WorldChristian News: Islamic World #23
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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES– The UAE is trying to
reverse its heavy dependence on expatriate workers by encouraging more
education, and by urging the private sector to hire more workers from among
its native population. “Expats who formed 36.5 percent of the population in
1968 now make up 75.6 percent. In the past five years the country's
population has grown from 2.4 million to 3.3 million, mainly due to the rise
in the expatriates.” The success of the government’s current education and
emiratisation campaign is seen in the growing number of nationals aspiring
to enter the workforce. An estimated 100,000 nationals will graduate by 2005
and enter the job market. The government itself cannot absorb any further
nationals, according to Gulf News, “as they already have more than the
required staff on their payrolls.” (Gulf News, 2001, July 10)
REASONS FOR MUSLIM CONVERSIONS--A Fuller
Seminary survey among about 600 former Muslims showed the following
predominant factors leading to their embrace of Christianity: 1) contrary to
Islams’ understanding of a works-based qualifying for heaven, coupled with
the capricious nature of Allah when it comes to choosing who to allow in,
Christianity, through Christ offered them an assurance of salvation; 2)
dreams and visions in which Christ appeared to them and initiated the
process toward conversion; 3) the love of God and his people became more
attractive to many of them, evoking a correspondent response of love and
adoration for God, replacing a disposition of mere submission; 4) the
possibility of a close and growing relationship with God (as opposed to the
Muslim notion that Allah is so great that he is distant and unknowable)
motivated others. (Mission Frontiers, 2001, March)
AZERBAIJAN--Last August, the southern
Caucasus state of Azerbaijan officially completed its transition to the
Latin alphabet, the third such script change in less than a century. Since
then, no official or commercial document should contain a single character
in the Cyrillic alphabet, which was forcibly imposed on the country in 1939
by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. It replaced the Latin script that had been
in use since the mid-1920s (following centuries of Arabic script usage).
Soviet leadership tried to stem pan-Turkic sentiments and influence
following the adoption of the Latin script in Turkey.
Proponents of this latest linguistic reform argued the change would help the
country move closer to Europe, including Turkey, which shares a similar
language with Azerbaijan, and reduce Russian cultural domination over this
nation of 7.7 million. Opponents feared the switch would marginalize ethnic
Russians, who make up approximately 2.5 percent of the population.
INDIAN CHURCHES EXPRESS SOLIDARITY WITH MUSLIMS
(ENI)--Church bodies have joined a vocal chorus of protest over a
warning issued by a Hindu nationalist group to the Muslim minority in India.
Christian, Sikh and Muslim groups have condemned a resolution passed by the
controversial Hindu organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), or
National Volunteer Corps, on 17 March challenging the minority's right to
live as equal citizens in India.
"Let the Muslims understand that their real safety lies in the goodwill of
the [Hindu] majority," declared the RSS in the resolution passed at the end
of its national assembly in the city of Bangalore.
The RSS, a Hindu fundamentalist group, is considered the ideological
inspiration of the Hindu nationalism espoused by the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP), the leading party in India's coalition government.
Calling the RSS statement "outrageous", the National Council of Churches in
India (NCCI) in a statement yesterday declared that the resolution exposed
the real "agenda" of the Sangh Parivar, a collective name for a network of
organizations inspired by the RSS.
"This is not a warning to the Muslims alone. The RSS is clearly warning all
the minorities in India that they have to live under the mercy of the
Hindus," Ipe Joseph, NCCI general secretary, told ENI.
Muslims are the biggest religious minority in India, accounting for more
than 12 per cent of India's 1 billion people. Christians are the second
largest minority, with about 25 million people, while other minorities
include Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Parsees. About 82 per cent of India's
population is Hindu. (03/20)
FUNDAMENTALISM VS. FUNDAMENTALS:
SCHOOL REFORM IN PAKISTAN--Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf
announced a plan to drain the breeding ground for Muslim extremists by
reforming radical madrasas (religious seminaries) that have sent their
graduates off to jihads outside Pakistan.
Musharraf gave Pakistan's madrasas an end-of-March deadline to register with
the federal government and a year-end deadline to begin teaching math,
science, the English language and Pakistani studies, if they don't already
do so. “It's a 50-50 story,” said Imtiaz Gilani, education minister of the
North West Frontier Province, referring to the fact that there are a good
number of these religious schools who do offer a genuine service to the
poor.
Pakistan's public schools are in trouble as well. With as many as 40
students to a class most have to share textbooks. By the time the school
system pays teachers, it is left with about 10% of its annual budget. That
doesn't leave much to buy furniture, let alone put roofs over the
euphemistically named “shelterless” schools where teachers instruct out in
the elements. Enrollment has declined to only 49% of the elementary
school-age population. Many parents don’t care to have their children
educated beyond basic writing and reading skills.
“Jihad has become a bad word, because religious bigots have been associated
with it,” Gilani said. “But Jihad literally translates as struggle, and I am
on a jihad to increase literacy.” (Los Angeles Times, March 23)
MUSLIMS IN GERMANY– The largest
officially recognized segment among the 7.3 million foreigners in Germany,
are Muslims; they number 3.2 million.
The World of Islam CD-ROM
$39.95 CD-Rom
WCN Sale price: $33.96
Invaluable resource; a veritable library in itself;
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to Islam. The text of 50 complete books, as well as maps, pictures, surveys
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list of books, click here
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A Muslim and A Christian in Dialogue
by Badru Kateregga and David Shenk
Herald Press
List Price:
$14.99
WCN Sale price: $12.74
Millions of Muslims and Christians are neighbors and worship the same God. Yet they seldom witness to each other, and the issues they deal with are profound. Rather than an antagonistic interaction, Badru D. Kateregga and David W. Shenk pioneer another way--that of authentic dialogue between friends.
To buy this title, click here
last update: 2003 May 18