to the Muslim faith as a heresy. Heresy, as you know, is a distortion of truth. I believe this German professor has found the key to that heresy but the Imams will fight back from fear of the Truth.