The new price of being a Christian in Saudi Arabia? For one Lebanese man, it's six years in jail and 300 lashes.

A Saudi Arabian court has sentenced a Lebanese Christian, as well as a Saudi Christian, to prison time and lashings as punishment for encouraging the conversion of a younger, female Saudi coworker. Following her conversion, the woman escaped Saudi Arabia to Sweden with the men's help.

Update (June 17): Egypt Daily News (EDN) reports that Ahmed Abdallah, a conservative preacher popularly known as "Abu Islam," has been sentenced for his role in anti-Christian riots that erupted over the "Innocence of Muslims" YouTube video last fall. According to EDN, a judge sentenced Abdallah to "five years for ripping up a Bible, three years for insulting religion, and an additional three for disturbing public peace. He was also given an EGP 3,000 fine." Abdallah is appealing the ruling.

CT previously reported on the widespread violence in the Middle East sparked by the Innocence of Muslims film, which was condemned by Coptic Christian leaders. In the wake of the film, CT also reported on how Christian networks should evangelize Muslims.
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Update (June 11): The Associated Press reports that an Egyptian court has convicted one female, Coptic Christian teacher of blasphemy. However, the judge opted not to hand down any prison sentence, only requiring that the woman pay a fine equivalent to US$14,000.
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Update (May 22): The Christian Science Monitors offers more details on the rise in blasphemy cases.
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According to a new study, blasphemy and evangelizing accusations are disproportionately used against members of Egypt’s Christian minority—especially those working in education.

Muslims in America are much less inclined to support suicide bombing than other Muslims abroad, and are more likely to believe that people of other faiths can attain eternal life in heaven, according to a new report released last week by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

“The World’s Muslims” report looks at Muslim views across seven categories: Islamic law; religion and politics; morality; women; relations among Muslims; interfaith relations; and religion, science, and pop culture. The 157-page report, which is based on more than 38,000 face-to-face interviews conducted in more than 80 languages with self-identifying Muslims in 39 countries and territories, also includes a special section on U.S. Muslims.

According to scholar Scot McKnight, conversion experiences are deeply impacted by the different contexts in which the gospel operates. What does that mean for Muslim conversion experiences?

As an answer, McKnight points to a survey of 100 former Muslims by Georges Houssney, founder and president of Horizons International, that attempts to understand the factors that led to their conversion to Christianity.

Update (June 11): The Christian Broadcasting Network reports that Sweden has granted permanent residency to one Iranian Christian, Reza Jabbari, who previously was ordered to return to his home country—where he would face "possible prison and torture" for converting from Islam.
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Sweden may be one of the most secular countries in Europe, but it still is a safer haven for immigrant converts to Christianity than their home countries in the Middle East.

Update (Feb. 26): Morning Star News reports another rare instance in which a Christian accused of blasphemy in Pakistan has escaped sentencing on charges of blasphemy—at least for now.

Morning Star reports, "The complainant in Karma Patras’ case, Syed Zulqarnain Shah, stated on Thursday (Feb. 21) in Sangla Hill Judicial Magisterial Court that he had mistakenly accused Patras of committing blasphemy against Islam and that he would have no objection if the pastor were released on bail."

However, because the Shah is not the official plaintiff in the case, Patras could still face penalties for the charges.

Such a release is exceptionally rare, but may fuel the fire of renewed hope for the release of Asia Bibi, the first Pakistani woman sentenced to death for blasphemy several years ago.
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This weekend, All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California, will host the convention of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), marking the first time the national Muslim group has held an event in a Christian facility.

Following the exoneration of Rimsha Masih, a 14-year-old Pakistani Christian girl who made international headlines after she was falsely accusing of blaspheming the Qur'an, Pakistan appeared ready to discuss—and potentially weaken—its anti-blasphemy laws.

But that window of opportunity slammed shut on Sept. 11, when a portion of the Islamic world erupted in outrage over the anti-Islam Internet video “Innocence of Muslims,” which portrays Muhammad as a womanizer and false prophet.

Christian colleges in the U.S. are welcoming more Muslim students onto their campuses this fall -- especially female students, according to the New York Times.

Students are drawn by the schools' religious identities and more traditional values, including same-sex dormitories. They report feeling more at home in small communities, even though the majority of students may not share their beliefs.

CT previously reported on Houston Baptist University's "experiment" in having Muslim students on campus.

The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) has officially rebuked Wycliffe Bible Translators' approach to translating the phrase "Son of God" for Muslims, and recommended that the small denomination's churches withdraw financial support from such Bible translations if they remain uncorrected.

Wycliffe, already at risk of losing support from the 3-million-member Assemblies of God over its guidelines for Muslim translations, has agreed to a review of its practices by the World Evangelical Alliance. The Assemblies of God has delayed its decision until the review is completed, likely by year's end.

But yesterday the 40th General Assembly of the 347,000-member PCA overwhelmingly approved an investigative committee's recommendation that "Bibles should always translate divine familial terms using common biological terms" because "social familial terms fail to capture the biblical meaning of 'Son' (huios) and 'Son of God' (huios tou theou) applied to Jesus and 'Father' (pater) applied to God."

The resolution is similar to last year's PCA condemnation of "translations of the Bible that remove from the text references to God as 'Father' (pater) or Jesus as 'Son' (huios), because such removals compromise doctrines of the Trinity, the person and work of Jesus Christ, and Scripture.” However, this year's report also recommends that "PCA churches and committees should redirect missions resources away from projects which deviate from the translation principles articulated in this report," should "loving attempts" at correcting such translators fail.

The report also expresses skepticism of past explanations by Wycliffe regarding its approach to Muslim translations. "Current evidence from agencies points at best to a lack of unanimity, and in some cases to frank resistance, concerning a strong commitment to biological divine sonship terminology," notes the report. "Given the inadequate attention they have given heretofore to the theological implications of Jesus’ begotten-ness, we lack confidence at the present time to accept blanket statements made by translation agencies or their representatives that there exist languages in which the use of non-biological kinship terms constitutes best practices."

The committee will spend one more year assessing what specific actions the PCA should take on "insider movements" more broadly.

Missionaries to Muslims recently agreed to soften criticisms of each other over contextualization practices.

Yesterday evening, CNN reported that Florida’s Dove World Outreach Center had arranged for an armed militia group to protect the Qur’an-burning event they scheduled for September 11.

This morning, it appears, the militia is having second thoughts.

“Right Wing Extreme has pulled support for the International Burning of the Koran day and will not attend the event,” the group announced in a 1:50 a.m. press release on its website. “After much thought and prayer the organization’s leadership determined this event does not glorify GOD in way that leads the lost to Jesus Christ.”

The group, which bills itself in the release as an “armed Christian conservative group,” says they got started in April 2009 after a department of Homeland Security report called “Right Wing Extremism,” which highlighted the radical far right’s revitalization since President Barack Obama took office.

The group considers Islam a “cult” and blasts the President for his support of the Park51 Islamic center which a Muslim group plans to build near Ground Zero in New York. But they do not think burning Islam’s holy scripture will solve any problems.

“Dove World Outreach are our brothers and sisters in Christ,” the release says. “However we ask that they not hold this event for the reason that it may diminish the work of the Holy Spirit to witness to Muslims.”

The release also quoted James 1:19: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”

Posters on the group's forum were divided on the issue.

“I support the desecration of the Koran,” wrote “RushLimbaughFan,” “because not Only is Islam a Heathen Religion, it is also the only one that Preaches Hate and Kill thy Neighbor in the Name of spreading Islam across the Globe.”

“This could be the stupidest idea ever in the history of stupid ideas,” wrote “Kevin.” “What do you think the net results of this action will be? You will give the left ammunition right before the November elections.”

“You are all horrible human beings and Christians,” retorted “empire.” “Jesus taught in the bible to turn the other cheek and respect other people. Is this what you call that?!”

"What happened, Shannon? Who got to you?" wrote Fran Ingram, who said she was a "proud member" of the Dove World Outreach Center, to Right Wing Extreme founder Shannon Carson. "I cannot believe you wrote your latest press release. I call it totally cowardly."

"I will be removing my membership from your forum," she added.

Dove World Outreach Center’s Pastor Terry Jones told CNN that Right Wing Extreme must have “bowed to fear or to pressure from other organizations, other groups.”

After receiving threats by phone and email and meeting with the FBI, Jones had hoped the group would be able to protect them during the Qur'an burning event.

"This is just a typical giving in to pressure and fear,” he said.

It's been a bad week for Christian aid groups in two of the world’s most challenging nations.

In Afghanistan, ten workers for the International Assistance Mission (IAM) were found shot in the northeastern region of Badakhshan. Beyond veteran ophthalmologist and team leader Tom Little, whose wife recently wrote for CT on the Christian call to suffering in mission, the now-identified dead include Glenn D. Lapp, who worked with the Mennonite Central Committee, and 32-year-old Cheryl Beckett, a pastor’s daughter from Tennessee and a graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University. Out of the 1,500 aid groups registered in Afghanistan, 17 aid workers have been murdered and 19 abducted this year.

Questions are flying about the circumstances of the murders. The Taliban have claimed responsibility, saying they killed the team because they were Christian missionaries. IAM denied the allegations, insisting that its workers do not proselytize and carried no Bibles. Local police suspect bandits. Only one member of the ambushed party survived—the driver says the attackers spared him because he insisted he was a Muslim and quoted passages from the Qur’an. However, there were two other Muslims with the party, and the driver remains in Afghan custody for unclear reasons. (Another Afghan member of the team traveled home separately and was unharmed.)

Meanwhile, the head of IAM says he expressed concern to the team leader over the size of the group and the number of foreigners in the party. He also pledged that IAM, active in Afghanistan since 1966, would continue its work despite the losses.

In Somalia, an Islamic militant group has ordered three Christian groups—World Vision, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, and Diakonia—to leave the country, claiming they are “missionaries under the guise of humanitarian work.” Al-Shabaab recently claimed responsibility for attacks in the capital city of Uganda which injured at least five American missionaries.

World Vision noted that their Somali offices are staffed by nationals who are mostly Muslim.

Yesterday afternoon, I heard that Kregel, the publisher of Unveiling Islam, had issued a statement supporting one of its top authors Ergun Caner, until recently dean of the seminary at Liberty University.

Of course, Caner, who authored Unveiling Islam with his brother, has become an enormously controversial figure due to many questions about his biography and expertise in Islam.

These questions from bloggers and the news media, including CT, caused the university to initiate its own internal investigation and on Friday, June 25, issue notice that Caner's contract as dean would not be renewed for the coming academic year. Caner remains as a professor at the seminary.

This turn of events caps a staggering setback during the past year for Caner. One year ago, he was signing books and giving media interviews at the SBC convention.

Kregel, which released the full statement early this morning to CT, said in part:

On June 25th Liberty University released a statement regarding its investigation of statements by Dr. Ergun Caner. Part of the Liberty report concluded:

“However, the committee found no evidence to suggest that Dr. Caner was not a Muslim who converted to Christianity as a teenager. . . .”

While Liberty University’s investigation did conclude that Dr. Caner made “factual statements that are self-contradictory” in sermons and speeches, Dr. Caner’s story, as presented in his 2002 national bestseller Unveiling Islam (co-authored with his brother Emir), has been verified by numerous persons who knew the Caner brothers as teens and throughout their adult lives. Kregel Publications has found no credible evidence that contradicts the biography as presented in Dr. Caner’s books.

[and]

Kregel Publications has concluded that the Kregel titles by Dr. Caner are trustworthy, factually accurate, and helpful to both Christians and seekers wanting to know more about Islamic beliefs and how those beliefs compare and contrast with biblical Christianity. We accept as sincere Dr. Caner’s statement, posted on his Web site in February, that said he “never intentionally misled anyone. . . . For those times where I misspoke, said it wrong, scrambled words, or was just outright confusing, I apologize and will strive to do better.”

Meanwhile, scholar, author, professor Dr. Norman Geisler has posted two lengthy documents on his website, addressing critics of Caner point by point.

Click here for the full text.

Despite these endorsements, from the critics' point of view, there remain many unanswered questions about Caner's expertise in Islam as well as puzzlement about Caner's unwillingness to respond to media requests for interviews or produce some physical evidence (an old passport, visa, or a birth certificate, for example) that would corroborate his story.

I spoke at length by phone yesterday with Dr. Geisler, more off the record than on. He makes no secret of his personal support for Caner. He had no problem admitting that the "full truth" had yet to be told and that Caner had been "hung out to dry."

There are unconfirmed reports that Liberty University has placed a gag order on Caner. So far, the school has said very little other than its June 25 statement.

According to news wires and sources, a judge in California has ruled immediately that Mosab Hassan Yousef, the author of Son of Hamas, can be granted political asylum in the US after he clears several of the normal steps, such as a background check. The US government has dropped its opposition without explanation.

Here's what the news wires are reporting:

The son of a Hamas founder who became a Christian and an Israeli spy will be granted U.S. asylum after he passes a routine background check, an immigration judge ruled Wednesday.
Mosab Hassan Yousef got the good news during a 15-minute deportation hearing after a U.S. Department of Homeland Security attorney said the government was dropping its objections.
The agency denied Yousef's asylum request in February 2009, arguing that he had been involved in terrorism and was a threat to the United States. Attorney Kerri Calcador gave no explanation for the government's change of heart. The immigration judge, Rico Bartolomei, ruled that Yousef will be allowed to remain in the United States after he is fingerprinted and passes a routine background check. Yousef, who has been living in San Diego, was cheered by supporters as he left the hearing and said he would like to become a U.S. citizen.
Supporters called him a hero, not a terrorist. "For 10 years, he fought terrorism in secret, hiding what he was doing and who he was," his attorney, Steven Seick, wrote in a court filing. "He deserves a safe place away from violence and fear." Yousef, 32, had argued that he would be killed if he was deported because he spied on the militant group for Israel's Shin Bet security's intelligence agency and abandoned Islam.

According to Mosab's spokesperson, he will hold a press conference by phone later today. CT will update this story after that.

In a statement issued by Liberty University Friday, a panel of four trustees announced they had found that Ergun Caner, dean of the seminary at the Lynchburg, Virginia, school, had made "self-contradictory" statements about "dates, names and places of residence" in his public talks following the events of September 11, 2001. However, the trustees found no evidence to question Caner's basic claim that he was "a Muslim who converted to Christianity as a teenager."

Caner has been the target of both Christian and Muslim apologists and bloggers who claim that he falsified his biography in order to inflate his credibility as an expert on Islam. Christianity Today earlier reported on the controversy here and here.

Apparently, Liberty University's trustees consider Caner's misleading statements to be serious enough to undermine his ability to serve as seminary dean. They are removing him from that role while allowing him to remain on the faculty. This nettles critics.

In late May, Mosab Hassan Yousef, author of best seller "Son of Hamas" about his life as an informant inside Israel and his life-changing decision to follow Christ, posted on his personal blog that US Homeland Security wants to kick him out of the US for his past ties to Hamas.

He writes:

I have worn many hats in 32 years—Muslim, Christian, son of Hamas, Prisoner 823, spy, traitor, USAID administrator, businessman, best-selling author. Now I am Homeland Security File# A 088 271 051. And, according to these “highly trained” civil servants, I am a threat to America’s national security and must be deported. On June 30, at 8 a.m., I have a hearing before Immigration Judge Rico J. Bartolomei at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration Court in San Diego. But I am not worried about this. I am outraged! My only concern is about a security system that is so primitive and naive that it endangers the lives of countless Americans. Honestly, Judge Bartolomei’s verdict really does not matter. If he rules to deport me, I will appeal. And Homeland Security has assured me that, if he rules in my favor, they will appeal. And this insane merry-go-round can go on like that for decades.

I interviewed Mosab some weeks ago and and edited version of this interview is in the June issue of CT and posted online today. As an American, I suppose what is most shocking about Mosab's situation right now is that he's the one that made first contact with Homeland Security!

He notes in his blog:

"Neighbors," shot on location in Jos, Nigeria, examines what happens when segments of a community oppose one another in a standoff that appears to have no solution. This is a story not only of Jos, but of places throughout the world where historical differences of tribe, race, and religion lead to violent conflicts.

Related Elsewhere:
Previous Christianity Today coverage of the January Jos riots includes:

• More Human Smoke Rises in Jos | This week's deadly riots struck home for the academic dean of ECWA Theological Seminary. By Sunday B. Agang (January 21, 2010)
• The Truth About the Religious Violence in Jos, Nigeria | It's not easy to state who started it or how many died. But the horror for those affected is clear. By Craig S. Keener (January 21, 2010)
• 'In Jos We Are Coming Face to Face in Confrontation with Satan' | The Anglican Archbishop of Jos speaks out on last week's deadly attacks and the media coverage that followed. By Benjamin A. Kwashi (January 26, 2010)

Previous Christianity Today coverage of the 2008 Jos riots includes:

• Fault Line of Faith | Six pastors killed, 40 churches razed in Jos's most recent violence (Jan. 15, 2009)
• Diagnosing Jos | Political problems don't always have political solutions. (December 23, 2008)
• Violence Smothers Jos in Smoke | Peace eludes us. (December 3, 2008)

Coverage of earlier violence includes:

• Mutual Mayhem | A plea for peace and truth in the madness of Nigeria. (Nov. 3, 2004)
• Religious Riots in Nigeria Leave Hundreds Dead | Leaders condemn the use of religion as a tool for violence. (Oct. 2, 2001)
• Nigeria On the Brink of Religious War | Northern states adopt Islamic law, increasing Christian-Muslim tensions. (Dec. 16, 1999)

Now that controversy over the fate of Rifqa Bary -- the teenage Christian convert who ran away from her Ohio home fearing her Muslim parents would kill her -- has reached Elian Gonzalez proportions, many evangelicals may be tuning out the never-ending headlines.

But don't miss this one.

Craig McCarthy was the Orlando attorney representing Rifqa Bary's mother until Sept. 3. He is also a committed evangelical. And, contrary to those who have mobilized around Rifqa's cause, McCarthy believes her Sri Lankan parents are in the right.

McCarthy is "happy that the child knows Jesus." But he is concerned that "many Christian conservatives have allowed themselves to adopt a narrative and thus reach conclusions ... prematurely" -- to the extent that their evangelistic zeal has led them to spread false information.

The core of his message: "Please recognize that the Lord is not so powerless as to need people to hide information, to embellish facts, or to give false witness in order to advance Christ's kingdom."

Read it all here.

In misguided attempt to combat swine flu, Egypt's government has announced plans to destroy the mostly Muslim nation's 400,000 pigs--which are owned by members of the country's Christian minority. The action comes despite comments from the United Nations that the slaughter is "a real mistake." The disease cannot be caught from eating pork. Egypt's Christians, understandably, are bewildered.

The move to slaughter the pigs, kept mainly by the country's Christian minority, sparked an angry response from farmers, who said reported government pledges of compensation of $105 per animal were inadequate.

Clashes were reported in Khanka, 25km north of Cairo, with pig farmers setting up road blocks and smashing the windscreens of veterinary services' vehicles as they sought to take people's pigs away.

"Our pigs are healthy. They are our capital and they have no diseases," Adel Ishak, a rubbish collector from Manshiet Nasser, northeast of Cairo, told the AFP news agency.

"How will they replace the capital if these pigs are killed?"

* Tuesday, April 21.

Wow. Across three days and meeting in total for 25 hours with seven meals, about 65 Muslim and Evangelical leaders met in Pasadena, Calif., to discuss a wide range of topics.

Don Wagner, a leader in this initiative and a professor at North Park University, at the end exclaimed, "The Holy Spirit has been present with us!." True confessions, he's right. Yes, Islam teaches about the Holy Spirit, not as a person, but as God's active force. (Yeah, we disagree on that one too.)

In summary, here are my three take-aways from this event:

-- The person of Jesus and our relationship with him must be central to discussions between Muslims and evangelicals.

-- Evangelical advocacy for religious freedom worldwide is best positioned when it is clearly linked to the benefit of religious freedom for all faiths, not just for Christians.

-- Religious labeling of all kinds is hazardous to our spiritual health.

* Friday, April 17, 10 pm, update

About 60 Muslim and Evangelical leaders and seminary students met for 12 hours of meetings, meals, and discussion on the Fuller Seminary campus today. (The session resumes tomorrow morning. See below for additional details.)

My head is spinning from the quality of the presentations and the passionate exchanges. So far, this has been a richly rewarding event.

Here are some of my initial impressions after interacting with these scholars, authors, editors, professors, students, and ministry leaders:

1. Muslims and Evangelicals who are committed to the work of dialogue spend a lot of time explaining to each other why extremists do what they do in the name of their own faith.

2. Islam, Christianity, and Judaism have been, are now, and will be in a deep encounter for generations to come. While there was little discussion of Jews and Judaism, the reality of this encounter was for me inescapable. Dialogue that does not lead to tri-a-logue will not survive the test of time.

3. Muslims and Evangelicals once and for all must settle, resolve, mutually understand, and respect their divergent doctrines of God. The end value of such a heroic effort of understanding must not be underestimated.

4. One scholar admitted to what he called "dialogue fatigue." Actually, I see that as real progress. When Muslims and Evangelicals press beyond the far point of verbal exhaustion, isn't that when we can breakthrough to some other new place? Listening to God requires our silence.

5. Evangelicals and Muslims do each other a disservice when they mutually shy away from airing their grievances openly due to quick pursuit of easy faith-based harmony.

6. There is true urgency to this pursuit of relationship and understanding between Muslims and Evangelicals. The consequences of growing tension between Islam and Christianity are growing greater. As I said to one participant, "Lives and souls hang in the balance."

* Friday, 9 am

I'm on campus at Fuller Seminary in sunny & warm Pasadena, CA, for today and tomorrow as about 65 Muslim and Evangelical leaders from North America and the Middle East are discussing a wide range of mutual concerns. The World Islamic Call Society is sponsoring this session, the third one of its kind.

The title is, "A Common Word Between Us and You."

Among the evangelicals here are: Donald Wagner, Leith Anderson, Gary Burge, Len Rogers, Colin Chapman, Dudley Woodbury, and Martin Accad.

Muslim leaders include: Mahmoud Ayoub, Assad Busool, Asma Afsaruddin, Muhammad Sammak, Jamal Badawi, Sayid Sayeed, Abed Ismail.

See below for five of the questions under discussion. I welcome your input since I will be a presenter on Saturday afternoon.

What additional questions would you want explored?

Email me, here. Or, add your question in the comments section below.

Some of the topics to be explored, in question format:

1. What is role and meaning of worship in the New Testament and the Qur'an?

2. What lessons are there for us in looking at the treatment of Christian minorities under Muslim rule and Muslim minorities under Christian rule?

3. What are the consequences, goals, and obstacles of dialog between Muslims and Evangelicals?

4. How should we approach the problem of terrorism and the plight of American Muslims and also the plight of Middle Eastern Christians?

5. How does the call for equality and justice influence the treatment of Muslims and Christians in the North American media, and also in the Muslim media?

(Photo: 'Blue Mosque,' Istanbul, Turkey.)

When Random House dropped the The Jewel of Medina, a romance novel about Muhammad and his child bride, they said it was because it "could incite acts of violence by a small, radical segment." Were they talking about literary critics?

A Wall Street Journal op-ed quotes the professor who, according to the article, sparked fears of violent retribution, saying the novel was "a very ugly, stupid piece of work. . . . You can't play with a sacred history and turn it into soft core pornography."

NPR posted an excerpt of the prologue of the book, now to be published by Beaufort Books: "Scandal blew in on the errant wind when I rode into Medina clutching Safwan's waist. My neighbors rushed into the street like storm waters flooding a wadi." Ugh.

Further down in the passage, Muhammad is reverently and sympathetically portrayed. But kind intentions and literary mediocrity didn't render the book passable in Serbia, where a publisher pulled the book and apologized to an Islamic society that was getting ready to protest. It remains to be seen how "small, radical segments" will react this year when the book is published in the U.S., U.K., Spain, Hungary, Italy, Russia, Macedonia, Brazil and Germany.

Beaufort Books also published HarperCollins/Regan Books castoff If I Did It by O.J. Simpson.

On the final morning of the Muslim-Christian conversation held last week at Yale, Christian participants eagerly anticipated what Christian speakers would have to say. Several Christian speakers had grounded their messages in explicitly Christian teachings, such as the doctrine of the Trinity. But there was a general sense that Muslim speakers had more pointedly articulated their beliefs during the nearly three days of meetings. (See earlier reports here and here.)

Early in the conference, reports circulated that when Regent College theologian John Stackhouse had used the parable of the Good Samaritan to present a clearly Christian viewpoint during the closed-door pre-conference workshop, some Muslim leaders had complained that Stackhouse was trying to evangelize them. Perhaps other Christian speakers were instinctively treading more softly.

During coffee breaks, several Christian participants told me they felt the Muslim speakers had been more carefully chosen to represent Islamic views. A Wednesday morning session which featured two famous preachers intensified this feeling.

Tuesday was the first full day of the "Loving God and Neighbor" conference that is bringing together Christian, Muslim, and (a few) Jewish leaders on the campus of Yale University.

The day's meetings were kicked off by two articulate and compelling Muslim speakers.

First was the remarkably articulate and charming Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal of Jordan (who attended Princeton for his undergraduate work and holds a Ph.D. from Cambridge). Prince Ghazi characterized the "Common Word" document issued in 2007 by 138 Muslim scholars and clerics as "our extended global religious handshake." This was not a concession to Christians, he said. The statement was "about equal peace and not capitulation."

The first item on his list of tension-producing factors between Muslims and Western Christians was "the question of Jerusalem and Palestine" and during a break in the meetings he re-emphasized the issue of the control of and access to Jerusalem as a factor that would have to be resolved before any lasting d?tente could be achieved.

Did Ghazi go over the top when he claimed that hostility to Muslims in Western countries was at a high enough level to warrant worries about internment camps - or even concentration camps - in the near future?

Filed: 7:05 AM, July 30, 2008

Senator John Kerry kicked off the "Loving God and Neighbor in Word and Deed" conference (also known as the "Common Word" conference) Monday night with a largely unsurprising, but welcome speech. He was, after all, preaching to the choir: Christian and Muslim leaders from around the world who want to find a way to live together peacefully.

Kerry began by telling his roughly 150 listeners that the meeting they were attending at Yale University "can help change the world," while warning that pessimism about future relationships between the Muslim world and the West hands demagogues who play to pessimism about the inevitable violent clash of cultures and religions. "You have placed yourselves among those who are on the right side of the debate," he told them. "We must love one another or die."

For decades Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, has been looked to as a beacon of relative tolerance among Muslim majority states. (Indonesia's population of 237.5 million people is 80 percent Muslim.) Consider the following from the 2000 edition of the Operation World prayer guide:

Monotheism and communal peace are the basis for the stated government ideology of Pancasila. All citizens must choose one of five religions: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or Christianity (Protestant or Catholic).

But in recent years, radical Islamists have been attempting to impose a stricter version of the religion of Muhammad on their fellow Muslims--and on the rest of the nation. On June 9 the government ruled that the minority Ahmadiyah sect, a more liberal branch of Islam, may not spread its beliefs. As a result, Islamists last week sealed off more than 10 Ahmadiyah mosques. An editorial in the Wall Street Journal Asia says the government-sanctioned discrimination is unlikely to end there:

If radical thugs are allowed to target Ahmadiyah houses of worship today with impunity, what prevents them from targeting other kinds of Muslims tomorrow? Or Christians? Or Sikhs? The government's refusal to protect the Ahmadiyah threatens the underpinnings of Indonesia's tolerant society. It's a familiar theme in history, and one that has not boded well for liberal democracies.

And indeed there are numerous signs of strain on the country's communal harmony. According to a recent report by Reuters:

There is a growing risk of conflict between Muslims and Christians in Indonesia's Papua, partly fuelled by migration and a growth in fundamentalism, International Crisis Group said in a report on [June 16].

Twice last year in Papua, two provinces on the western half of New Guinea island, communal tensions almost erupted into violence linked to tensions over the building of a new mosque and an iron tower in the form of a Christmas tree, it said.

"The potential for communal conflict is high in Papua because both sides consider themselves aggrieved," said Sidney Jones, a senior adviser for the International Crisis Group.

Indigenous Christians feel threatened by ongoing Muslim migration from other parts of Indonesia, while Muslims are concerned about facing discrimination or even expulsion, it said.

The prospect of conflict has also been fanned by religious tensions in other parts of Indonesia such as the Maluku islands, which have suffered from fighting between Christians and Muslims.

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is said to be the only unforgivable sin. I've never understood exactly what that looks like, or met anyone who could explain it to me, but I'm fairly certain that if you were the unfortunate, you wouldn't pay the price until death.

Sadly, the same can't be said for those who blaspheme Islam in the Muslim world. Just ask Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, the 23-year-old Afghan journalist, sentenced to death for his words, of which the exact nature I can't find online. He's appealing, and Reporters Without Borders said he caught a break yesterday when his case was moved to Kabul.

"His request for transfer to Kabul has finally succeeded, allowing Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh to be separated from other detainees in the vast Pul-i-Charki jail, in the east of the capital. His transfer to Kabul has given rise to hopes that his appeal will not be influenced by religious fundamentalists, as was the case when he was sentenced to death for "blasphemy" by a court in Mazar-i-Sharif, on 22 January 2008."

The recent exchange of conciliatory letters by Muslim and Christian leaders continues to generate discussion.

On the surface, the aim of the letters - both calls for Muslims and Christians to work together for world peace - seems fairly benign. The title of the Muslim letter, signed by 138 scholars and clerics broadly representative of the Islamic world, is "A Common Word Between Us and You." The Christian letter, crafted by professors at the Yale Divinity School's Center for Faith and Culture, is called "Loving God and Neighbor Together."

However, critics like Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, have said that the Christian document cedes too much theological ground to Muslims. This debate was taken up in earnest by John Piper and Rick Love on Piper's Desiring God blog. Piper, the preaching pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, and Love, the former international director of Frontiers, have gone back and forth (and back and forth again) on the topic, centering their debate primarily on what theological common ground Christians and Muslims can be said to share.

More interesting than the peacemaking letters themselves - and of more long-term importance, quite possibly - is how Christians answer this question, which Crossway associate publisher Justin Taylor addressed today in a blog post worth reading. Taylor quotes the following from Love, with whom he disagrees almost entirely:

Muslims already worship God as the One Living God - Creator and Judge of the Universe. . . . I believe that Muslims worship the true God. . . . I believe that anyone who affirms monotheism - whether Muslim, Jew, Sikh or Tribal - are worshiping the true God. How can it be otherwise, since there is only one God?

So do Muslims worship the same God as Christians, albeit imperfectly? CT senior editor Timothy George also tackled this questions in a 2002 article entitled "Is the God of Muhammad the Father of Jesus?" "Apart from the Incarnation and the Trinity," George writes in the concluding paragraphs, "it is possible to know that God is, but not who God is."

That's the key difference, Taylor writes, because worshiping the true God entails worshiping him as he truly is. The strength of Taylor's post is his look at several key biblical passages, both Old and New Testament. As he points out, Jesus even said that Jewish religious leaders, monotheists to the core, were not of God and did not have God as their Father. Why? Because they refused to accept that he had come from God as God's very Son - a rejection that continues to shape both Judaism and Islam.

Still, disentangling the monotheistic religions is a confusing task, one made more cloudy by on-the-ground realities like Arab Christians' use of Allah to speak of God. The three major monotheistic religions overlap, with Christianity claiming to supersede Judaism and Islam claiming to supersede both. What's most needed for Christians, George concludes, is a winsome and missional approach that turns our significant theological differences into attractions to Christ.

"We are wise to remember that sometimes the best way to address these issues is to move from theological abstraction to story," George writes. "Isn't that what the Christian is about? God was in Christ, reaching out to us in love, accommodating himself to our condition, to save us. This is what we are about as ambassadors of Christ and his gospel: to go into the world, into the prisons, into the barrios and the ghettos and wherever it is that human beings exist in alienation and separation from God, and to tell them that the relational God is reaching out to us."

Religious freedom in the Middle East moves three steps forward, two steps back in a judicial ruling in Egypt on Saturday.

Compass Direct News Service reports:

Egypt's top administrative court has ruled in favor of 12 converts to Islam seeking to return to Christianity but has left the group vulnerable to discrimination by mandating their former religion be noted on official documents. In his ruling Saturday (February 9), Judge El-Sayeed Noufal ordered Egypt's Interior Ministry to issue the converts "Christian documents" noting their "ex-Muslim" status. Human rights activists heralded the decision as a breakthrough for religious freedom in Egypt, where conversion away from Islam, though not illegal, has been forbidden in practice. But human rights advocates remained wary, saying that listing the converts' former religion on their documents would make them vulnerable to discrimination. "It's obviously a stigmatization to have ["ex-Muslim"] on your ID card," a representative for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights told Compass.

Look here for the full story.

Religion coverage in The Atlantic is typically well done. The magazine's coverage of the neutering of religion from The Golden Compass was interesting for the way it treated both Hollywood and the anti-religious themes of the book on which the movie was based. Though the magazine retains the secular, above the fray, attitude toward faith of its New England founding, it also put Philip Jenkin's article on the New Christendom on the cover in October, 2002, when his book describing the phenomenal growth of non-Western Christianity debuted.

So, the magazine's March cover story (not yet online) on the literal battle between Christianity and Islam in Nigeria is equally well done, despite some mistakes.

The Wheaton College student newspaper, The Record, reports today that the influential evangelical college's president, provost, and chaplain have removed their names from a letter to Muslim leaders that has attracted criticism in some quarters.

"Loving God and Neighbor Together" was published in the November 18, 2007, New York Times as a response to an October statement from 138 Muslim scholars and clerics calling for interfaith cooperation. Wheaton College president Duane Litfin and provost Stanton Jones were among the signatories, along with pastors Rick Warren and Bill Hybels, National Association of Evangelicals president Leith Anderson, Youth With a Mission chairman Lynn Green, Frontiers mission founder Greg Livingstone, theologians Miroslav Volf and John Stott, and Christianity Today Media Group editor-in-chief David Neff.

"I signed the statement because I am committed to the business of peace-making and neighbor-love," Litfin wrote in The Record. "I did not savor the document's unnuanced apology section, but swallowed that in order to be a part of reaching out a hand to these Muslim leaders who had courageously taken the initiative. Though the statement was not written in the way I would have written it, it seemed to me that I could sign it without compromising any of my Christian convictions."

But in the last month, the statement has been sharply criticized by several other evangelical leaders, including Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Al Mohler, pastor John Piper, and Focus on the Family's CitizenLink newsletter.

Perhaps as part of trying to find common ground, Iranian filmmaker Nader Talebzadeh’s Jesus is as blonde as anyone’s, but the ideas behind his film pretty much undercut the Jesus of the Bible, who insisted on his deity, authority, death, and resurrection.

Jesus, the Spirit of God won an award at the 2007 Religion Today Film Festival in Italy.

Capitalism runs on capital. So, what do you do when your religion forbids loaning money, but your economy is flush with cash due to rising oil prices?

Islamic scholars are debating just how to get around the ban on usury, or lending with interest. And a recent ruling by an Islamic scholar has thrown a wrench in what had become accepted practice. The International Herald Tribune reports,

Islamic banking assets outside Iran totaled $400 billion to $450 billion in 2006 and are projected to rise to $1 trillion by 2010, according to a recent report by McKinsey & Co. Total assets, including those in Iran, totaled $750 billion in 2006, a small fraction of global financial assets, but one that is growing quickly.

Experts say growth has been driven by booming Persian Gulf oil revenue, Muslims' growing preference for an expanding range of Shariah-compliant products and increasing acceptance of Islamic banking practices by financial regulators around the world.

Unfortunately for the industry, "one of the world's leading Shariah finance scholars recently rattled the market by saying 85 percent of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, are not Shariah-compliant. Sheik Mohammed Taqi Usmani argued that, in essence, they were structured too much like conventional bonds."

These bonds are structured in a way that gives the lender a share in future profits, but they also include a promise to pay back the original loan. The promise to repay makes the arrangement similar to a traditional bond, Usmani said.

Christians should pay attention to this debate. While the church has long since become comfortable with loaning money with interest, it can be helpful to see another religious group wrestle with modern capitalism. After all, why was it that for centuries Christians forbade usury and then heavily regulated it?

Hmm, maybe the mess created by the sub-prime mortgage lenders has something to do with it.

I've had more than one conversation recently in which a sincere and devout Christian has argued that Islam is inherently violent and that Christianity is not. Each has pointed to Koranic verses that advocate violence, and to current events that demonstrate Muslim violence.

This line of argument I find unconvincing: Christian history (Crusades; conquest of the New World, etc.), current events (Rwanda genocide; IRA; Christian-Muslim clashes in Nigeria and Indonesia), and a reading of the Old Testament ("Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones [Babylonian babies] and dashes them against the rock!" Psalm 137:9) can hardly be dismissed with a wave of a hand.

And anyone who is aware of Muslim perceptions of Christians knows how unfortunate this entire argument is. Read, for example, "Muslim Violence, Christian Non-Violence: People in Glass Houses Should Not Throw Words" by Sheila Musaji, editor of the website The American Muslim. Ms. Musaji is hardly a radical. She is, in fact, extremely moderate--if moderation can be so described. Admittedly, her argument is not tight, and there is some confusion of categories, but it is her perceptions of Christians that is crucial to note, and to note that this perception is grounded in a great deal of fact.

Instead of us worrying about Islamic violence, perhaps we should take the log out of our own eye and ask, "Is Christianity inherently violent?" I don't think it is, but I'd have a hard time proving that to a lot of people, especially Muslims.

The stakes and the rhetoric over last spring's murders of three missionaries in Turkey continue to get higher. While some are suggesting the victims have PKK connections, others are demanding the defendants be tried for genocide.

Five young plaintiffs are being tried for the killings of Tilman Ekkehart Geske, Necati Aydin, and Ugur Yuksel in Malatya, Turkey. Seven others are not in custody but have been charged with aiding in the murders.

The trial itself opened November 23 with quite a crowd in attendance and has already stalled. The Turkish Press reports that:

The prosecutor demanded life imprisonment for five suspects on charges of setting up an armed terrorist organization and killing people. The suspects and their lawyers said they are not ready to defend themselves. Then, the judge adjourned the court till January 14, 2008.

One of the major concerns about the defense is that, in an appeal to anti-missionary sentiments, it will portray Geske, Aydin, and Yuksel as apostates who had it coming to them. Orhan Kemal Cengiz, one of the attorneys for the complainants and a Turkish Daily News columnist, wrote:

There are 31 files in this case and just 15 of them comprise information about the murder and the perpetrators. What about the other 16 files?

The prosecutor retrieved all documents from the computers of the victims and put them in the case file as "evidence." If a prosecutor sees missionary activities as criminal then it is not difficult to understand how some people can become crazy and kill these missionaries!

Furthermore, these files, which are public now, may lead to new murders because they include many details on other Protestants who reside in different parts of Turkey. The addresses, emails, telephones of many other Turkish Protestants are in the files, which have already been in the hands of the murderers. The prosecutor failed to make a thorough investigation and he has also put many other lives in danger.

I would like to give you some specific information, but if I went into all details of the weirdness of the files, this article would turn into a small booklet.

It probably won't be difficult to convince the court that the victims were at least partly to blame, Cengiz says, "From the communications sent to the file we understand that Necati Aydin, one of the victims, had been under constant surveillance and in his police record he has recorded as a former criminal for the ?crime' of ?missionary activity.'"

There has been much hand-wringing in the Turkish press over these murders and what they mean about tolerance and teen violence in their society. But the country - or at least its press - continues to choke on the distinctiveness of people of faith.

Forum 18 published an op-ed that probes the source of the anti-Christian violence. In it, G?zide Ceyhan concludes it's a result of "disinformation about Christianity in statements by public figures and through the media, the rise of Turkish nationalism, and the implicit and explicit approval both of the marginalization of Christians from Turkish society and also of actions - including murders - against them."

Keep a lookout for our January cover story, "Jesus in Turkey."

A year ago, Muslim clerics wrote to the Pope, disagreeing with his characterization of Islam in a speech given at the University of Regensburg. Today, on that anniversary and coinciding with Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, a larger group of Muslim scholars have written another letter to the Pope and "leaders of Christian churches everywhere."

It's a 29-page document this time, densely packed with quotes from the Quran and the Bible, but the simple thrust of it is a call for Muslims and Christians, on the theological basis of our common belief in love for one God and love for our neighbor, to work together for world peace. As the letter states in its opening paragraph:

Muslims and Christians together make up well over half of the world’s population. Without peace and justice between these two religious communities, there can be no meaningful peace in the world. The future of the world depends on peace between Muslims and Christians.

Christian response, so far, has been largely positive. Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury and spiritual leader of the more than 70-milion-member Anglican Communion, said the letter's call for respect, fairness, justice, and kindness is "indicative of the kind of relationship for which we [Christians] yearn in all parts of the world."

"The call should now be taken up by Christians and Muslims at all levels and in all countries," he continued, "and I shall endeavor in this country and internationally to do my part in working for the righteousness which this letter proclaims as our common goal."

The Evangelical Alliance, an umbrella group for U.K. evangelicals, released a statement saying that "any approach that is seeking to draw different religions into dialogue for the purpose of peace must be encouraged." Still, the statement warned, "genuine and important differences between the two faiths remain."

But more interesting than Christian response, perhaps, will be Muslim response. Of the 138 scholars, some are known to be liberal, according to Dudley Woodberry, professor of Islamic studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, but at least one has ties to the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. It will be interesting to see what kind of commentary emerges from outlets like Al Jazeera (which hasn't covered the letter online yet at all).

CT will likely post further analysis of the letter in the days to come. In the meantime, you can read the full text of the document on the BBC's site.

Iran's nuclear ambitions are just one aspect of the mullahs' iron-fisted approach to maintaining their power. According to an article in the Monday Wall Street Journal (entitled "Domestic Terror in Iran"), the powers that be that run the Islamic Republic are cracking down against "anti-Islam hooligans," as well as "trade union leaders, student activists, journalists and even mullahs opposed to the regime." After describing the recent public execution of seven men, the author, Amir Tahiri, states:

"The Mashad hangings, broadcast live on local television, are among a series of public executions ordered by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last month as part of a campaign to terrorize an increasingly restive population. Over the past six weeks, at least 118 people have been executed, including four who were stoned to death. According to Saeed Mortazavi, the chief Islamic prosecutor, at least 150 more people, including five women, are scheduled to be hanged or stoned to death in the coming weeks.

"The latest wave of executions is the biggest Iran has suffered in the same time span since 1984, when thousands of opposition prisoners were shot on orders from Ayatollah Khomeini."
...
"The campaign of terror also includes targeted 'disappearances' designed to neutralize trade union leaders, student activists, journalists and even mullahs opposed to the regime. According to the latest tally, more than 30 people have 'disappeared' since the start of the new Iranian year on March 21. To intimidate the population, the authorities also have carried out mass arrests on spurious grounds.

"According to Gen. Ismail Muqaddam, commander of the Islamic Police, a total of 430,000 men and women have been arrested on charges related to drug use since April. A further 4,209 men and women, mostly aged between 15 and 30, have been arrested for 'hooliganism' in Tehran alone. The largest number of arrests, totaling almost a million men and women according to Mr. Muqaddam, were related to the enforcement of the new Islamic Dress Code, passed by the Islamic Majlis (parliament) in May 2006."

According to Iranian Christians International, there are more than 6,700 Muslim converts to Christ among the 65 million people living in Iran (and perhaps 15,000 Iranian Christians of Muslim background worldwide). One wonders whether they are also being caught up in the terror campaign. An estimated seven Christians have been martyred there since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Certainly the entire country can use our prayers.

New fighting inside Gaza is creating a lawless situation that reminds me of Somalia and other fearful and bloody places around the globe.

Tragically, Gaza does not even arise to the level of being a "failed state." There's just failure, no state.

Open Doors is one of the few Christian ministries still committed to working inside Gaza, supporting the local Christians there, especially at Gaza Baptist church in Gaza City. Open Doors released this information on Thursday, June 14:

Threats by Islamic militants
Islamic militants are creating a situation that verges on anarchy. They are targeting everything that is against their view of Islam. The group "the Sword of Islam" has sent death threat letters to female broadcasters on Palestine television. "We will cut throats, and from vein to vein, if needed, to protect the spirit and morals of this nation," the group said in a statement emailed to news agencies on June 1. Recently the shop of the Bible Society was bombed by the same group. Every Christian organization is a possible target for this group. It has become clear that they are searching actively for churches and believers in Gaza and harassing them. The same kinds of groups are also active in the West Bank.

Fear Is in Control
Several sources have confirmed the firm grip of fear created by Muslims militants over the society. They say that especially believers from a Muslim background are afraid to be discovered and killed by militant forces. Not many have the courage to have contact with other Christians. Fear is trying to creep in everywhere.

Prayer Requests
Pray for the suffering Christians in Gaza, that the Lord protects them and gives them wisdom and encouragement. Pray that they will not be controlled by fear, but by a love for God and their neighbors. Pray that the political tension will cease and that Gaza will get a government that enables the whole church to prosper. Pray especially for the children.

Early this morning, I received a forwarded email from a Christian leader currently inside Gaza, he writes:

Gaza streets are again under the control of gunmen as the violence spirals out of control. Security forces loyal to different factions took up positions at major intersections in the early hours of the morning and Gaza awoke to the sounds of war. The route to --- this morning took me past numerous gunmen and a detour into an area I would have rather not gone. Arriving later than normal I was happy and surprised to see that most of the staff had already arrived.

These leaders call on Christians worldwide to uphold them in prayer.

NEWS UPDATE:
Thursday, June 14, 2007, 17:44 CDT. Comments from inside Gaza Thursday midnight....

Soon, Islam in America will no longer be an immigrant faith. It will be the faith of people who grew up attending American public schools, colleges, movie theaters, and shopping malls. "But as the first generation of American-born Muslims begins graduating from college in significant numbers, with a swelling tide behind them, some congregations are beginning to seek native imams who can talk about religious and social issues that seem relevant to young people, like dating and drugs." It's tough to find "culturally savvy" imams when those who are religiously educated come from the Middle East and those whose parents immigrated did not come to see their children lead a mosque.

An article in today's New York Times describes the religion's slow transition from imported to homegrown. If American-born Muslims do not find a way to adapt the faith to a new context, Muslims worry, they will either drop the religion or seek its radical fringe.

"Islam in America is trying to create a new cultural matrix that can survive in the broader context of America," said Prof. Sherman Jackson, who teaches Arabic and Islamic law at the University of Michigan. "It has to change for the religion to survive."

Sticks and carrots:

At the White House this morning, President Bush ran out of patience with the genocidal regime ruling Sudan. He announced a collection of sanctions against the nation-state of Sudan and individuals associated with the sickening killing and rape still going on in the Darfur region at the western border with Chad.

See this video clip:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2007/05/29/VI2007052900512.html

Here's a link to the Washington Post online article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/29/AR2007052900462.html

The Save Darfur Coalition includes many evangelical groups that should be encouraged by this move. China especially is likely to resist the imposition of sanctions.

We Christians must understand how the situation in Darfur ripples throughout the region and globally. Until there is real peace in Sudan, this region of Africa will remain violent and unstable.

The carrot and the stick are now on the table, Omar Bashir.

Prayer for the persecuted church in Sudan in the south should just be the beginning of our commitment. I agree with President Bush that we cannot "avert our eyes" from this suffering.

According to an opinion piece in today's Wall Street Journal, by Tawfik Hamid (tantalizingly described as "a onetime member of Jemaah Islamiya, an Islamist terrorist group, is a medical doctor and Muslim reformer living in the West"), the assimilation of Muslims into American society is (to borrow a phrase from Jimmy Carter) an "incomplete success." Here's a portion:

"According to a recent Pew Global Attitudes survey, "younger Muslims in the U.S. are much more likely than older Muslim Americans to say that suicide bombing in the defense of Islam can be at least sometimes justified." About one out of every four American Muslims under 30 think suicide bombing in defense of Islam is justified in at least some circumstances. Twenty-eight percent believe that Muslims did not carry out the 9/11 attacks and 32% declined to answer that question.

"While the survey has been represented in the media as proof of moderation among American Muslims, the actual results should yield the opposite conclusion. If, as the Pew study estimates, there are 2.35 million Muslims in America, that means there are a substantial number of people in the U.S. who think suicide bombing is sometimes justified. Similarly, if 5% of American Muslims support al Qaeda, that's more than 100,000 people."

Still, it's good to know of the existence of passionate Muslim reformers such as this author, though sad that he feels the need to shield his location for safety reasons.

A Pew study finds that American Muslims are largely assimilating into the country.

Some findings, as reported by the Washington Post:

* 78 percent say that suicide bombings of civilians is never justified in order to defend Islam, which is not all that high.

* 65 percent of American Muslims are foreign born.

* "They believe that Muslims coming to the United States should adopt American customs, rather than trying to remain distinct."

* Socioeconomically, they are on par with average Americans.

* U.S. Muslims oppose the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

* Pew estimates there are 2.35 million Muslims in the United States.

As someone who often shops alongside Muslims (there seems to be no Muslims in my neighborhood but plenty at the mall and the grocery store, at least those who wear headscarves), this is both encouraging and confirming of my own experience. I wonder if Muslims see their assimilation as a good thing, or a capitulation to American customs.