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THE MAGAZINE OF BARNABAS FUND HOPE AND AID FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH
Bangladeshi church workers distributing food aid to Bangladeshi Christians affected by Cyclone Sidr. Getting the aid and the people help Christians affected by the
to the places needed was by no means easy. Grants from Barnabas Fund are also helping to repair damaged homes and to replace
farm animals which had died in the disaster cyclone. This was used for food,
blankets, clothes, repair of houses,
Cyclone Sidr devastated the south- on houses, crops and farm animals. and to provide cows, goats and other
western coastal areas of Bangladesh Many Christians were living in the livestock for those whose animals had
on 15th November 2007. Bangladesh affected areas. died in the disaster.
is afflicted by many natural disasters, Working through four Bangladeshi Christians in Bangladesh are an
but this was the worst cyclone for Christian partner organisations, impoverished and vulnerable minority
ten years. Over 3,000 people were Barnabas Fund has so far sent who face discrimination in daily life
killed and huge destruction wreaked £47,000 (US$94,000; €65,800) to and sometimes outright persecution.
Reference 04-718
MARCH
MAR/ APRIL
/ APR2007
2008 BARNABAS
BARNABASAID
AID 55
Country Profile Turkey
Turkey
Main street in what used to be the prosperous town of
Ephesus. Ephesus was an important centre for early
Christianity, and Paul spent several years in the city,
telling the Gospel to the Jews and Greeks (Acts 19)
PULL-OUT SUPPLEMENT
which Islam poses to Western society, culture and Church.
1
Bernard Lewis, The Jews of Islam (Princeton University Press, 1987) p.4. 2 Quotations from the Qur’an are taken from A. Yusuf Ali, The Holy Quran: Text,
Translation and Commentary (The Islamic Foundation, 1975. 3 “Undercover Mosque”, transcript, Dispatches, TV Channel 4, broadcast 15 January 2007,
http://www.islamicpluralism.org/news/2007n/undercovermosquesscript.pdf, viewed 7 January 2008.
i
PULL-OUT SUPPLEMENT
Curses were pronounced on those among the Children 3. Muslim apostates or renegades (murtaddun).
of Israel who rejected Faith by the tongue of David and These may be outright converts from Islam to another
of Jesus the son of Mary: because they disobeyed and faith, or blasphemers, heretics (mulhidun) and deniers
persisted in Excesses. Nor did they (usually) forbid one of the main doctrines of Islam. This category includes
another the iniquities which they committed: evil indeed Muslim individuals and sects who have deviated from
were the deeds which they did. Thou seest many of them orthodox Islam.
turning in friendship to the Unbelievers. Evil indeed are
(the works) which their souls have sent forward before Jihad and non-Muslims
them (with the result) that God’s wrath is on them and in According to classical Islamic doctrine, jihad is the God-
torment will they abide. (Q 5:81-83) given method for dealing with non-Muslims and for the
Therefore Christians and Jews are joint targets of hostility: expansion of Islam’s political dominion into non-Muslim
O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians territory. Pagans who did not convert to Islam were killed.
for your friends and protectors: they are but friends and Jews and Christians, on the other hand, were allowed to
protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns keep their faith and live, but only if they submitted to
Islamic domination. After a Muslim conquest, any sign
to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily God guideth
of discontent amongst the subjugated Jews and Christians
not a people unjust. (Q 5:54)
was considered to revoke the pact of submission/protection
They must be fought until they humbly submit to the rule and require further jihad against them.4
of Islam: It is clear from documents of the time that early jihad
Fight those who believe not in God nor the Last Day nor campaigns brought misery to the conquered non-Muslims.
hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by God Muslim writers often claim that the Islamic conquests
and His apostle, nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth brought liberation to oppressed people and tolerance to
(even if they are) of the People of the Book until they pay all religious communities. But the accounts of Christians,
the Jizya with willing submission and feel themselves Jews and others who were on the receiving end are very
subdued. (Q 9:29) different, and even Muslim historians recorded large-scale
brutality. Jihad was all too frequently accompanied by
Shari‘a and non-Muslims destruction of cities, the killing of captured soldiers, the
The shari‘a (Islamic law) was compiled at a time of Muslim massacre of civilians, looting, widespread slavery, forced
dominance during the days of the Abbasid Empire. It is conversions to Islam, the seizing of non-Muslim lands and
therefore based on the assumption that political power is heavy taxation.5
in the hands of Muslims, and it contains many detailed
rules about non-Muslims, rules which set boundaries
Status of pagans
between them and the Muslims, and ensure the latter’s Relations between Muhammad and his pagan relatives
superiority. Discrimination on grounds of religion is and neighbours were tense from the beginning. Shari‘a
forbade any social interaction such as sharing of food or
therefore fundamental to shari‘a.
intermarriage between Muslims and pagans. Pagans were
According to shari‘a, all non-Muslims are basically
to be fought by jihad until they submitted and converted
defined as kafirun or kuffar (singular kafir, with various
to Islam, or were killed or enslaved. In historical reality,
alternative spellings), meaning unbelievers or infidels.
all the Arabian tribes were forced to become Muslims by
This is a term of contempt and abhorrence. Dr Taj
the first caliphs. In later conquered areas such as India,
Hargey, Chairman of the Muslim Education Centre Oxford
where polytheists were very numerous, many were initially
(MECO), stated last year:
slaughtered, but the sheer number of polytheists in the
The word kaffir is a very pejorative, negative, disparaging conquered territories made the command to kill them
term. When you call someone a kaffir, they are not worthy impractical in reality, Later some Muslim scholars gave
to be associated with. Hinduism the same status as Judaism and Christianity, but
Within the larger category of the kafirun are several other scholars disputed this.
subdivisions:
1. The pagan idolatrous polytheists (mushrikun), who
Status of Jews and Christians
worship other than the one true God. These are to be Jews and Christians were defined in shari‘a as dhimmis,
fought and killed unless they convert to Islam. that is, subjugated second-class people given protection by
the Muslim state. Protection meant that they were allowed
2. The People of the Book (Ahl al-Kitab), so-called to keep their non-Muslim faith yet not be killed (unlike
because they had received a written revelation from pagans). However, this arrangement - protection in return
the one God. This category comprises Jews, Christians, for submission - held only as long the dhimmis did not
Sabeans (followers of John the Baptist) and sometimes carry weapons, knew their lowly place in society, treated
Zoroastrians. However they are charged with having Muslims with respect, and paid a demeaning poll tax called
misunderstood the original revelation, added to it, jiyza. Numerous petty laws restricted and humiliated
changed it and corrupted it, and with having deified Jews and Christians in their daily lives. They were only
human beings, associating them with God. They were allowed to worship within their synagogues and churches,
allowed to keep their faith and their life provided they not in public space. Church bells were not allowed to be
submitted to Muslim rule under various humiliating rung. New church buildings were not allowed, nor could
conditions. Their status was defined as Ahl al-Dhimma existing churches be repaired. Dhimmis could not testify in
(people of the pact). a shari‘a court against a Muslim. Finally, dhimmis were not
4 5
Patrick Sookhdeo, Global Jihad: The Future in the Face of Militant Islam (Isaac Publishing, 2007), especially chapters 4 and 5. Patrick Sookhdeo, Global Jihad:
The Future in the Face of Militant Islam (Isaac Publishing, 2007), p.244-268.
ii
PULL-OUT SUPPLEMENT
Egypt. In accordance with shari‘a, the
minaret of the mosque is higher than
the towers of the nearby church. Islam
teaches that non-Muslim faiths and their
followers must always be seen to be of
lesser status than Islam and Muslims
6 7
Ibn Qutayba, _Uyun al-Akhbar, Vol. 1 (Cairo, 1962), p. 43. Patrick Sookhdeo, A People Betrayed: The Impact of Islamization on the Christian Community in Pakistan
(Isaac Publishing, 2002), pp.243,297-302.
iii
themselves classified as apostates for views which the In the various Muslim conquests in India, many forced
PULL-OUT SUPPLEMENT
religious establishment or militant Islamist groups hold to conversions of Hindus are mentioned, for example, during
be heretical. Some have been assassinated and others have Mahmud of Ghazni’s campaign (1013-1014), under Jalal-
been convicted by the courts of apostasy and had to flee to ud-Din of Bengal (1414-1430), in the early years of the
the West for safety. 8 Muslim “heretical” sects are severely Mughal Emperor Akbar (1556-1605), under Shah Jehan,
persecuted. This is especially true of the Ahmadiyyas in (1626-1658) and under Emperor Aurangzeb (1658-1707).
Pakistan and of the Bahais in Iran. From time to time the Ottomans tried forced conquered
For most Muslims, apostasy still carries strongly populations to convert to Islam. For example, Sultan
negative connotations of betrayal of one’s community and Selim I (1512-1520) organised a number of conversion
rejection of one’s heritage. This attitude explains why so campaigns, including converting the Bulgarians. In the
few Muslim voices are ever raised in defence of people next century forced conversion among the inhabitants
accused of apostasy. of the Rodope and Pirin mountains from 1666 to 1670
Apostates bring terrible shame on their families. created a new population group named the Pomaks
Converts to Christianity are normally rejected by their (Christian Bulgarian Slavs converted to Islam).
families and in danger of being killed by individuals and There were repeated forcible conversions of Jews to
persecuted by Muslim states. Even in Britain, the growing Islam in Persia. The first was under Shah Abbas II, who in
numbers of British Muslims who convert to Christianity 1656 ordered all Jews in his kingdom to become Muslims.
face severe persecution. They are not just shunned by their The newly converted Jews where known as jadid al-Islam
family and community, but experience harassment, violent (literally, the new of Islam). Forced conversions occurred
attacks, kidnappings and outright attempts at murder. as late as 1839 in the city of Mashad.
At the turn of the eighteenth century Shah Sultan
Forced conversions 9
Hossein (1694-1722) issued a decree that all Zoroastrians
Shari‘a permits the forced conversion to Islam of pagans, should convert to Islam or face the consequences. Many
prisoners of war, female slaves, captured and abandoned were slaughtered and the others converted to Islam.
children, and apostates. Historical Islamic practice often Forced conversions to Islam have recently taken place
went far beyond these boundaries. By defining various in Sudan during the civil war which ended in 2005, and
population groups as pagans, permission was given for in Indonesia during the 1998-2002 jihadi attacks on
their forcible conversion. Christians in the Malukus and in Central Sulawesi.
In the early centuries of Islam, Christian Arab tribes
sometimes faced efforts at forced conversion. For example, Conclusion
Umair ibn-Sa‘d, governor of Homs under Caliph Umar The positive attitude of Muhammad early in his career to
(634-644), was in the habit of forcing Christian Arab tribes Jews and Christians had no lasting effect in Islam, because
to convert to Islam. The Banu Taghlib Christian tribes of it was over-ridden by his later hostile attitude. The shari‘a,
north-west Syria surprised him with their firm refusal to based on the later dated verses in the Qur’an and on
embrace Islam. the hadith traditions describing what Muhammad said
Bar Hebraeus (1226-1286), a scholarly bishop, reported and did, enshrined an attitude of hostility and contempt
that under the Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdi, 5,000 Christian towards non-Muslims. Centuries of applying shari‘a has
Arabs of the Tannukh tribe were forcibly converted to created a general Muslim attitude of contempt for non-
Islam. Muslims so that even in modern secular Muslim states
When the Almohad Muslims conquered the province of which have constitutionally guaranteed equal rights to
Ifriqiyya (modern Tunisia) they offered Jews and Christians all citizens, non-Muslims are discriminated against in
the choice between conversion to Islam or death. Similar numerous ways. With the contemporary rise of Islamism
policies were followed in other areas in North Africa and and militant Islam, non-Muslim minorities in Muslim
Spain that came under Almohad control. Many thousands countries face increasing pressure, harassment and
who refused to convert were slaughtered. restrictions.
© Barnabas Fund, 2008
8
“The Application of the Apostasy Law in the World Today”, Barnabas Fund, http://www.barnabasfund.org/News/archives/article.php?ID_news_items=294
9
Patrick Sookhdeo, Global Jihad: The Future in the Face of Militant Islam (Isaac Publishing, 2007), pp.240-244.
to renounce their Christian faith and The current pastor is receiving phone
Christians in Uzbekistan return to Islam. Older converts are calls threatening him and his family. He
under increasing pressure being isolated and ostracised in their
communities as Muslim leaders forbid
now has to keep his children home from
school because of the threats.
PRACTISING THEIR FAITH is people to speak to them. In another case in Tashkent, a
becoming increasingly difficult Meanwhile converts in the cities are church bought an old cinema building
and dangerous for Christians in being arrested, and pressure is being for their meetings in 1999. This sale
Uzbekistan. The government, who fears put on their pastors. A large church was annulled in September 2007 by the
the increasing influence of Islamic in Tashkent has about 1,000 converts local authorities without warning or
extremism throughout the country amongst its congregation who used to explanation, leaving the church without
(88% of the country’s population of meet together for their own service in a legal place to meet for worship. When
27 million is Sunni Muslim), continues the national language, Uzbek. After a the pastor decided to appeal the decision
to implement even stricter laws against film was made about their pastor, he in the Supreme Court, two court cases
religious activities, both Muslim and and his wife were beaten up and their were started against him, accusing him
Christian. Christian converts from eldest daughter kidnapped. He had to of using psychotropic drugs to keep
Muslim backgrounds face particular flee the country . (Barnabas Fund gave people coming to his church. Police
pressure not only from the authorities practical assistance.) Then pressure was officers found medication and clothing
but also suffer persecution from their put on the church to stop the converts in the church building which they
own families and communities. Many meeting for Sunday worship. Eventually believed to be proof of the church’s illegal
new young Christians in rural areas a compromise was reached in which activities. In fact, these supplies were
have been beaten severely and told to they could continue to meet, but had to used to help poor and needy members of
recite the shahada, the Islamic creed, worship in Russian instead of Uzbek. the church.
No water
The country has had three years of
consistent drought. Many wells have
dried up. Running water is officially
supposed to be on for six hours twice
a week but this seldom happens.
Sometimes the taps are dry for weeks
on end. Heavy rains in late 2007 may
have eased the problem in some areas,
but caused destructive floods at the
A dried up well, one of many in Zimbabwe. A three-year drought has exacerbated the dire effects of the government’s policies and time the rain fell.
brought hunger and thirst to the vast majority of the people
Church leaders monitored
Once so fruitful that it was called “the breadbasket of Africa”, Zimbabwe is
The government is very suspicious of
now a country in the grip of long-term starvation. In the past Zimbabwe
Christian leaders and has infiltrated
produced so much food that it was used by the United Nations as a source of various church organisations (as
food relief for Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi, and in 1986 Zimbabwe was well as other parts of society). Many
given the UN’s “Freedom from Hunger” award. Yet now, because of the policies church leaders have their phones
of President Mugabe and some extreme weather conditions, Zimbabweans are tapped and their emails monitored.
starving to death and the country has the lowest life expectancy in the world Sometimes they receive calls from
(37 for men and 34 for women). the intelligence agency asking why
they were in contact with certain
All semblance of normality in no fuel for vehicles so the roads are
individuals or groups.
daily life has gone, except for elite virtually empty. It is small wonder
In 2007 a number of prayer
government officials who continue that a quarter of the population has meetings had to be abandoned when
to live in luxury. Manufacturing fled the country, most of them living police stormed the meetings with
cannot function in a situation where illegally in South Africa. dogs, batons and tear gas. Many
electricity is only available very church ministers were beaten,
erratically, for example six hours every No food arrested and accused (falsely) of
two days, with no advance notice of There is virtually no food in the shops, organising anti-government rallies.
when the power will be on. Small and anyway few can afford to buy it.
businesses cannot function in a Likewise there is almost no food being Helping the hungriest
situation where no one has money to produced in the country, a situation through the churches
spend on their products. There is 85% due mainly to the government’s A Christian ministry in South Africa
unemployment, and four-fifths of the land redistribution policy, but made has begun to work through churches
population live well below the poverty worse by drought. Food aid must be in Zimbabwe to bring in food aid for
line of US$1 (50p; €0.70) a day. brought into the country from outside, the poorest in their congregations.
A senior civil servant may earn only yet very little is officially allowed in Everything must be done very
US$4 (£2; €2.80) a day. Inflation is and there have been incidences of the discreetly, so courageous and hardy
running at 50,000% and the economy government confiscating food. On South African volunteers bring in the
has reverted to barter trade. There is other occasions, government officials food in their personal vehicles and
Last year the young people of Chelmsford Cathedral, UK, created a service for the Persecuted Church under
the title “One in Ten: The Persecuted Church”. The service was held on Sunday morning 18th November
2007. With the permission of the cathedral youth officer, we reproduce the main elements of their service
here as a resource for others to adapt and use in their own meetings. Some may find this an appropriate
order of service to use in the approach to Easter. Words in bold are for the whole congregation to say.
Number
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FAITH, POWER AND TERRITORY
NEW By Patrick Sookhdeo Foreword by Peter Riddell
TITLE Patrick Sookhdeo’s new book “Faith, Power and Territory: A Handbook of
British Islam” (advertised as “Faith and Power” in the Jan/Feb 2008 issue
of Barnabas Aid) is now available at a special introductory price of
£7.99 (+£2.50 postage and packing within the UK).
Islam believes itself to be a faith and also recognises that it is a political and
territorial power. How is this going to be expressed in the UK? Will there be
assimilation or separation? This book has been written to provide an easy-to-use
resource to help non-Muslims understand Islam in Britain today and the way in
which it is seeking to transform the country. Introductory chapters look at what
Muslims in the UK believe and do, what they have in common as well as the
wide range of variation and differences amongst them. There is an emphasis on
tracing current movements and trends, in particular the more radical movements
which are those likely to have the greatest impact on non-Muslim Britons. Later
chapters review influential Muslim figures who have shaped or are shaping Islam
in the UK, and give concise information on a wide range of Muslim organisations
active in the UK, showing the inter-linkages between them. A final chapter looks at a range of very specific issues and
challenges relating to the subject of Islam in Britain. Dr Sookhdeo asks penetrating questions about the way in which the
Muslim communities in the UK may develop in the future and how British authorities and institutions appear to be yielding
to the process of Islamisation.
Isaac Publishing, hardback, approx. 368 pages
To order this book, visit www.barnabasbooks.org Alternatively phone 024 7623 1923 (from outside the UK +44 24 7623 1923)
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