Christian Arab churches reaching out to Muslims

By SIMONE CARR

On September 11, 2001, we vowed to never forget. Most of us can say we kept that vow. But how? Has that tragedy borne “peaceable fruits of righteousness” in our lives — or resentment?

While most Arabic churches in San Diego have reported little changes in their lives since 9/11, some have felt the effects of discrimination.

“The discrimination is obvious”, said Dr. Nagy Youssef Atia, pastor of The Last Harvest Middle East Church in El Cajon, who has felt it particularly in airports, where he often would be the only person in line to be thoroughly checked. “I don’t blame them,” he said. “They are doing their job to defend us”.

Discrimination against Middle Easterners in our nation has, sadly, shown uglier forms. In just the first nine weeks following 9/11, there were over 700 cases, including several murders, according to Hussein Ibish, communications director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the nation’s largest Arab-American membership organization. “The rates are now still higher than before 9/11, but have been consistent over the past two years”, he said.

Most discrimination today is expressed in the workplace, housing, and airports. Dr. Mafid Wasef, pastor of Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church for Arabic Speakers, said that immediately after the 9/11 events, three people in his congregation were fired from their jobs, mostly without explanation. In one case, the owners seemed almost well-intentioned. “They said that they didn’t want this young man to get hurt while delivering pizzas,” Dr. Wasef explained.

Middle Easterners are also suffering the pains of deportation. After many years in this country, which has become theirs in so many ways, some are forced to leave. Dr. Atia said that he saw many people having to do that.

This difficult climate has been compounded by the horrors of the recent war and the uncertainty of the present situation in a country and region where many Christians of Middle Eastern descent still have relatives and friends.

What are Christians doing about it? “September 11 and the recent war have all been opportunities for Christians to share the love of Christ with Muslims”, said Dr. Sohrab Ramtin, pastor of the Iranian Christian Church of San Diego.

Statistics show that, immediately after 9/11, there was a great wave of interest towards Islam and the Arabic culture. “The interest is still there,” Dr. Wasef said. “I am still invited to speak in many churches.” On Sept. 27, he will speak on the history of Christianity in the Middle East at a conference in La Jolla.

While the interest may be still present, it is not sure whether it is matched by an appropriate response.

“The initial interest, for Christians, was leading to greater evangelistic efforts towards the Muslim community”, Dr. Ramtin continued. “Unfortunately, that seems to be dying out. Christians sometimes are led by popular moods rather than seeking the Lord’s direction.”

The problem, sometimes, is in the nature of the inquiries. In a preview of their upcoming documentary, Stuart Television Productions, in partnership with Zogby International, wrote, “Before September 11th, the American attitude toward the Arab world could be summed up as ‘Why do I care?’ After September 11 the reaction quickly became ‘Why do they hate us?’ Still, no one seems to be asking the deeper question: ‘Who are they?’”

As Christians, we could go further, asking, “How do we reach them?”

Most Arabic churches in San Diego provide classes or material for understanding the Arabic culture and Islam. The first step is to avoid prejudiced conceptions.

According to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 44% of Americans today believe that Islam encourages violence, as opposed to 24% in March 2002. At the same time, 51% said they have a favorable view of Muslim Americans.

“In the mind of many Americans, Arab equals Muslim, and Muslim equals bad”, said Dr. Atia. “I don’t blame them because that is the face they saw. It’s human nature to react with resentment and hate. It’s our responsibility as Christians to teach the difference.”

Rev. David Philobes, an Egyptian pastor with years of experience in planting churches in the Middle East and in the States, attributes this pervading negative attitude also to lack of education and ignorance. To provide some information, he has written some articles and a 9/11 tract entitled, “Turning Atrocity into Hope, Love and Peace.”

“The majority of Muslims is not violent”, Pastor Ramtin agreed. “They are people just like others who need the Gospel. It’s absolutely wrong to aim our anger and hostility towards them. We are supposed to war against principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places, not against flesh and blood.”

Pastor Ramtin, who came to the U.S. in 1979 as a Muslim student and was led to the Lord by a teacher at Point Loma College, said that every Christian can effectively witness to Muslims.

“Some will disagree with this,” he said, “but I believe that what some people call Muslim awareness seminars are not necessary and can even be damaging. I have been invited to speak at similar seminars before, but one thing I always tell churches is that the average Christian knows what is necessary to reach out to a Muslim.”

Pastor Ramtin believes that these types of seminars can do more damage than good by creating fear and “mental blocks, believing that unless you have a training course you cannot witness to a Muslim.”

“This is wrong and paralyses the Christian force in sharing the Gospel”, he said.

Prayer and fellowship are also, as always, the church’s greatest sources of help and comfort. Right at the peak of the recent war in Iraq, a few Arabic churches met at San Diego Arabic Baptist Church in La Mesa for united prayer.

“Because of the shortness of time, we couldn’t include American churches”, said Elia Fehmi, worship director for San Diego Arabic Baptist Church. “Those times of prayer helped us to feel closer to each other.”

Prayers included the Christian churches in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq. “There are two types of churches in Iraq”, explained Dr. Atia, “the official churches and the underground churches. The official churches have never been persecuted. In fact, they were protected and even partially financed by Saddam, as long as they didn’t evangelize.”

“Now those churches are suffering. Without Saddam’s protection, they lay open to the persecution of the radical Islamic groups, and regret that Saddam lost his power,” he continued.

“The underground churches were always persecuted because they were evangelizing. While enjoying more freedom now, they know that Iraq will eventually return under a Muslim rule, and that their evangelistic activities may again be restricted.”

Other growing churches are those in Iran, according to Pastor Ramtin, who is broadcasting TV and radio Gospel programs inside Iran and Afghanistan. “Inside Iran, there is a great openness to the Gospel right now”, he explained. “The Lord is doing a great work among the Iranian people”.

The same openness to the Gospel is also seen here. Dr. Wasef believes that Middle Easterners in this country have become more receptive to the Gospel since 9/11. Last year, his congregation had a 40% increase. He is also planning a two-week mission trip to Egypt next summer.

Rev. Philobes, who has arrived in San Diego only four months ago to plant an independent Arabic church, said that he is finding a great interest even among Muslims. Together with his congregation of 15-20 people and some non-Arabic friends, he regularly brings the Gospel to the mosques in San Diego, or preaches in the open air.

“We go to a different mosque almost every Friday,” he said. “We distribute pamphlets in several Middle Eastern languages as people go inside, and packages containing New Testaments or Gospels of John as they come out. Most people accept them, and some stop and talk for a while.”

Of course, Rev. Philobes finds opposition and occasional harassment, but he believes “it’s worth it, in order to get the message out.” He always contacts the local police station before each witnessing venture, and receives appropriate protection.

Rev. Philobes has high hopes that his congregation will grow. They are presently meeting at Shadow Mountain Community Church (SMCC) on Sunday evenings from 6 to 7:30 and on Friday evenings at 7, but plan to start their own independent church on separate premises.

In El Cajon, where SMCC is located, approximately 2.6 percent of the 95,000 residents are of Arab descent, compared with 0.7 percent for the entire county. According to Rev. Philobes, there are approximately 100,000 Arabs in San Diego.

Contacts:

• San Diego Arabic Baptist Church, Pastor John Fehmi, Worship leader Elia Fehmi, (619) 444-9265.

• The Last Harvest Middle East Church, Pastor Dr. Nagy Youssef Atia, (619) 449-0702.

• Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church for Arabic Speakers, Pastor Dr. Mafid Wasef, (858) 487-0811.

• Iranian Christian Church of San Diego, Pastor Sohrab Ramtin, (619) 583-8295.

• Independent Arabic Church, Pastor Rev. David Philobes, (619) 440-9909.