Persecution Harder
Among Muslims Who Convert to Christianity,
But Saved Souls Bring Great Joy to Believers
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
MALABAR , INDIA (ANS) -- Persecuted
Christians soon willingly forget hardships and forgive torture and
beatings they have experienced when they see the unlimited number of
lost souls who are coming to Christ and experiencing Salvation.
 |
| Pastor
Paul Ciniraj of Salem Voice Ministries addresses a huge crowd of Muslim
background believers during a day of prayer and fasting in Malabar,
India. |
That was the thrust of a message by Pastor
Paul
Ciniraj Mohamed, the Director of the Salem Voice Ministries (SVM),
based in Kerala, India, as he inaugurated a day of fasting and prayer
for persecuted Christians at the annual conference of the SVM held in
Malabar, India on Friday, January 12.
Ciniraj likened the experience of these
believers
to that of a woman forgetting the intense pain of labor during
childbirth, and rejoicing when she sees the baby she has given birth
to.
Ciniraj said Christian missionaries
to the Muslim world and converts to Christianity from Islam are facing
severe persecution around the globe.
"Many are murdered, shot dead,
burned dead, beaten, kidnapped, lose their houses, lose their children
and their families. But their blood is becoming the seed of the church
and millions of million Muslims are converting to Christianity day by
day."
Salem Voice Ministries is involved
in this great task to evangelize and establish the underground house
churches in different nations, Ciniraj explaimed.
He continued: "There are about one
billion and six hundred million Muslims all over the world. You may
think is it possible to evangelize them? Yes! It is possible and within
few years all of the Muslim nations will accept Jesus as Lord. Because
our Lord 'is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance, ' " (2 Peter 3:9).
Ciniraj said that each and every believer must possess a missionary
spirit to convey the Gospel of the sacrificial death and resurrection
of Jesus Christ to the Muslims "without pride, prejudice and fear."
He also described how Salem Voice Ministries approach Muslims with the
Gospel.
"Allah and Yahweh are not the same God," he said. "If one did not
believe in Jesus as the living God then it is impossible to say they
are the same God. We, the Christians must be clear that Muslims believe
in Jesus, although not the same exact Jesus of the Bible, and (must) be
direct and unabashed about our faith when we witness to Muslims."
Ciniraj said the Islamic concept of Jihad is prescribed in both the
Koran and Hadith, "But there are some specific protocols in Islam, like
women do not carry out Jihad. And also Islam has a lower view of woman
than Christianity.
"Although Jesus is acknowledged in the Koran, it has a low view of
Jesus. He is portrayed as only human, not as the Savior. According to
Islam, Jesus never died on the cross but was replaced by someone before
he was crucified. And Islam has a low view of the Bible too," Ciniraj
said.
Islam does not believe in religious freedom, he said. "Iit is the most
work-based religion in the world. A Muslim works hard to do good deeds
and hope that Allah will like him and allow him to go to Heaven when he
dies -- but there are no guarantees. And Islam is divided among
denominations."
Millions are coming to faith in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit,
Ciniraj said. "It is mainly because of eternal security. And also they
are attracted by the unconditional love and intimacy with God offered
in Christianity."
In his report to the conference, Pastor Shaji Ipe, the General
Secretary of the SVM, it was stated that about 500 missionaries of
Salem Voice Ministries are laboring for the Gospel in Muslim-populated
countries.
"They approach Muslims with prayer
and the divine love of Jesus Christ. Firstly they find out and visit
depressed families which have any of its members held in prison or have
long term sickness. Usually they won't get enough care and love from
the neighbors or relatives, but are criticized and abused
unnecessarily," Ipe siad.
"(Our) missionaries show them real love with counseling, nurturing,
clothing, medications and healing. They assist those families by
cleaning the house, cooking the food, bathing the sick, etc. They make
concrete relationships with each of the families. At the same time they
keep good relationships with neighboring families too. And they gather
together children and adults to share with them stories and fun. In
this way they start Bible classes and worship services," Ipe continued
in his report.
"Another dramatic development is that many Muslims -- including Shiites
in Iran and Iraq -- are seeing dreams and visions of Jesus and thus
coming into churches explaining that they have already converted and
now need a Bible and guidance on how to follow Jesus. This is the
fulfillment of Biblical prophecy of Joel, 'In the last days, I will
pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will
prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see
visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my
Spirit in those days.And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD
will be saved,' " (Joel 2:28-32).
According to the research of Prof. Ilyas Ba Yunus, Al Jazeera.net,
a leading Islamic TV channel, reported that six million Muslims are
converting to Christianity in Africa every year, Ipe said.
"Thousands of Bangladeshi,
Pakistani, North African, Kashmiri, Indian, Central and South Asian
Muslims turn to Christ. Around 50,000 youngsters ex-communicated from
Islam in Malaysia because of their Christian faith. Some 35,000 Turks
converted to Christianity last year. A vast number of Mullahs and Imams
accepted Christ. Two million ethnic Muslims converted to Christianity
in Russia. 200,000 UK Muslims and 10,000 French Muslims also converted
to Christianity," he said.
Ipe concluded his report by quoting of Joel C. Rosenberg, the author of
the New York Times best selling political thrillers, THE LAST JIHAD
(2002), THE LAST DAYS (2003), THE EZEKIEL OPTION (2005), and THE COPPER
SCROLL (2006), with more than one million copies in print, who writes
that, "More Muslims converted to faith in Jesus Christ over the past
decade than at any other time in human history. A spiritual revolution
is underway throughout North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
As a result, a record number of ex-Muslims are celebrating Christmas
this year, despite intense persecution, assassinations, and widespread
church bombings."
The huge crowd attending the conference included a majority of
believers in Jesus Christ from the Muslim community.
To see this news item at the
original site, log-on to: http://salemvoice.org/news124.html
For further information on this
news item, contact:
Pastor Paul Ciniraj, Director, Salem Voice Ministries, Devalokam (P.O),
Kottayam, Kerala-686038, India.
email: salemvoice@gmail.com
- web: http://salemvoice.org
| ** Michael
Ireland is an international British
freelance journalist. A former reporter with a London newspaper,
Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service of Lake
Forest, California. Michael immigrated to the United States in 1982 and
became a US citizen in September, 1995. He is married with two
children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a
British Christian radio station. |
