We are obligated to pray the victims as well as the perpetrators. This is sometimes very difficult to do, but we clear instructions to "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
We must not seek personal revenge against our enemies; "vengance is mine" the Lord tells us, but that doesn't mean we're to be complacent because of the next point.
"Always be ready to give an answer why you have the faith you do" (1 Peter 3:15) - Can you give a reason why you're a Christian? You should. - Christian apologetics is huge in both science fields but also in reaching followers of Islam. When one gets to see all the facts for Christianity vs. Islam, (and they are not living in an Islamic country where they could be killed for leaving Islam); a large amount will leave Islam. -- Take for example a debate between Christian Dr. Jack Evans and Muslim Jeremiah Muhammad - Once Mr. Muhammad saw all the facts layed out in front of him, he left islam and embraced Christianity! (and this is from an Islamic leader) So it is imperative that we reach out to those with a full understanding of the Gospel Message. (see www.IntelligentWonders.com for more info)
Also - please write the goverment and embassies to get basic human rights and freedom of religion opened up. If their religion is right, then why do most islamic countries feel they must ban every form of Christian writing? **It is because they (like Mr. Muhammad mentioned above), know what the truth can do, so they feel inclined to shut down the borders and keep their people ignorant of the truth. (please pray and visit persecution.org for more options: http://www.persecution.org/suffering/what_can_i_do.php?PHPSESSID=f072e5caf524fea0cc8d4d57c6ac6a58
HISTORY OF ISLAMIC CONQUESTS TO TODAY:
It may surprise many of you that although Islam has never been quite a "religion of peace," it did live in relative peace with it's Christian and Buhdhist minorities after their conquests. One of the BEST books on the subject of this, is the "The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia--and How It Died " by Philip Jenkins. Jenkins uses first-hand information to show while Islam did conquer many of the surrounding lands, they did live in peace in the Christian East for some time, up until the Mongols and then the Timurid Dynasty especially, truly brought the sword to an extreme level and began imposing a strict form of Islamic and anti-conversion laws - that have carried through to the "jihad" we see today...
Let us remember our Christian brothers in the East as well as our Muslim Brothers/Sisters, and continue to pray for them all; *because even though we are not expected nor told to "love" islam, we are to love all muslims, (just as we are to love the atheist, but not love "atheism.") Here are a few different sources of the Islamic history/conquests that led to the extreme persecution we see today, (I have taken a few different sources so not to seem biased) - It is estimated that since 1990, that 160,000 Christians have been killed each year for following Christ... Please keep in your thoughts and prayers, and get involved spreading the word of the Gospels with the same commitment that our persecuted brethren have.
Please click LISTEN, to hear a fascinating audio on what is happening to our schools, (this is a very educational and fairly short audio, that you can just minimize and listen, (you won't want to miss)).
Q: People are sometimes walking away from the dangers of the middle east thinking “Now we need to kill all Muslims.” How can we get people to react properly to this Danger?
A: One of the root causes of radical Islamic terror is hatred. The desire to “kill all Muslims” just forms another hate group, which in turn exacerbates the problem, and is NOT of the teaching of Christ. The best tool all of us can use against radical Islam is to stay informed, and to notify others of the dangers of the radical situation and any biases along the way.
It is important to note that not all Muslims are radicals. Walid Shoebat (http://www.shoebat.com/ ), a former terrorist, now Christian; points out that according to his estimate, only about half of Muslims are radical, or supports a radical ideology. This is still a large figure, but we need to realize that the other not all subscribe to a radical ideology of hate.
click to play click to play click to play
*Food for thought: (Please don't take this as "our religion against theirs," that is not it AT ALL; but just like Hitler's Nazism; people were not against "Germans," but they were against "Nazism." Is this wrong? Would it have been politically correct to have let Nazism grow? -I think that Americans really need to consider the below, (I am sorry if you're offended, but I feel that this is important to share)):
Don't know about Jesus, but British politicians must be slaves of
something Muslim to keep importing more of this into the UK.
What can you do to raise awareness about the threat of radical Islam? Below are some ways to get more involved.
Media
Politics
Campus
Community
Campaigns
Host an Event
Think about what’s important to you
Live what’s important to you
Media Become informed, and help inform others
Get clear on what is happening in the world by reading a variety of reputable sources.
Monitor your campus and international newspapers for bias and misinformation, and alert others when you see it. When you see news stories that provide excuses for Islamist terror, or that reflect an anti-Western bias without showing the whole picture, organize a letter writing campaign pointing out the mistake. Groups like Honest Reporting can help provide tools for recognizing and responding to bias in the media. (It's also great to send praise and thanks, as well!)
See how the Arab and Iranian media present events. There are several organizations providing important translations:
Check out what's being said. It's a real eye-opener!
Send letters to editors and write op-eds, about radical Islamic incitement, misinformation, and the threats to our shared ideals.
Start a blog, or feature some important links on your page at MySpace and Facebook.
Politics Help ignite your elected officials
Your views as a citizen are important to your elected representatives. Organize letter writing campaigns to your elected officials raising awareness about Islamist incitement, and encouraging them to be pro-active about the issues. You can write a short, personal email with a subject line like: "Thank you for standing up for Western ideals."
When you see legislation that benefits radical Islamic groups and terror supporting regimes, but does nothing to help the populations being abused by them, help your friends and colleagues write letters to your elected officials, telling them to oppose such legislation.
Volunteer for a campaign, and raise this issue to the candidate you are supporting.
Campus Engage and educate the people at your university
Many college students have found themselves under the gun by professors and student groups who attack their ideals, Western foreign policy, and similar. Often, the other side of the story is underrepresented or misrepresented. When you see these kinds of things going on, you can join with other students to effect positive transformation, and work to foster a true free exchange of ideas that is stifled by this kind of bias. Some organizations that can provide information, resources and useful links are:
Set up a table on your campus, and distribute information about this issue, including articles, talking points, and visuals.
Engage and encourage student organizations – student government, College Democrats and Republicans, cultural organizations - to condemn radical Islamist incitement, and the threats to our shared ideals posed by inaction and lack of knowledge.
Host a dialogue or debate that will help inform people about the issues.
Community Help build grass-roots awareness where you live
Point out hypocrisy when you see it. When various organizations protest alleged desecration of the Quran, but ignore physical violence by Islamists against Christians or others, stand up and say something. Write letters to the editor. Organize a sit-in outside their offices, and invite your local TV News stations to come and watch.
Moderate Muslims: Create watchdog groups monitoring what is being taught and disseminated in mosques, schools, and local and national organizations. Work together to keep hate-propaganda out of your communities, and guarantee that the values which are important to you, are taught and upheld. For more information on promoting peace and tolerance, and combating radical infiltration into your communities, contact groups like:
Campaigns Get involved with campaigns about issues important to you
Is there an issue that's important to you, like child abuse or women’s rights? You can find a campaign and get involved, or even start your own!
If you're horrified about the culture of hatred being taught to children in certain parts of the world, then check out Teach Kids Peace . TKP encourages the promotion of peace education for children in conflict zones, through raising public awareness, and calling on world leaders to take action to prevent this form of child abuse.
If you want to respond to the treatment of women by radicals, then you can get involved with groups like:
These groups can also provide valuable information and resources for your own campaigns.
Begin a “shared values” campaign, encouraging peaceful coexistence among the diverse peoples in our global (and local) communities. Most of us share many of the same ideals. By raising awareness about the beautiful things we have in common, we can stand firm against threats to those ideals.
Host an Event
Show Obsession or other important films, with a post-show discussion to help people think about the issues. For more information on hosting an Obsession screening, contact us at: screenings@obsessionthemovie.com . For information on hosting an Obsession screening on your college campus, contact us at campus@obsessionthemovie.com .
Other important films you can show include:
Bringing speakers to your campus or community, to help educate, and engage others in a healthy debate.
Organizing a peaceful rally or vigil on the issues of relevance to you.
Think about what’s important to you
Spend some serious time thinking about the values that are important to your community. For example: education, justice, equality, and social responsibility. Why are they important? How do we express them? Discuss them with your friends and colleagues at school and in the workplace. If you’re a parent or teacher, engage your children in ways that will encourage them to think about our shared values, and some of the ways different cultures around the world express them.
Live what’s important to you
The biggest defense against this threat is to stand strong, and strive to bring these ideals into our lives. We should be as equally zealous as suicide bombers, to choose to live lives of truth and meaning. Remind yourself daily that you can distinguish between right and wrong, and you’re not being intolerant or narrow-minded. One can be open-minded and still recognize that some beliefs and actions help destroy the good we have struggled to bring into our beautiful world.
This gives addresses and email addresses to everyone from the President, legislation, House, and your Senator, (on persecution, Islam, humanitarian funding, etc.); as well as addresses to each embassy within the persecuted countries.
Excerpt - page 63 : "... Mine, evidently: Haynes wrote that "a longtime critic of Islam, RobertSpencer, suggested that TIZA might be part of a `grand jihad' ..."Surprise me!See a random page in this book.
Excerpt - Back Cover : "... contemporary political agendas with contrived historical "facts." But fear not: RobertSpencer refutes popular myths and reveals facts that you won't be ..."Surprise me!See a random page in this book.
http://www.terrorismawareness.org/
