barnabasaid

THE MAGAZINE OF BARNABAS FUND HOPE AND AID FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH

• India: how Christians JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008

fit into her rich diversity
• Islam and love: sorting fact from fiction
• Iraqi Christian refugees: building for the future
 From the director
Barnabas, Joseph
and Agabus
barnabasaid JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008
In 1989 I was asked by the World Evangelical Fellowship and the Lausanne
Movement to convene a conference in Cyprus about Christians in Muslim
countries. Leaders came from across the Muslim world. The stories they brought
were heart-rending as they spoke of the difficulties they faced and which
Contents Christians had faced in history, even torture and death. The reality of persecution
in the Muslim world was little known at that time, for most Christians’ attention
To guard the safety of Christians in hostile environments
names have often been changed or omitted. Thank you
for your understanding.
was on the plight of Christians in the communist world. The conference delegates
agreed to create two organisations: (1) an institute for research and information to
make known the situation of persecuted Christians in the Muslim world (2) a relief
3 Project News agency to be called the Barnabas Fund.
Training a few brings blessing
to many The name Barnabas was chosen
because the Apostle Barnabas came from
6 Country Profile: Cyprus. He was a good man full of the
Holy Spirit and faith (Acts 11:24).
Christians in India His gentleness, compassion, courage,
faith, integrity and generosity are clear
Information – a wonderful model to follow. His name
means “son of encouragement” and what
pull-out Christians in the Muslim world at the time
Islam, love and a response to the most needed was to be encouraged, to be
Muslim open letter remembered, to be helped.
Very soon the institute was set up.
Meanwhile I contacted various mission
11 Testimony and aid agencies requesting that perhaps
Peace, joy and persecution in Jordan
1% of their budget be given to assist
Christians in the Muslim world, but sadly
12 The Other Nine this was not possible. With the appeal
Where are they? Can you tell them? coming from Christian leaders in the
Muslim world, we found it necessary in
14 Newsroom 1993 to bring into being the Barnabas
Fund, to be a channel of help and hope.
A martyr in Gaza Little did we realise at the time what a
popular name “Barnabas” was for many
15 In Touch Christian ministries. Nor did we dream
When God matches people to projects how the Lord was going to bless the work
of “Barnabas Fund” and make it grow.
17 Focus Barnabas’ original name was Joseph
(Acts 4:36), a name which recalls the
Think big and think long-term: Joseph we read about in Genesis, the
a new project to help Iraqi Christians
eleventh son of Jacob. Joseph was the
man whom God sent ahead of his father
18 New Book and brothers (Psalm 105:17), allowing him
“Faith and Power” by to be sold into slavery in Egypt. By the
time famine afflicted the land, Joseph had
Patrick Sookhdeo risen to be in charge of the whole country,
under Pharaoh, and had organised the
storage of surplus grain to tide Egypt over
the famine years and indeed to help those
starving in neighbouring countries.
Thus he was able to help his brothers
Cover: An Indian Bible School when the famine struck Canaan. God had
student praying. (Photo: Gary prepared, years ahead of time, a means
S. Chapman)
to help Jacob and his sons when the hard
times came.
The Bible tells us also of another famine,
many centuries later, when God prepared in
advance for help to come to His people.
It happened while Barnabas and Saul
(Paul) were spending a year at Antioch
teaching the Christians there. Agabus
came from Jerusalem to the church in
Antioch and prophesied a famine.
The Christians in Antioch immediately
organised an offering to help the Christians
in Judea where the famine would
apparently strike first. The offering was
sent through Barnabas and Saul who
carried it to Jerusalem.
(Acts 11: 25-30)
It is striking that the Antioch Christians
took up the offering before the famine
started. Through the faith and generosity
of this fledgling church, aid was sent to the
elders of the church in Jerusalem before
the need had even arisen.
Forwarding gifts for Christians affected
by famine is something which the Apostle
Barnabas did in the first century and which
it is our privilege at Barnabas Fund to
continue doing in the twenty-first century.
(See page 5 for one example.) We also
support long-term feeding programmes
in countries such as Iraq, Pakistan and
elsewhere, to help Christians who are on
the brink of malnutrition and hunger.
But feeding is just one of many ways we
help needy Christians.
As we enter a new year, it must be with
hope and confidence, remembering that the
God who knew the famines would come is
in control, and has prepared help for His
people. But we must also recognise that
we live in times of increasing instability,
especially for Christians, as we see the
rise of Islamic fundamentalism and anti-
Christian violence.
Dr Patrick Sookhdeo
International Director
Project news
These are the pages where we keep you informed about how your gifts are
helping Christians under pressure because of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Several reports in this issue are concerned with training of various kinds - for
pastors, Christian teachers, and Christian writers. In places where the Christian
community is generally poor and does not have many resources, short training
courses add to the skills and knowledge of committed and hard-working
Christians serving the Lord’s people in various ways. The courses usually cost
very little but the results can be dramatic. What the church leaders in Ethiopia
and Sierra Leone have learnt will make them far more effective in strengthening A workshop for Pakistani Christian writers
the faith of ordinary Christians so that they can withstand the pressures and
URDU CHRISTIAN
challenges which may face them from other faiths. The Christian teachers in
Sudan will be more effective in educating the children in their schools, and this LITERATURE AND
will result in a new generation better able to support themselves and develop WRITERS’ WORKSHOP
A long established Christian
their community as a whole. The Christian writers in Pakistan will be able to publishing house produces Urdu-
produce materials with greater impact, to encourage and edify more of their language materials used by many
fellow-believers. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will remind all who have taken Christian groups in Pakistan. One
of their current projects is to publish
these courses and workshops of what they have learned and help them to put it 1,000 copies of a Bible Concordance
and 2,000 copies of a Bible Dictionary,
into practice. Pray also for the other projects described here. Thank you for your both in Urdu. Barnabas Fund sent
prayers and for your gifts which make these projects possible. a grant of £10,313 (US$21,657;
NZ$27,845; A$22,687; €14,438) to
help subsidise the production costs.
A further grant of £956 (US$2,000;
NZ$2,580; A$2,103; €1,338) paid for
a writers’ workshop for 15 Pakistani
Christian writers held over 4 days
in early October. The aim of the
workshop was to encourage the
production of original and authentic
Pakistani Christian literature, rather
than relying on translation of foreign
works. Here are some comments
Morning devotions started each
day of a training course for from the participants:
pastors in Sierra Leone
• “Being together with other like-
minded people gives more inspiration,
EQUIPPING FOR CHURCH MINISTRY IN ETHIOPIA motivation and incentive to write.”
• “In the workshop I received a
AND SIERRA LEONE great pile of blessings.”
A grant of £3,575 (US$7,507; overview, as well as studying in detail • “I learnt that we need to write
by faith and that in writing we face a
NZ$9,653; A$7,865; €5,005) covered key theological concepts such as
some of the costs of two training grace, justification, regeneration and spiritual battle.”
sanctification. Please pray that those who
courses, each 5 days long, which
Another grant of £7,475 attended the workshop – all of them
were held in different locations in
(US$15,698; NZ$20,183; A$16,445; mature Christians – will use what
Ethiopia in October. Altogether
€10,465) covered similar training for they have learnt to produce powerful
150 church ministers were trained, new material in Urdu for theological
pastors in Sierra Leone earlier in the
and each was given eight books to training, Bible study, Sunday schools,
year. Both Sierra Leone and Ethiopia
take home afterwards. The courses women’s groups, children etc.
face a strong challenge from the
focused particularly on preaching Reference 41-596
growing presence of Islam.
skills and also looked at the Bible in Reference 46-679
JAN / FEB 2007 BARNABAS AID 3
Project news
Primary school teachers discussing teaching methods
SUDAN: TRAINING
CHRISTIAN TEACHERS
FOR CHRISTIAN
SCHOOLS
According to the United Nations,
only 2% of Southern Sudanese have
completed primary schooling. This
reflects the colossal disruption of
normal life which occurred during the
civil war of 1983-2005.
As life in the South begins
slowly to return to normal, and the
infrastructure is rebuilt, education is
seen as the priority. The population
of the South is mainly Christian,
SUDANESE REFUGEES – FOOD AND SCHOOLING
A grant of £4,000 (US$8,400;
NZ$10,800; A$8,800; €5,600)
is Barnabas Fund’s most recent
contribution to the running costs
of a Christian school for African
refugee children (mainly Sudanese) in
Egypt. The school provides a feeding
programme, giving each student and
teacher a hot meal each school day.
Many of the children are underweight,
and this school lunch is probably the
only nutritious meal they have in the
day. A school doctor visits twice a
week to care for the many medical
needs of the children.
4 BARNABAS AID JAN / FEB 2008
and church growth during the
terrible war years was enormous. In
both the South and the North it is
important that church-run schools
are established to give Christian
youngsters an education in a Christian
environment; otherwise they would
probably have to study in government
schools with a strongly Islamic
environment (if available) or have no
education at all. But there are many
teachers who have never had any
training for the job they are doing.
Barnabas Fund has been assisting
a large church-run programme of
teacher training, by means of courses
run during the school holidays. A
recent grant of £11,787 (US$24,752;
NZ$31,825; A$25,931; €16,500)
completed a set of four grants over
two years used to fund various kinds
of teacher training. The programme
included training for pre-school
teachers, primary teachers, and head
teachers, as well as training in how to
make educational resources. One of
the parts of the programme assisted
by Barnabas Fund’s grants was
training 13 teachers to be trainers of
other teachers.
Reference 48-494
The school began the current
academic year with 468 students.
Of these, 111 are at the secondary
school, and the rest attend the
primary school in two shifts each day.
Not only the students, but also
many of the teachers are refugees,
so there is a high turnover of both as
people leave for Western countries
or return to South Sudan. Despite
the inevitable disruption, the school
has achieved good academic results.
Seven students graduated from Grade
12 in June 2007, and one pupil has
transferred to the top international
school locally. The staff have also
been delighted to hear from students
who have moved with their families
to the US and Australia that they have
been able to keep up well in their new
schools there.
Reference 11-439
BEE-KEEPING TO
SUPPORT CHRISTIANS
IN CENTRAL ASIA
AND IRAQ
Barnabas Fund has enabled 20 bee-keeping projects
to be established in northern Iraq, which will provide
an income for 60 Christian families
Two recent grants to countries in
very different parts of the world have
gone to fund bee-keeping projects to
help persecuted Christians support
themselves.
In a certain country of Central
Asia “Samir”, a convert from Islam
to Christianity, has six children to
support. As a convert, he finds it
virtually impossible to get work,
because those who have left Islam are
so despised in this society. He thought
of going to Russia to look for a job, but
his pastor counselled him to find a way
to start his own small business so that
he would not have to leave his family.
Samir has experience in keeping bees
and already has some equipment.
Therefore a grant from Barnabas Fund
of £322 (US$650; NZ$870; A$708;
€450) was all that he needed to repair
his 25 bee hives and to buy a swarm for
each hive, 200kg of sugar and some other
equipment needed. Samir plans that,
if all goes well, he will repay the sum to
his church leaders after one year, so they
will be able to use it to help others in his
church, most of whom are converts from
Islam.
Reference 00-356
(small business start-up fund)
In the Kurdish regions of northern Iraq
the security situation is better than in the
rest of the country, and many Christians
from Baghdad and Basra have fled to the
north.
Here is part of a letter from a committee
representing 41 Christian families:
Following the fall of the criminal
regime of Saddam, the instability, terror,
fear, horrors, blind killing and kidnapping
started in these cities [i.e. Mosul and
Baghdad, where the families had settled
after their village in Kurdistan was
destroyed in 1961 by the Iraqi army].
Terror gangs with religious and sectarian
names appeared and started to kill people
indiscriminately, especially in the last
period as the churches were bombed and
Christian families were threatened and
our children kidnapped. This forced us
to leave our houses and furniture and all
that we had behind us and seek refuge in
the north as there is security and stability.
The time is changed and Kurdistan region
has become secure, so we returned to our
villages in the last two months. Other
families, who get the chance, are returning
as well.
We appeal to you to offer any sort of
support as all the families are residing
now in the village’s school building, which
is the only building left in the village and is
half destroyed. We lack blankets, kerosene
and food.
Barnabas Fund is helping to provide
the basic needs of Christians like this,
but the long-term solution is to enable
them to support themselves. A grant
of £9,500 (US$19,950; NZ$25,650;
A$20,900; €13,300) is being used to set
up 20 “bee farms” each employing three
people, thus providing support for 60
families. This sum covers the hives,
other equipment and some training.
The cost per bee farm is £475 (US$997;
NZ$1,282; A$1,045; €665) and the cost
per family is £158 (US$330; NZ$427;
A$348; €220).
Reference 20-689
FEEDBACK ON FAMINE RELIEF
Distributing food to families affected by last year’s famine in Burundi. “My family danced and rejoiced
because we had food,” said one of the recipients
Regular readers of Barnabas Aid will
remember a report last year on aid
for famine victims in the tiny central
African nation of Burundi. Although
this famine received virtually no
attention in the media, for its victims
it was all too real. Severe floods in the
north-west of the country destroyed
the crops, and to make matters
worse there had been drought in
the preceding months. People were
beginning to die of hunger. Every
day they would come to the church
leaders asking for food, but as one
senior leader wrote to Barnabas Fund,
“we have nothing to offer them apart
from prayers. I have urged members
of the church to collect food for
those in need but they themselves
are hungry.” Another church leader
wrote to us that many Christians were
tempted to convert to Islam in order
to get aid from Muslim charities.
In this situation, Barnabas Fund
was thankful to be able to send
grants totalling £31,955 (US$63,910;
NZ$86,279; A$76,692; €47,933) which
were used by church leaders to buy
beans, maize and salt to help 4,868
families. The grants were also used
to provide seed to enable a new crop
to be sown. We are reporting this
again in order to share with Barnabas
Fund supporters the encouragement
of comments recently received from
some of those who were helped. It is
due to your generosity that we were
able to assist.
Project news
• “Our families owe their lives
to the relief. We really thank you
very much. We are amazed that
you found our village out of all the
villages in the whole world to help
us in our time of hunger.”
– A village elder
• “I was almost dying. I had
nothing to eat or plant but God
loved me so much and He gave me
something to eat and plant. I have
not enough words to thank you.”
– A mother
• “I brought the food home and my
family danced and rejoiced because
we had food.”
– A village elder
• “We want to say thank you to
Barnabas Fund… the relief helped
give seeds for new crops. Six
hundred and forty-two families in
the village received seed and maize
for food. Please pray for peace
for Burundi because this is the
foundation of development. Please
also pray that we can come out
of our hunger. After the drought
there was a flood, and we want to
come out of dependency and we
don’t want to keep asking for help.”
– A village chief
Reference 67-681
MARCHJAN
/ APRIL
/ FEB2007
2007 BARNABAS
BARNABASAID
AID 55
Country Profile India
Some of the needy Indian Christian children
who get an education in a Christian
environment, with help from Barnabas Fund
India
I
ndia is a vast country which
is home to more than a billion
people: one in every six people
in the world is Indian. Modern
India is heir to a rich and eclectic
civilisation which spans thousands
of years and the influence of Indian
culture permeates beyond the Indian
subcontinent into Asia. Within India’s
borders three of the world’s major
religions were birthed – Hinduism,
Buddhism and Jainism. Indian
history has witnessed the rise and
fall of many dynasties and rulers
who have sought to dominate it; for
more than 400 years it was under the
foreign rule of the Muslim Mughals
and the British Raj. While foreign
rulers have been influential, Indian
civilisation has always retained its
own distinct identity. It gained its
independence from British rule
in 1947.
Modern India is a country growing
in confidence and seeking to assert
6 BARNABAS AID JAN / FEB 2008
itself on the world stage, economically,
militarily and politically. It is the
largest functioning democracy in
the world. However, it is riven by
internal divisions and sometimes
seems almost bewilderingly diverse.
The population comprises hundreds
of ethnic groups, over 1500 languages
are spoken, and there are numerous
religious affiliations. India frequently
witnesses inter-ethnic, inter-religious
and political conflict as these diverse
elements clash. In such an uncertain
climate, India’s Christian minority
is being placed under increasing
pressure.
Christianity in India
Christianity has a long and rich
history in India. According to
tradition it was the Apostle Thomas
who first brought the Gospel to India
as early as 52 AD. He is said to have
established seven congregations,
before dying in Madras. While the
visit of Thomas to India is a matter
of debate, there is some evidence
for its plausibility; he is celebrated
in the poems and oral traditions
of Christians in South India, and
in 1293 Marco Polo described his
tomb as a place for pilgrimage. The
modern Mar Thoma (Saint Thomas)
Christians in Kerala state in the south
believe themselves to be descendants
of the original Christian community
established by the Apostle Thomas.
In the second and third centuries
there are reports of Assyrian or
Persian missionaries arriving in
India and also from other parts of
the Middle East. By 200 AD the
Syriac Chronicle of Edessa described
the existence of a “church of the
Christians” in India. So, far from
being recently introduced under
colonialism, Christianity is an
authentic part of Indian culture with a
long history, and no less “Indian” than
any other religion practised there.
Religions of India (approximate percentages)
In the Middle Ages Assyrian
Christians were active in spreading
Christianity to India, and an Assyrian
community emerged there. From the
sixteenth century onwards the first
Roman Catholic missionaries arrived
in India, and enclaves of Catholics
were established on the coasts,
particularly in Goa.
The first Protestant missionary to
arrive in India is thought to have been
the Dane, Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg,
who began to evangelise in 1706. He
worked among the Tamils in Southern
India. By 1733 the first Tamil pastor
was working in the area. By the end
of eighteenth century missionary work
began to expand, through such figures
as the “father of modern missions”,
William Carey, who translated
the Bible into Indian languages
such as Sanskrit and Bengali, and
several other dialects. Throughout
the nineteenth century Protestant
missionaries of all denominations
preached and founded churches
throughout the subcontinent.
Left and below: Indian Christians worshipping
Hindu 73%
Muslim 13%
Christian 6%
Ethno/tribal
religions 4%
Sikh 4%
Non-religious 1%
Other (Buddhist,
Jain, Bahai, Parsee,
Zoroastrian, Chinese
universist) 1%
At first mission usually focussed
on the elites in Indian society, but
this began to change as Protestant
missionaries realised that there was
a great willingness to hear the Gospel
amongst rural people and members
of the lowest castes (see box for more
on the caste system). Various “mass
conversion movements” occurred
amongst them. These movements
often began through local initiative,
with low caste people themselves
seeking out the missionaries. An
illustration of this is the way many
of the Chuhras came to Christ.
They were one of the lowest castes
in the Punjab area in North India
(half of which is now Pakistan).
They followed a kind of “islamised
Hinduism” which included belief
in a mediator and the offering of
sacrifices. In 1873 an illiterate elderly
Chuhra called Ditt was converted
to Christianity by a young Hindu
convert. Ditt sought out Presbyterian
missionaries who baptised him. He
returned to his village where he
faced ostracism and rejection, but
he stayed there and before long
his family became Christians. Ditt
preached the Christian message as he
travelled from village to village selling
hides, and a Christian presence grew
in the area. Missionaries became
more active amongst the Chuhras
and thousands of them embraced
Christianity.
Country Profile
The Hindu Caste System
Every Hindu is born into a “caste”
or level in society. There are 3,000
castes and 25,000 subcastes, each
of which is related to a specific
occupation. There are four main
categories, called varnas, into
which all the castes are grouped:
Brahmins, who are priests
Kshatryas, who are warriors
Vaishyas, who are traders and
craftsmen
Shudras, who are labourers
It is not possible to change your
caste. Your caste will dictate not
only your occupation, but also
other areas of life such as what
to eat and how to interact with
other caste members. Higher
caste members enjoy greater
wealth with their status and more
opportunities. Discrimination
on the basis of caste is prohibited
by the constitution, but the caste
system is strongly embedded
in Indian society and social
structures.
Dalits
Occupying one of the lowest levels
in Indian society are the Dalits
(also called “scheduled castes”
and formerly “untouchables”
or “outcastes”). Their status
is so low that they are outside
the caste system. Dalits, who
comprise about 16-20% of the total
population, have the worst jobs,
such as toilet cleaning or refuse
collection. The literacy rate among
Dalits is 37%, which compares
with 57% for non-Dalits. A large
proportion of Indian Christians are
Dalits. When becoming Christians,
Dalits have often been able to
improve their social position,
but even within the Church there
are unfortunately often still the
remnants of caste prejudices and
loyalties.
In the modern era Christianity in
India has shown continuing growth.
Christian mission continues to make
a huge impact amongst the Dalits
(see box on caste) and also has been
very successful amongst tribes who
Continued overleaf
JAN / FEB 2007 BARNABAS AID 7
Country Profile
Which states have the
most Christians?
have been excluded by the Indian
mainstream. For many years most
evangelism has been spearheaded
by Indian Christians themselves
spreading the Gospel. The growth
of the Church in recent years has
been rapid, but there is no precise
record of how many Christians
there are in India. The 2001 census
put the number at 25 million, but
most Christians feel this is a serious
underestimate.
Just as India is a country of huge
variety, so the Christians in India are
diverse. The most important divide
between them is between those in the
North and those in the South. The
majority of Indian Christians – 70%
- live in the South. Christianity in the
South is very much integrated into
Indian culture and society. In many
areas in the South, such as amongst
some of the Tamils, Christianity has
strong roots. Figures such as the
renowned Tamil poet, Vedanayakam
Sastri, showed that Christianity and
Indian culture could complement
each other. There is also a significant
number of Christians living in the
north-east part of India bordering
Nepal, Bangladesh and Burma, with
25% of India’s Christians living there.
However, the situation for
Christians in the north-west is quite
different. In these highly populated
Hindi-speaking areas, there is a very
small number of Christians – only
650,000 amongst a population of 350
million.
8 BARNABAS AID JAN / FEB 2008
Christianity has contributed
significantly to modern Indian society.
Christian missionaries established
hospitals, schools and colleges all
over India. In addition the teachings
of faith, peace and goodwill have
influenced many intellectuals and
philosophers, finding their way
into the Indian consciousness,
including Mahatma Gandhi. The
compassionate and serving side of
the Christian faith is reflected in that
a disproportionately high number of
doctors and nurses are Christians. In
fact it is estimated that as many as
30% of nurses are Christians. It is
also generally accepted that Christian
institutions will tend to give a higher
quality of medical care and education
than can be found in government-run
hospitals and schools.
Religious liberty
in modern India
India’s first prime minister after
independence, Jawaharlal Nehru,
was a champion of secularism and
envisaged India as being a country
where religions were equal and where
religious liberty was protected. India’s
constitution has consistently provided
safeguards for religious freedoms
since it was drafted following India’s
independence. However, secularism
has never been universally accepted
in India, particularly by some
Which states have the
most persecution?
amongst the Hindu majority. Hindu
nationalism has been resurgent in
India since the 1920s and from this
have grown many organisations
including the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) which has been a force in
Indian politics since its formation
in 1980. The BJP, and other Hindu
nationalist groups, strongly tie Indian
nationality to the Hindu religion.
Thus, the implication is that to be
Indian is to be Hindu. The BJP and
Hindu nationalists have also sought
to undermine secularism in India and
have stirred up antipathy towards
religious minorities. While the Indian
people as a whole display a tolerant
attitude towards religious minorities,
pressure from Hindu nationalists is
making life much more difficult for
Christians.
This Christian centre will provide accommodation
for destitute Christians, both elderly and orphans.
Barnabas Fund is contributing to the building costs
What is Hindutva?
“Hindutva” (literally meaning
“Hinduness”) was a term coined
by Hindu nationalist Vinayak
Damodar Savarkar in the 1920s. It
is a philosophy which strives for
India to be a single, united nation.
It has been criticised for its overt
communalism, traditionalism
and its negative attitude towards
religions which did not evolve in
India, and which are therefore seen
as being “not compatible with the
Indian social ethos”. It has been
particularly influential in Indian
politics since the 1980s.
Anti-conversion laws
The constitution provides for freedom
of worship and freedom of witness
for all faiths. But India has a federal
political system, so individual Indian
states are allowed to establish their
own laws on some issues. Since
the 1960s there have been attempts
to introduce laws which restrict
conversion from one faith to another.
These are rather absurdly called
“Freedom of Religion Acts” and
popularly known as “anti-conversion
laws”. Currently there are seven
states with anti-conversion laws in
place (Rajasthan, Gujarat, Arunchal
Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa) but
the laws are only actually enforced
in the last four listed. An eighth
state, Uttarakhand, is considering
introducing such laws.
The stated aim of these laws is
to prevent forced conversions using
fraudulent methods or inducements.
In practice the laws are mostly used
to prevent the legitimate evangelistic
activity of Christians. Often the laws
are seen as giving a green light to
Hindu radicals to attack evangelists
and other Christian workers. When
the victims of these attacks report the
incidents to the police, they often find
themselves under arrest, rather than
their attackers.
Each time a new anti-conversion
law is put in place, there is a
A minister in Goa was beaten up on 10 June 2007. A local Hindu became unhappy that
his wife had begun attending the church, and he approached the Bajrang Dal for help.
The Hindu husband and 25 Hindu extremists attacked the minister at the church.
correlating rise in anti-Christian
violence in the state. Almost all the
states with anti-conversion laws
are governed by the BJP. However
Himachal Pradesh state, which
introduced its anti-conversion law
in 2007, is controlled by the Indian
National Congress, which is the ruling
party of the federal government and
is usually more inclined towards
secularism. This is a particularly
worrying development as it shows
acceptance of anti-conversion laws
by those who are not strident Hindu
nationalists.
Legal discrimination
against minorities
Official measures and restrictions
against Christians are sometimes
more subtle. An example of this is that
India practises a policy of affirmative
action where places are reserved
in educational establishments for
Dalits, but currently Christian and
Muslim Dalits are denied access to
these places. It is hoped that a review
currently being conducted by the
Indian Supreme Court will lead to this
being changed.
Reconversion campaigns
Hindu nationalists have organised
large scale “reconversion campaigns”
which aim to convert Christian
Dalits and tribal people to Hinduism.
Ironically these campaigns
sometimes feature intimidation and
inducements, which are methods that
Hindu nationalists often falsely accuse
Christian evangelists of using.
Militant Hindu groups
Amongst Hindu nationalists there
are many who are prepared to resort
to violence, particularly groups
such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad and
Bajrang Dal. A rapid increase in the
number of incidents of violence or
persecution made against Christians
has been evident since the mid-1990s.
Between 1964 and 1996 there were
only 36 recorded incidents but now
there are an average of four incidents
every week, most of which involve
Country Profile
New accommodation for Christian children orphaned in the
2004 tsunami. Barnabas Fund is covering the costs
radical Hindu groups. Very often
they are trying to force converts from
Hinduism to return to their old faith.
Many incidents are attacks on church
services or other Christian meetings
and events. Typically the building and
furniture will be damaged and the
Christians beaten up, with a special
focus on the church minister. Many
attacks occur in rural areas.
The president of the Global
Council of Indian Christians has said,
“Christians tend to be soft targets,
because they do not fight back. Hindu
radicals use them for target practice
before they go after the Muslims.”
Dr John Dayal, General Secretary
of the All India Christian Council,
has also commented on the violence
by Hindu militants. “The pattern of
violence indicates a design. The anti-
Christian violence is not the sort of
communal violence recorded between
other communities. A tiny minority
is the target and it never retaliates.”
He also noted the police’s frequent
unwillingness to take action against
the perpetrators, even when the
evidence against them was plentiful.
Islamic pressure
India is home to the second largest
Muslim population in the world,
numbering around 130 million and
growing. This is a legacy of the
conquest of much of India by Muslim
rulers. There has been a spate of
attacks on converts from Islam to
Christianity in Muslim-majority
Kashmir, including at least one
beheading. It is thought that some
of these attacks were linked to the
Continued overleaf
JAN / FEB 2007 BARNABAS AID 9

Country Profile
group Lashkar-e-Toiba, a terrorist
organisation fighting for Kashmir to
be part of Pakistan.
Six martyrs in one year
Barnabas Fund is aware of at least
six Christians active in evangelism
who were martyred in a 12-month
period recently. The deaths occurred
in five different states, three of them
in a Hindu context, two in a Muslim
context and one possibly linked to
Burma.
16 September 2007,
JHARKHAND state
Ajay Topno was shot dead, apparently
by Hindu extremists. It is believed
the background to his murder
was a dispute involving Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and
Hindu Jagran Manch who had
“reconverted” a Christian family in
the area. This had caused anatgonism
between Christians and Hindus and
had also been reported in the local
media.
4 July 2007, MANIPUR state
A Burmese Lutheran pastor,
Pastor Pau Za Khen (aged 62), was
kidnapped and later found beheaded.
He had previously worked as a pastor
in a church in Chin state, Burma.
28 June –1 July 2007,
ASSAM state
Hemanta Das (aged 29) was beaten so
severely on 28 June that he died of his
injuries three days later. The attack
is thought to have been the work of
Hindu extremists. Before becoming a
Christian, Hemanta Das had himself
been a member of a Hindu extremist
group, and he had received several
threats because of his Christian
outreach work.
14 April 2007, JAMMU &
KASHMIR state
Manzoor Ahmad Chat, a convert from
Islam, was abducted and beheaded.
His head was left in a plastic bag
outside a mosque. It is thought that
Islamic extremists are responsible.
On 8 June 2007 Laxmi Narayana, a church-planter in Karnataka state, was set upon by a
mob of 250 people, who beat him and tried to set him on fire by pouring kerosene on him
and throwing a burning Bible at him. Then they stripped him naked, tied a board on his
chest reading “I am one who converts people” and paraded him through the
town for more than an hour.
10 BARNABAS AID JAN / FEB 2008
A house church sometimes met in
his home.
20 February 2007, ANDHRA
PRADESH state
A 29-year-old church minister, Goda
Israel, was found stabbed to death.
A news report quoted a comment
that he had no personal enemies, but
he had previously been threatened
by Hindu extremists due to his
involvement in preaching the Gospel
in the area
21 November 2006, JAMMU &
KASHMIR state
Ahmed Tantray, a 50-year-old
Christian convert from Islam, was
shot dead. Tantray had been a
Christian for about ten years and was
active in ministry as well as being an
engineer. It is not known whether
he was killed by Islamic militants or
whether a member of his family was
responsible.
Barnabas Fund at work
in India
Barnabas Fund has been supporting
projects to help Indian Christians for
many years. These have included
helping converts from Islam and
supporting Indian evangelists. After
the 2004 tsunami we assisted with
a variety of needs e.g. rebuilding
Christian homes and churches, and
creating income-generation projects
for those whose livelihoods were
destroyed by the terrible wave.
Some of our current projects include:
• Many Christian families are
simply too poor to afford school
fees. Barnabas is enabling nearly
500 Christian children in India to
have an education in a Christian
environment by helping to cover their
school fees. Assistance is also given
with school uniforms and books. In
some instances accommodation for
the pupils is also provided in hostels.
Project reference 21-510
This series of pull-out supplements is intended to provide background information for Christians seeking to understand
the nature of Islam and its contemporary expression. One aspect of this relates to understanding the reason for the
oppression and persecution of Christians in various Islamic parts of the world, and another to the growing challenge
which Islam poses to Western society, culture and Church.
Islam and Love
This baptism is on the Andaman Islands, a territory
owned by India. The islands were badly affected by
the 2004 tsunami and Barnabas Fund has helped
with many projects to rebuild Christian homes
and churches and to create income-generation
opportunities for Christians who lost their livelihoods
• Barnabas Fund is currently
contributing towards the construction
of a Christian home for the destitute
elderly and orphans.
Project reference 21-688
• Since the tsunami on December
26th 2004, Barnabas Fund has been
supporting 25 Christian children
who were tragically orphaned in the
disaster. As the children are getting
older, many now reaching their
teens, we are currently funding the
construction of a new accommodation
block which will have purpose-built
separate dorms for the boys and girls.
Project reference 00-540
Who is responsible for
incidents of persecution
of Christians in India
2005 – 2007?
Hindu Militant Groups 55%
Community 18%
Government - Local/Regional 8%
Islamists 4%
Police 10%
Unknown 7%
Family 1%
PULL-OUT SUPPLEMENT
This pull-out supplement looks at the place of love in the Islamic faith. It is an issue which has become very relevant in the
West because Muslims are beginning to say to Westerners that love is as central in Islam as it is in Christianity. This claim
is far from true, as the main article in this supplement will show. After the main article, a case study analyses a recent and
very prominent example of Muslims claiming that love is central to their faith.
The word most often used in the Qur’an for love is hubb
Introduction: the contrast with and its derivatives (mahabba, yuhibbu, etc.). This is linked
Christianity to the Hebrew Old Testament word ahabah (root ahb)
which is the one mostly used to denote love, both God’s
God’s love is the central theme of the New Testament love to man and man’s love to God. For example:
and therefore of the Christian faith. Love is God’s main
“I have loved you,” says the Lord. (Malachi 1:2)
attribute and very essence. The main message of the New
Testament is that God is love in His very being, and that Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
this love was revealed in Jesus Christ and His supreme act your soul and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5)
of love, His self-giving in his sacrificial death on the cross. Mahabba, the most common Islamic Arabic term for love,
(John 3:16; 1 John 4:7-12) denotes an affection inspired in humans by gratitude
In Islam, however, the focus is on submission, so for God’s blessings. On God’s side mahabba is usually
love is never more than one of many secondary themes. bestowed as a reward for a good believer who follows
Modern Muslim apologists in the West sometimes assert Muhammad and submits to God.
that God is a God of love. This is not a concept which Say: If ye do love God, follow me: God will love you and
traditional orthodox Islam would accept, but appears to forgive you your sins: For God is Oft-Forgiving, Most
be a modern stance of adaptation to the environment they Merciful. (Q 3:31)
find themselves in.
Love in the Qur’an mainly means “liking” or “preference”.
It derives from God’s will, rather than from His very
nature. God loves the righteous.
Love in the Qur’an and hadith … verily Allah loves those who act aright. (Q 3:76)
Love is mentioned in the Qur’an over 50 times, mainly
For Allah loves those who do good; (Q 3:134)
in the sense of love between persons and love of material
things. There are several verses that speak of humans’ love And Allah loves those who are firm and steadfast.
towards God, for example: (Q 3:146)
Yet there are men who take (for worship) others besides For Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He
Allah as equal (with Allah); they love them as they should loves those who keep themselves pure and clean.
love Allah. But those of faith are overflowing in their love (Q 2:222)
for Allah. If only the unrighteous could see behold they For Allah loves those who are fair (and just). (Q 49:9)
would see the penalty that to Allah belongs all power and Truly Allah loves those who fight in His Cause in battle
Allah will strongly enforce the penalty. (Q 2:165) 1 array as if they were a solid cemented structure. (Q 61:4)
A few verses speak of God’s love towards specific categories However, God does not love sinful people and he rejects his
of humans (good Muslims). One of the Beautiful Names of enemies.
God is Al-Wadud (The One who Loves, The Most Loving,
… He loves not those who reject Faith (Q 30:45)
The Most Affectionate, The Beloved). This is based on Q
85:14 “And He is the Oft-Forgiving, full of loving-kindness Verily He loveth not the arrogant. (Q 16:23)
[al-wadud]”. Wadud, from the root wdd, is somewhat akin Love appears also in the hadith collections, which record
to the Old Testament Hebrew word dod or dodim (plural) traditions about what Muhammad and his companions
used extensively in the Song of Songs for the pure love said and did. In the hadith, love appears in a variety of
between man and woman. From it we get the name David contexts: love for things, for martyrdom, for God, and
God’s love for Muhammad and for deserving Muslims.
(the beloved).
1
Quotations in this article are taken from The Holy Qur’an: Text Translation and Commentary by A. Yusuf Ali (Leicester: The Islamic Foundation, 1975 and many other
editions) unless otherwise stated. Please note that different translations of the Qur’an have slightly different verse numbers. So in another translation, it may be
necessary to look at the verses just before or just after the text references given here in order to find the same text.
i
PULL-OUT SUPPLEMENT
Love in Islamic theology
According to Islamic teaching, God’s essence and nature
cannot be known. Therefore a statement like “God is
love” (which appears in the Bible, 1 John 4:8,16) would be
theologically wrong in classical Islam.
Islam does teach that God’s attributes can be known,
and these are described in the form of the “99 beautiful
names”. Love is one of these 99, as we have seen above,
but only one. The names emphasise much more God’s
omnipotence and omniscience, his mercy and compassion,
his sovereignty and inscrutable will.
In Islam God reveals himself mainly through his law
(shari‘a) which calls for submission and obedience. While
in Christianity God is personal and establishes personal
relationships of love with humans, in classical Islam God
is seen as totally self-contained and beyond personal
relationships. In Islam, although God loves certain Muslim
people of whom he approves, he is not bound to love them
even if they deserve his love. Ultimately God is not obliged
to do anything, but acts as he wills, sometimes in an
entirely capricious manner.
Orthodox classical Islam is more concerned with God’s
greatness and transcendence, with shari‘a law and its
applications, than with God’s love. God is absolutely other,
unknowable, far beyond what can be known or imagined
(wara’l wara i.e. beyond the beyond). The role of humans
is to submit, fear and obey God and his law. For example,
following the call in March 2005 by a well-known Islamist
scholar, Tariq Ramadan, for a moratorium on the brutal
hudud punishments still implemented in some Muslim
states (amputation, stoning, flogging etc.), several Islamic
scholars opposed the suggestion. Sheikh Muhammad
al-Shinqiti, director of the Islamic Center of South Plains
in Lubbock, Texas, claimed that harshness was part of
shari‘a and any attempt at softening it was giving in to
Western Christian concepts which were incompatible with
Islam. Shinqiti stated that a personalised faith, like that
of Christians, leads to corruption and immorality. He
preferred the detachment and severity of Islam, citing the
Qur’anic verse
And let not pity for the twain withhold you from
obedience to Allah, if ye believe in Allah and the Last Day.
And let a party of believers witness their punishment.”
(Q 24:2, translation not specified)
In this view, harshness rather than love and mercy are
at the heart of Islam. The inference is that Christianity is
weak and contemptible because it has love and mercy at its
very core.
Love in Sufism
It was left for Islamic mysticism (Sufism) to try to redress
the balance and introduce the theme of love into Islam.
Sufism offered an escape from the dry and intellectual
legalism of the orthodox Islamic teachers and scholars.
It focused instead on the human yearning for an authentic
personal experience of God. Sufism taught that this
experience could be had by a spiritual interpretation of
the Qur’an aimed at finding its secret meaning, and by the
disciplines of asceticism, repetition of God’s names, breath
control, meditation and trance.
Rabi‘a al-Adawiyya (died 801) introduced the theme of
Divine Love into Sufism. She longed to love God only for
himself, not for hope of any reward in paradise nor out of
ii
fear of judgement and hell. After her death the love theme
became a dominant feature of Sufism, expressing the Sufi’s
endless search for unity with the divine Beloved. The
yearning for a love relationship with God was expressed by
Sufis in the language of human love, similar to the Bible’s
Song of Songs and some psalms. Sufi poetry described
symbolically the relations between God the Divine Lover
and the human person searching for his love. In addition
to the Qur‘anic terms mahabba and wudud, Sufis coined
the term ‘ishq for love. ‘Ishq denotes an unquenchable and
irresistible desire for union with the Beloved (God).
While Sufism used to be found in every branch of
traditional Islam, the strict Islamist reform movements
which have developed in recent times have rejected much
of Sufism as pagan additions and innovations which
should be purged from Islam. The concept of love is
downplayed by such movements and condemned as a
pagan, Christian or Western notion incompatible with
true Islam.
Case study:
An open letter from Muslim leaders
about love, 13th October 2007
To mark the end of Ramadan last year “An Open Letter
and Call from Muslim Religious Leaders” was published,
dated 13th October 2007. The letter was addressed to
Pope Benedict XVI and 26 other named heads of Christian
denominations as well as to “Leaders of Christian
Churches, everywhere….”. It is ostensibly a presentation
of Islamic teaching on love for God and love for one’s
neighbour. (The text of the open letter is available at http://
www.acommonword.com/lib/downloads/CW-Total-Final-v-
12g-Eng-9-10-07.pdf)
The 138 signatories represent a wide spread of Muslim
leadership from 43 nations and from Sunni, Twelver
Shi‘a, Zaydi, Ibadi and Sufi backgrounds. Amongst the
signatories are traditionalists, Islamists and several liberal
Muslims. Some of the signatories are known for their
moderation and peaceful intentions, while others are
known for their Islamist extremist inclinations.
Intended audience
While addressed to a specific group of named Christian
leaders, the fact that it is an open letter widely
disseminated by the world media means that world public
opinion is another intended audience. Furthermore,
certain terminology in the letter, as well as the choice
of Qur’anic quotations cited, indicate that the letter is
also intended for the global Muslim audience. Different
messages are delivered to the different audiences, a
practice which is frequently found in Islamic discourse,
and is permitted according to the Islamic doctrine of
dissimulation (taqiyya). The message for the Christian
audience and for the general public is that Islam and
Christianity are basically identical religions, both focussing
on love to God and neighbour. But, as we shall see there is
a very different message for Muslims.
Veiled threat
On the surface the letter looks like a well intentioned
plea for better understanding between Muslims and
Christians, so as to avert an apocalyptic war between the
two largest religious blocs in the world.
If Muslims and Christians are not at peace, the world
cannot be at peace . . . the very survival of the world itself
is at stake . . . So let our differences not cause hatred and
strife between us.
However, the letter goes on to lay the blame for all
wars in which Muslims and Christians are involved on the
actions of Christians.
As Muslims, we say to Christians that we are not against
them and that Islam is not against them – so long as
they do not wage war against Muslims on account
of their religion, oppress them and drive them out of
their homes. [emphasis added]
This implies that the war against Islamist terrorism
is a global war of Christianity against Islam, and that
Christianity is the aggressor against Islam (which is
the radical Islamist view). There is no sense of sorrow
for the wrongs inflicted by Muslims on Christians
historically, or indeed currently in many Muslim lands.
There is no recognition that in many places things may
be the opposite, with Muslims oppressing Christians
and driving them from their homes (e.g in Iraq, Sudan,
Nigeria, Indonesia and Pakistan). There is no admission
that Muslim actions could have played any part in the
alienation between Muslims and Christians.
So an apparently moderate appeal for reconciliation
actually contains a subtext of warning and threat.
Expression of Islamic mission (da‘wa)
Although presented as interfaith dialogue, the letter can
equally be viewed as a classical example of Islamic da‘wa
(mission). It is a call to accept the Muslim concept of
the unity of God (tawhid) and therefore to reject the
incompatible Christian views of the Trinity and the deity of
Christ.
In their stress on monotheism and the unity of God,
the Muslim leaders quote verses from the Qur’an which
express the Muslim concept of a God with no associates
and no partners – verses which are always traditionally
interpreted as a direct attack on the basic Christian
doctrines of the Trinity and Christ’s deity. For instance,
Q 3:64, quoted numerous times in the letter, calls the
People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) to agree not
to ascribe partners to God and not to take other Lords
beside him.
Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to a common word
between us and you: that we shall worship none but God,
and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that
none of us shall take others for lords beside God. (Aal
‘Imran 3:64) 2
In the Saudi-sponsored English Qur’an of Hilali and
Khan,3 this verse has a footnote which quotes the letter
Muhammad sent to the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius,
calling upon him and his people to embrace Islam
and threatening that otherwise there would be severe
consequences. It may be that a similar frame of mind lies
2
The open letter did not specify which English translation of the Qur’an was used for the quotations. 3 Interpretation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur’an in the
English Language by Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, 15th edn. (Riyadh: Darussalam Publishers and Distributors, 1996)
PULL-OUT SUPPLEMENT
behind the letter in which this verse is so often quoted.
Other Qur’anic quotations in the letter have a similar
message about the unity of God: [emphasis added]
Yet there are men who take rivals unto God: they love
them as they should love God. (Q 2:165).
Say: Lo! my worship and my sacrifice and my living and
my dying are for God, Lord of the Worlds. / He hath no
partner... (Q 6:162-164)
Hadith quotes support the same theme:
The best that I have said—myself, and the prophets that
came before me—is: ‘there is no god but God, He Alone,
He hath no associate... (Sunan Al-Tirmidhi, Kitab Al-
Da’awat, Bab al-Du’a fi Yawm ‘Arafah, Hadith no. 3934).
He who says: ‘There is no god but God, He Alone, He
hath no associate, His is the sovereignty and His is the
praise and He hath power over all things’ one hundred
times in a day... Sahih Al-Bukhari, Kitab Bad’ al-Khalq,
Bab Sifat Iblis wa Junudihi; Hadith no. 3329.
A hidden message for Muslims
It is unusual to see Islamic scholars basing their
presentation of Islamic doctrines mainly on the Qur’an
alone. Usually the scholars also make good use of
the hadith and a number of recognised methods of
interpretation. Yet the open letter cites only three
quotations from the hadith in its main text (although there
are several more in the footnotes).
Significantly, all the Qur’anic verses chosen for
quotation in the letter are ones that have hadith comments
and other recognised interpretations which would be
well known to most Muslim readers. In most cases these
comments and interpretations are more aggressive to
Christians, Jews and other non-Muslims than the stance
taken in the letter. Selectively quoting from the Qur’an in
this way conveys a message to Muslims that this is not a
letter of appeasement but a call to submit to Islam.
For instance, the fatiha (Q 1) is quoted in the letter and
presented as the greatest chapter in the Qur’an, reminding
humans of their duty of praise and gratitude to God for his
mercy and goodness. Included are verses 6 and 7:
Guide us upon the straight path. The path of those on
whom is Thy Grace, not those who deserve anger nor
those who are astray. [emphasis added]
In Muslim interpretations and commentaries on these
verses, it is explained that those who deserve God’s anger
are the Jews, while those who are astray are the Christians.
Most Western readers of the open letter will not realise
this, but for Muslims reading the letter, the meaning is
clear: a call to Christians and Jews to avoid God’s anger
and judgement by accepting Islam.
Loving God
The letter suggests that Islam has much to say about
loving God. For example, it quotes a hadith of Muhammad
describing God with a string of Qur’anic phrases:
“He Alone, He hath no associate, His is the sovereignty
and His is the praise”. The letter asserts that each phrase
describes “a mode of love of God, and devotion to Him”.
iii
 A similar assertion occurs at the end of the section
PULL-OUT SUPPLEMENT
about loving God. Again the statement that God has
no “associate” appears, carrying the implication that
Chrisianity strayed from this by making Jesus an associate
of God.
we can now perhaps understand the words ‘The best
that I have said—myself, and the prophets that came
before me’ as equating the blessed formula ‘there is no
god but God, He Alone, He hath no associate, His is the
sovereignty and His is the praise and He hath power
over all things’ precisely with the ‘First and Greatest
Commandment’ to love God, with all one’s heart and
soul, as found in various places in the Bible. That is to
say, in other words, that the Prophet Muhammad PBUH
was perhaps, through inspiration, restating and alluding
to the Bible’s First Commandment. God knows best,
but certainly we have seen their effective similarity in
meaning.
In this part of the letter it is argued that Muhammad’s
emphasis on the unity of God who has “no associate” is a
re-statement of the Bible’s command about loving God with
all your heart, soul and mind. The letter states that these
two concepts are similar in meaning, although this is hard
to derive from a straightforward reading of the two texts.
Perhaps the authors of the letter hoped that by simply
telling Christians that two different statements were really
the same they would be believed in the same way that
history has shown people can be convinced of nonsensical
assertions if they are presented forcefully enough.
Alternatively they could have had in mind the Muslim
belief that Christian and Jewish Scriptures have been
distorted, so that Muhammad’s statement is correcting the
falsified Biblical teaching to what it was originally meant to
have been.
Loving your neighbour
The letter suggests that loving your neighbour is a concept
common to both Islam and Christianity. But it ignores the
fact the Muslim concept of love for your neighbour can
only operate within the limited scope of shari‘a. Therefore
in Islam there can be no absolute love for all humans, as
in Christianity. Islam treats specific groups of people in
specific ways: Christians and Jews are to be humiliated and
brought under Islamic dominion as second rate subjects;
infidels (polytheists, pagans) must accept Islam or be killed;
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apostates are to be killed if they do not return to Islam;
Islamic sects considered heretical are to be fought and
annihilated. Thus “neighbour” is a very limited concept
in Islam.
Furthermore, the word used for “neighbour” in the
Arabic version of the letter is jar, a term which carries only
a geographical meaning. It is not equivalent to the Biblical
Hebrew word for neighbour, which is re‘a (denoting
kinship, even as close as a brother or sister). Yet there is
another word for “neighbour” in Arabic which is closer
to the meaning of the Hebrew re‘a and which could have
been used. This is the word qarib, which is used in Arabic
Bibles and which more closely translates the Biblical
original. This choice of differently nuanced vocabulary for
different audiences appears to be another example
of taqiyya.
Search for common ground
In seeking common ground, the open letter suggests that
the central Muslim concept of unitarian monotheism
and the central Christian concepts of love to God and
love to neighbour are beliefs held in common by both
religions. It stresses that the two commandments to love
are the basis of what is common to both religions. But
presenting love to God and neighbour as central to Islam is
a misrepresentation of the truth.
The message is that if Christians will accept Islam’s
concept of the unity of God (thus denying the basic
doctrines of the Trinity and deity of Christ), Muslims will
accept the Christian values of love for God and neighbour
as central to Islam. Thus a radical revolutionary change
in Christianity is demanded in exchange for a superficial
change of emphasis in Islamic perceptions.
• For a full version of Barnabas Fund’s response to
the open letter and call from Muslim religious leaders
to Christian leaders, 13 October 2007, go to
www.barnabasfund.org/responsemuslimletter
• For further reading on the concept of love in Islam,
see J. Windrow Sweetman, Islam and Christian
Theology: A Study of the Interpretation of Theological
Ideas in the Two Religions, Part 1, Vol. 2, London and
Redhill: Lutterworth Press, 1947 especially sections B
“The grace of God” and B(IV) “The love of God”.
© Barnabas Fund, 2008
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E-mail office@barnabasfund.org.nz
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Telephone (703) 288-1681
or toll-free 1-866-936-2525
Fax (703) 288-1682
Email bfusa@barnabasfund.org
www.barnabasfund.org
Testimony
The price for seeking peace and joy
I was born in Amman, the capital of
Jordan, one of five children in a well
known and affluent Muslim family.
In the quiet neighbourhood where we
lived there was a church, very near to
our house. As a child I found myself
attracted to the church, wanting to
know what was inside the building,
and whenever I went there I felt a
peace and joy such as I never felt in
my own home. I found something in
the church which I felt I needed, and
I loved the image of the cross, though
I did not understand why. So I went
to my mother, who was very religious,
and began to ask her about God.
Of course, she told me her beliefs and
urged me to go to the mosque and
read the Qur’an. She was very pleased
to see me so thirsty for God, especially
because my father was greatly
occupied with his business, with
travelling and other worldly things.
When I went to pray in the
mosque, many questions would come
into my mind. Why is this
mosque different from the
church? Why can’t I find
joy here? Why do I feel
barriers between me and
God when I am here? I did
not like the talk about
jihad and fighting
others, because I had
many Christian friends
and I loved them. I
kept asking, is it fair for
them to go to hell when
they are very good and
honest people? One day
one of the teachers in the
mosque tried to rape me,
but I somehow managed to
escape and went back
home crying. I did not
tell anyone what had
happened, but I just
avoided going to
the mosque again and refused to talk
about religious things.
Because of my experiences in the
mosque, I grew up denying God.
Yet for many years I continued to
search for Him, thinking, reading
books etc. One day I watched the film
“The Passion of the Christ” which
made me cry a lot. I wished that I
could have been on the cross instead
of that decent man. I went straight
from seeing the film to the church, to
talk to Christ, and He explained many
things to me. I felt very peaceful that
night, after I had spoken to Him.
At that time there were many
problems in my family. My parents
got divorced and so did my sister.
My youngest brother and I were living
with my father and I had a job with
a big translation company. I started
to read the Bible and found myself
praying , calling my Lord by a new
name, “Jesus” and also “our Father”.
I felt very sorry for my mother
because of the divorce, and also
because she was wasting so much
time and money organising meetings
to study Islam and going several
times on pilgrimage to Mecca. I
thought to myself that we are in a free
country and that Jordan is known as a
peaceful oasis in the Middle East, and
I saw Christians and Muslims living
peacefully together.
So I began to talk to my mother about
Islam and Christianity and tried to
get her to face many things
about her religion. But her
expression changed
and she
threatened to reject me if I converted
to Christianity and to tell the whole
family about me. Even though my
father was very occupied with his
work, he noticed that something was
happening to me. One day he found
me reading the Bible. He took it from
me and threw it away, and he pulled
from my neck a cross which I used to
wear. He said he would not hesitate
to do anything to stop me converting,
and he cut me to prove his threat was
genuine.
I went again to the church near
our house to talk to the minister. He
welcomed me, but when I told him I
wanted to become a Christian his face
changed and he asked me to leave.
I tried several other churches and was
rebuffed by them all. No one would
baptise me. This made me think that
even God didn’t want me.
Then through the internet I found
people I could ask about Jesus, people
who did not know my family. One of
them devoted much time to helping
me study the Bible and teaching me
about Jesus and the church. I began to
have peace again, and during that time
I had many visions. In one of them I
saw Jesus Himself baptising me. After
a few months, the minister I knew
through the internet put me in touch
with a church in another Arab country
who were willing to baptise me. So
I travelled there and was baptised on
27th May 2005.
Two months earlier my father had
died, and my mother had returned to
live in the family home and started
bringing women to the house to
Continued overleaf
A mosque in Amman,
Jordan, with a church
in the background,
topped by a cross.
The symbol of the
cross played a part
in Moses’ coming
to Christ and in
the persecution he
suffered afterwards
JAN / FEB 2007 BARNABAS AID 11
The Other Nine The Other Nine
in general despises Christians.

In Saudi School children in Saudi Arabia are

taught from a young age not to trust
Christians or to be friends with them.
Where are the other nine?
When Jesus healed ten men with leprosy, one of them came back to Jesus, praising

Arabia being According to the Annual Report

2007 of the United States Commission
on International Religious Freedom,
God in a loud voice, and threw himself at Jesus’ feet to thank him. Jesus asked,
“Where are the other nine?” (Luke 17:11-17)
If one in ten Christians in the world today lives with discrimination and
persecution, that means the other nine are blessed with religious liberty.

a Christian
“The government of Saudi Arabia
engages in systematic, ongoing, and
egregious violations of the right to
freedom of religion or belief.”
These other nine can use their freedom to help the one who is persecuted.
But where are they?
If you are reading this magazine, you are probably already aware that

means ... The Report chronicles numerous

infringements of religious liberty of
Christians, including:
. . . you could be arrested • March 2005 – An Indian
Christian was arrested and his
in your own home, and religious materials confiscated.
He was released after four months.
your freedom to practise your faith without discrimination, harassment or
persecution is a blessing which many Christians in other contexts do not
have. But do all your Christian friends realise this as well? Does everyone
in your congregation know it? Can you help to get the rest of “the other
nine” involved? Their prayers, their time and their gifts can all be used by
the Lord to help the one in ten who are suffering.
Please help us to get all the other nine involved.

your Bible and Christian What does “being a probably be deported but if you are
from a non-Western country you
• April 2005 – A Filipino Christian
service was raided and Bibles were
Ask your national Barnabas Fund office or the UK office for our free
The Other Nine resource pack. (Addresses on the back cover.)

books confiscated, for Christian” mean to you?

For Christians in Saudi Arabia it
no reason except that means you are at the mercy of the
dreaded religious police, the mutawaa,
also known as the Commission to
you were meeting Promote Virtue and Prevent Vice.
with others to pray as They could raid your worship service
and arrest you just for gathering with
other Christians to pray. If you are
Christians. from a Western country, you would
Testimony (cont. from p11)
study Islam. So I had to move out from Islam was applicable, which
and live by myself, in order to have would have meant a death sentence
some freedom with my Lord. for me. I started going to church
Some Christians at my workplace secretly, but one day I was arrested
saw me going to church and asked at the door of the church when I
my boss if I was a Christian. My boss had to show my ID which had my
was furious and asked me why I was Muslim name on it. I was taken
going to church. He insulted me and away and beaten with cables for a
the cross and Jesus Himself, fired whole night. In the morning, they
me from my job, refusing to give me agreed to accept everything I owned
my salary or a reference. He tried in exchange for letting me go free. I
to spread rumours about me, which still went to church every Friday for
made it hard for me to find any other Holy Communion, but was even more
job in Jordan. careful than before.
After my baptism I returned to One day my boss noticed that I
Jordan but things got worse and was wearing a cross. He searched all
my whole family was against me. I my things and found my Bible. Then
got an offer of a job in Sudan, so I he started watching me. I used to
seized the opportunity to go there as come back home in the evening and
quickly as I could. But I found things find that someone had messed up my
place. Several times someone broke
were much worse than in Jordan. In
in at night and attacked me or stole
Sudan the Islamic law on conversion
12 BARNABAS AID JAN / FEB 2008
could be held in detention for months,
and probably be tortured.
In Saudi Arabia any form of
non-Muslim religious practice is
forbidden. The state rigidly enforces
the strict and puritanical form of
Islam called Wahhabism.
Even if you are not harassed by
the mutawaa, daily life is difficult for
you as a Christian because society
things. One night he attacked my car
and wrote on the windows “maseehi
baleed” meaning “Christian fool”.
I told the minister of the church
and he advised me to leave Sudan
immediately. I went to the country
where I was baptised. Here I go to
church but I am careful not to mingle
with many people so that nobody
knows me. I pray, thanking God first
for salvation. I believe that God will
not allow us to experience something
beyond what we can bear.
God bless you.
“Moses”
Since writing this testimony, Moses
has been able to move to a safe Western
country, with help from Barnabas Fund
who paid his airfare. He is active in
Christian ministry and also writes
many Christian songs and hymns.
1 in 10 Christians lives with discrimination and persecution www.theothernine.org
confiscated.
• April 2005 – Forty Pakistani
Christians and five African
Christians holding a private service
were arrested and held in detention
for up to a month.
• May 2005 – Eight Indian
Christian leaders were arrested;
six were deported and the
whereabouts of the other two are
still unknown.
• April 2006 – An Indian church
minister was deported for
conducting a religious service.
• June 2006 – Four East African
Christians were arrested and
deported after a month for leading
a private worship ceremony.
• October 2006 – A Filipino
Christian leader was detained and
Bibles confiscated.
The resource pack contains a guide with ideas about how to make
others in your church aware of the
plight of the persecuted Church plus
resources to help you do it, such as a
poster, DVD, prayer cards, leaflets, and
response cards. The guide also contains
information about the kind of pressures
and persecution faced by the one in
ten Christians living out their faith in
difficult contexts, and gives ideas of how we, the other nine, can respond
in terms of prayer, action and giving. The pack also contains a booklet
entitled A Christian Response to Islam.
Urge your friends to subscribe to Barnabas Aid with its daily prayer
diary to help them pray for the one in ten (visit www.barnabasfund.org or
contact their nearest Barnabas Fund office). Can you add another nine to
our mailing list?
publicly known, Saudi law would
Although most Christians in Saudi
have them executed as apostates from
Arabia are foreigners, there are also
some Saudi nationals who have Islam.
converted from Islam to follow Christ. Please pray for Christians in Saudi
They must be secret believers, because Arabia. It is difficult to get news out
if their conversion were to become from Saudi Arabia and it is difficult
to get help in. But nothing can
prevent us praying for our brothers
and sisters, and we are praying
to a God who has incomparably
great power, the power which
raised Christ from the dead
(Ephesians 1:19-20).
JAN / FEB 2007 BARNABAS AID 13
Newsroom
Rami Ayyad, murdered in Gaza,
apparently targeted because of
his prominent role at a Christian
bookshop. (Photo: Compass)
Palestinian Territories:
Gaza Bible Society
bookshop manager killed
THE SMALL CHRISTIAN MINORITY
in Gaza (approximately 3,000 people)
has been shocked by the kidnapping
and murder of Rami Ayyad (aged 30).
Rami, who ran the Bible Society’s
bookshop in Gaza, was kidnapped
after leaving the shop on the
afternoon of Saturday 6th October.
The next morning his body was
discovered, showing knife wounds
and bullet wounds. It was the first
known Christian martyrdom in Gaza
in recent times.
A colleague at the Bible Society
said, “Rami was the most gentle
member of the team, the ever-smiling
one. He was the face of our Bible
shop, always receiving visitors and
serving them as Jesus would.”
Rami’s death received much
coverage in the local media, and the
Chrisitan community received many
messages of condolence, prayer and
support. He leaves a wife, Pauline,
who is pregnant, and their two small
children.
Grenade in Sudanese
church service kills
six children
A MAN IN MILITARY ATTIRE walked
into a church meeting in Khorfulus
in South Sudan on the evening of
Thursday 27th September 2007 and
detonated a grenade. Five children
were killed instantly and another
died two days later. Another child,
a woman and the minister who was
leading the service were all taken to
hospital in a critical condition.
14 BARNABAS AID JAN / FEB 2008
Violence in Egyptian
village because of
rumoured church
extension
MUSLIMS FROM ALABED VILLAGE, basis that all of the court officers were
in the province of Minya, upper Egypt, Muslim. Islam is growing fast in
were angered by rumours that a church western China where he lives.
in the neighbouring village of Gabal
Alteer was going to build an extension. considered guilty of insulting or
After midday prayers on Friday 26th
October 2007, some young Muslim
men started fires on a piece of land
owned by a Christian where quantities from China, for example, Australia
of reeds were stored. Soon Muslims and Pakistan.
and Christians from the villages were
throwing stones at each other. Twelve
people were injured and 37 were
arrested.
The rumour about the church
extension appears to have developed
because Christians were purchasing
a plot of land adjacent to the church.
Any kind of church building work,
or even the repair and renovation of
churches, is very sensitive in Egypt.
Until recently the President himself
was required to give permission for any
such work, which meant applications
for permits took years to be processed A BAPTIST CHURCH in Narkiss
and sometimes would be refused at
the end of the long process. Even
now he must give permission for new
churches, while local governors handle the Israeli press are unanimous
requests for repairs and renovation.
To build or repair mosques does not
require this special permission.
As a result there are not nearly
enough church buildings in Egypt
for the Christian community, which
may number as many as ten million.
Incidents of anti-Christian violence
in Egypt have often been triggered by
rumours that Christians are developing
their church buildings without the
requisite permission.
Chinese Christian
imprisoned for giving
out tracts
LIU HUIWEN WAS SENTENCED to
18 months in prison at a court hearing
on 23rd October. He had written
and distributed a Christian tract to
people in his local community, some
of whom were Muslims. This resulted
in a charge of insulting Islam and
the prison sentence, which is far
longer than the sentences normally
imposed on Chinese Christians. It
is significant that the police officer,
prosecutor and judge in the case were
all Muslims. Liu is appealing on the
The concept of Christians being
vilifying Islam when they share their
Christian beliefs has been raised in
recent years in very different contexts
Fire damage at the church (Photo: Compass)
Israel: Church arsoned
in Jerusalem
Street, Jerusalem was set on fire on
23rd October. Although the police
have not yet made any arrests,
in attributing the crime to Jewish
extremists. A church building on the
same plot of land was destroyed by
ultra-right wing Jewish arsonists
in 1982.
Kyrgyzstan changes
constitution
A REFERENDUM held in Kyrgyzstan
on 21st October produced a
large majority in favour of a new
constitution. The new constitution
strengthens the secular basis of the
country and has various clauses
banning religious groups from
becoming involved in politics. This is
clearly aimed at preventing Islamists
from gaining political power and
moving the country towards a more
Islamic stance.
A ban on religious discrimination,
already in place in the previous
constitution, remains in the new one.
South Sudan pulls
out of National Unity
Government
THE GOVERNMENT OF SOUTH
SUDAN has withdrawn from the
National Unity Government which
was formed in September 2005, nine
months after the long-running civil
war had come to an end. South
Sudan is predominantly Christian,
and the civil war began in 1983 when
the South protested against attempts
by the Islamic government of North
Sudan to impose Islamic law on
the South.
The Southern Government’s
move is a protest against what it
sees as the failure of the National
Unity Government to implement the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
The Agreement is supposed to give the
South a measure of autonomy, a fair
share of oil revenues, and allow them
to vote in due course about whether
they want complete independence.
In Touch
Matching projects
to people
On page 2, our International
Director, Dr Patrick Sookhdeo,
writes about the Old Testament
story of Joseph sent ahead to Egypt
and the New Testament story of
Agabus and the Jerusalem famine.
Both are examples of how the Lord
made preparations ahead of time to
help His people later when famine
came. Here at Barnabas Fund we
are thrilled to see how God still
guides His people to meet specific
needs of their brothers and sisters.
Last year a Barnabas Fund
supporter contacted the UK office
to say that she was thinking of
giving a gift of around £50,000. She
enquired if there were any projects
needing that particular sum and told
us that one of her special interests
Husband and wife show the injuries from their whipping
(Photos: www.fcnn.tv)
Iranian Christian couple
whipped for attending
worship meeting
AN IRANIAN CHRISTIAN COUPLE
have been punished by whipping for
apostasy from Islam. Six officials
visited their home in September to
carry out the punishment, which was
handed down to them for apostasy
from Islam.
The husband is indeed a former
Muslim, who became a Christian
many years ago, but the wife was born
into an Assyrian Christian family and
The clinic in Papua New Guinea
was medical work. As it happened,
our committee was at the time
considering whether we could support
a request from Papua New Guinea,
where a run-down Christian clinic
was in desperate need of complete
renovation, plus the building of
homes for the clinic staff. The clinic
is situated near the border with
Indonesia and some of its patients
are Indonesian Christians who have
fled to Papua New Guinea to escape
the violence and destruction which
Newsroom
has never been a Muslim. The basis
of the accusation against her lies in
the couple’s marriage seven years
ago. Although both were Christians,
they could not find a church willing to
marry them because of their different
backgrounds, so they married
under Islamic law. According to the
Justice Court of Revolution, when
non-Muslims marry under Islamic
law they are considered to have
converted to Islam. So both were
legally considered Muslims, although
they were in reality convinced and
practising Christians.
Some five years later the couple
were among a group of Christians
who were arrested on 21st September
2005 while meeting for worship
in a home in a town north-west
of Teheran. In July 2007 the
couple’s case came to court. They
declared before the judge that they
were Christians. Because the law
considered them Muslim, this led to
the court’s ruling that they were both
apostates from Islam, and hence the
brutal punishment.
the Indonesian army is wreaking on
Christian villages in their province.
The amount needed for the project
was about £59,000. Taking this as a
sign from the Lord, we were able to
gratefully accept the most generous
donation, which covered almost the
whole cost of the clinic project.
Another good “match”
occurred when a small British
trust contacted us to say that they
had received an offer of a donation
of around £1,000 for needs in the
Holy Land. Did Barnabas Fund have
anything that fitted the bill? The
answer was yes. The Christian school
at Bethlehem which Barnabas Fund
supports needed a projector and two
speakers, total cost £922.
An elderly gentleman setting
his affairs in order found that he had
Continued overleaf
JAN / FEB 2007 BARNABAS AID 15
In Touch
New church building in Sri Lanka, built to replace churches
destroyed in the tsunami of December 2004. A Barnabas Fund
supporter has given £8,500 to build and equip a similar church
an investment about to mature which
he wanted to “re-invest” in the Lord’s
work. The sum was £8,500. He told
us he would like it to be spent on
constructing a church, preferably
built of local materials with local
labour. His gift will be sent to Sri
Lanka where Christians are still
rebuilding churches destroyed by
the 2004 tsunami. The costs of such
a church are approximately £2,750
to buy the land and approximately
£4,850 to build. This means there will
be around £900 left over from this gift
to help with furniture and equipment
for the new church.
A very generous offer came
from a supporter who wanted to give
£39,000 to help Christian children and
orphans in situations of great need.
We contacted the school for African
refugees in Cairo (see page 4) which
Barnabas Fund has been helping
to support for a number of years.
Many of the children attending this
school have lost their parents in the
Sudanese civil war. We asked if they
had any current needs not covered
by donations. Yes, they replied, they
had a shortfall of around £50,000 on
their running costs for the current
academic year. We were delighted to
be able to forward the gift of £39,000
to cover a large proportion of the
need.
Praise God with us for the
encouragement of these “matches”
and for the privilege of Barnabas
Fund being involved as the channel
and link. It is wonderful to see
how He prompts believers by giving
them a desire to help their brothers
and sisters with a certain kind of
need at just the right time. We are
very grateful, too, for the generosity
of the donors.
All these examples happened in
2007. What will He do in 2008?
16 BARNABAS AID JAN / FEB 2008
Cycling for Cana
Regular readers of Barnabas Aid
may remember some of the previous
exploits of Canon John Bowers of
West Kirby, Wirral, Cheshire in the
UK who has raised large sums for
Barnabas Fund by his sponsored cycle
rides. This year he chose to cycle in
the footsteps of the Pilgrim Fathers
in New England and raised £16,248
(at the time of writing) for the Cana
Girls Rescue Home in Kenya (project
reference 25-663).
This centre provides a refuge
for Christian girls and women in
a context of traditional African
religions, where they are in danger of
forced marriages to much older men,
female genital mutilation (“female
circumcision”) and polygamy. There
are now over 20 girls living at the
centre and dormitory is bulging at the
seams. Many other girls are waiting
to obtain a place, and a number
are being looked after by the local
minister and his wife in their home.
Cooking is done outside and the girls
eat under a tree. Barnabas Fund has
been helping with running costs and
also furniture and fittings.
The leaders of the project
desperately want to build an
additional block to provide extra
accommodation for a further 48 girls
plus a matron’s room, a proper dining
room and kitchen/store facilities. This
will cost £12,570 so what John has
raised more than covers the costs of
the new block, with some left over
towards other needs at the centre.
Many thanks to John and all his
sponsors.
Cana Girls Rescue Home helps Christian girls in danger in
a context of traditional African religions in Kenya. John
Bowers raised enough from his sponsored cycle trip in New
England to cover the cost of an additional block with sleeping
accommodation, kitchen, dining room, store and matron’s room.
This picture shows work starting on the new building
Some of the Burundian ministers with their bicycles,
donated by Barnabas Fund
Thank you for
encouraging us
Barnabas Fund is helping to
support ten church leaders in
Burundi at the rate of £60 per
month each. We have also given
them each a bicycle costing £80.
(Project reference 67-675) Some of
the pastors came to thank a visitor
from Barnabas Fund and made
these comments.
• As you know, God’s work is not easy
and the places we go are very far…
We heard that you were the ones who
helped us to get the bicycles and have
travelled to show our appreciation.
We wanted to thank you… they reduce
our journey from a whole day to just
a few hours. They help Christians
because if they need us we can be
there in just some hours.
• I was always late because the
journey was far. But since I have the
bike I have not been late once. As for
the salary support, I have used some
of the money for a new iron roof.
There was then great joy in our house
because we had no more leaks. I have
also bought some glasses for my eyes
and now I can see.
• I used the money you gave me for
school fees. I was ashamed.
I had failed as a man because I could
not afford to send my children to
school. But now thanks to you I
have respect again. I also used some
money to treat my eldest son’s eye
problem. He had had this problem
for many years but I could not afford
to treat him. Please tell the people in
Barnabas Fund that we are praying
for them. [This pastor cycled a round
trip of 50 miles (80km) just to say
thank you.]
Focus
Iraqi Christians face genocide
– but you can help save them
Christians in Iraq are facing extermination at the hands of Islamic extremists
who want to cleanse their country of any trace of Christianity. These extremists
threaten Christians that they must convert to Islam, leave or be killed.
Iraqi Christians will not abandon their faith, and many of them have already
been killed. Some have fled to the relatively safe Kurdish areas of Iraq and This piece of land in a Christian area of a Syrian city is to be
transformed into a thriving community for 350 Iraqi Christian
huge numbers are fleeing to neighbouring Syria. Those who have escaped the refugee families. Please pray that the Lord will guide every
genocide need help to survive in their new locations.
aspect of the project
Barnabas Fund has been helping to provide food and basic needs for Iraqi
Christian refugees in Syria since just after the invasion of March 2003. But
now it has become clear that the refugees will not be able to return to their
homeland in the foreseeable future. A longer term solution is needed.
Background
Building new communities 350 apartments together with Syria has at least 1.5 million refugees
for refugees to settle facilities such as a clinic, school and from Iraq. According to the United
community hall. At a later stage small Nations, Christians were 5% of the
Barnabas Fund is therefore working businesses will be started to provide
population before the 2003 invasion, but
with senior leadership of all the main employment opportunities.
make up 35-40% of the refugees. (This
Christian denominations in Iraq and
disproportionately high figure reflects
Syria to build a new community and Will you help to make this
infrastructure where Iraqi Christian the specifically anti-Christian nature of
refugees can settle and re-start
a reality?
much of the violence in Iraq.)
their lives. The whole project will cost an
estimated total of £2,850,000 (US$5.7 The recent influx of Iraqi refugees
Thanks to the generosity of the city
million; NZ$7.7 million; A$6.3 (adding to 3.5 million Palestinian
authorities, a plot of
million; €4 million). So the cost to refugees already in Syria) has sent prices
land for the building
provide one family’s needs - home and spiralling upwards. Many basic foods
project has been
amenities - is approximately £8,100
purchased at have tripled in cost, and rents have gone
(US$16,300; NZ$22,000; A$18,000:
a fraction of up five-fold or more. Only 30% of the
€11,400). With many churches and
its real value. refugee children can go to school.
On this will be individuals around the world all
built around playing their part, the whole sum can Muslim agencies are building 150,000
be raised. units of housing for Muslim refugees.
Your gift WILL make a difference. But many Christians are staying in
Please send your gift to church buildings, old people’s homes
your nearest Barnabas
and other kinds of lodging which are
Fund office or visit www.
not appropriate for long-term family
barnabasfund.org to make
a donation.
accommodation.
Christian refugees fill the churches
Please quote project
reference 20/49-710 when in Syria each Sunday. There are large
you send your gift. numbers of women and children amongst
them. Recent arrivals are poorer than
May we also ask
for your prayers those who fled a year or two ago, and
that the Lord have little realistic prospect of moving
will protect and on to settle in any other country. They
guide in every
must wait in Syria until peace is restored
aspect of this
in Iraq.
project.
Iraqi Christian refugees in Syria. Families like this now realise that they will not be able to return
home to Iraq in the foreseeable future, and that only a few will be able to move on to another
country. Most must settle down in Syria and re-start their lives. But the first problem is to find affordable
accommodation. Barnabas Fund is launching a project to build 350 apartments for refugees like this
JAN / FEB 2007 BARNABAS AID 17
 Please send me ____ copies of the 8-minute DVD

Books “Save Iraqi Christians”

Please send me information about being a Barnabas Fund church
representative or area representative.
Please add me to your email news service. My e-mail address is
___________________________________________________________________

FAITH AND POWER: A HANDBOOK OF Yes, I would like to help the persecuted Church Gift Aid Declaration
I authorise Barnabas Fund, The Old Rectory, River Street, Pewsey, Wiltshire
NEW BRITISH ISLAM By Patrick Sookhdeo Here is my gift of ______________________ SN9 5DB UK , registered charity no. 1092935, to treat all donations I have made

TITLE Normal price £12.99 Special introductory price £7.99 Please use my gift for
Wherever the need is greatest (General Fund)
(+ £2.50 postage and packing within the UK)
Other ___________________________________________*
Islam believes itself to be a faith and also recognises that it is a political and
territorial power. How is this going to be expressed in the UK? Will there be I enclose a cheque/voucher payable to “Barnabas Fund”.
assimilation or separation? This book has been written to provide an easy-to-use
resource to help non-Muslims understand Islam in Britain today and the way in Please debit my Visa Mastercard American Express
which it is seeking to transform the country. Introductory chapters look at what Maestro CAF card /other charity card
Muslims in the UK believe and do, what they have in common as well as the wide
range of variation and differences amongst them. There is an emphasis on tracing
Number
current movements and trends, in particular the more radical movements which
are those likely to have the greatest impact on non-Muslim Britons. Later chapters Maestro issue number or issue date /
review influential Muslim figures who have shaped or are shaping Islam in the
UK, and give concise information on a wide range of Muslim organisations active in the UK, showing the inter-linkages
Expiry date / Signature ______________________________
between them. A final chapter looks at a range of very specific issues and challenges relating to the subject of Islam
in Britain. Dr Sookhdeo asks penetrating questions about the way in which the Muslim communities in the UK may I do not require an acknowledgement of this gift.
develop in the future and how British authorities and institutions appear to be yielding to the process of Islamisation.
I would like to give regularly through my bank. Please send me
Hardback, approx. 330 pages Isaac Publishing
the appropriate form. (UK supporters may use the Standing Order
Publication date, January 2008 Pre-order your copy now. ISBN 0-9787141-3-X 978-0-9787141-3-0 form below.)
Alternative Gift Card To make an alternative gift for a loved one, please
since 6 April 2002 and all subsequent donations as Gift Aid donations until I notify
you otherwise.
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If you have previously signed a Gift Aid Declaration for Barnabas Fund, you do not
need to sign again. To qualify for Gift Aid, what you pay in income tax or capital
gains tax must at least equal the amount of tax reclaimed on donations to registered
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(Mr,Mrs,Miss,Ms,Rev,Dr)
Address
Postcode Telephone
Email
Please return this form to Barnabas Fund at your national office or to the UK
office. Addresses are on the back cover. Barnabas Fund will not give your address
or email to anyone else.
Phone 0800 587 4006 or visit our website at www.barnabasfund.org to make a
credit card donation. From outside UK phone +44 1672 565031.
Registered Charity number 1092935 Company registered in England number 4029536
*We reserve the right to use designated gifts for another project if the one identified is
sufficiently funded.

STEPPING INTO THE SHADOWS By Rosemary Sookhdeo contact your national office.
Mag 01/08
Supporters in Germany: please turn to back cover for how to send gifts to
Barnabas Fund.

Normal price £6.99 Special price £5 (+ 80p postage and packing within the UK)
This book explores the reasons why so many women are converting to Islam and answers STANDING ORDER For UK supporters who would like to give regularly
many questions you may have about the issue of its attraction to women. The author Please use these gifts by Standing Order for
unpacks and analyses the problems faced in circumstances such as conversion by conviction
or by marriage and addresses the long-term implications of such decisions. Essential Wherever the need is greatest (General Fund) Other ____________________________*
reading for every parent, church leader or pastor to enable them to understand and to To: (name and address of your bank)
educate to prevent such situations in the future. _______________________________________________________________________________________
Paperback, 121 pages Isaac Publishing, 2005 ISBN 9-0-9547835-7-0 ___________________________________________________________ Post code: _________________

Sort Code ____/____/____ Account Number __________________

GLOBAL JIHAD By Patrick Sookhdeo
Price £15.99 (free postage and packing within the UK)
In Global Jihad, Dr Patrick Sookhdeo takes an in-depth look at Islamic teaching on violence
and war, past and present, as he analyses the rise of Islamic terrorism in the modern world.
“Patrick Sookhdeo has written another book of great scholarship and clarity, which examines
the roots and nature of Islamic jihad and the long war that lies ahead. Patrick Sookhdeo is
a man uniquely qualified to explain to the reader what lies behind the resurgence of militant
Islamic fundamentalism and how the West should respond. This important book is most
strongly commended to everyone who wants to understand the nature of the Islamic threat
we face.” Ivar Hellberg OBE, Cranfield University, UK
New DVD
on Iraq
“God at work in Iraq” is an 8-minute
presentation focussing on the place of
Iraq in the Bible and on the Christian
presence in Iraq for two millennia. The
DVD complements Barnabas Fund’s DVD
Account name _____________________________________________
Please pay Barclays Bank, Canary Wharf Branch, Canary Wharf, 2 Churchill Place, London, E14 5RB,
for the credit of Barnabas Fund account no. 904 669 72 sort code 20-26-46
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_________________________________________________________________________
Starting on (date) _________ and then every month/quarter/year (delete as applicable) until further notice.
From (Name) ___________________________________________________________________________
(Address) _______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ Post code ____________
Signature__________________________ Date ____/_____/____

Hardback, 669 pages Isaac Publishing, 2007 ISBN 09787141-2-1 978-0-9787141-2-3

“Hope and Fear in Iraq” which deals with
the current persecution of Christians and
To order these books and other similar titles, visit www.barnabasbooks.org what Barnabas Fund is doing to bring
them aid and hope. So the two DVDs can
Alternatively phone 024 7623 1923 (from outside the UK +44 24 7623 1923) be shown either separately or together.
or contact your national Barnabas Fund office (addresses on back cover). Order your free copy using the
form above.
18 BARNABAS AID JAN / FEB 2008
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the Barnabas Fund (delete as applicable)
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Barnabas Fund is a registered charity no. 1092935, and a company registered in England number 4029536
* We reserve the right to use designated gifts for another project if the one identified is sufficiently funded.
 The ‘Barnabas Fund Distinctive’
Barnabas Fund was established in 1993 with the aim of providing
practical help to Christians in Muslim environments. Since
that time our ministry has grown and we now bring hope and aid
to the persecuted Church in over 50 countries.
So, what helps make Barnabas Fund distinctive from other
Christian organisations which deal with persecution?
• We support only Christians (“Therefore, as we have
opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those
who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:10)
• The majority of our aid goes to Christians living in
Muslim-majority environments.
• We help by channelling money from Christians through
Christians to Christians:
• The money is used to fund projects which have been
developed by local Christians in their own communities,
countries or regions.
• The money is channelled to existing structures in
the countries where funds are sent (e.g. churches and
Christian organisations).
• We do not set up our own structures or send people
(i.e. Western missionaries). Instead we seek to encourage,
strengthen and enable the existing local Church and
Christian communities – so they can maintain their
presence and witness.
• No request is too small to be considered.
• We aim to meet both practical and spiritual needs.
Barnabas Aid The magazine of Barnabas Fund
Published by Barnabas Fund The Old Rectory, River Street, Pewsey, Wiltshire SN9 5DB, UK
Telephone 01672 564938 Fax 01672 565030 From outside UK: Telephone +44 1672 564938 Fax +44 1672 565030
Email info@barnabasfund.org
How to Find Us
You may contact Barnabas Fund at the following addresses:
UK
9-10 Priory Row, Coventry CV1 5EX
Telephone 024 7623 1923 Fax 024 7683 4718
From outside the UK
Telephone +44 24 7623 1923 Fax +44 24 7683 4718
E-mail info@barnabasfund.org
Registered charity number 1092935
Company registered in England number 4029536
Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Mr Mike Penny
For a list of all trustees, please contact Barnabas Fund UK at the Coventry
address above.
Jersey
Le Jardin, La Rue A Don, Grouville, Jersey, Channel Islands JE3 9GB
Telephone 700600 Fax 700601 Email bfjersey@barnabasfund.org
New Zealand
14A View Road, Mt Eden, Auckland 1024
Telephone 09 630 6267 Fax 09 630 6267
E-mail office@barnabasfund.org.nz
www.barnabasfund.org
To donate by credit card, please visit the website
or phone 0800 587 4006 (from outside the UK phone +44 1672 565031).
© Barnabas Fund 2008 For permission to reproduce articles from this magazine, please contact the Pewsey UK office address above.
• We are equal partners with the persecuted Church,
whose leaders often help shape our overall direction.
• We seek to tackle persecution at its root by making
known the aspects of the Islamic faith which result in
injustice and oppression of non-Muslims.
• We believe we are called to address the Islamic faith
– an ideology which denies full religious liberty to
Christian minorities – while continuing to show God’s
love to Muslim people.
• We seek to inform and enable Christians in the West
to respond to the growing challenge of Islam to the
Church, society and mission in our own countries.
• We believe in the clear Biblical teaching that all
Christians should treat all people of all faiths with love
and compassion, even those who seek to persecute
them.
• We believe in the power of prayer to change people’s
lives and situations, either through grace to endure or
through deliverance from the suffering. We therefore
seek to facilitate global intercession for the persecuted
Church by providing comprehensive prayer materials.
• We act as champions for the persecuted Church,
to be their voice – making their needs known to
Christians and the injustices of their persecution
known to governments and international bodies.
“Whatever you did for one of the least of
these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
(Matthew 25:40)
Australia
Postal Suite 107, 236 Hyperdome, Loganholme QLD 4129
Telephone (07) 3806 1076 or 1300 365 799 Fax (07) 3806 4076
Email bfaustralia@barnabasfund.org
USA
6731 Curran St, McLean, VA 22101
Telephone (703) 288-1681 or toll-free 1-866-936-2525
Fax (703) 288-1682
Email bfusa@barnabasfund.org
Germany
German supporters may send gifts for Barnabas Fund via Hilfe für
Brüder who will provide you with a tax-deductible receipt.
Please mention that the donation is for “SPC 20 Barnabas Fund”.
If you would like your donation to go to a specific project of Barnabas
Fund, please inform the Barnabas Fund office in Pewsey, UK.
Account holder: Hilfe für Brüder e.V. Account number: 415 600
Bank: Evang. Kreditgenossenschaft Stuttgart Bankcode (BLZ):
600 606 06