All posts tagged: Muslim

San Antonio, Texas Credit: Brandon Watts/Flickr/Creative Commons

Religious Wars in Texas

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Recently, a man took his stepdaughter to a Christian school in San Antonio Texas, to register her as a student. The interview went well until someone asked if the girl was a Christian. The answer was “no” because the whole family was Muslim. I think they are from Lebanon. The school administrator rejected the girl’s application because the private school was only for Christians, or at least one parent had to be a professing Christian. The stepfather was outraged and made a video about the experience, which went viral. This has produced much debate, and someone has pointed out that the local Jewish school only accepts Jewish students. As long as the school is funded with private money, they can reject anyone who does not believe what they believe. RELATED: Muslim family upset after daughter rejected from Texas Christian School I understand the debate and I’m not surprised. I hope the community can find a solution because they will still live together in the same space, after this argument is forgotten. There is one thing …

Camels crossing a desert in Iran Credit: my life, the Universe and everything/Flickr

Similar to Evangelicals, Roman Catholics are reporting Muslims converting to Christianity

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According to World Watch Monitor, on November 12, an Iranian who had converted to Christianity, lost his appeal of a ten-year prison sentence for sharing his faith. In May, Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh, along with three men from Azerbaijan were sentenced to ten years for missionary activity along with trumped-up charges of “actions against national security.” The secret police arrested the four men when they attended a wedding in June 2016. Shortly after their arrest, the Iranians allowed the three Azerbaijans to leave Iran while on bail and then sentenced them in abstention. It is doubtful they will return to complete their sentence. But unfortunately, Naser must fulfill his sentence in the brutal Iranian prison system renown for its torture. Since early spring, human rights groups have noticed Iranian courts are handing out unusually long sentences to Christians for simply sharing their faith. Yet despite Iran’s crackdown on Christianity, or maybe because of it, reports are coming in about the large numbers of Muslims abandoning Islam and embracing Christianity in Iran and other Islamic countries. Even …

Louis Farrakhan at a press conference in Iran. Credit: Tasnim News Agency/Wikipedia/Creative Commons

Has Nation of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan become a Christian?

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Christian Post (CP) recently reported on a curious video posted to Youtube last week by Louis Farrakhan, the former leader of the Nation of Islam. It suggests the controversial leader may have become a Christian. Farrakhan, 87, gave up leadership of the 50,000 Black Muslim group in 2006 due to ill-health. He was suffering the after effects of prostate cancer. William Fard started the Nation of Islam in 1934 and during the 1970s it had upwards of two million members. The organization holds to the tenants of Islam and believers that Allah is the only god. Some believe Fard was the Muslim Mahdi, the Islamic equivalent of a messiah. Farrakhan became involved with the Nation of Islam after a brief career as a professional musician. In the mid-70s, he even served as a Sunni Muslim Imam for about three years. As early as 2015, a video shows Farrakhan talking about Jesus as the Redeemer though at the time he said Jesus was a Muslim. However, in the video posted recently Farrakhan seems to have a …

Karachi, Pakistan Credit: Benny Lin/Flickr/Creative Commons

Marilyn Hickey, a Pakistani anomaly

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As we read about Christians being persecuted in Muslim countries, a weird anomaly keeps popping up — American televangelist Marilyn Hickey. Aged 86, last November during a eight-day tour she preached the gospel in Karachi, Pakistan before crowds totaling nearly one million people. She did it freely with no resistance from the government or threats from Muslim extremists. According to reports she is known as the ‘mom of Pakistan” and for some reason has even been accepted by imams in the Muslim Pakistani community. The terrorists basically ignore her because she is an old woman. Officially known as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, with 201 million people it is the sixth most populated country in the world. It was formed in 1947 as a home for Muslims living in India and nearly 95% of the country is Muslim. In its revised 1973 constitution, the country declared Islam its state religion and all laws must be in accordance with the Qur’an and Sunnah. At this point, the country has not implemented Sharia law, however polls indicate …

Young Turkish women in traditional head scarves. Credit: Ozgur Mulazimoglu/Flickr/Creative Commons

Muslim woman hated Christians, but Jesus spoke to her in a dream

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A story on Christian Aid about the conversion of a young Muslim women living along the coast of the Black Sea in Turkey tells us not to underestimate the work we are doing for God. Matte, name not fully disclosed for security reasons, pastors a church in Turkey. He faithfully puts his sermons online, but often wondered if they were having any affect as he was seeing no results. “I sometimes wonder how many people watch the videos, and what is the result? Many are watching the videos, but why do they not believe?, ” he told Christian Aid. But his opinion changed after a young Muslim women wearing a traditional Muslim scarf showed up at church because of a dream. She had started watching the pastor’s videos online because she “hated the Christians” and wanted to make fun of his messages. But the sermons slowly started having an impact as they addressed deep needs in her life. She eventually decided to become a Christian, but did not go to church because of her strict …

Village in Indonesia Credit: Jose Javier Martin Esparto/Flickr/Creative Commons

A Muslim man’s journey to Christ through the Quran

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Evangelical Focus recently shared the testimony of a young Muslim man who became a Christian because of what he read in the Quran — Islam’s version of the Bible. Markus was raised in a strict Sudanese Muslim family in Western Java, Indonesia. His father, a high ranking Muslim leader, led the Muslim University that Markus eventually attended. As part of an Islamic youth group, Markus actively shared Islam with non believers. It was the result of one encounter with a Chinese Christian man who led Markus to leave Islam and become a Christian. As he shared his Islamic views with the man, he responded stating he was confident that he was going to His Father in heaven. For Muslims, heaven is a such a sacred place, they rarely talk about it. Markus was also puzzled over how this man referred to God as his father as Muslims consider themselves slaves of Allah. When Markus challenged the Christian on who his God was, the man answered simply Jesus. This answer began to haunt Markus. According to …

Eski Müslüman imam, Hıristiyanlığa dönüşmesinin sebebi Kuran olduğunu söylüyor

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English translation of article: Former Muslim imam says the Qur’an is the reason he converted to Christianity Mario Joseph, Hindistan’da yaşayan ve bakan olan bir Katolik öğretmen / evanjisttir. Bir rahipten farklı olarak, çocuklarıyla evlidir. Ayrıca bir başka bakımdan farklıdır – dönüşümünden önce Müslüman bir imamdı. Hindistan’da ağırlıklı olarak Müslüman ve Hindu olan birkaç Hıristiyan ile büyüdü. Ailesinin güçlü Müslümanları vardı ve Mario, 8 yaşında Kuran’a gönderildi. 18 yaşındayken Mario, kendi camisinde imam olarak görev yapıyordu. Bu videoda, Mario, İslam’dan Hıristiyanlığa dönüşmesinin büyüleyici ayrıntılarını sunmaktadır. Tuhaf bir şekilde, nerde öğrettiği camide sorulan soru yüzünden başlar. O toplananlara, İsa’nın Tanrı olmadığını, birileri seslenince: “İsa kim?” Bu soru yüzünden Mario, Mesih hakkında daha fazla bilgi edinmek için Kuran’ı aradı. Ne keşfetti onu şaşırttı. Mario’ya göre, Kuran sadece dört kez Muhammed’den bahsediyor; İsa Mesih’e ise 25 bahsediliyor. İkincisi, İsa’nın annesi Meryem, Kuran’da adıyla anılan tek kadın. Muhammed’in annesi bile bu şerefi kabul etmedi. Kuran ayrıca birtakım mucizeleri İsa ile ilişkilendirir. Bazıları İsa’nın doğumdan iki gün sonra konuşması gibi İsa’nın Kitabı olmadığı gibi, nasıl çamurdan kuş çıkardığı, onun üzerinde …

Fall sunset over Zurich, Switzerland. Photo: Werner_B/Flickr/Creative Commons

Swiss agency reports large numbers of Muslims converting to Christ

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It’s happening all across Europe — Germany, England, Austria — Muslims are turning to Christ by the thousands. Despite all that is happening, the Holy Spirit is moving. The latest country added to that list is Switzerland. According to Switzerland’s Counselling Center for Integration and Religious Affairs (CCIRA), since 2004 over 2,000 Muslim refugees have become Christians. And it does not appear that the conversion rates will be slowing down any time soon. The ones turning to Christ are mostly Kurds and Afghans. In an interview with a Swiss TV news program, 20 Minutes, CCIRA coordinator Kathrin Anliker said a couple of factors are at play here. First Muslims are increasingly horrified by the brutality of extremists in the Middle East. Just recently a Sharia court in ISIS controlled Mosul, Iraq ordered nine young men to be publicly executed. According to reports, ISIS accused the nine of being members of a resistance movement.  The court ordered the men be tied to iron posts then cut in half with a chain saw. Secondly, Anliker noticed that some of the refugees had …

Market Church in Wiesbaden, Germany. Photo: Kay Gaensler/Flickr/Creative Commons

Muslim refugees in Germany threaten ‘impure’ Christians

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According to an article on Breitbart, Christians in Germany’s migrant housing are being forced to hide their faith due to intimidation and death threats by Muslims. At a recent Frankfurt news conference, Mahin Mousapour said that Christians purposefully hide their crosses and Bibles to avoid hate attacks by Muslims. Mousapour is from Iran. A former Muslim, she became a Christian over 25 years ago  and now pastors Persian Father House, an Evangelical Free church in Frankfurt. Fearing reprisal, refugees tell people in their complex that they are only visiting friends when attending her church. Ms Mousapour was joined at the news conference by politician Erika Steinbach who serves as a member of the Bundestag. It is a German equivalent of the U.S. House of Representatives or Canada and England’s House of Commons. Mousapour said Muslims tell Christians that they are “impure as a dog” adding: “Toys of Christian children are being destroyed. Christian asylum seekers are told to not only wash their dishes after eating, but also they must clean the entire kitchen as it would otherwise be ‘unclean’.” …

The Muslim Qur'an written several centuries after the Bible states that Jesus never died on the cross. Photo: Katrine Kaarsemaker/Flickr/Creative Commons

Is Jesus the slave of Allah?

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ISIS puts out quarterly Arabic magazine called Dabiq. Also available in English, in its  latest issue ISIS reveals the stark contrast that Muslims have in their concept of God with Christians. In its publication entitled “Break the Cross,” ISIS tells the world that Jesus is “the slave of Allah.” It was part of the overall theme of the magazine attacking Christianity and particularly our concept of Jesus. The Muslim Qur’an speaks a lot about Jesus and even Jesus’ mother Mary has more verses dedicated to her than the prophet Muhammad. According to the Qur’an, Jesus is considered a prophet of Allah (Surah 2:136) and one who performed miracles including raising the dead and healing the sick (Surah 3:49). Many Muslims look upon Jesus as the healing prophet. Muslims do not believe Jesus is God or even the Son of God (Surah 19:88-92) because in their thinking the latter meant God had sex with Mary. Of course, the Bible does not say that. The Holy Spirit conceived Jesus supernaturally and even Mary was shocked by her …

Another media report of Muslims turning to Christ in significant numbers, this time in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Photo: Stoke-on-Trent, Futurilla/Flickr/Creative Commons

Media reports Muslims turning to Christianity in England

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I have written several articles on Muslims converting to Christianity in unprecedented numbers. Stories tell of Muslims turning to Christ after Jesus appeared to them in dreams, a fulfillment of Joel 2:28. In Iran, thousands are becoming Christians despite the fear of persecution when they make that decision. And now with the recent influx of hundreds of thousands of Muslims into Europe, several secular media report that thousands of Muslims — many fed up with the violence of the extremists — are becoming Christians across Europe. Now we can add England to this list. A prominent English newspaper, The Guardian wrote a curious article on what is happening at Church of St. Mark in Stoke-on-Trent, England. The story stated that one recent Saturday morning, 15 Muslim refugees were baptized in the church. Rev Sally Smith who serves as the church’s vicar, says that three to four Muslims turn to Christianity weekly. According to the article, part of the reason for the growth is that the church is supplying the refugees assistance in the form of …

Mecca at the birth place of Muhammad and the place he received his first revelation of the Qur'an is considered the holiest site in Islam. Photo: AKPhotoPro/Flickr/Creative Commons

Muslim group admits Islamic teaching is at the root of terrorism

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One of the world’s largest Muslim groups has admitted that extremism and the groups associated with it — such as the Taliban, ISIS and al-Quaeda — are rooted in Islamic teaching. Earlier this month, Indonesian Muslim cleric Yahya Staquf was speaking on behalf of Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest Muslim group in the world, to an international Muslim conference being held in Jakharta, Indonesia. In his address, Staquf said: “We keep on denying the source of the problem, name some ailments within Islam itself. To be able to combat the global jihadi movement, world leaders and the general public must recognize the fact that extremism originates from Islamic teachings.” He further stated that extremists use Islamic teaching to justify their acts of violence. Staquf believes the only way to stop Muslim terror is to reform Islam itself. Islam needs to change. Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems in Islam is that extremist elements consider any criticism of Islam as blasphemy and punishable by death. They use intimidation to quell any dissent and because of this few …

Hamburg, Germany Photo: Arne Bornheim/Flickr/Creative Commons

Did the Bible predict thousands of Muslims converting to Christ in Europe?

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Several media outlets are reporting that churches across Europe are seeing thousands of Middle Eastern refugees, most of them Muslims, turning to Christ. Recently the Pastor of a Persian Church in Hamburg, Germany baptized 600 Muslims in one service, largely Afghans and Pakistanis. And it was done for all to see as a local TV station — ARD TV — showed up with its cameras in tow to film the momentous event.. In the same city, Pentecostal Pastor Albert Babjan just baptized 80 former Muslims who had converted to Christ. So far this year, Babjan has baptized 196 Muslims and expects the number could reach 500 by December. In an interview with the German newspaper Stern, Babjan said that many of the converts are turning to Christianity because of their disappointment in Islam. They are tired of the Islamic extremists’ fear and intimidation tactics in the countries from which they fled. Stern interviewed one of the recently baptized Christian converts that Babjan had just baptized and described the difference between Christianity and Islam this way: …

Saint Elijah's Monastery in Mosul, Iraq. Dated to the sixth century, it is the oldest monastery in Iraq. Photo: Doug/Wikipedia/Creative Commons

Forgiving through the fire

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  Earlier this month, Islamic extremists burned a 12-year old Christian girl to death. She was living in Mosul, Iraq with her family when ISIS terrorists showed up at their home demanding the Coptic Christian family pay jizya. The jizya is a tax that over the centuries Muslims have forced Christians and Jews living in their territory to pay. The Muslim Qur’an mentions jizya , but does not specify how much the tax should be. Traditionally, it has been looked upon as a tax non-Muslims pay to practice their faith in Muslim countries. If paid, it is supposed to protect Christians from Muslim attacks.  It also indicates that the people being taxed are in submission to their Muslim rulers. Some Muslim Imams (teachers) even consider it a form of punishment for not being Muslim. Most Muslim nations do not impose the jizya, but it has made an appearance recently in areas controlled by ISIS and the Taliban. According to the British Newspaper The Express, when the jihadists showed up they demanded the family pay the …

Report: America’s first Muslim Miss USA has converted to Christianity

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When Rima Fakih, 30, was crowned Miss USA in 2010, it was generally believed she was the first Muslim woman to ever win the title. Shortly after winning, Fakih acknowledged her Muslim faith stating: “I’d like to say I’m American first, and I am an Arab-American, I am Lebanese-American, and I am Muslim-American.” She was born in Lebanon and raised in a Shia Muslim family, that admittedly had been luke-warm to their Muslim faith and would often observe both Muslim and Christian holidays. The family immigrated to New York in 1993 and continued to observe both Muslim and Christian holidays including even attending church on Easter. But in 2003, her family moved to Dearborn, Michigan and became involved with the large Islamic community in that city. When Fakih started attending the University of Michigan, her father urged her to reconnect with her Muslim roots through the Islamic group at the University. It was here that she began to learn of her Muslim faith including Ramadan — that involves a month of fasting and prayer in …

Women in Iran. Photo: Sebastia Giralt/Flickr/Creative Commons

Middle East Muslim leader puts daughter under house arrest for becoming a Christian

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Paul Siniraj is founder of Bibles for the Mideast an organization that smuggles Bibles into Middle Eastern Muslim countries. In a recent report on his website, he told of the remarkable Christian conversion of an unnamed young woman, 16, who is the daughter of one of the rulers of an unnamed Mideast country. The young woman, who Siniraj gave the name Najima, was receiving a higher education at a Western school in that Muslim nation. Najima was eating in the cafeteria, when she noticed paper jammed between the tables. Pulling it out, she discovered it was a Gospel tract. She read it and one of the Bible verses on the tract caught her attention: “For God hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21) Being from a strong Muslim family, Najima faithfully followed all the Muslim traditions, so she tossed the tract into the garbage. But though she got rid of the tract, the Bible verse began …

Controversy in Chicago? Photo: Downtown Chicago -- Greg Wass/Flickr/Creative Commons

The Christian Muslim War – Or Not

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A recent article in Aljazeera News comments on opposition to the conversion of an empty church to a mosque, for Muslims living near Chicago. The title describes “controversy” over the plan, and opposition in the community. The comments from readers are predictable, with hateful troll messages. “Religions in general are the work of Satan.”, “your name shouts like you need to take a bath”, and “Hope you get good sleep after spitting so much poison” are some comments I can print here. The article is long, but reading past the title shows one important thing, there is no controversy. It is true that a Muslim group wants to use an abandoned church building as a mosque, but there is no report of effective opposition from anyone. Apparently some anonymous flyers have been left in nearby mailboxes stating concerns about property values and traffic congestion. There is no mention of religious statements in the flyers. I guess this represents someone in the community with a computer and a printer. The authorities have given approval and a …

Photo Frontiersusa.org

Jesus appears to Muslim husband and wife in their dreams

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Frontiers, is a Christian organization dedicated to preaching the Gospel among Muslims. One of their field workers recently reported on a remarkable conversion of a Muslim woman and her husband. According to the report, Gulzhan was meeting with a Christian worker for a Bible study in an unnamed isolated village. This went on for some time without the woman choosing to follow Christ. That all changed when Jesus appeared to Gulzhan in a dream. When that happened the woman knew she needed to become a Christian. As news of Gulzhan’s faith decision spread, the neighbors in the Islamic village where she lived were not impressed and immediately turned against the woman. But it was the onset of winter that drove Gulzhan from the proverbial pan into the fire. Though the cold weather reduced her interaction with the villagers, she was now in constant contact with her husband, Elemes, who was becoming increasingly agitated with Gulzhan’s faith. He would become enraged when he found his wife reading the Bible or singing hymns to God. In a …

Muslim woman in Mumbai, India Photo: Trey Ratcliff/Flickr

Forgiving Muslims, for their terrorists

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After the Paris terrorist attacks, like many, I was angered by what happened even though I was over 5,000 kms away. How would I react if I had personally been attacked by a Muslim? The closest I came was at a local grocery store in our community a couple of years back. Though a very minor incident, it still bothered me. I was slowly driving through the lot looking for a parking spot, when a van turned into the aisle I was driving down and came towards me. Though there was plenty of room for both of us to pass, a few yards out the older, blue van veered into my lane stopping right in front of me. I slammed on my brakes. Our two vehicles were now nose to nose. Inside the van, I saw a  young, bearded man at the wheel, staring and smiling. He was enjoying what he had done. A woman presumably his wife, dressed head to toe in a hajib, opened the van door, quickly stepped out of the vehicle …

Sidokarto, Indonesia Photo: Jose Javier Martin Espartosa/Flickr

Burning Churches

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Recently, Muslim extremists in Indonesia have been burning Christian churches. This is news around the world, and it seems to be another example of Muslim intolerance, but I think there is a hidden story here. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population of any country. It’s interesting that the second largest Muslim population is in India. The mostly Hindu population of India is so large, that close to 200,000,000 Muslims are a minority. Asia is amazing. Indonesia also has close to 200,000,000 Muslims, with large minorities of Christians, Buddhists, Confucianists, and Hindus. Hindus dominate the island of Bali. The country is a democracy, and the government strives for unity. And until recently, Muslims in Indonesia were known as tolerant and inclusive. The most northern province of Indonesia is Aceh, a conservative Muslim region where Sharia law is imposed on everyone, including Christians. That’s where churches are being burned. Religious divisions could lead to civil war. In July a mosque was burned in Papua, which is predominantly Christian, and the nations largest province. In Aceh, Christians defended …

Pastor calmly talks down Islamic terrorist threatening his church in Texas

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Dressed in camouflage pants, a tactical vest, black t-shirt and camo boots, Rasheed Abdul Aziz, 40, showed up at Corinth Missionary Baptist Church in Lake Palestine, Texas the afternoon of Sunday September 13, 2015 asking to see the pastor. The Tyler Morning Telegraph reported that though the morning service was over there were still several people in the building for an appreciation reception for the church’s worship team. When Aziz came to the church asking for prayer, a deacon took him to meet Rev John D. Johnson III, 45, who was in a room with his son. Johnson, a former parole officer, said the hair stood up on the back of his neck as soon as he saw Aziz. He knew there was trouble. Almost immediately Aziz, who was armed with a gun but hadn’t pulled it, became aggressive. He began yelling that he was a “man of Islam” and that God had sent him to kill any Christian and Jewish “infidels” who opposed Islam. Aziz also said he was being chased by demons. Johnson …

Liminal -- a doorway to a new world. Photo Jens Schott Knudsen/Flickr

Jihad vs the Liminal Bulge

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There are two news stories from the Middle East. Young Muslims raised in prosperous western countries are returning to Syria or Somalia to fight for Jihad, the holy war of Islam. This is a major security concern. Families are losing their teen children, and some young westerners become vicious executioners. Also, Syrians, Muslim Arabs, are migrating to Europe in huge numbers. I don’t want to add to all the discussion, but it is clear that Syrians are not escaping a terrible war in their home country. They are leaving refugee camps in Turkey, where they are safe, but where they have no hope. Hiding among the Syrians are many from places liked Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Iraq who are looking for better jobs. When these Muslims leave Muslim majority Turkey, and scramble onto the beaches in Greece or Italy they shout “freedom” and act like they have just escaped from something terrible. There are rumors that many convert to Christianity in Europe. I suspect many more convert to western materialism. This escape from Islam must be …

Cross and Muslim crescent in Cairo, Egypt. Photo Michael Swam/Flickr

Are hundreds of Muslim migrants converting to Christ?

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Reports are coming in of hundreds of Muslim migrants converting to Christianity in Germany. Most are Afghanistan or Iranian refugees. They are converting because they believe this decision would improve their chances of gaining asylum because having converted their life would be in danger if they were sent back. It is difficult to know if the conversions are legitimate. But during a baptismal service at the evangelical Trinity Church in Berlin, pastor Gottfried Martens asked an Iranian man, Mohammed Ali Zonoobi, if he was willing to: “break away from Satan and his evil deeds? Will you break away from Islam.” Without hesitation, Zonoobi, a former carpenter, who had fled to Germany along with his wife and two children answered, “yes.” Zonoobi stated in the interview that while in Iran he and his wife had secretly attended Bible classes and it was the arrest of fellow believers that resulted in him fleeing Iran. We have reported before that God is moving among Iranians and many are becoming Christians. The Daily Mail noted: “Several candidates for baptisms …

The New Enemies of Islam

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[by Sandy McIntosh] The Middle East is in turmoil. That’s not news, but western Christians may believe they are targets of a new religious crusade, as the persecuted enemies of Islam. There is some violence against western Christians by Muslims, but we are not a prime target. Muslim Arab and Jewish Israeli rivalry is also becoming an old story. New forces are emerging, “Great Satan” U.S.A. and the Israeli Zionists are not the only concern now. In 2013, in a suburb of Cairo Egypt, a mob of thousands of Muslims attacked a worship service in a house. They set the house on fire, dragged four men into the street, and beat them to death while the police watched and did nothing.

Muslims threw Christians off refugee boat crossing the Mediterranean

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[by Dean Smith – updated April 18, 2015] Italian police are reporting that Muslims on board a refugee boat crossing the North Mediterranean Sea from Libya threw 12 Christians off the boat. The 12 were murdered simply because they were Christians. The rubber boat held 105 people when it left Libya on Tuesday, April 14, 2015. Somewhere along their journey Muslims on board became aware of the Christians. The Muslims were from Senegal, Ivory Coast and Mali. [Since we posted this story, there have been more revelations on what happened on board the raft carrying the 105 refugees. Apparently, the rubber boat started leaking and people began praying. The Muslims on board became enraged when they heard a boy praying to God instead of allah. Screaming allah is great they threw the boy overboard. When other Christians tried to help the boy, the Muslims turned on them as well.] The murdered Christians were from Ghana and Nigeria and were likely fleeing the escalating Muslim violence against Christians in those countries.

Is the Book of Revelation coming to pass: Islamic State beheads 21 Christians?

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[by Dean Smith] A video released on the Twitter account of a website used by the Islamic State (IS) purports to show the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians. The same website has shown verified beheadings of westerners. According to the video producers, the execution took place in Tripoli Province, Libya by a group claiming association with IS. On the video, armed IS members march a group dressed in orange down to a beach near Tripoli, Libya’s capital city. Before their execution, one IS member says:

Former Muslim imam says the Qur’an is the reason he converted to Christianity

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[by Dean Smith] Mario Joseph is a Catholic teacher/evangelist living and ministering in India. He differs from a priest in that he is married with children. He also differs in another respect — he was a Muslim imam before his conversion. He grew up in an area of India that was predominantly Muslim and Hindu with few Christians. His family were strong Muslims and Mario was sent to Qur’an school at the age of 8. By the time he was 18, Mario was serving as an imam in his local mosque. In this video, Mario provides the fascinating details of his conversion from Islam to Christianity. It starts, oddly enough, because of question asked in a mosque where he was teaching. He was telling those gathered that Jesus was not God, when someone shouted out: “Who is Jesus?” It was because of this question, Mario searched the Qur’an to find out more about Christ. What he discovered puzzled him. According to Mario, the Qur’an only mentions Mohammad four times, while Jesus Christ is mentioned 25. …

Was the Dome on the Rock originally built for the Jews?

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The Dome of the Rock has dominated the Jerusalem landscape for centuries. The Muslims use the Dome, built on the Temple mount between 689 – 691 AD, as a mosque. However, at the time of its construction, it was actually patterned off Byzantine churches in the area and evidence suggests it was originally intended as a Jewish building, not a Muslim one. The Dome, which is maintained by the Jordan government, is probably the most recognizable building in Jerusalem. Though Muslims allow limited visits to the Dome, they do not allow any type of religious expression to take place, other than Islam. As a result,  Jews have taken to praying at the wall.

Did Iran’s Ayatollah spur the brutal attack against the Jerusalem Synagogue?

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[by Dean Smith] On Tuesday (November 18, 2014), the world was stunned to hear about the attack on a Jerusalem synagogue by two Palestinian cousins that left five people dead and seven injured. Three of the dead were Americans and one was from Britain. The fifth was a policeman responding to the attack. The two men — Ghassan and Oday Abu Jamal — involved in the brutal assault, lived in East Jerusalem. They entered the synagogue during morning prayers and though people tried to defend themselves, they had little chance against the terrorists armed with meat cleavers and a gun.

Did Yasser Arafat become a Christian before he died?

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[by Dean Smith] Prior to his death on November 11, 2004, Yasser Arafat was leader of the Palestinian National Authority and leader of the Fatah party which, along with Hamas, rules Palestine today. He was a Muslim and enemy of Israel. But he was also friends with RT Kendall, an American-based evangelical pastor and teacher, who according to an interview with Premier Christianity magazine, had met with Arafat several times before he died. Kendall arranged his first meeting with Arafat in 2002, and then met with him five times after that. During those meetings, Kendall not only shared Christ with Arafat, but Kendall also prayed for the Palestinian leader and even sat with Arafat, along with many of his aides, as they watched “The Passion of Christ.” According Kendall, Arafat actually cried viewing the movie on the crucifixion of Christ.

Israel receives a downgrade, ISIS says Christians are now its number one enemy

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[by Dean Smith] Arutz Sheva — an Israeli news site — reports the Islamic State (which go by a variety of acronyms IS, ISIS, ISIL) has just declared Christians as its number one enemy. This news was broadcast loudly on the most recent cover of the organization’s propaganda magazine called Dabiq. In its fourth edition, the cover of the English version featured a photo-shopped picture of the Black ISIS flag on top of the Egyptian obelisk in the Vatican’s St Peter’s square. The magazine — titled “The Failed Crusade” — compared the West’s efforts to stop IS to the Roman Catholic crusades.

Photo from Marshall Space craft sun over the India ocean. Photo: NASA/Flickr

The majority of atheists have faith after all — they believe in aliens

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Just because atheists don’t believe in God, it doesn’t mean they don’t have faith. In his recent book, Religions and Extraterrestrial life, Astronomer David Weintraub from Tennessee’s Vanderbilt University said 55% of atheists believe in aliens. According to the Daily Mail, in his book, Weintraub released the results of a poll on what different religious groups believe when it comes to little green men from mars. Of course, atheists have solid scientific proof for their belief in aliens. I mean we have the government cover-up of Area 51 in Nevada, USA, where an alien space craft supposedly crashed. Depending on what conspiracy theory you subscribe too, some of the aliens were still alive after the crash and kept hidden by the government for years in a secret facility located miles below the surface of the earth. And of course, these atheists can point to all those weather balloons, err UFOs, flying through the sky. Some were even captured on video and of course if it’s on YouTube, it must be true. Then there is the solid …

Muslims and Terrorists

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An English convert to Islam, Lauren Booth, published an article on CNN “Muslims and extremists – we’re not the same.” There are many opinions like this, telling us we are wrong about Islam. It is not a violent religion of terrorists and murderers. This defense of Islam is misguided. People I know think about Islam about as much as they think about Hindus or Jehovah’s Witnesses; and we don’t think all Muslims are terrorists. I met a Muslim at work who was a complete fanatic. He was from Pakistan and every conversation was about his beliefs. I enjoyed talking to him because he taught me so many things I didn’t know. Things about the sport of cricket. He was a sports fanatic and his fondest wish was for Pakistan to defeat India on a cricket pitch. He never talked about religion to me. If you meet a Pakistani, mention cricket and you will not hear much about religion. Most Muslims are ordinary people who follow the religion they were born into. They don’t get to choose, …

Time to pray: The church is under attack on multiple fronts

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Fox 91 reports that three churches in Columbus, Indiana were vandalized with verse citations from the Qur’an spray-painted on their walls. They seem to be a direct attack on the Christian faith by Muslim extremists in the area. The three vandalized churches included the St. Bartholomew Catholic Church, the East Columbus Christian Church and the Lakeview Church of Christ. St. Bartholomew’s church had the verse reference “Qur’an 3:151” sprayed on its wall in black paint. The verse reads:

More British Muslims fighing for Islamic extremists than the British Army

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According to Khalid Mahmood, a British MP from Birmingham, England, there are more British Muslims fighting for Islamic State (IS) extremists in the Middle East than there are serving in the British army. The IS — which goes by various acronyms including ISIS (Islamic State in Syria) — is attempting to set up an Islamic Caliphate in the Middle East. The British army says there are 600 Muslims serving in the British army. MP Khalid Mahmood believes over the last three years 1,500 British Muslims have joined the IS in its fight in the Middle East.