Dramatic Testimony from Israel of Muslims Who Converted to Christianity
ICC Note
According to this report, Christians in Holy Land are facing extremely difficult time. Muslim extremists in Bethlehm and Nazareth are seizing properties belonging to Christians and Christians are expecting to see more persecution from Muslims.
January 29, 2008 Isreal (ACLJ)- For the past week, our ECLJ team has been organizing a large and diverse range of meetings in both Israel and the Palestinian Territories on the situation of religious freedom. We have met with over three dozen Christian leaders from nearly every Christian denomination all over the Holy Land. These meetings have given us a better understanding of the religious and political situation of the tiny Christian minority, which now comprises just 2% of the population here.
The first meeting with the UN was a roundtable discussion in Jerusalem of a dozen individuals, including leaders from the Lutheran, Episcopal, Evangelical, Catholic, and Christian non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The ECLJ also organized joint meetings with the UN in the two most historically Christian towns in the Holy Land, Bethlehem and Nazareth, which have both experienced a dramatic exodus of Christians in recent years. Some leaders referred to the situation in these towns as an invasion and gave detailed accounts of coordinated efforts by Muslims to seize Christian properties. The final meeting with the UN was held with one of the three patriarchs of Jerusalem, with our attendance requested by their office.
Perhaps our most impressive meeting was one arranged by our colleague at CBN News with five Christians who had converted from Islam. This meeting, which for security reasons was held in an olive tree grove, was extremely powerful. These brave converts detailed their conversion experiences, but also testified to the persecution they have suffered as a result. They have been subjected to repeated interrogations and permanent discrimination, including the inability to find work because of their faith. One recounted his story of being tortured and imprisoned by Palestinian officials for many months. As the penalty for apostasy in Islam is death, most of these converts have been forced to find protection in Israel or abroad. Many others who are not known publicly to be converts hide their Christian faith from their community, and even their families.
