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„Bylo to jako arabština s přízvukem,“ řekla Dalia Mogahed,, programová koordinátorka pro Oakland Mosque, když mluvila o jazyku, kterým se mluví v Gibsonově filmu „Umučení Krista“. Řekla, že nemusela číst titulky, protože rozhovorům v aramejštině rozuměla. Mogahed společně se skupinou muslimské mládeže z Centra islámu v Pittsburghu, reagovala na pozitivní dopad po shlédnutí tohoto filmu. Hodně lidí bylo zaskočeno, když slyšeli, že Ježíš používá fráze, které jsou totožné s ústředním tématem islámu. Jedním takovým příkladem je Ježíšovo prohlášení, že se narodil, aby přinesl „pravdivé svědectví“. „Stejně tak by mohl citovat i Korán,“ řekla Mogahed. Hodně lidí si všimlo i množství shodných rysů mezi pronásledováním Ježíše a pronásledováním proroka Mohameda. „Bůh“ bylo jedno z mnoha slov, které Mogahed zasáhlo, protože podobně Boha vyslovují muslimové. Co jí velmi udivilo, bylo, že slovo Bůh v aramejštině zní téměř stejně, jako arabské „Allah,“ jen na konci má „-u“. Jedna ze studentek, mladá dívka, řekla, že jí tento film pomohl postavit most. Jiný viděl tento film jako možnost pro muslimy hovořit o své víře s křesťany a vysvětlit tak, že muslimové Ježíše uctívají, přestože nevěří, že byl z Boha nebo Božím synem. (Religion Today) |
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MOB OF MUSLIM YOUTHS DESTROYS 9 CHURCH BUILDINGS IN NIGERIA
On Saturday, April 3, a teenager, allegedly with a mental disability,
entered an Islamic school in the village of Makarfi in Nigeria's Kaduna
state and tore a copy of the Koran. Enraged, students and others attacked
the teenager, calling for his death. His mother managed to take him to the
police station where officers refused to release him to the protesters. The
Muslim youths then attacked the police station before burning down at least
nine churches. No one was killed in these attacks. Kaduna Police
Commissioner Muhammed Yesufu told Vanguard news that five people had been
arrested with more to come. He said the young man at the center of the
controversy was in a coma and that what happened "had nothing to do with
religious problems." However, Sam Kujiyat from the Christian Association of
Nigeria (CAN) said that foreign-funded Islamic extremists were behind this
and other recent attacks. In recent weeks violence against Christians has
erupted in the central state of Plateau, resulting in 1,500 Christians being
killed and 173 church buildings destroyed. CAN warned that it is becoming
increasingly difficult to restrain Christians from retaliating. (Voice of
the Martyrs)
INMATES TAKE MORE HOSTAGES AS ECUADORIAN PRISON STRIKES WORSEN
In the midst of a national strike by prison guards, inmates in Quito's
women's prison took two television news crews hostage earlier this week to
press their demands for shorter sentences and better living conditions. The
standoff was among several protests by convicts across the country in recent
days. Guards in Ecuador's 34 prisons went on strike March 22, demanding $10
million for improvements and back pay. Inmates have been largely left on
their own inside the prisons, receiving sporadic food shipments from the
government and meals passed to them by police and relatives. About 130
visitors -- mostly friends and relatives of the inmates -- also have been
inside since Sunday.
A similar scene played out across the city in García Moreno men's prison in
Quito where about 150 visitors have been shut in with convicts since Sunday.
That prison was designed to hold 400 inmates but houses about 1,100. It also
lacks running water. In the women's prison in Guayaquil, 170 miles southwest
of Quito, inmates demanding shorter sentences took two police officers
hostage on Tuesday. The inmates tied the officers to stakes in the main
patio and threatened to set them ablaze if other officers tried to end the
protest by force.
Three times in the past year, prisoners have rebelled strongly. Last week
the inmates at a total of eight prisons in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca
rebelled against the authorities to the point that there was no control. At
the end of last week, prisoners in Quito and Guayaquil abducted hundreds of
people who were visiting loved ones. They still have not been freed. In
other incidents, prisoners tied up some guards and sprayed with a flammable
liquid and placed them next to propane gas cylinders with the intent of
setting them on fire, making the gas tanks explode. Other inmates have sewn
their mouths shut in a hunger strike, and some female prisoners have buried
themselves, leaving only their heads above ground so they could breathe.
Prisoners also have made massive escape attempts. At one of the prisons in
Quito, inmates broke through the wall, gaining access to the jail next door.
(Associated Press/HCJB World Radio)
* The unrest in Ecuador's jails has disrupted an extensive prison ministry
conducted by HCJB World Radio missionaries. On Feb. 15, Russ Meehan, a
Wycliffe missionary who teaches at the Alliance Academy, a school for
missionary children in Quito, was abducted during a visitation ministry at
the García Moreno Prison. He was released unharmed three days later.
BELIEVERS CELEBRATE NEW GOVERNMENT IN SRI LANKA
Sri Lanka now has a new government with the Freedom Alliance narrowly
winning the parliamentary elections. The new parliament is expected to be
sworn in Thursday, April 22. Some 280 Buddhist monks were campaigning for
the first time as a single political force under the National Heritage
Party. Simmering tensions between the Buddhist clergy and the Christians,
who are accused of aggressive conversions, came to a head early this year
and led to increased oppression. The good news in all this is that the new
president wants to open peace talks with rebels. Gospel for Asia President
K.P. Yohanon welcomes the declaration with open arms because "the
negotiation with the Tamil Tigers will continue, which means . . . . there's
a good possibility that finally, after decades of civil war, there may be
peace which will give us freedom to continue to preach the gospel." Yohanon
says there is an implied blessing to the elections' results -- an answer to
prayer. "The very fact that the Buddhist political party lost completely
will give us some freedom to continue to do the work even though there will
be some persecution." (Mission Network News)
PEACEKEEPING EFFORTS IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE ENCOURAGE MISSIONARIES
The first U.N. peacekeepers have arrived in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
after an anti-government protest sparked deadly violence a little more than
a week ago. The insurrection further hampered a troubled peace process and
has cost the continent dearly. For New Tribes Mission's Stanton Donmoyer,
the ministry's biggest loss came when the fighting interrupted the
Bible-teaching programs. "It has taken two years away from working with the
people," he said. "Where we do have some churches established with new
believers, we haven't been able to carry on a very active discipling while
our folks have been out of the country." NTM was forced to evacuate its
teams from Côte d'Ivoire last fall. Many have returned to the coastal city
of Abidjan; however, they haven't yet returned to the rural areas.
Meanwhile, peace efforts in the country are good news, Donmoyer says. "There
are moves towards getting the peace established and stability to come back
to the region. But we believe things are stable enough that our folks can
return to the countryside, although there are areas where they will not be
able to return." (Mission Network News)
* Fréquence Vie (Frequency Life), an HCJB World Radio partner FM station
operated by SIM and local churches in the coastal city of Abidjan,
broadcasts a message of hope and encouragement in Côte d'Ivoire. The station
airs 17 hours of daily programming in French and local languages. Lee
Sonius, director of HCJB World Radio's Sub-Saharan Africa region, says the
recent unrest in the country has not affected the station.
MUSLIMS HEAR JESUS SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE IN 'THE PASSION'
"It was like Arabic with an accent," said Dalia Mogahed, outreach program
coordinator for the Oakland Mosque, referring to the language used in Mel
Gibson's film, "The Passion of the Christ." She said she didn't need to read
the subtitles because she understood the Aramaic dialogue. Mogahed, with a
group of Muslim youths from the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh, commented on
the positive results of viewing the film. Many were impressed by the fact
that Jesus spoke phrases that were common to the central theme of Islam. One
example was Jesus' statement that he was born to "bear witness to the
truth." "He might as well have been quoting from the Koran," said Mogahed.
Many saw parallels between the persecution of Jesus and the persecution of
the prophet Mohammed. "God" was one of the words that struck Mogahed as
being so close to the way Muslims refer to God. What amazed her was that the
Aramaic word for God sounded just like the Arabic "Allah," but with a "u" at
the end. One of the students, a young girl, said the movie helped her build
bridges. Another saw it as a chance for Muslims to speak about their faith
to Christian peers by explaining that Muslims revere Jesus even though they
do not believe He was the divine or that He's the Son of God. (Religion
Today)
* BISHOP DEDICATES HCJB WORLD RADIO-UK'S NEWLY REFURBISHED STUDIOS
The Right Rev. David James, the bishop of Bradford, officially dedicated
HCJB World Radio-UK's newly refurbished radio studios during a short
ceremony the morning of Wednesday, April 7, before a gathering of invited
guests. He gave thanks for the presenters, producers and engineers serving
at the office and prayed that the programs produced in the new studios would
be effective in carrying the gospel message to listeners. The refurbishment
of the studios was made possible by a generous grant from Jerusalem Trust,
one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts. Staff members at HCJB World
Radio's British World Office have produced the award-winning program, "Full
Breakfast Show," that airs on Pulse Classic Gold in nearby West Yorkshire,
as well as innovative Christian materials for other commercial radio
stations across the U.K. The Bradford team is also involved in radio
training in Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Baltics. (HCJB World Radio) |
Zprávy HCJB 8.4.2004
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