From the Field – Persecution, Muslim Style – August 30, 2017
from “Journey” Blue Ridge Edition p. 23, August 2017
‘Illegal Lunch’
“…Muslims observe a fast called “Ramadan.” During this fast, you cannot eat food or drink water from sun up to sun down. If you happened to live in a Muslim dominated part of the world, like Zanzibar in Tanzania, it would be illegal to eat food or drink water during the day. This is true even for non-Muslims because Islam demands absolute submission of everyone and seeks total domination. Nobody living within Zanzibar, for instance, is supposed to be non-Muslim. If you fail to observe the fast, you come under suspicion of being an “infidel” and a threat to the order of the community.
So, what would you do if you had become a Christian and no longer wanted to be identified as a Muslim? After all, being baptized in the name of Jesus means that you take on a new identity. Would you then pretend to be Muslim during Ramadan? Would you hide from public view? Or would you eat lunch like any other day” One Christian family in Zanzibar, this past June, did not want to be forced to observe this religious holiday and prayer vigil to Allah, so they cooked and ate lunch. All six family members were arrested. Two were released after a night or two in jail, while the other four were released a day or two later, all because they ate lunch….”
And we need to pray that the Word breaks through to Muslims, and the task is large to say the least as the statistics below show.
Starting with a few nomads in the desert of Saudi Arabia, Muslims are now the majority in following countries. Majority Muslim countries…
Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Turkey,
Iran, Sudan, Algeria, Afghanistan, Morocco,
Iraq, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Yemen,
Syria, Kazakhstan, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal,
Tunisia, Guinea, Somalia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan,
Sierra Leone, Libya, Jordan, United Arab Emirates,
Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Chad, Lebanon, Kuwait,
Albania, Mauritania, Oman, Kosovo, Gambia, Bahrain,
Comoros, Qatar, Djibouti, Brunei, Maldives, Palestine
Large communities of Muslims are also found in China,
the Balkans, India, and Russia. Other parts of the world
host large Muslim immigrant communities including Western Europe.
Islam has 1.6 billion adherents, making up over 22% of the world population. Some have said, “Islam is just like cancer. In the beginning there are no symptoms, no pain. It spreads silently. The host is completely unaware of the danger lurking ahead. After it grows larger, symptoms show up, and then it kills the host.” As conscientious Christians we know and should speak out to people and pray to the Lord, even loving our enemies.