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Seattle Times - August 3, 2007
Christians to seek converts at mosques' doorsteps
By Lornet Turnbull and Janet I. Tu
Led by a California pastor, a group of Christians will gather outside some Seattle-area mosques today in hopes of winning converts among Muslim worshippers coming to midday prayer.
They will also take their message of salvation to those attending this weekend's Arab Festival at Seattle Center and to the parking lots of shopping centers popular among people from Islamic or Arab cultures.
It's a bold — and some say audacious — gesture, coming at a time when choices over religion have grown increasingly sensitive.
But the way Pastor George Saieg sees it, many Muslims come from countries in which people lack the freedom to choose their own religion. An Arab who grew up in a Christian home in Sudan and attended Muslim schools, Saieg said Islam is a religion that offers its followers no assurance of salvation.
"In some countries, the penalty of leaving Islam is death," he said. "I want people to know that they have freedom in this country to hear about Jesus Christ."
So he feels an obligation to reach out to them through his "Ministry to Muslims" campaign, in which, he said, "Praise the Lord, 42 people came to the Lord from Michigan." He believes many in Seattle will similarly convert.
Elsewhere in the country, his message has been met with varying degrees of accommodation or anger.
Mohamad Joban, imam of the Muslim Association of Puget Sound, said he thinks Saieg is driven either by "arrogance or ignorance." He and other Muslim leaders say they aren't threatened by him and are open to talking with him.
Joban points to a growing consensus that Islam is the nation's fastest growing religion and also notes that the Quran is clear in its teachings against proselytizing.
"So who's forcing all those people to Islam?" Joban asked……
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003819538_muslimconvert03m.html
Gilroy Dispatch – August 2, 2007
Muslims and Methodists Seek Interfaith Dialogue
Kat Teraji
"Islam is the world's second largest religion. When you have a billion and a half people belonging to a religion, you are bound to find a few kooks and extremists among their number," Shista Azad said in answer to our questions about how she reconciles her Muslim beliefs with the actions of terrorists such as Osama bin Laden. Teachers Shista Azad and Maha Elgensidi, Muslim women from the Islamic Networks Group, (which works to educate people about Islamic beliefs), have been in demand since Sept. 11. In the past year alone, they have participated in 726 presentations to history and social studies classes, police officers, corporations with cultural competency programs and other events.
Shista turned our question around on us, "How do you reconcile Hitler with Christian belief? He professed to be a Christian, and yet look what he did. There are extremists in every religion, and they give a bad name to the millions who are trying to practice their own beliefs in peace."
Gilroy Methodist women were enjoying a class called, "Creating Interfaith Communities," in a continuing effort to learn more about the Muslim religion. Women from 41 Santa Clara County area churches have participated in prayer vigils and presentations given by Muslim women. We found it a fascinating experience to sit in a room close to a Muslim woman in her hijab (traditional scarf and loose-fitting modest dress) and be able to ask her every question we had ever wanted to ask a Muslim.
We found out that the way a Muslim woman dresses is not merely for the sake of modesty, but also for the effect it has on those around her. Shista explained: "It forces people to judge her more by character and intelligence, rather than just the shape of her body. When someone swears and I'm in the room in my hijab, they always apologize," Shista smiled. "I like that." ………..
Kat Teraji is communications coordinator for a large non-profit organization that benefits women and children.
http://www.gilroydispatch.com/news/contentview.asp?c=221683
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