American Women Detained by United Arab Emirates for Distributing Bibles

Religion Journal ^ | 3/3/05 | David Roach

[Crackingham]

A 72-year-old Southern Baptist from Myrtle Beach, S.C., has been detained for distributing Bibles in the United Arab Emirates.

Vivian Gilmer, a grandmother and member of First Baptist Church in Myrtle Beach, S.C., was on a mission trip with the Tom Cox Evangelistic Association in the Middle East country when she was charged with illegal activity by government authorities Feb. 21, according to the Myrtle Beach Sun News.

Another American, Marie Bush of Waxahachie, Texas, also is being held in Dubai.

The women are prohibited from leaving the country but are expected to be released sometime this week, Bruce Crawford, pastor of First Baptist, told Baptist Press.

In the United Arab Emirates distributing Bibles is legal as long as tracts or other evangelistic material are not distributed with the Bibles, Crawford said.

"They are doing well," he said. "They are in good spirits. They were on a mission trip to India, and they extended their trip and went on to the United Arab Emirates where they were handing out Bibles and were then detained."

Gilmer and Bush were conducting mission efforts with a group, Crawford said. The rest of the group was expelled from the country, but the two women's passports were confiscated, he said.

They are both prohibited from leaving the country pending a hearing in a higher court.

"We're fully expecting [their] release this week, and we're encouraging people to pray for their release," Crawford said.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Nothing odd here, that's how the UAE (and other places, like Saudi) works. They ought to be glad to be ought in a short time.

[elli1]

I guess it was too dangerous to hand out Bibles in Detroit.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

Yes, I'll pray for them. Thanks for letting me know.

[keats5]

Well, if the UAE allows Bible distribution, as reported in this article, why are the women bing detained? Were they handing out tracts, too?

[anniegetyourgun]

Prayers for these two. Can you imagine how much worse this would be if they had attempted to post the ten commandments in a public building here in this country?

[El Oviedo]

What happened to the Human Rights activists this time!. It looks like they are covering the news since it will alienate the Muslem friends.

[billorites]

"Oh, let's go to the United Arab Emirates and hand out Bibles..."

These grannies are as dumb as turkey droppings.

[underlying]

muslims and nonmuslims

[mlc9852]

How is spreading the gospel dumb? I think they knew what they were doing and I'll be praying for them and that through them people in the UAE will come to know Jesus Christ.

[billorites]

It takes more than prayer to spead the Gospel. It takes a clue and some tact.

Provoking the locals is dumb.

Deliberately going into an Arab community and causing offense by proselytizing has caused them a problem, caused a problem for their sponsors and embarrassed their sympathizers...

They are dumb-ass grannies.

There are successful missionaries in these countries I am confident. They are the ones we've never heard of.

[underlying]

Americans Arrested for Distributing Literature in Dubai

Vivian Gilmer

Two Southern Baptist ladies are being held under house arrest in Dubai after being arrested for illegally distributing Bibles and other Christian literature. 72-year-old Vivian Gilmer of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Marie Bush, 55, from Waxahachie, Texas were detained in Dubai on February 21. The ladies were imprisoned, but later placed under house arrest. On February 28, a judge in a lower court refused to make a judgment on their case. They will now have to appear before a higher court. The ladies have asked to be deported to the United States.

Gilmer and Bush were traveling with the Tommy Cox Evangelistic Association, an Arkansas-based mission organization when the incident occurred. The Association's lawyers are working to negotiate their release to the United States, hopefully within the week. They are staying with a local pastor until a ruling is made. The eleven other missionaries they were with have already been expelled from the country.

Christians are permitted to practice their faith in their own homes and churches in Dubai but evangelism is illegal. Islam is the official religion of the country. Please pray that these two ladies will be allowed to return home shortly. Pray for their safety, as well as the safety of the Christians in the area, since there is some concern that there may be repercussions as a result of this arrest. http://www.persecution.net/pnp.htm#3

[henderson field]

More brave Arab men, protecting their lands from 72-year-old ladies.

[WindOracle]

"It takes more than prayer to spread the Gospel. It takes a clue and some tact. Provoking the locals is dumb."

You are absolutely correct. While I am sympathetic to the cause of spreading the gospel, this is not the way, the time, or the place. Christian missionaries are a good deal responsible for a communist government in China, where their obnoxious methods of spreading the word led to revolts and instability. There are plenty of souls to save right here in the USA. I do not know if they have visions of being martyrs, or maybe they figured such would happen and look forward to having their faces on all the talk shows. Whatever the case, when we are trying to stabilize the region, we do not need them pouring more gasoline on the fire. Such activities undermine the efforts of our military. If they get their as*ses killed, we should do NOTHING. Those who wish to be martyrs have no right to expect retaliation for their martyrdom.

[Spirited]

Like the Apostles, you mean? They did "the wise" thing?
They really didn't need to be where they went...etc. etc. etc.

What an aberrant set of principles this expresses.

[agrarianlady]

We're not trying to stabilize the region. We de-stabilized it. Now some of those people are thinking - democracy, maybe freedom.

Freedom means not imprisoning anyone for passing around ideas.

Just a thought. Good night.

[TomSmedley]

My denomination actually has churches in those neighborhoods. (for obvious reasons, I'm not being more specific!)

OTOH, it's rediculously easy to befriend students from those countries who are attending American universities. For the record, Americans are percieved as a cold people, reluctant to interact with those around them. Sociologists call us a "low context culture." By contrast, people from other parts of the world find it natural to be friendly.

SO perhaps, instead of barging through the norms of other cultures, like bulls in a china shop, these sweet godly ladies should crash through ungodly norms in our culture, and extend a friendly invitation to lonely students here.

The founder of a major missions agency, Bob Finley, mused once -- why did Hudson Taylor ignore the thousands of Chinese right there in London? Why did William Carey ignore the thousands of Indians in his own neighborhood? The people from these unreached nations are already here, separated from a suffocating culture of all-embracing islam, often lonely, eager to experience what America has to offer. Delighted to be invited into American homes, to make American friends.

(for the record ... I did the "missionary tourist" thing in 1992, had the most incredible two-week vacation of my life in post-Chernobyl Ukraine -- but achieved little of lasting value that i'm aware of.)