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| Africa North |
| Evangelization campaign: Foreign Languages and Visas to lure Algerians |
| 2010-08-16 |
| [Ennahar] The evangelization campaign conducted nowadays in Algeria is the subject of long discussion among people and even the media, where opinions vary between those who see the issue as trivial as not deserving of importance, based on freedom of religion, and those who expect tough action from the state to put an end to this phenomenon. If you're a secular state then you've got no concern at all about evangelism, other than to keep the peace. If you're an Islamic state then you need to grow beards and wear burkas. If you're sending out Islamic missionaries then it's good manners to treat missionaries coming into your own country with the respect you expect to be accorded elsewhere. The idea to do a coverage on the topic came to me after a long discussion with old Fatima, who lives in the town of Chorfa in Bouira, about some people who converted to Christianity before becoming in their turn missionaries with the mission to convert other people to their new religion. I'm snickering here, as we seldom see any actual accounts of Christian missionary activity in Islamic countries except as the targets of riots, arson and murder. This question prompted me to ask questions on the subject and the desire to collect every detail in order to inform the reader about the danger involved, without infringing on individual freedom of religion, or have any preconceptions about any social classes in the society. I'm not convinced Algeria's in any "danger" of becoming a Christian country any time soon. The old Fatima tld me with great sadness that a significant number of young people and even old men from the region, leave the religion of their ancestors, Islam, due to television programs such as the one broadcast on "Al Hayat" TV channel. Girls make visits to hair salons or go door to door to distribute copies of the Gospel, showing great professionalism by targeting people who are weak and thus prone to succumb. Christians in the ideal live lives of kindness and service to their fellows. Muslims are more into jihad. I was surprised to hear names of people whom I believed attached to Islam, especially the elderly, but it turned out that those people, for social and difficult living conditions, poverty and misery, easily fall into the trap of false promises of a better life. Or at least a better afterlife... An old woman converted to Christianity for the love of her husband. Young people tempted by money and promises to get visas for Europe. Yet you don't turn a hair if women convert to Mohammedanism for love of their husbands. The old Fatima told me the story of an old couple married for over thirty years. The wife often abused by her husband, decides to use the "Rukia" traditional medicine, but seeing no change, she decided to convert to Christianity. Many people in this region, especially women, have converted to Christianity, and as they face rejection from their society, they leave to Tizi Ouzou where the churches offer them large sums of money (60 million) for new converts, ostensibly in the context of "humanitarian aid". Young people, tempted by emigration, convert in order to get a visa for Europe. A friend told me that in a village, located between the provinces of Bejaia and Bouira (without mentioning its name), she met a woman wearing a shawl with Christian symbols and inscriptions, calling for Christianity. The old woman was unaware she about what she was carrying. The imam of Tizi Ouzou denies the existence of missionaries. The Ministry of Religious Affairs is about to send 140 imams to fight against the phenomenon. In a broadcast on Algerian radio channel, the imam of Boghni in the province of Tizi Ouzou has denied the existence of missionaries in the region, claiming that they were just rumors. Adding that if it is true, the number of these would be minimal and represents only 3%. Furthermore, the Minister of Religious Affairs, Bouabdallah Gholamallah, said in a press conference at « Dar el Imam " that his department was about to send 140 imams in Kabylia region in order to address the problem. This is proof of the veracity of the facts. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 So, to sum up, a few weak Muslims are prayed on by the rapacious Christians and swindled into a new life with cash offers? What are the fatwas about survival of the fittest? |
| Posted by: Bobby 2010-08-16 07:20 |
| #1 I suppose it depends on who you ask, but I have seen figures of up to 6 million Muslims a year converting to Christianity. Personally, I believe that number is a bit high, but I believe there are certainly more Muslims who convert to Christianity than Christians who convert to Islam. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2010-08-16 02:19 |