Updated breaking news:

Compass Direct this afternoon provides a full report on the Christmas eve shooting in Upper Egypt. The death toll is now 7, including 6 Christians and 1 Muslim security guard.

By Edward Ross

LOS ANGELES, January 7 (Compass Direct News) – In spite of threats of violence from Muslims in an area of Egypt wracked by sectarian violence, police declined to increase security for a Coptic Christmas Eve service on Jan. 6, and six Christians were shot to death after leaving the church.

Three men suspected to be Muslims, including one with a criminal record sought by police, were in a moving car from which automatic gunfire hit Coptic Christians who had attended services at St. John’s Church in Nag Hammadi, 455 kilometers (282 miles) south of Cairo. A Muslim security guard was also killed, and nine other Coptic Christians were wounded, with three of them in critical condition, according to news reports.

Copts, along with many Orthodox communities, celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7.

The primary Muslim suspected of firing the automatic rifle at the Copts, witnesses reportedly told police, is local resident Mohammed Ahmed Hussein. Local clergy said Hussein had not been arrested for previous crimes because he receives protection from officials in the ruling National Democratic Party.

Hussein reportedly fired while his car traveled some 400 meters. A provincial security official told The Associated Press that those killed were shot 200 meters from the church.

The church’s bishop told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that he had concluded the Christmas Eve mass an hour early, by 11 p.m., for security reasons.

The clergyman, identified only as Bishop Kirilos, told AFP some of those in his congregation had received cell phone calls threatening that Muslims “will avenge the rape of the girl during the Christmas celebrations.”

In November a local 12-year-old Muslim girl was allegedly abducted and raped by a Coptic youth. In response to the alleged rape, hundreds of Muslim protestors torched Christian-owned shops in the town of Farshut, near Nag Hammadi.

After killing those near the church in yesterday’s attack, the bishop reportedly said, the gunmen continued shooting at Copts in other parts of the town. They reportedly fired at a convent, which also houses the bishop’s offices, as they left town.

Thousands of Coptic Christian demonstrators reportedly took to the streets in Nag Hammadi today to protest lack of protection from Muslim violence. An estimated 5,000 Copts attended the funeral for the six Christians victims.

AFP reported that protestors stoned cars during the funeral, and in response police fired tear gas. Demonstrators reportedly chanted, “With our spirit and blood, we will sacrifice ourselves for the Cross.”

* * *
Breaking news:

The BBC is reporting that at least five people were killed in a drive-by shooting at a Coptic Orthodox church.

At least five Coptic Christians have been killed in a drive-by shooting outside a church in southern Egypt, officials say. The shooting came as worshippers left the church in Naj Hammadi after a midnight mass on Coptic Christmas Eve. Unidentified gunmen sprayed gunfire indiscriminately into the crowd, officials said.

Orthodox Christians around the world are celebrating Christmas this week. Most will hold Christmas Day observances on Thursday, Jan. 7.

This Christmas season has seen relatively little seasonal violence directed at Christians. But southern (upper) Egypt has been the venue of many fatal attacks in the past 10 years.

CT news will update this story as more information becomes available.

Posted by Tim Morgan at January 6, 2010 | Comments (0)

Recently, I caught word that an exciting new educational initiative in Israel between the Messianic community and Arab Christians was underway involving up to 3,000 students from K-12 schools through college and seminary. Botrus Mansour, head of the Nazareth Baptist School, filled me in about the details. He told me by email:

On Monday, Feb. 23, 45 Arab and Jewish representatives from all the Messianic and Evangelical educational organizations in Israel met at the Israel College of the Bible (ICB) in Jerusalem and unanimously approved setting up the Israel Education Forum (IEF). (Right photo, left to right, educators Bryson Arthur (Nazareth Seminary), Erez Soref (ICB), Yohanna Katanacho (Galilee Bible, Bethlehem Bible colleges) at the kickoff event.)

IEF would provide a framework for prayer, sharing and mutual encouragement, and through which organizations could be supported in all areas in their work, and through which strategic development of education and discipleship can be undertaken. The initiative had begun with a common vision developed by four friends engaged in education and discipleship ministries:

* Botrus Mansour ,the General Director of the Nazareth Baptist School.
* David Zadok, chair of a committee developing Messianic school and Director of the HaGefen Publishers.
* Erez Soref, President of the Israel College of the Bible.
* John Sode-Woodhead who founded the Fellowship of Christian Students in Israel and was the Assistant Director of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem and has held management positions in the University of Edinburgh.

During an email interview, I asked Botrus:

What is the biggest challenge that evangelical Arab Christians and Messianic believers face in educating the next generation?

Mansour: Globalization in general leads to openness and that will lead to unprecedented exposure of the Christian message worldwide.That is true in Israel too but this message will be faced with layers and layers of stereotypes and a long history of prejudice.The Israel educational forum will have to deal with these layers in a fresh and creative way in order to make the message of Jesus known and accepted in the same spot where He lived.

According to a press statement that I received:

This February gathering brought together a diverse set of organizations covering schools, higher education institutes, and discipleship ministries. These Messianic and Arab evangelical organizations met with the objective of working together. What links these Israeli registered organizations is a commitment to seeing people’s lives being transformed through a faith-based education. All these organizations are united in their faith in Jesus as Messiah and in the trustworthiness of the Old and New Testaments as God’s word. The gathering was acutely aware of the many divisive forces but committed to serve one another while celebrating their diversity and each individual’s personal identity.

A number of the organizations that were represented in the founding gathering have long roots in the country stretching back into the 19th century. Tabeetha School in Jaffa, for example, was established as early as early as 1863. Others are well known for the quality of their education. The Nazareth Baptist School is known to be a school of quality teaching children from diverse backgrounds. Today, the school is recognized by the Ministry of Education as one of the top schools in the land with 1,000 pupils primarily Arab Christians and Muslims. Several of the siscipleship organizations are associated with well known international ministries such as the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students or Campus Crusade for Christ.

Many of the organizations have developed in the past decade or two reflecting the growth in the Messianic and Arab evangelical society in Israel. There are several recently established schools and Bible colleges including Makor ha-Tikva school, the Galilee Bible College and the Israel College of the Bible. Among the discipleship organizations are very local initiatives such as Lech L’cha that seek through a mini-Bible school to teach young adults about their faith in a three month program through which they get to know the Bible while walking through the land.

The IEF includes schools, higher education institutes and discipleship ministries and it will assist in seeking registration with the authorities, funding for upgrading facilities, developing a Messianic/evangelical curriculum, management issues and others.

The Forum aims to see the Messianic and Arab evangelical community fully serviced with faith based educational organizations that will have significant impact on the society in Israel. IEF aims also to provide a service to the believing world community, particularly through opportunities of getting to know the Bible through the land where our Lord lived.

Among the institutions involved are these top 8 schools:

1. Nazareth Baptist School.
2. Anglican International
3. Tabeetha-Jaffa
4. Mekor Hatikva.
5. Peni'el
6. Kerem El
7. Tekvat Israel
8. Be'er Sheva/Arad.

Here's the rest of my email interview with Botrus Mansour:

From your point of view, how important will this new ministry be for the future of biblical education for believers in Israel?

This forum will set a platform for efficient ministry through cooperation.This cooperation is essential especially when the believing community in Israel is a tiny minority that has been entrusted with an eternal message and a huge mission. It is important to provide the best education for the members of the believing community in Israel in order to maintain the the faith of the new generation of believers as well as equip them for the best professionalism which is essential for a vibrant community.

Will this organization be influential in building a more peaceful Middle East?

The model of believing Arabs, Jews and ex-patriots coming together under the banner of love of Jesus as reflected in the IEF will set an example for the peoples of this land. If with the grace of God, we succeed to promote Christ centered education in Israel then the message of forgiveness and grace (that is so vital for this land of conflict and struggle) will prevail.

What can American evangelicals do to support you all in this effort?

A kingdom perspective means that Evangelicals in America partner with these organizations for the betterment of the service and education provided. This means supporting in advocacy for licensing and accreditation for some of these educational institutes, providing programs,curriculums,training and appropriate facilities.

Posted by Tim Morgan at March 9, 2009 | Comments (0)

Updated (3:50 p.m., Wed., Feb. 11): The NYT has the first interview with Rizk. CT will be covering his press conference Thursday.

Rizk says he was blindfolded, handcuffed and interrogated for four days before being released without explanation. The money quote:

"I was held for four days but the people of Gaza continue to be held in a form of prison, and there are others in Egypt who are also being held," he said. "I want to move the attention to others who are still in this situation."

AP suggests Rizk's detainment was part of a broader crackdown on dissent by Egypt. Question is whether the other bloggers have the international connections that Rizk does....

Updated (8:50 a.m. Wed., Feb. 11): This post adds analysis by CT source in Cairo and a roundup of press coverage of Rizk's release.

Philip Rizk, a friend of CT held without charge by Egypt's State Security forces since Friday evening, has been released to his family -- just in time for his 27th birthday Thursday.

From Facebook:

LATEST UPDATE FROM THE RIZK FAMILY

Wednesday February 11th, 4:00am

Philip is out, he is safe and home with his family.
He requests that all upcoming planned protests and marches still take place to end siege on Gaza.

More details to come soon.
Please do not call the family members at this time.

-------

His release comes in the wake of extensive media coverage, high-level diplomacy efforts, and protests in front of Egyptian embassies worldwide, many organized by former classmates at Wheaton College. For Chicago, click here and here. For Wheaton College's response, click here.

Some analysis on Rizk's arrest and release, from CT's source in Cairo, can be found here. The author suggests
Rizk was arrested in part because his protest march mirrored one proposed by a medical syndicate associated with the banned Muslim Brotherhood and explicitly denied permission by Egyptian authorities. The money quotes:

"It has all the appearance, one Western diplomat said, that Egyptian authorities have totally miscalculated the effects of arresting a young man campaigning for humanitarian support to Gaza."
"Philip organized his march with a group of only 14 young people. His arrest has garnered attention for his march that he would never have achieved if he had not been arrested. His arrest has also resulted in discussions about humanitarian aid to Gaza and human rights in Egypt that would not have happened without his arrest. Egyptian security authorities have thus done his case a great favor that in all likelihood was completely unintended."

Click here for accounts of Rizk's release from AP, Middle East Times, BBC, and Reuters.

In addition to CT's coverage here, this NYT article covers the recent saga well.

Photo credit: Emily Johnston Anderson

Posted by Jeremy Weber at February 11, 2009 | Comments (0)

Updated (3:50 p.m., Wed., Feb. 11): The NYT has the first interview with Rizk. CT will be covering his press conference Thursday.

Rizk says he was blindfolded, handcuffed and interrogated for four days before being released without explanation. The money quote:

"I was held for four days but the people of Gaza continue to be held in a form of prison, and there are others in Egypt who are also being held," he said. "I want to move the attention to others who are still in this situation."

AP suggests Rizk's detainment was part of a broader crackdown on dissent by Egypt. Question is whether the other bloggers have the international connections that Rizk does....

Updated (8:50 a.m. Wed., Feb. 11): This post adds analysis by CT source in Cairo and a roundup of press coverage of Rizk's release.

Philip Rizk, a friend of CT held without charge by Egypt's State Security forces since Friday evening, has been released to his family -- just in time for his 27th birthday Thursday.

From Facebook:

LATEST UPDATE FROM THE RIZK FAMILY

Wednesday February 11th, 4:00am

Philip is out, he is safe and home with his family.
He requests that all upcoming planned protests and marches still take place to end siege on Gaza.

More details to come soon.
Please do not call the family members at this time.

-------

His release comes in the wake of extensive media coverage, high-level diplomacy efforts, and protests in front of Egyptian embassies worldwide, many organized by former classmates at Wheaton College. For Chicago, click here and here. For Wheaton College's response, click here.

Some analysis on Rizk's arrest and release, from CT's source in Cairo, can be found here. The author suggests
Rizk was arrested in part because his protest march mirrored one proposed by a medical syndicate associated with the banned Muslim Brotherhood and explicitly denied permission by Egyptian authorities. The money quotes:

"It has all the appearance, one Western diplomat said, that Egyptian authorities have totally miscalculated the effects of arresting a young man campaigning for humanitarian support to Gaza."
"Philip organized his march with a group of only 14 young people. His arrest has garnered attention for his march that he would never have achieved if he had not been arrested. His arrest has also resulted in discussions about humanitarian aid to Gaza and human rights in Egypt that would not have happened without his arrest. Egyptian security authorities have thus done his case a great favor that in all likelihood was completely unintended."

Click here for accounts of Rizk's release from AP, Middle East Times, BBC, and Reuters.

In addition to CT's coverage here, this NYT article covers the recent saga well.

Photo credit: Emily Johnston Anderson

Posted by Jeremy Weber at February 10, 2009 | Comments (1)

According to reliable sources, the building that houses both the Palestinian Bible Society and Teacher's Bookshop and is located in downtown Gaza City has been hit by a missile. The shop is a ministry of the PBS.

Details are not confirmed at this point. But here's what CT has learned:

The building of our Bible bookshop and offices in Gaza was targeted with a missile. The damages are unclear, but there is news that one empty floor has been completely destroyed. The source of the missile is also unknown. This is all fresh news, and we will keep you updated on how to pray.

Simon Azazian
Director of Information and Public Relations
The Palestinian Bible Society
Jerusalem

The bookshop has not been open since the murder of the shop manager, Rami Ayyad, in October 2007. This building of the Bible Society is a different building than the Gaza Baptist structure, which received some collateral damage after Israeli forces attacked the police station across the street from Gaza Baptist.

Posted by Tim Morgan at January 9, 2009 | Comments (12)

Philip Jenkins, one of today's authorities on the global church's past and future, has released another highly regarded - if sobering - account of Christianity outside the West. The Lost History of Christianity (Oxford, 2008) tells the winding story of the faith's rise and fall in the Middle East and Central Asia, particularly in Mesopotamia, which became the center of the early church and its wide-reaching cross-cultural missions. The theologies practiced here, those of the Jacobites and Nestorians, were later considered heretical by the Christianized Roman Empire. Yet most of today's dwindling Iraqi Christian population considers one of the strands its "spiritual ancestor," says Jenkins in his most recent CT article, "Recovering Church History."

Jenkins sat down with Beliefnet editor (and CT contributor) Patton Dodd to talk about the book. Here are some of the most provocative excerpts:

On the Eastern church:

[The] Eastern world has a solid claim to be the direct lineal heir of the earliest New Testament Christianity. Throughout their history, the Eastern churches used Syriac, which is close to Jesus's own language of Aramaic, and they followed Yeshua, not Jesus. Everything about these churches runs so contrary to what we think we know. . . .

Just a suggestion. Perhaps we should think of these Eastern communities - the Nestorians and Jacobites - as the real survivors of ancient Christianity. In that case, the great Western churches we know, the Catholic and Orthodox, are the "alternative Christianities."

On early Christianity and Islam:

Christians survive perfectly well for centuries under Muslim regimes, and the relations between the two are often excellent. In fact, Islam borrows massively from those ancient Christian churches. They borrow a lot of the architectural styles of mosques, the worship practices, and customs like Lent, which becomes the Muslim Ramadan. In fact, if a sixth or seventh century Eastern Christian came back today, that person would probably feel more at home in a mosque than a typical Western church service. That comfort level might change once they explored the doctrines being taught, but the general atmosphere would be very similar. The more you look at these Eastern Christianities, the easier it is to understand that Islam and Christianity emerged as sister faiths.

On ?dying' religions:

We really don't know why religions die, and if they do, in what sense they might leave ghosts. One thing that strikes me is how much a dead religion influences its successor - how for instance the old Christianity left its mark on the successor faith of Islam.

Finally, there is a major theological issue that nobody addresses, the theology of extinction. How do Christians explain the death of their religion in a particular time and place? Is that really part of God's plan? Or maybe our time scale is just too short, and one day we will realize why this had to happen. But as I say, nobody is really discussing these questions.

Read the rest of the interview here, and share your reactions here.

Posted by Katelyn Beaty at January 7, 2009 | Comments (13)

Update: Wed, Jan. 7, noon, Chicago time.

Christianity Today news staff has received reliable reports that three Gazan Christians have been killed inside Gaza since Israel began a new military offensive starting Dec. 27.

Sources report the three Christians are:

Christine Turok, 14. Click here for a full account of her death.

Jiryis Al-Amash, approx. 40 years. Further details unavailable at this time.

Naseem Saba, age unknown. Saba is the first Christian reportedly killed directly due to Israeli military action. His famly recovered his body at Shifa hospital in Gaza City, according to a Wednesday morning report.

Meanwhile, Christian leaders worldwide have been monitoring the situation inside Gaza, especially the Gaza Baptist church building, a six-story structure. According to a report from Open Doors:

"Everybody suffers, but I feel especially bad for the children who are going through a very tough time," is what one Christian church leader shares with Open Doors about the chaotic situation in Gaza.

He says: "The children wake up several times in the middle of the night; crying or even screaming from fear and memories that come back to their minds. Right in front of our home you can see the repair work done to the street where a rocket came down in a previous clash. Many children are traumatized because of previous situations in Gaza. They have seen bodies lying on the streets that used to be their playground. Now it is all happening again."

The church leader adds: "The sound of bombings is terrifying. I sometimes call it ?the big voice' because it is ongoing. You always hear it and you never know what building will be hit next."

In an Email Suhad Massad, wife of pastor Hanna Massad and leader of the Palestinian Bible Society's ministry in Gaza, wrote: "The church building (Gaza Baptist) was damaged when the police station opposite of the church was bombed. In the attack 40 people were killed instantly, but to the church only damage was done. The windows of the library fell down, but no members of the church were hurt."

The lower floors of the six-story church building were damaged by the blast. The church leader adds: "Fortunately, no member of the church was hurt because everybody stays at home. Hardly anyone has the courage to leave their houses; they dare not to go anywhere."

An estimated 2,500 Christians remain in Gaza. Last month many families tried to leave Gaza to visit family or friends in the West Bank to celebrate Christmas and find a safe place, but according to Suhad Massad: "Only permits were given to the elderly. Many people ages 18 to 35 were not allowed to leave Gaza. So several families are separated now, which is very difficult for them. Pauline Ayyad (widow of Rami Ayyad, manager of the Bible store in Gaza who was killed October 7, 2007) and her children were able to leave Gaza December 27, and are in the West Bank at the moment."

The church leader notes: "Those in Gaza sometimes have no idea what is going on. Very often the power is down so they have no radio, television or Internet. People call their friends and family outside Gaza to stay updated about the situation in their own city."

Open Doors USA President/CEO Carl Moeller says: "Open Doors is calling on Christians in the West to pray for Christians in Gaza in the wake of the bombings and ground surge. Pray that the war between Israel and Palestine is shorter and less devastating than what military and political speculators around the world are predicting. Pray that Christian families will be reunited. Pray that the Gaza Baptist Church building will be spared more damage from the assault. Pray for all the victims of the violence in Gaza and Israel."

Staff from the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews are in southern Israel. Their last report was from Sunday, Jan. 4. They shared:

After leaving Jerusalem, we decide to head to Sderot after hearing that there has already been a Code Red warning this morning. When we reach the city we are met by Tal Mahai, head of Sderot Mayor David Buskila's office. Tal tells us that a rocket from Gaza has directly hit a home in the city that we will visit. As we travel to the house, Tal tells us that the people of Sderot are not running away. The municipality is doing everything it can so that the city can continue to function normally during abnormal times.

Click here for the full account.

Posted by Tim Morgan at January 7, 2009 | Comments (3)

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?

It was encouraging that he treated the Holocaust as a historical fact and cited the standard six-million figure (things that often get denied by Muslims in the Middle East). But it was shocking that he claimed that Western societies were, with respect to Muslims, now comparable to the pre-genocidal prejudices among Rwandan Hutus and Tutsis in 1994.

Following Prince Ghazi was Shaykh Mustafa Ceric, the Grand Mufti of Bosnia. "Ours is not the problem of difference," said Shaykh Ceric about relations between the three great Abrahamic faiths. "Ours is the problem of similarity."

"Those who are similar are more severe to each other than those that are different," he pointed out. "We must learn how to live with our similarities."

Dr. Ceric preached the value of forgiveness. Having witnessed the terror and brutality of the July 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims, he has had much to forgive. He told the Yale gathering of Muslims and Christians that "the human being has the right to ?an eye for an eye.'" But the right to revenge is balanced by Islamic teaching: "If you forgive, you will be forgiven in the world to come, and [here my notes are a bit shaky] it will be your propitiation."

But Ceric startled several evangelical listeners when he suggested that not everyone was worthy of love all the time. While he talked about love for widows and orphans, for example, he named "the arrogant" as an example of those who should not be loved. This contrasts sharply with Christian notions of love, in which we are called to love unconditionally "because he first loved us." And the difference between the two notions of love became a point of discussion.

Yale theologian Miroslav Volf made a point of explaining the Christian view of love in his panel presentation just before lunch. Contrasting with another Muslim cleric's assertion that we cannot speak of love as being of the essence of God, but only of love as God's actions, Volf read the locus classicus from 1 John 4:7-21, with its famous sentence, "God is love." Because God loves (among the persons of the Trinity) before the world comes into existence, said Volf, God's love is not reactive, but is of his essence.

The Muslim and Christian presentations on Tuesday were characterized by good will, but neither group backed away from the fundamentals of their faith. Critics of the 2007 "Loving God and Neighbor Together" document feared that it was not as explicitly Christian as it ought to have been. But if the conference is any indication, their concerns were unfounded. Explicitly Christian assertions of the divinity of Jesus, the Triune nature of the Godhead, and the unconditional nature of Christian love were the order of the day.

Posted by David Neff at July 30, 2008 | Comments (10)

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."

Kerry, who is a direct descendant of Puritan governor John Winthrop, famous for his "city on a hill" sermon, recounted for the benefit of the global audience the way in which early American history was shaped by a series of bitter religious splits. But the fruit of that early experience of division was a commitment to welcoming all faiths, he said.

Kerry balanced his assertion that "we all worship the One God, the same God" with a plea that religious differences not be played down among the Abrahamic faiths. We don't need to succumb to "mush" in order to find tolerance. Nor do we need to remove the influence of faith from our public life, he said. "If we aren't shaped by our faith, we don't have faith."

Our goal should be a politics that seeks the global common good, Kerry said, not just the politics that cares for the people of one nation. He cited Vatican II documents to support this planetary notion of common good politics.

The audience gave Kerry a courteous welcome, but none of his comments drew applause until he called for the US to put Middle East peace back on the mainstream foreign policy agenda, and to do it in a way that would deal with "everyone's grievances."

Most quotable line of the evening: "Faith may be worth dying for, but it cannot be worth killing for."

Kerry has gone back to Washington, but the choir has stayed behind to hear each other sing. The panel discussions today will be less inspirational and motivational and will deal with substantive issues. The dozen or so Muslim and Christian panelists Tuesday include evangelical leaders such as Miroslav Volf (Yale), Peter Kuzmic (Croatia), Tukunboh Adeyemo (Kenya), Martin Accad (Lebanon).

Posted by David Neff at July 30, 2008 | Comments (9)

A dispatch from one of CT's correspondents in the Middle East:

By Matthew Snyder

Prince El-Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, uncle to Jordan's King Abdullah II, recently launched an internet network aimed at countering the growing tensions between the West and the Arab/Islamic world.

The Electronic Network for Arab West Understanding, or ENAWU project involves the partnership of 12 organizations from across the Middle East and Europe, including the Center for Documentation and Research on Arabic Christianity (CEDRAC, Lebanon) and Prince Hassan's own Arab Thought Forum.

"Noah created an ark for the salvation of humanity," Prince Hassan said. "Can we create an ark for the salvation of our common humanity?"

The Arab world has seen a spike in hostility between Muslims and Christians in recent years. Sectarian violence in Iraq has forced many Iraqi Christians to flee their homeland.

In Egypt, Christian girls often feel pressured to don the hijab, or Islamic headscarf, to avoid harassment. Tensions between Muslim and Christian groups have plagued Lebanon for decades. ENAWU's supporters believe that by providing resources, such as an archive of more than 20,000 articles and reports from Arab media, and encouraging dialog, their project will help to alleviate such tensions.

"The aim is clear," said Father Dr. Samir Khalil, founder and director of CEDRAC. "Understanding the other to arrive at dialog and peace. Understanding does not mean we necessarily agree with the other."

Cornelis Hulsman, editor-in-chief of the Arab West Report and one of ENAWU's directors, strongly emphasized the media watchdog role of the project.

"We have a problem with media reporting that is often selective, biased, and inflammatory," Hulsman said. "We have seen a number of tensions which were directly the consequence of poor reporting and that should be countered."

According to Pakinam Sharqawy, professor of political science at Cairo University, the participation of students will be essential to the success of ENAWU because "dialogue among youth is less politicized, more open ? our youth are more prepared to understand others."

ENAWU is also looking to tap into the contacts and networks of Arab organizations as well as the vast repository of information, and potential participants, on the western shores of the Atlantic.

"We're really hoping to build relations with relevant organizations in the United States," Hulsman said.

In earlier coverage of Prince Hassan, he told CT in an exclusive interview:

I believe in conversation and not in conversion. The study of Christianity or Islam is not just about the ecclesiastical context particular to every faith group. We used to talk with a definite article about "the" monotheistic faiths. Today, I show my respect of the other by talking about monotheistic faiths in the context of a broader partnership for humanity, involving Christians, Muslims, Jews, and nonbelievers for that matter. When you talk about ethics and morality, each faith group has difficulty with the semantics.

Click here for the full interview.

Posted by Tim Morgan at July 12, 2008 | Comments (8)

The nation-state of Israel will have its 60th birthday celebration on Thursday, May 8. This will be a milestone event in Middle East history. It comes at a time when Israel faces near-daily rocket attacks from northern Gaza.

While lovers of Israel from around the world will celebrate, there are others who will observe the anniversary and also maintain a deep commitment to justice for Palestinians.

Two individual Christians Ben White and Philip Rizk recently composed:

A Joint Declaration by Christians on Israel's 60th Anniversary This statement says in part: "...We recognise that today, millions of Israelis and Jews around the world will joyfully mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel (Yom Ha'atzmaut). For many, this landmark powerfully symbolises the Jewish people's ability to defy the power of hatred so destructively embodied in the Nazi Holocaust. Additionally, it is an opportunity to celebrate the wealth of cultural, economic and scientific achievements of Israeli society, in all its vitality and diversity.

We also recognise that this same day, millions of Palestinians living inside Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and the worldwide diaspora, will mourn 60 years since over 700,000 of them were uprooted from their homes and forbidden from returning, while more than 400 villages were destroyed (al-Nakba). For them, this day is not just about the remembrance of a past catastrophic dispossession, dispersal, and loss; it is also a reminder that their struggle for self-determination and restitution is ongoing.

To hold both of these responses together in balanced tension is not easy. But it is vital if a peaceful way forward is to be forged, and is central to the Biblical call to "seek peace and pursue it" (Ps. 34:14). We acknowledge with sorrow that for the last 60 years, while extending empathy and support to the Israeli narrative of independence and struggle, many of us in the church worldwide have denied the same solidarity to the Palestinians, deaf to their cries of pain and distress.
To acknowledge and respect these dual histories is not, by itself, sufficient, but does offer a paradigm for building a peaceful future. Many lives have been lost, and there has been much suffering. The weak are exploited by the strong, while fear and bitterness stunt the imagination and cripple the capacity for forgiveness."

A number of influential evangelicals have signed this declaration, including:

Brian McLaren, author/pastor
Bob Roberts, NorthWood Church
George Brushaber, Bethel University
Brother Andrew, author of Light Force and God's Smuggler
Joel Edwards, EAUK

The full list is here.

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Posted by Tim Morgan at April 22, 2008 | Comments (8)

For decades, Israel has made it next to impossible for immigrant Messianic Jews, who affirm belief in Jesus as Messiah, to become citizens of Israel. Often, if Messianic believers disclosed their faith in 'Yeshua,' the name they use for Jesus, government authorities would reject their citizenship application.

But last week, the Supreme Court of Israel, ruled on a case involved 12 Messianic Jews who sued the government Ministry of the Interior for their legal 'right of return' (and then to become citizens of Israel).
The court in its ruling said:

The parties have submitted to us the following notification:
"In their notification dated 13.04.08 the Respondents declared, that the fact that a person is a "Messianic Jew" has no bearing on an application according to Sec. 7 of the Law of Citizenship, as well as an application according to Sec. 4(A)(a) of the Law of Return (as long as the person applying according the abovementioned section of the Law of Return is not considered to be Jewish, as described in section 4B of the Law of Return).
The Respondents declare that in accordance with their notification they will process the applications of all Petitioners as soon as possible, as well as the application of Alvetina Zibareva, and Valentina Zibareva who requested to join the petition on 01.04.08 to the extent that their request is similar.
Due to these circumstances the representatives of the Petitioners requested to remove the petition without a ruling regarding court costs.
The Petition is removed by consent as aforesaid.

One blogger explains the ruling this way:

I received a communication today that clarifies the settlement reached yesterday in Israel...
The ruling would not cover all Messianic Jews, but would cover many of them: If a person was not a Jew previously (religious definition) but is a descendant of Jews, then they can make aliyah (citizenship) without discrimination for their current faith in Yeshua.

According to CBN:

"This is yet another battle won in our war to establish equality in Israel for the Messianic Jewish community just like every other legitimate stream of faith within the Jewish world," said Calev Myers, founder and chief counsel of the Jerusalem Institute of Justice.

Messianic belivers in Israel were wondering whether the recent bomb attack on Ami Ortiz, the son of Messianic pastor, had any influence on the court's ruling. Ortiz was severely injured in the incident and is expected to be in recovery for months to come.

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Posted by Tim Morgan at April 21, 2008 | Comments (13)

There have been long histories of discrimination in the United States against gays and Jews and other non-heterosexual WASPs, and I don't think it is too difficult for Americans to imagine gays in Iraq and Jews in Baghdad living under the hammer. But Christians?

Just like in the Palestinian territories, Christians in Iraq continue to see their situation get worse. The LA Times touches on their plight in a Column One about Robert DeKelaita, an Iraqi-born attorney handling asylum cases in American immigration court.

Repressed under Saddam Hussein, Iraq's Christian population has been decimated since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Muslim extremists have murdered priests and burned churches and Christian-owned shops and homes. Priests in Iraq estimate that fewer than 500,000 Christians remain, about a third of the number as before 2003.

On March 13, the body of the archbishop of Mosul, Paulos Faraj Rahho, was recovered, two weeks after he was kidnapped while leaving Mass. The slaying prompted Iraqi Christians to consider worshiping in secret; church services have also been attacked. Christian leaders say some Christians have been abducted and killed after refusing to convert to Islam.

"No group was happier than Christians when Saddam fell," DeKelaita said. "But no group is more disappointed with the way things played out."

Anguished over mistreatment of Iraqi Christian family members and strangers, DeKelaita long ago decided to dedicate his law practice to defending them. He is among a handful of immigration lawyers nationwide who specialize in representing Iraqi Christians, though he represents other clients.

"I know their pain; I feel it," he said of Iraqi Christians. "These are my people. I don't even have to ask them what they've been through."

Each Christian released from federal custody is a blessing, he said. But for the most part, "I deal in misery, unfortunately."

Frankly, I've never understood why we don't take more Iraqi refugees in. I mean, we unleashed this hornet's nest when we deposed that despot Saddam. Seems like we should take care of those endangered by the aftermath, whether because they are ethnic minorities or because they've decided to work for the U.S. military or contractors. An assistant secretary of State gave this explanation to USA Today:

The United States has been unable to accept more Iraqis in part because of the time needed for background checks, which have become more stringent since 9/11.

To me it seems like a moral imperative that 10 years from now we will look back on critically, just like our response to Saddam while he was cleansing the Kurds.

Last fall, I put the question of what the U.S. should do to Bruce Einhorn, a recently retired immigration judge who is the "house Bolshevik" at Pepperdine, handled the L.A. 8 case and wrote an article about the refugees called "Freed to Flee."

"I find it appalling that having perhaps inadvertantly caused the refugee crisis in Iraq we have essentially pretended it doesn't exist. Clearly we overthrew a vicious, genocidal brute in Saddam Hussein. On the other hand, our occupation of Iraq after his overthrow has been a complete fiasco. Whatever terrorist organizations that didn't exist in Iraq do now, largely in resistance to us. And ordinary citizens are running for their lives," Einhorn told me.

"If the United States intervenes in a nation's affairs, ostensibly to restore or create human rights for the population, then it seems to me our government has assumed the burden of protecting those who become the targets of persecution as an inadvertent result of our involvement."

This article was cross-posted at The God Blog.

Posted by Brad Greenberg at April 4, 2008 | Comments (6)

Will Higgins's report on attendance levels at Holy Week services at a military base in northern Iraq is intriguing on several levels. First, although there are some 4,000 soldiers stationed at the base, the chaplains deemed 150 chairs and 3 Easter services more than sufficient to accommodate the number of soldiers inclined to attend. A Good Friday screening of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ drew only four soldiers, two of whom snoozed their way through it.

While such anecdotal evidence from a solitary military base is by no means enough to establish statistical significance, it does at the very least challenge conventional wisdom that there are no atheists in foxholes. Looking around for other media coverage of Easter services among American military in Iraq, I found little of interest save a small collection of photos that revealed services most notable for their sparse attendance (Be sure to click on the third photo to see if you can identify the gun at the foot of the praying soldier's feet). Sergeant Christopher McFadden of Indiana National Guard’s 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team finds the low attendance "dumbfounding." "If you saw the possibility of dying in front of you," he continues, "now would be the time to open the door and at least look inside."

Although I tend to share McFaddens' surprise, low attendance levels at Easter services is not the only aspect of the article I find intriguing. For one, the article points out that McFadden, an ardent Christian, carries around a metal-bound Bible printed during World War II for distribution to American soldiers, a Bible whose carrier in three previous tours of duty--in WWII, Vietnam, and Iraq--has returned home safely. McFadden had hoped this Bible and its 3-0 record would provide an entry point for evangelizing his comrades. Instead, he sincerely laments that for them this Bible is "more of an artifact, a good-luck charm, than a symbol of God's power." McFadden's comments raise interesting questions about the locus of God's power, and how we associate that power with particular material objects. Where does the power of Bibles--metal-bound or otherwise--reside? Is it in the "thing" itself and indifferent to the disposition of its carrier, or do its readers, hearers, and heed-ers know the power of God to save from death via receiving the Living Word that is not limited to any one particular copy of the Bible?

Second, the article contains a sidebar indicating that Franklin Delano Roosevelt included a foreword to the special-issue Bible "commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States." Operating in a cultural climate sensitive to questions of church and state, such words at first sounded odd to me--from another time with different sensibilities. But when I read the words of McFadden's pastor just a few lines down, I was reminded that these sensibilities are still with us. Apparently, just before McFadden departed on his tour of duty, his pastor told the congregation to think of McFadden as any other missionary, "except this one's paid for by the government."

Most intriguing of all, however, is the cryptic quote from "missionary" McFadden that closes the article. In an attempt to make sense of the war and his place in it, McFadden employs an oft-used interpretive lens in reflecting on the mysteries of divine providence: "We're in the desert for a reason. God has put us here to find ourselves." McFadden's quote shows us that for at least one soldier, making sense of the war is a "bottom-up" affair that begins with personal experience and plays out in the terrain of the heart rather than the combat zone of northern Iraq or the landscape of contemporary geopolitics.

Sgt. McFadden leaves me wondering which is more notable--the apparent lack of faith among the military, or the theological ruminations of one of the faithful.

Posted by Derek Keefe at March 24, 2008 | Comments (14)

Yesterday afternoon, news of the slaughter at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem yesterday shocked me, shocked the world. It was the first major terrorist incident inside the city of Jerusalem in four years. Eight died. Nine were seriously wounded. Perhaps we had thought that the security barrier was able to protect the city completely. Evil is more clever than that.

This morning I was shocked again and wept at my desk when a close friend e-mailed me links to two Picasa photo galleries of the aftermath of the massacre (click here and here for the aftermath and here for pictures of the mourners). The aftermath photos are bloody. But we who are often isolated from such violence need to see such things in order to name the horror for what it is.

The irony is that we are approaching the feast of Purim (to be celebrated this year March 20-23). The traditional festival celebrates the courage of Queen Esther and her uncle Mordechai that helped deliver the Jews from the genocidal Haman.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Posted by David Neff at March 7, 2008 | Comments (8)

Tensions are re-emerging between Jewish organizations and some mainline Protestant churches in the wake of a renewed drive for churches to divest from companies doing business with Israel.

The United Methodist Church opened discussions last Friday on a resolution calling for divestment from Caterpillar, the tractor manufacturer, because the company supplies Israel with bulldozers used in building the separation barrier and in demolishing Palestinian homes. The divestment resolution comes only months after the publication of a church-sponsored report referring to the creation of the State of Israel as the "original sin."

Relations with the Presbyterian Church (USA) are also strained, following remarks by church officials criticizing Israel because of the Gaza closure. A recent study by an affiliate of the Presbyterian Church called on American Jews to "get a life" instead of focusing on defending Israeli policies.

"This reflects a very disturbing trend in these churches," said Ethan Felson, assistant executive director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. "These developments are a result of work of several very wicked forces that play in the church."

This report is from The Forward. I don't know what these "wicked forces" are, but if Christians are going to use insincere metaphors like comparing Zionism to the Fall of Man, I guess Jews are afforded similarly inflammatory language. Though I'm not sure what good dissolving this disagreement into a diatribe would do.

Most Jews have assumed the drive by mainline denominations to divest from Israel was over. But from what I understand, it's just picking up again and a divestment resolution will be discussed at the United Methodist Church's general conference next month. Such a move might encourage the PCUSA to reconsider the resolution it passed two years ago but then set aside.

For years, the chasm between mainline Protestants and their evangelical and Pentecostal counterparts has been growing in terms of their relationship to Israel. Not every evangelical is the gentile Maccabi John Hagee, who coincidentally gives much of the Jewish community the creeps, but during the past year I've encountered a number of Christian groups that have a more profound love for, and unconditional defense of, the Holy Land than many American Jews.

Last summer, the same week that Walt and Mearsheimer's "The Israel Lobby" was published, Christianity Today explained why Christians should love not only God's promised land but his chosen people too.

The key complaint offered against dispensationalists is that they talk as though God had separate plans for saving Israel and the church. And contemporary Reformed Christians are accused of having a "replacement theology" in which the church takes the place of Israel, inheriting all of God's promises with no remainder for the Jewish people. The one view tends to find no fault with Israeli government decisions as long as they do not compromise dispensational theology. The other view tends to consider the continued existence of the Jewish people a historical anomaly with little theological significance.

But we cannot read the New Testament without seeing that the Jews continue to have a place in God's economy. Gentile Christians do not replace the Jews, but are joint heirs and wild branches grafted onto the Jewish olive tree. God's ultimate purpose in saving Gentile Christians is to save the Jews (Rom. 11).

The evangelical mainstream needs to do some rigorous theological work on its relationship to Judaism, to the Jewish people, and to the state of Israel. The concerns we must address include:

The need to learn how Judaism and the Jewish people understand themselves. ...

The fundamentally Jewish character of God's revelation in Jesus. ...

What justice means for a Jewish state and its neighbors. ...

What kind of theological and ethical significance evangelicals can give the state of Israel before the return of Messiah Jesus. ...

Optimism for a negotiated solution to Israeli-Palestinian tensions fluctuates with the news. But Christians must hope in God's covenant faithfulness. Meanwhile, we should keep reminding those involved in direct negotiations that we long for a solution that provides a secure Jewish homeland and self-determination and prosperity for Palestinians. In God's eyes, the peace of Jerusalem is to bless all peoples.

This article was cross-posted at The God Blog.

Posted by Brad Greenberg at March 7, 2008 | Comments (28)

In Washington today (March 4, 2008), the King of Jordan Abdullah II was scheduled to meet with President Bush at the White House. Jordan has been a strong ally of the US for years and has been generally given OK marks for religious freedom. (In other words, Jordan isn't a Saudia Arabia or Iran in repressing religious minorities.)

But in recent weeks, there are credible reports that the government has kicked out evangelicals or refused to renew their visas. On Monday, the Washington Times reported:

Evangelical Christians are under fire in Jordan, and more than two dozen missionaries and seminary students have been deported or refused visas in the past year. Some of the 27 families or individuals are American citizens, a source of some embarrassment to Jordan's King Abdullah II, who will be in Washington tomorrow to visit the White House and conduct interfaith discussions with Muslim and Jewish leaders.

No surprise, leaders of the historic Christian churches in Jordan have found the presence of evangelicals a problem. Some evangelicals are willing to answer the faith questions of seekers from an Islamic background and other evangelicals who, for example, might be doing development work are also happy to talk about their Christian faith.

The government alleges covert missionary activity. Compass Direct reports on this aspect, noting in a late February dispatch:

Jordan last week [week of Feb. 17] admitted to expelling foreigners for "illegal" missionary activities. Acting Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh told the Jordanian parliament on Wednesday (February 20) that authorities had expelled missionaries operating "under the cover of doing charitable work," suggesting that evangelistic activity is illegal in Jordan. If such evangelistic work were illegal, Jordan could be opening itself to accusations of violating of Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the country published in its official Gazette in July 2006, giving it the force of law.

On January 29 Compass reported that Jordan had deported and denied residence permits to at least 27 foreign Christian individuals and families in 2007. On February 20 the acting foreign minister, Judeh, read a statement by the Council of the Church Leaders of Jordan condemning the Compass report. The Jordanian parliament on Thursday (February 21) then passed a resolution condemning the Compass article. While it was unclear what the government considered false in the report, the fact of deportations of Christians was further verified as authorities on February 10 expelled an Egyptian pastor with the Assemblies of God church in Madaba and, the previous week, an Egyptian pastor from a Baptist church in Zarqa.

See the full report here

The big question for President Bush and Jordan's King Abdullah is this: How can they expect evangelicals, American or otherwise, to support a Middle East peace strategy that puts a very low priority on securing religious freedom for all peoples of the Middle East?

If religious freedom is in jeopardy in a Western-friendly nation like Jordan, then Islamic leaders in Gaza, Syria, Iran, or Afghanistan have little or no motivation provide religious freedom to their populations.

Posted by Tim Morgan at March 4, 2008 | Comments (9)

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.

Posted by Tim Morgan at February 11, 2008 | Comments (4)

More violence against Christian leaders in the Middle East.

In recent days, Turkey has been in the news with fresh military action against Kurdish rebels along Turkey's southern border.

But Compass Direct news services also calls important attention to this attack on a Catholic priest:

ISTANBUL, December 17 (Compass Direct News) ? A 19-year-old Muslim youth stabbed an Italian priest in the stomach yesterday after Sunday services outside a Catholic church in Turkey. Father Adriano Franchini, 65, was hospitalized overnight in the Aegean city of Izmir, and hospital authorities expected to discharge him today, the Anatolia News Agency reported. According to the daily Hurriyet newspaper, the arrested assailant admitted in his statement to the police that he had been influenced by a recent episode of the popular television serial drama "Kurtlar Vadisi" (Valley of the Wolves). The series caricatures Christian missionaries as political "infiltrators" who pay poor families to convert to Christianity. The attack comes amid a growing climate of violence against Turkey's Christian minority population.

Click here for the full article.

Turkey's ultranationalists are determined to gain the upper hand in Turkey's civil society. Their agenda includes further suppression of Christianity.

CT's January 2008 cover story focuses on: Jesus in Turkey, A Bloodied Church is Reborn. That article will be posted online soon.

Posted by Tim Morgan at December 18, 2007 | Comments (0)

In an upcoming issue of CT, I'll be profiling Doug Johnston, founder of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy. ICRD works in some of the toughest areas where identity-based conflict is most intractable--Kashmir, Sudan, and now in Syria. To get a sense of what ICRD does, I attended a weeklong Christian/Muslim reconciliation dialog in Cyprus. Christian leaders from around the U.S. and Muslims from Syria and Jordan participated.

I was struck by how difficult this work is. Building trust across cultures and between groups opposed to one another takes time, patience, and lots of effort. While the American Christians and Middle Eastern Muslims differed in many ways--and remain so, even in this setting--we could always say we loved each other as people, even if we opposed each other’s governmental policies. In ICRD's work in Kashmir, however, where Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims are ever on the brink of war, such platitudes don't work. Despite the many frustrations we encountered in Cyprus, there are infinitely more obstacles to peace in other places around the globe.

Yet, ICRD has had success. In Sudan, Johnston and others brokered an agreement between Christians and Muslims. (Listen to Johnston talk about it on Speaking of Faith.) Johnston told me his goal in Sudan was to see what kind of rights a Muslim government operating under Shari'ah law could provide for Christians. While the situation in Sudan between Christians and Muslims is by no means solved, ICRD has achieved significant progress.

What will come of ICRD's efforts in Syria remains to be seen, but I left our meeting with a changed attitude toward Muslims and Islam. First, extremists--those who use violence to push a specific interpretation of Islam--are more dangerous to Muslims than to Americans. The threat they pose has strengthened undemocratic regimes in the Middle East (sometimes supported by the U.S.) who are eager to exploit the opportunity to increase their hold over citizens. Extremists pose a more immediate threat to Muslims who disagree with them. Moderate Muslims are the extremists’ first targets.

Second, American Christians who demonize Islam or Muslims make it impossible to love our neighbors, love our enemies, or pray for those who persecute us. Calling Muslims "Islamofascists" or Islam "evil and wicked" is harmful, both to the vast majority of Muslims for whom those terms don't apply and to Christians who are obligated to understand, respect, and ultimately love our religious neighbors.

Christians must have a balanced view toward Israel. Without compromising on the nation's right to exist or its right to defend itself, we must also be critical of any way in which Israel has not been a good neighbor in the region--violating human rights, refusing to abide by U.N. resolutions, or oppressing the Palestinian people.

There is much in Islam that Christians can agree with. Muslims see themselves as worshiping the same God as Christians. They see Jesus as a prophet--though their notion of who Jesus is differs significantly from Christians'. They pray much as Christians do. They believe that Mohammed simply brought to Arabs the message of the one God--as opposed to paganism. Christians are seen as spiritual brothers. It was a Christian monk, according to Islam, who identified Mohammed as a prophet, and a Christian king protected the early Muslim community from attack.

However, there are also significant differences, which cannot be overlooked. Muslims, while honoring Jesus, also refuse to see him as Christians do--as the fully human, fully divine Son of God.

The Muslim idea of forgiveness is also very different than the forgiveness that Jesus taught. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, he said. And while hanging on the cross, Jesus said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." Christians understand forgiveness as something that an offended party offers regardless of whether the offender sees the wrong he has done or even corrects his behavior. For Muslims, forgiveness only happens once restitution has been made.

Christians can be thankful that God sent Jesus to die for our sins "while we were yet sinners," and before we could make restitution for our offense against him.

It was striking to see how counter-cultural the Christian idea of forgiveness really is. And it is sobering to think of how difficult peacemaking can be when two sides can't forgive until their grievances are addressed.

Posted by Rob Moll at November 1, 2007 | Comments (11)

Last Friday, I joined five other evangelical Protestant leaders for an intense and rewarding half-hour conversation with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Our goal was to assure her of our support as she navigates the treacherous waters of Middle East politics - particularly as she arm-wrestles the various parties toward the summit planned for the beginning of December in Annapolis. The Bush Administration is hoping that foundations can be laid for an enduring, peaceful two-state solution in Israel-Palestine conflict.

The others in our delegation included three megachurch pastors - Bob Roberts of Northwood Church near Dallas, Joel Hunter of Northland Church near Orlando, and John Jenkins of First Baptist Church of Glen Arden near Washington, DC. Also part of the group were foreign policy guru Chris Seiple of the Institute for Global Engagement and Ron Sider of Palmer Theological Seminary.

Secretary Rice is an intelligent, calm, well-spoken person whose social skills are clearly meant for diplomacy. (Click here , here , and here for CT's 2003 cover essay about Condi Rice.) But she also radiates strength - which is what it takes to go head-to-head with the antagonists in a protracted conflict.

Here are a few highlights from our conversation:

? She is a "fundamental defender of Israel's security and its right to defend itself." She will not abandon Israel's security needs.

? She also doesn't believe that you can excuse any terrorist activity by calling people "freedom fighters." There is no such thing. A terrorist is a terrorist is a terrorist.

? Although there are absolutist factions on both sides, she believes that the leadership on both sides now understands that the window of opportunity for a peaceful resolution is very limited, and that this will require them to abandon absolutist claims for practical possibilities. This could open up political space in both societies for moderates to function.

? Resolving this conflict is important both regionally and locally. More than just Palestinians and Israelis have a stake in this. Responsible Muslim allies in, for example, Indonesia would discover that a fair and peaceful resolution would reduce the pressures from fundamentalist groups. And in the region itself, the Arab states are quite nervous about the activities of an Iran-backed Hamas that wants to exploit tensions with Israel.

? She sees herself as a facilitator. The US is not imposing a solution on Israelis and Palestinians, but it is helping leaders who want to move their people toward increasing peace and economic stability to reach their goals.

? She is realistic. In the 14 months the Bush Administration has left, there is no way to accomplish everything that needs to be done. But strong foundations can be laid. And this is a moment of opportunity.

The pastors in our group are interested in more than diplomacy. While they prayed for Secretary Rice, that God would strengthen her to accomplish her mission, they also spoke of people-to-people development projects they envisioned to help impoverished Palestinians to a better life. If Palestinian civil society is going to recover from its current chaos, it will require some serious attention to local economies. That's something that individual American Christians can be part of.

On her October 17 visit to Bethlehem, Secretary Rice observed first-hand the devastated economy of that traditionally Christian city. With tourism as the lifeblood of the local economy, occupancy in the main hotel is down to 20%. This fact was repeatedly reported in the press after her visit, and Secretary Rice referred to it again in our conversation. She was obviously glad to hear of the hopes these pastors had for reaching out to fellow Christians in the birthplace of Jesus. Stay tuned for an announcement of specific church-based projects in the near future.

Several years ago, I heard Secretary Rice give her testimony at the National Prayer Breakfast. She talked about the African-American spiritual "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen." There is a paradox in that spiritual. One line talks plaintively of trouble, suffering, and sorrow. The next exclaims, "Glory, Hallelujah!" Secretary Rice, as a Christian believer, sees that the path to "Glory, Hallelujah!" lies through tribulation - but only if one lets go of the pain and the preoccupation with victim status and uses it for the good of others. That kind of faith may fit her well for taking on the monumental challenges of the Middle East.

Posted by David Neff at October 30, 2007 | Comments (10)

CT Senior Writer Deann Alford reports:

Rami Ayyad, manager of Gaza's only Christian bookstore, was found dead of multiple stab and gunshot wounds early Sunday, October 7.

Ayyad, 26, was kidnapped at 4:30 p.m. Saturday as he closed The Teacher's Bookshop, which is operated by the Palestinian Bible Society and located in a central part of Gaza City. No one has claimed responsibility. But Ayyad had received regular death threats for his work as the public face of the bookshop.

The interior ministry of Hamas, the ruling power in Gaza since the June ouster of its political rival Fatah, has issued a statement condemning the murder, the Associated Press reports. An AP story said Hamas has launched an investigation.

On Friday, October 5, Ayyad noticed a car lacking license plates following him, according to a Palestinian Bible Society press release. On Saturday at 6 p.m. Ayyad phoned his wife that he had been kidnapped by a group of people right after he had closed the bookstore. Ayyad told his wife that he would return home late that evening. Ayyad placed a second call with a similar message to someone else. At that time, a Bible Society official reported the incident to police in Gaza City.

According to a Reuters report:

Ayyad's mother, Anisa, said her son had telephoned his family after he was seized. "He said he was going to be with the 'people' for another two hours and that if he was not back (by then), he would not be returning for a long, long time," she said.

At 6:25 a.m. Sunday October 7, Ayyad's body was found near the bookshop. "Signs of bullets and knife stabs could be clearly seen on his body," the Bible Society release said. Unconfirmed reports added that his head had been severely injured.

Ayyad leaves behind two young children and his pregnant wife, Pauline. Ayyad helped lead Gaza Baptist Church's Awana club and directed the church's summer children's camp.

On April 15, a bomb destroyed much of the shop's downstairs storefront, but no people were injured in that attack. On February 3, 2006, local militants detonated two small pipe bombs, destroying the shop's doors. Following that assault, the Christian bookshop's workers found a communiqué demanding the shop close immediately.

Gazan authorities had no confirmation of who was responsible. A secretive group calling itself "The Sword of Islam" has carried out similar bombings of Internet cafes in Gaza.

At the time of the February attack, many Gazans gathered for a pro-bookshop rally to encourage the Bible Society to reopen the shop. The shop reopened five weeks later.

In addition to offering Bibles and Christian books, the shop, which opened in 1998, offers public computer classes and other educational opportunities to Gaza's 1.4 million people, many of whom are jobless and destitute.

The Palestinian Bible Society's Gaza ministry includes relief work in Gaza's refugee camps and community health, educational, microenterprise, and development projects.

The Bible Society said in its statement:

"The Bible Society in Gaza has received previous threats and vandalism. However, the support from the community has been very well noticed because of the humanitarian role that the Bible Society has been taking the last four years in the strip."

Gaza's dwindling Christian population of under 5,000 remains in shock. For the most part, Palestinian Muslims and Christians have dwelled peacefully together for centuries in this area of the Middle East.

During a phone interview with Christianity Today, a Christian worker who recently left Gaza and asked not to be identified said that Ayyad's death marks the first time in memory that a Palestinian Christian has died for the gospel.

The worker told CT that he believes Ayyad's murder was committed by non-Palestinians likely affiliated with Al Qaeda.

"The long tradition of coexistence between Palestinian Muslims and Christians doesn't mean anything to them," the worker said. "This is a campaign to purge Muslim lands of all 'infidels.' That includes Christians as well as Jews.

"All things work together for good. God has a purpose for letting this happen. It will not silence the church."

On Sunday, the Associated Press reported from the funeral:

The report included this comment:

"He paid his life for his faith, for his dignity, and the dignity of the Bible and Jesus Christ," said Issa, a 24-year-old Christian who came to pay his respects at Ayyad's home. "I am terrified and cannot believe this has happened in Gaza," said Issa, declining to give his last name because of the tense atmosphere.

Posted by Tim Morgan at October 7, 2007 | Comments (12)

Religious freedom in Iraq seems to be a low priority for both the Iraqi government and the US-led Coalition forces. But fortunately, the news below is basically positive.

...from Compass Direct News:

by Peter Lamprecht

ISTANBUL, June 22 (Compass Direct News) ? Christian university students and faculty kidnapped two days ago on their way home from exams at Mosul University were released today, an Iraqi satellite TV channel reported.

According to Ashtar TV, two university teachers and six students from the predominantly Syrian Catholic village of Qaraqosh were released in Mosul city around noon today.

"We have received the good news of the release of the eight, and the people here are very happy," a priest from Qaraqosh told Compass. He requested that Compass not publish the names of the eight people for security reasons.

Local sources said that family members retrieved the freed Christians from an undisclosed location in Mosul city at about 1 p.m. after a representative of all eight families had paid a ransom for their release earlier this morning.

According to one priest, the families gave a total of US$250,000 for the group, which he said consisted of only one teacher and seven students, several of whom were doing post-graduate work.

The kidnapping highlights the vulnerability of Iraq's religious minorities, who, without militias of their own, often suffer at the hands of armed groups.

"First of all, they were kidnapped for money, and secondly, they were kidnapped because they are Christians," the Qaraqosh priest said. "The minorities are vulnerable."

The priest said that Christians' vulnerability stemmed from the fact that they were called to live lives of peace. "That's why we can't arm ourselves," he commented. According to the priest, the students and teacher had suffered from torture during their two day captivity.

On Wednesday, June 20, unidentified assailants stopped a bus carrying Christian students from Mosul University, where they had been taking exams, to their homes in Qaraqosh, 30 kilometers (19 miles) southeast.

Local sources confirmed initial reports by Catholic news agency Asia News that armed men had boarded the bus and read a list of names of the people they wanted, checking identity cards when no one responded.

"They had some names written down, because there were some people who told them that they could have a big ransom from these [particular] families," a source said.

The source also confirmed that the kidnapping had taken place in Hail Musena, near a police station, but that officials had failed to intervene.

In a June 21 article, police told Reuters that eight Christian university students had been snatched off a bus east of Mosul.

Battling Dangers

Located only a few miles from Mosul, where religiously-driven violence has killed two priests in the past year, Christians in Qaraqosh have been forced to adopt creative solutions to counter deteriorating security.

Syrian Catholic leaders have organized a volunteer-based village guard of approximately 1,200 men who patrol Qaraqosh's perimeter around the clock in four six-hour shifts. Armed men check all traffic entering and leaving the village, at times accompanying unknown travelers on their personal visits.

During a visit to the village in November 2006, local clergy told Compass that they had temporarily opened their own seminary, the St. Ephraim Institute, because their young men were unable to attend classes in Baghdad. At that time, deteriorating security in Baghdad's Dora district and a string of kidnappings had forced the Chaldean college and seminary, which served members of various churches, to close its doors.

Qaraqosh also has had to deal with an influx of some 1,500 refugee families from Baghdad and Mosul over the past three years. Its total population has now hit 35,000, up from 29,000 in 2003.

But the most recent kidnapping is halting one of the Syrian Catholic church's most gutsy innovations, a daily caravan of buses to transport students to and from Mosul University. It was one of these buses from which gunmen snatched eight Christians on Wednesday.

"It tears us apart, the fear of even one bus being hit," one Qaraqosh priest told Compass in November, referring to the possibility of an attack on the caravan.

"We are stopping the buses because it's too dangerous," a priest told Compass from Qaraqosh today, saying that the caravan created too big a target for Islamists and money-making gangs.

Mosul-based groups have increasingly begun to carry out violence in Christian villages outside the city. Two Christians were buried in Telskuf, 25 kilometers (16 miles) north of Mosul, on Tuesday (June 19) after a kidnapping gang returned the bodies to their families the previous day, Iraqi Christian website Ankawa.com reported.

Ramzi Yakou Shamasha, 50, and Ismael Azria Shamashal, 48, were kidnapped on June 11 and killed two days later, despite the fact that their families paid $20,000 for their release, Ankawa.com reported.

Before the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Christians made up 3 percent of the country's population. That number has dropped in the past four years as hundreds of thousands have fled Iraq due to the deteriorating security situation in which Christians and other minorities are often specifically targeted.

The US Commission for International Religious Freedom, striking a worrisome tone, recently reported that religious freedom in Iraq

was in jeopardy.

The Commission is giving consideration to a recommendation that the Bush administration designate Iraq as a "country of particular concern." That in part would mean increased focus at the diplomatic level on religious liberty.

On page 86, of the USCIRF's recent report, the commission notes:

This year the Commission added Iraq to its Watch List, due to the alarming and deteriorating situation for freedom of religion and belief. Despite ongoing efforts to stabilize the country, successive Iraqi governments have not adequately curbed the growing scope and severity of human rights abuses. Although non-state actors, particularly the Sunni-dominated insurgency, are responsible for a substantial proportion of the sectarian violence and associated human rights violations, the Iraqi government also bears responsibility. That responsibility takes two forms. First, the Iraqi government has engaged in human rights violations through its state security forces, including arbitrary arrest, prolonged detention without due process, extrajudicial executions, and torture. These violations affect suspected Sunni insurgents, but also ordinary Sunnis who are targeted on the basis of their religious identity.

Second, the Iraqi government tolerates religiously based attacks and other religious freedom abuses carried out by armed Shi'a factions including the Jaysh al-Mehdi (Mahdi Army) and the Badr Organization. These abuses include abductions, beatings, extrajudicial executions, torture and rape. Relationships between these para-state militias and leading Shi'a factions within Iraq's ministries and governing coalition indicate that these groups operate with impunity and often, governmental complicity. Although many of these militia-related violations reveal the challenges evident in Iraq's fragmented political system, they nonetheless reflect the Iraqi government's tolerance - and in some instances commission - of egregious violations of religious freedom.

Finally, the Commission also noted the grave conditions for non-Muslims in Iraq, including ChaldoAssyrian Christians, Yazidis, and Sabean Mandaeans, who continue to suffer pervasive and severe violence and discrimination at the hands of both government and non-government actors. The Commission has added Iraq to its Watch List with the understanding that it may designate Iraq as a CPC next year if improvements are not made by the Iraqi government.

Posted by Tim Morgan at June 26, 2007 | Comments (0)

Christians remain at risk inside Gaza, not to mention the other 1 milion plus Gazans, due to renewed violence between Hamas and Fatah. The situation is being likened to a 'civil war.'

Until recently, it was not clear if militants were targeting Christians or churches. But the Jerusalem Post is reporting that a Roman Catholic church was desecrated and a Catholic school damaged late last week. A Catholic priest is calling for better protection for Gaza's Christians, who number about 3-7,000 people.

Overnight update:

Jerusalem Post has updated their story on the church attack with a report that Hamas has condemned the attack and placed the blame on a local criminal gang.

Christianity Today has heard more from an Egyptian-German Christian leader still inside Gaza. He has been living in Gaza since 2004 for Christian mission and ministry.

Here is his personal account:

On Friday people in the Gaza Strip awoke to a new reality.

Over the previous few days Hamas, an Islamic party had routed the opposition Fatah forces, a secular-nationalist movement, and Hamas took full control of the Gaza Strip.

What led to these sudden events?

In February 2006, Hamas was voted into power in democratic elections that were largely imposed by the U.S. and its policy of democratic reform in the Middle East, yet the unexpected outcome seemed to have thrown a monkey wrench in the U.S.’s reform plans.

By March of this year the U.S. and Western countries still had not recognized the Palestinian unity government containing both Fatah and Hamas representatives. An economic embargo stifled not only the government but it also collectively punished the entire people. This economic stranglehold was felt especially in the Gaza Strip, which is enclosed from all sides.

Israel, in one form or another, controls all its borders.

Trade was brought to a slow trickle, after what the World Bank reported to be an economic decline greater than America’s experience during the Great Depression.

Soon Hamas became fed up with not being recognized and being economically crippled despite having come to power through a fair democratic process. Furthermore, with U.S. funding entering Gaza to strengthen Fatah, the election loser, Hamas got impatient and decided to take control of the territory.

The ensuing military takeover of the Gaza Strip that took 80 lives, was bloody and dreadful for many. It took only five days before all opposition headquarters were taken and control was fully in Hamas’ hands.

After the fighting ended I made a trip to the Gaza Baptist Church building with my hosts and the pastor. Minimal damage had been done to the building structure and some equipment, including a laptop used for Sunday worship had been stolen from the building.

A clampdown on lawlessness, which has been widespread in recent months, is one of the few positive prospects of the new political reality in Gaza. With the world not recognizing the Hamas government, the former political power, Fatah, stayed in control in many areas of government. The result had been two parallel government structures in Gaza, one democratically elected by the people, the other voted out by the people and yet only the latter was accepted and recognized by world leaders.

During the past two years I have lived here I have found that it is this meddling of outside powers in Palestinian affairs that has over and over again caused so much suffering for a people so desperately seeking to live a normal life in peace.

Generally people are very concerned about what the near future holds. Despite the Hamas amnesty of Fatah activists, many of them remain scared and are staying home or are in hiding.

By Saturday the streets were relatively back to normal until reports started to spread that Israel was closing the borders and people started scrambling for their basic needs, bread, sugar, flour, and gas. Cars are moving about, people are walking the streets, talking and laughing.

Along the walls of the main hospital in town [Gaza City] I saw old men sitting in the shade playing backgammon. The combination of the normalcy of life and fear of the unknown of the future makes for a strange atmosphere.

Posted by Tim Morgan at June 18, 2007 | Comments (10)

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....

CT reaches influential Christian leader inside Gaza.

Christianity Today senior writer Deann Alford spoke this afternoon (about Thursday midnight local time) with an expatriate evangelical missions leader who has been doing ministry and living in the Gaza Strip, where the Islamic party Hamas has taken control. We are not releasing his name or exact location.

Are you in a safe place for now?
I'm safe and doing OK, waiting to see what happens with the new government. My building is in a really bad location right now. I'm staying with some people from the church. In this area it's been very quiet for the last few days. Everybody [in Gaza's Baptist church] seems to be out of harm's way. I'm not concerned for my safety.

What's the situation for Gaza and Gazan evangelicals?
I've seen in the last few hours that although people are cautious, they're going out without so much fear. Christians, I think, are in the same situation. There's the added uncertainty of being Christian and not knowing if that will change anything in the equation. Families I've spoken with today are not overly worried about how a Hamas government will treat them. Hamas has always treated them and taken care of them very well. I haven't seen any fear or concern of a takeover. But there's uncertainty. Nobody knows exactly what the next few days and weeks will hold.

How are church members communicating with each other?
That's become more difficult. Often it's through landline. Cell phone signals are very, very weak. Power is out in some areas.

What has the church been able to do ministry-wise?
Nothing. Every one I know from the church has stayed home.

What's the status of the church's building, which is across the street from the police station?
The security situation in some ways is safer. One party is now in complete control of the Gaza Strip. I imagine the security part could mean positive things for the church building.

How do Christians there anticipate this will play out?
We're wondering what the physical reality will be. Nobody really knows what will happen in the next few weeks. I don't imagine Israel will be too keen to allow a lot of foreigners in now. There is fear Gaza will become one big concentration camp, partly because it already is. It's very unlikely there will be any contact between Hamas government and Israel. The fear is that the humanitarian situation will go completely out of control. The common man on the street will suffer the most.

What are your plans?
I'll probably leave for the West Bank whenever there's a way out for internationals. There's only a handful of internationals in the Gaza Strip at the moment. I was planning to leave by the middle of July. I tried to leave yesterday and talked to UN security. They recommended I stay in my apartment. Today there's no way out. The border is closed.

Posted by Tim Morgan at June 14, 2007 | Comments (11)