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Assalamu-alaikum wa rahamatullahi wa barakatuhu:
Introduction
The Christian
missionary efforts in preaching the Gospel are hardly worthy
of emulation. Ever since the appearance of Islam on the world
stage and the first sighting of tribes (or natives) of the New
World, the crusade to convert the whole world to Christianity
was accompanied by the unholy means of deception, exploitation
and persecution.
The
exploitation of the indigenous tribal people by the
resource-hungry invaders called the Christian missionaries,
has amounted to the persecution of the most ruthless and
relentless kind, including the theft of the tribal land, the
stripping of their forest in the name of 'development', the
destruction of their cultures, and the wholesale enslavement
of their populace. This enslavement continues without
abatement by the evangelizing ambassadors of Christianity -
the missionaries.
In this
document, we will be concerned with the deceptive tactics and
exploitation used by the Christian missionaries when it came
to preaching the 'gospel' to Muslims or the indigenous people.
The detailed study of the issues like persecution of the
indigenous tribal people can be found in specialized books on
cultural anthropology which the reader can refer to in the
libraries.
Muslim & The Christian Missionary
Before reading
the below quotes, let have a look at the lecture by Shaykh
Salmân al-Awdah talking about
Christian Missionaries
Sweeping the Islamic World.
This lecture by the Shaykh deals with various
deceptive tactics used by the Christian missionaries to
convert unsuspecting and ignorant Muslims to Christianity. The
deceptive tactics of the missionaries include misquoting of
the Islamic sources, building churches that look similar to
mosques, doing Christian ceremonies on Fridays purposefully
and not on Sundays, and use of natural disasters to forcefully
convert poor and helpless.
According to
the Christian missionaries,
this page is a:
(The Islamic
Paranoia Page) If only we would have as much impact as he
believes Christians have.
In order to
verify who exactly is paranoid, we refer to a book called
Islam And
Christian Witness by
Martin Goldsmith, who lectures at All Nations Christian
College. This book was given to us a few years ago. It was
published by OM Publishing, Carlisle, UK. In a gist, this book
is all about how to convert Muslims to Christianity in the
Islamic world using the deceptive ways exactly as mentioned by
Shaykh Salmân al-Awdah in
his lecture.
Without
beating around the bush let us quote a few paragraphs from the
chapter "How
To Witness". Let us start
with the Prayer.
Orthodox Muslims place great emphasis on the importance of
prayer timings. If they are strict in their religion, they
will put other things aside at the prayer times in order to
pray. It is vital to realize that the Christian also
believes in it and practices it. In some cases, it may even
be helpful if we can join the Muslim in prayer, so that they
actually hear the Christian communing with God through Jesus
Christ.
Muslims pray regularly five times a day at the set times
of prayer, to which they are summoned by the call to the
prayer. This call is always made by human voice, and never
with the use of musical instruments or bells.[1]
And later on
the author states:
...and there is no need to export the use of church
bells, which may be easily exchanged for a human voice
calling believers to pray worship and pray.[2]
The high point of the Muslim prayer is the act of
prostration in which the Muslim kneels before God with
forehead bowed to ground. In the Bible too we have accounts
of people who demonstrated their worship and awe at the
presence of God in similar fashion. Should Christian prayer
in a Muslim society practise such agreed ritual movement?[3]
The Church in a Muslim context must ask whether it is
helpful for prayer to be made in the symbolic direction of
Jerusalem. Muslims must pray towards Mecca; Daniel directed
his prayers with his face towards Jerusalem; should the
Muslim convert follow the example of Daniel?[4]
There are a
few interesting ideas about the way a Mosque should be
modeled
Should the actual building of the Church be more akin to
a Mosque? Are the usual European fashions a necessity? Do we
need seats in the Church? Must the focal point be a table or
a pulpit? Do we need a special lectern?[5]
In the
conclusion of the chapter "The
Muslim Convert" the author
states:
In coming years we may see new Christian Churches which
are outwardly as closely as akin to Muslim Mosques as the
early Christians were to their Jewish Synagogue background.[6]
And how to
deceptively go for Hajj and do Sacrifice
Some of the festivals are based on the annual pilgrimage
to Mecca with its particular background and theological
implications. Some aspects may be celebrated with an eye to
their fulfillment in Christ, but many Christians would not
feel happy to endorse all that the pilgrimage stands for
Islam.[7]
And a few
thoughts about the month of Ramadan itself
And then comes the question of the fast month. In connection
with prayer, fasting is encouraged in the New Testament.
Jesus gives teaching on a snare of pride in fasting and the
dangers of sanctimonious piety, but true fasting has a
significant place in Christian devotion. Is it
permissible to introduce a fast month along Muslim lines
into a Christian Church? Of course, it must be voluntary and
practised in conjunction with prayer.[8]
In some strongly Muslim countries conversion from Islam into
another faith is tantamount to suicide. Those who come to
faith in Jesus Christ must therefore make a radical
decision. They can make an open confession of Jesus as the
Lord and Saviour, be baptised and then probably die the
death of a martyr. Otherwise they may perhaps be able to
flee the country, find anonymity in Europe and North America
and there develop a true Christian life. But they then also
loose contact with their own people and have no testimony to
them. This second alternative is generally open to the
wealthier and more educated. Many ordinary people eschew the
first alternative and cannot afford the second. They opt for
a third possibility, namely, to continue the outward forms
of Islam while adding in their hearts a new spiritual
dimension based on a person and work of Jesus Christ.[9]
And with
regards to wolf dressed in sheep's skin, the author states
After an initial period, however, they may develop
sufficient spiritual maturity to enjoy having their
Christian faith dressed in Islamic cultural garb.[10]
In other
words, the ideas of deception are in fact coming straight from
the horse's mouth and then put into practice by his
fellow-men. The Shaykh did not invent the
statements and neither did other Muslims.
We should also
emphasize that this deception was not an "original" idea of
Martin Goldsmith. Arthur French, a Christian missionary, wrote
about the methodology of "Christianizing" Muslims in India
some 80 years ago using a similar deception. He said:
If we are insistant in urging the claims of "specialized"
Missions, let it be remembered that until Arabic is
conquered Islam remains. Islam is wedded to Arabic in
indissoluble bonds till death do them apart, either the
death of Arabic or the death of Islam. Arabic must be
Christianised, if we were to win Islam. Islam must be won,
if we were to win India.
Christian Arabic Prayers, Hymns, Liturgies, Lectionaries;
the Five Hours of Prayers; the Call to Prayer; Churches
furnished more in Mosque-fashion and erected in Sarcen
style; these are the methods which Missions to Moslems need.
We have to take over from Islam all that we can with the
least possible dislocation.[11]
Dr.
cAbdullâh
Hâkim Quick writing in the magazine
The Message
on his recent trip to East Africa
says:
I was shocked when I returned from East Africa in May to
find Muslim families in a desperate struggle to save their
children from leaving their homes and their faith! In Kenya,
the Pope and the forces of Christianity vowed last year to
change Africa into a Christian continent by the year 2000
CE. Crosses with red fluorescent lighting are being raised
on the skyline of Mombasa, Kenya and other traditionally
Islamic cities. In Mirti (Northeastern Kenya), Muslim
youth are being called to a Christian worship center called
"Makkah Center," which is shaped like a masjid, five times a
day.
An example of
open deception on the WWW can be found
here
where one can find "suggestions" for using the Qur'ân in the
Muslim Convert Church. Interestingly, Christian missionaries
talk about being guided by Holy Spirit. Whether it is the God
or Devil of Deception is anybody's conclusion!
"The
Panare Killed Jesus Christ, Because They Were Wicked"
To
misrepresent another religion for fear of people converting is
one thing, but to do so to one's own in the hope of gaining
converts is another. Christian missionaries, unable to
convince the Panare Indians of the Colorado valley to accept
faith in Jesus Christ took to compiling books for the natives
to read in their mother tongue, this was accomplished during
1975 and 1976.[12]
The compiling of the books presented certain linguistic
problems, solved in the end in a very cunning fashion.
The problems
arose because there are no equivalents in Panare for many
words held as basic to the concept of the Christian religion.
There are none, for example, for sin, guilt, punishment and
redemption. Since Panare tribe lived as an isolated society in
the forests for thousands of years, it is impossible to have
famines, plagues were unrecorded and the wars that shaped our
history were reduced to a ceremonial skirmish. The biblical
dramas, therefore, were hardly more than shadow plays.[13]
It was soon
realized, however, that before the Indians could be made to
accept repentance and salvation - both equally obscure
concepts to the Panare - one had to give them something to
feel guilty about. The missionaries came up with an ingenious,
yet underhand, solution - translate and re-edit the New
Testament in such a way so as to implicate the Panare Indians
in Jesus' death! Gone from the Bible were Judas's betrayal,
the Romans, the trial, and Pontius Pilate. The text now read
at the appropriate places:
The Panare killed Jesus Christ
because they were wicked.
Let's kill Jesus Christ, said the Panare.
The Panare seized Jesus Christ.
The Panare killed in this way.
The laid a cross on the ground.
They fastened his hands and his feet
against the wooden beams, with nails.
They raised him straight up, nailed.
The man died like that, nailed.
Thus the Panare killed Jesus Christ[14]
It is clear
that if this could create the feelings of guilt, nothing
could. Now there was a talk of God's vengeance for the
dreadful deed. The re-edited New Testament continued:
God will burn you all,
burn all the animals, burn also the earth,
the heavens, absolutely everything.
He will burn also the Panare themselves.
God will exterminate the Panare by throwing them on the
fire.
It is a huge fire.
I am going to hurl the Panare into the fire, said God.
.....
God is good.
'Do you want to be roasted in the fire?' asks God.
'Do you have something to pay me with so that I won't roast
you in the fire?
What is it you're going to pay me?'[15]
One does not
have to think hard in order to realize what payment was being
demanded; namely, unquestioning submission to the
missionaries' demands, the abandonment of their traditional
lives and their customs, and the acceptance of Christianity.
The Indians were terrified. The first Indian woman came
forward and said:
".... I don't want to burn in the big fire. I love Jesus."
.... Here we had sat for almost a year teaching one believer
and nothing else happening and all of a sudden WOW![16]
It seems it
was a common practice among the Christian missionaries to
accuse Indians of killing the Christ.
David Stoll, writing in SIL in Peru, describes a missionary
teacher calling his Amuesha congregations Jews 'because they
did not have faith and were killing Jesus'.[17]
From the
present discussion, it would seem that the Bible will be
'translated' for the benefit of winning the souls even if it
requires gross deception and misrepresentation of the
scripture itself.
In the Gospel
according to John, chapter six, Jesus(P)
is reported to have said: "I am the bread of life." In the
time of Jesus(P)
at least, and probably even today in the Middle East, bread is
the "staple of life", it is essential and it is available even
to the poor. It is a 'relatively cheap' food. If the Bible
translators would translate something like that into the
tribal languages of Papua New Guinea literally, what would
these people think? In these countries, 'bread' is something
only the rich can afford. If they read "I am the bread of
life," they would immediately think "Oh, Jesus is not for me,
I can't afford to become a Christian... " and this would mean
a complete miscommunication. In Papua New Guinea the staple
food is sweet-potato. And therefore this verse would be best
translated by the missionary standards as "I am the
sweet-potato of life" as well as communion/eucharist is
celebrated with sweet-potato instead of bread. This way the
meaning would be "preserved" and convey what Jesus(P)
"meant" albeit the original text is re-edited. It is available
for all, it is life essential, since for those people a meal
without sweet-potato is not a complete meal. Perhaps for the
Chinese, Jesus(P)
would be the "rice of life". And to win the souls of some
Russian drunks, a translation of Jesus(P)
being the "vodka of life" would be perfect!
This explains
many of the problems within Christianity; they can't make up
their mind on the translation of their scripture as much as
the
actual extent of their scripture.
And above all the deception of any kind is exercised to win
converts.
Weapons & Wine: A Case Of Tahiti
In 1795 the
London Missionary Society was formed, its immediate attention
focused upon the Pacific; two years later a convict ship bound
for Australia put the first missionaries ashore on Tahiti. It
was four years before any of them learned enough of the local
language to be able to preach a sermon to a puzzled though
sympathetic audience. The Tahitians built houses for them, fed
them, and provided them with servants galore, but after seven
years not a single convert to Christianity had been gained.
The missionaries opted for a more brutal tactic and gained the
upper hand by helping to reduce the local chief called Pomare
to an alcoholic and then offered him backing in a war against
other islands chiefs by supplying firearms (the enemy having
only wooden clubs to defend themselves). But Pomare would be
backed in a war against the other island chiefs on the
understanding that:
his victory would be followed by enforced conversion. Since
Pomare was supplied with firearms to be used against its
opponents' clubs, victory was certain. 'The whole nation',
Orsmond wrote, 'was converted in a day.'[18]
With their
power base firmly established in Tahiti, the missionaries
moved swiftly to the outer islands. The methods they employed
were as before. A local chieftain would be baptised, crowned
king, introduced to large quantities of alcohol and left to
the work of converting his own people. Chieftains who put up
any form of opposition were quickly shown the might of the
missionary forces. Where no resistance was found, a native
teacher supported by a half dozen missionary police would take
over an island within a week.[19]
What a way
to love your neighbour!
Conclusion
The present
discussion has dealt with in the deceptive tactics used by the
Christian missionaries to gain converts. The deceptive tactics
would involve imitation of the religious ideas of other
faiths, gross mistranslation of the Bible even if it involves
tampering with the 'word' of God and to persecute people to
win the souls for Jesus(P).
Commenting on the book of Norman Lewis,
The Missionaries:
God Against The Indians,
the famous writer Graham Greene said:
In the recent years we have found it easy to laugh at the
American television evangelists... but until I read Mr.
Lewis's remarkable book I had no idea of the danger to human
life which they represent.[20]
And Allah
knows best!
WWW
Sites Dealing With The Dishonest Christian Missionary Tactics
But is it only
the Muslims who are saying that? Why not check out what the
Jews say:
References
[1]
Martin Goldsmith,
Islam & Christian
Witness, OM Publishing,
Carlisle (UK), p. 113.
[2] Ibid.,
p. 135.
[3] Ibid.,
p. 134.
[4] Ibid.,
p. 135.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.,
p. 137.
[7] Ibid.,
p. 132.
[8] Ibid.,
pp. 135-136.
[9] Ibid.,
pp. 130-131.
[10] Ibid.,
p. 136.
[11] Arthur J.
P. French, "The
Problem Of Islam In India (A Discussion Of "Methods")",
1916, The
Moslem World,
Volume 6, p. 11.
[12]
Norman Lewis,
The Missionaries:
God Against The Indians,
1988, McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, p. 208.
[13] Ibid.,
adapted from p. 209.
[14] Ibid.,
p. 210.
[15] Ibid.,
p. 210-211.
[16] Ibid.
p. 211.
[17] Ibid.,
p. 210, see footnotes.
[18] Ibid.,
p. 4.
[19] Ibid.,
see a detailed discussion on the missionaries' tactics from
pp. 4-8.
[20] Ibid.,
see the review on the back flap of the book.
Article taken (with Thanks) from Islam-awareness.org |
