Muslim peril in a new faith
By Amy Doolittle
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Christians from across the country traveled to Falls Church this weekend to
attend the first Muslim Background Believers Convention, a cross-cultural
conference aimed at improving understanding and relations between born-again
Christians from Muslim backgrounds and born-again Christians from Protestant
or Catholic backgrounds. They speak only under fictitious names assumed for
the occasion.
Sponsored in part by the Baptist General Association of Virginia, the
convention kept the registration and entrance process under tight security
to protect the participants, many of whom say they face death threats or
ostracism from their families for leaving the Islamic faith.
The convention focused on teaching Christians from different backgrounds
to understand one another's cultures and circumstances. The number of
converts from Islam to Christianity is not readily available, nor is the
number of Christians who convert to Islam.
"Unfortunately, there is some suspicion between Muslim-background
believers and Christian-background believers," says the conference
organizer, who asked to be called "Joseph Noble."
"We need to bridge that gap and love one another," says Mr. Noble, who,
like other Christian converts at the conference, was concerned about
anonymity because, he says, the Koran dictates that those who leave Islam be
considered apostates and can be killed.
"For a Muslim to convert to Christianity is a very risky undertaking,"
Mr. Noble says. "If he does not go back to Islam, he could face death."
Although it is rare for converts to be killed in America because of
their faith, many face ostracism from their families or denial of entrance
to their former countries, he says.
"I was called by my embassy and told I'd better repent or I could not go
back home with my family," says the conference organizer, a former member of
the government in his native country.
To avoid punishment, many converts don't tell their families that they
have left Islam. However, the Christian faith teaches its followers to obey
the command, "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every
creature," as set out in the Gospel of St. Mark (16:15). Not being able to
share their new faith can be distressing, says "Dania Smith," who converted
from Islam in April.
"I think I'm going to have to tell them eventually because I want them
to be Christians, too," she says.
Until then, however, she fears discovery and ostracism from her family,
who live near her Virginia home.
"I know they're going to disown me if they don't kill me," she says.
"Leana Copeland," another convert, has been a Christian since March. Her
Muslim family, who migrated from Jordan, does not know of her conversion.
Already ostracized by her brothers because of her marriage to an American,
she keeps contact only with her mother and sister.
"My brothers haven't spoken to me in the last couple years, and that was
only because I married an American," she says. "Can you imagine what they
would do if they found out I was a Christian?"
Despite the danger, she says she still takes her two children to church
and prays that the rest of her family will become Christians in time.
Mrs. Copeland and Miss Smith say the Muslim Background Believers
Convention offers a chance for fellowship with other Christians in similar
circumstances.
"It's good to meet other people, who think like you and understand what
you're going through," Miss Smith says.
For those who came from Protestant or Catholic backgrounds, the
conference offered a chance to understand the Muslim culture and what
converts from Islam are experiencing.
"What [this convention] is trying to do is bring people together and
say, 'Let's focus ... [and understand] all these cultural differences that
draw us apart,' " says Julie Stall, one of the 17 speakers. "[The] whole
idea of how we help each other is a very important topic."
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040906-124525-1020r.htm
Sounds like Muslim families have a real hard time "celebrating diversity",
doesn't it!
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