Posted on 10/09/2007 12:48:56 PM PDT by 2banana
CBNNews.com - SEATTLE, Wash. - Many former Muslims are now involved in efforts to convert believers in Islam to Christianity.
CBN News met with some of them as they linked up with other Christians at the Seattle Revival Center. They trained in how best to reach Muslims and then went out to do just that at the city's annual Arab Festival.
For some reason, Christians think Muslims are particularly hard to witness to. But these Muslims-turned-Christians pointed out they have the exact same spiritual needs as everybody else.
George Saieg, leader of Arabic Christian Perspective, advises Christians to dig into their own past and fears, remembering "how we used to be not assured of our salvation -- we used to be afraid of dying."
"And this is the same common ground that the Muslims have today -- that they're not assured of their salvation, that they're afraid of dying," he said. "But Jesus came to our life and changed our life. This is the story we need to tell them, how Jesus changed my life and He's able to change theirs, too."
Kamal Saleem came to America to recruit terrorists, but instead became a convert to Christ
"Three Christian men reached out to me and loved me unconditionally," he said.
But many years before that, he was a terrorist - even as a child.
"I joined the PLO when I was seven years old. Before that, I was with a group called the Muslim Brotherhood when I was six years old. I went to assault camp when I was seven years old. I went on my first mission when I was seven years old. I became a recruiter when I was seven years old."
He fought in many battles and wars -- against Christians in Lebanon, Russians in Afghanistan, Jews in Israel.
But he ended up in America, recruiting new terrorists here.
"First you teach them Islamic teaching, and once it's embedded in their system, then you teach them how to use a gun," Saleem said.
Saieg agrees with Saleem, that Islam preaches violence.
"When I see Sura 9:5, it talks about ''kill the Christians and Jews -- the People of the Book -- wherever you find them.' There are over 140 verses in the Koran that talk about killing," Saieg says.
Saleem says don't buy everything you hear about Islam these days.
"Muslims will say 'We're a people of peace -- we worship the same God,'" He said.
But what they're really taught is "that Jews are pigs and monkeys. Jews they must be killed. 'The rock will cry out "there's a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him,"' Saleem said.
They say Muslims believe Christ was a mere man.
"He didn't even die on the cross. He was lifted up and He's coming back and He will be a Muslim," Saleem said.
Arabic Christian Perspective hopes to open up a lot of Islamic eyes when it holds a debate with Muslim apologist Nadir Ahmed in Anaheim, Calif., October 20.
Nadir Ahmed is raring to debate the key question: whether Islam is a religion of peace or terrorism.
"There's a lot of anti-Islamic propaganda, especially by Pat Robertson and CBN and places like that," Ahmed said. "And I'm really shocked to see how evangelicals love to promote this idea -- that it's not a religion of peace."
Ahmed seems a natural for this debate. He runs his own Web site defending Islam, Examine the Truth.com
"There's clear teaching to promote peace with non-Muslims. And those verses are not mentioned by these propagandists. And that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to mention those verses," he said.
But it didn't seem very peaceful when Muslims eavesdropped on CBN News' interview with Saieg then ripped into him for saying Islam was not a religion of peace.
They yelled and screamed he wasn't telling the truth, shouting down the former terrorist Saleem as he tried to defend Saieg.
Meanwhile, Ahmed insists Americans misunderstand Muslims and key Islamic words like "jihad," which means "struggle."
"Someone's struggling with alcoholism and he's trying to stay away from that. That's a jihad against alcohol," he said.
But Saieg says jihad almost always means bloody struggle. And Saleem warns that right here in America there are 45 Islamic assault camps where would-be terrorists train.
"These are embedded in different states," Saleem said. "Today the recruiting ground is in the prison system, high schools, universities, neighborhoods."
It's to counter such efforts that Saieg and his people are reaching out as quickly as they can to Muslims at Arab Festivals, like one that took place in Seattle, and a recent one in Dearborn, Mich., where dozens converted.
"And, praise the Lord, we had 42 Muslims come to the Lord." Saieg said.
These former Muslims insist Islamic people are not by nature violent.They totally blame the mayhem and terror pouring out of Islamic lands on the religion itself.
"I really look at Osama bin Laden himself as a victim of Islam. My problem is not with Osama bin Laden. My problem is not with the Muslim people," Saieg said. "My problem is with the teaching of Islam, the teaching of Koran because this is what is pushing Muslims to do what they're doing."
"So while these Christians say that Islam itself may be a danger, they believe the Islamic people are as deserving of love as anyone else and can be just as open to Jesus.
LOL! I know you’re being humerous, but I’ve got to tell you, my problem is not that I only “have” to worship one day a week...I love the Lord so much that it takes all I have not to sing his praises out loud seven days a week, 24-hours a day! :-D
Wow! How wonderful!!!! I know you are a blessed person!
Holy cow!
bump
For some reason? Just keepin' keep their heads.
For some reason? Just keepin' their heads.
Muslims accepting Christ would be susceptible to persecution and death, just as early Christians faced from Jews.
The Book of Acts, Chapter 9 tells of a Jewish scholar name Saul that hated and sought Christians. On his way to Damascus, he was met by the Spirit of Christ. He, too, became a Christian and spent the rest of his life, as the apostle Paul, serving Christ, bringing Him to us Gentiles.
The apostle Paul became an outcast, both to the Jewish and Christian communities. His Jewish brothers did not trust him after his conversion, and many Christians felt that he was merely infiltrating to catch more Christians.
So, he traveled, and proclaimed Christ, in much of Greece and finally to Rome, where he died in prison. Following Christ does not mean a life of ease. It means following in Christ’s footsteps, accepting the day to day challenges that meet us.
Yes, but it’s one thing if a Jew converts vs. a Mohammadan, since the former’s goal is not to convert or kill the infidel by any means necessary. This could just simply be another front in their unholy jihad.
We can only hope and pray that this is a true acceptance of Christ. If it is, he will not be hiding (especially after this article), but will be working to convert his muslim brothers and sisters.
He, too, will not be trusted, by either side.
Why would a man do this? Subject himself to be ostracized from his own people and those that know who he was? He knows. Where the Spirit leads, one must follow.
There is a strange fulfilling joy in overcoming the past, and looking forward to the future, with Christ.
Angus Dei.
LOL
Too funny!
But what was it that Churchill once said about feeding crocodiles and hoping?
This is cool.
I pray for the Holy Spirit to work his love all the time. And I won’t let bin laden’s sin fall on me. I do not hate him. I hate his actions. I forgive him and his type. I pray the Holy Spirit will change their hard hearts. If bin laden types do not choose to live in peace, then I will not judge them, but I must arrange the meeting.
Thanks be to God, miracles do happend daily.
Pray for their conversion to Christ.
Maybe there’s hope — as long as brave men/women follow and bring others to Christ.
With God all things are possible.
“Pray for their conversion to Christ”
Of course.
There is no other.
:-)
“Pray for their conversion to Christ”
Of course.
There is no other.
:-)
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