May 11, 2018 WILL JIHAD EVER END? AN INTERVIEW WITH THE PRESIDENT OF CRESCENT PROJECT Pray that those who follow false gods and idols will come to the truth while there is yet time. Download our new resources to pray for Muslims and Islam during Ramadan. "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. (Romans 12:19) Wars have been fought to end it. National world leaders have convened to stop it. Civilians have joined military campaigns to die in the fight against it. But will jihad ever truly end? We asked Fouad Masri, founder and president of Crescent Project, to share his thoughts on this troubling question. Fouad, before we begin addressing this important question, let s revisit the definition of jihad first. Fouad: The Arabic word jihad when literally translated means to strive. Since the inception of Islam, Muhammad used jihad to specifically mean fighting to spread the cause of Islam. Repeatedly, Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, allowed jihad, even prioritizing it over prayer at the mosque. Throughout Islamic History, any reference to dying while in jihad meant dying in warfare, not praying peacefully in a mosque. Jihad in the Qur an is also related to fighting in the cause of Islam. And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. (Qur an 9:5). Fouad: Muhammad said if there is more than one leader in the Muslim community, then kill the other. It has been narrated on the authority of Aba Sa'id al-khudri that the Messenger of Allah said: When oath of allegiance has been taken for two caliphs, kill the one for whom the oath was taken later." (Sahi Muslim, 1853: Book 33, Hadith 96, Book 20, Hadith 4568)
The problem is, the Hadith does not define who the other is. The one who wins has God on his side. After the death of Muhammad in 632 AD, a severe schism developed around the question of who would succeed him as Messenger. One side called themselves Sunni and the other Shi ites. Sunnis wanted to declare a successor of Muhammad as a result of a consensus among tribal leaders, while Shi ites pushed for the holy lineage and unique bloodline of the prophet of Islam. The first cousin of Muhammad, Ali, considered himself worthy of the position as a blood relative. In the Shi ite opinion, Ali was the rightful successor, because of being in the right household and of approved descent. Fouad: As a religion Islam, in many ways like Christianity, views itself as a way of life that controls all facets of life. Islam dictates political, military, social, and personal life. Therefore, a Muslim can attain heaven or paradise and good standing with God when they produce good works. Implementing Islamic law on earth through jihad is considered good works. Added to that, Islam s view of the Judgment Day does not assure Muslims of their destiny after death. God s will cannot be trusted since God can change His mind. Therefore, jihad is offered as a guarantee to attain paradise. Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. [It is] a true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur'an. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. And it is that which is the great attainment. (Qur an 9:111). Fouad: Jesus said, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid, (John 14:27). In John 6:37 He said, whoever comes to me I will never drive away. He invites us in Matthew 10:28-30, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 In today s culture, it sounds plausible to many people to attain heaven through our own works. But repeatedly, the twenty-first century provides overwhelming evidence that the human soul is broken and needs a savior. Jesus can mend the heart and change the soul. Jesus leads us to heaven after death because He is faithful to his promises. Terrorists, whether Sunni or Shi ite, all need to hear about the Savior Jesus. What should the Christian s response be? Fouad: It is important to protect communities we live in. The only way we can do that is to meet Muslims in our communities and share the Gospel with them. The Gospel will change their lives. If every Muslim had one Christian friend, we could catch the terrorists! As Christians, our number one response must be anger without committing sin. Jihad is the problem, and Muslims are continuously its victims. Christians must resolve to move beyond the anger and fear incited by the media and obey the command
of Jesus who said, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age, (Matthew 28:19-20). (Excerpts from Cresent Project) RESPONDING TO MORAL FAILURE IN CHURCH LEADERS Let us be ever diligent in seeking God s grace and seeking a humble heart in all that we pursue in life. "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." (2 Tim 2:15) The most recent rash of moral failures, accusations, and heartbreak over sin and human frailty is upon us. Ed Stetzer shared some very helpful reflections on this topic recently. Every time this topic hits the church (and world), I find myself examining my heart, dissecting my life, and crying out to God for all of those impacted. After 40 years following Jesus and leading in the local church, I have a growing number of insights I hope are helpful for you in regards to moral failure among Christian leaders. Of all groups of people, the church must be open and ready to hear those who have been hurt or abused in any way. Let s not air our struggles and battles in the public or social media. Let s not function as judge, jury, and executioner in moral failures. Let s not take delight in the fall of brothers and sisters. Let s not say I saw that coming when we said nothing when it was happening. Let s not gossip and talk about brothers and sisters struggling with sin. It is easy to spend time talking with other Christians about specific people and their sins. There are a lot of better ways to spend our time. Instead Let s seek to embrace the reality that men and women are different. All Christians should acknowledge that God has made men and women differently. One of the primary breeding grounds for some of the recent accusations and actions comes from trying to operate as if men and women are identical. We are not the same, and the rules must be different in how we interact and serve Jesus together. Let s seek to set boundaries that honor Jesus, and protect people (including ourselves). While in seminary, I presented a study on boundaries for church leaders. In particular, my own rules. I never meet with a woman one-on-one in any private setting. I don t drive with women alone in a car. I don t make personal calls or send personal texts to women (I do it through my church account and make sure it is church related and public).
Let s seek to listen with grace and take every accusation seriously. When a woman or man, a girl or boy comes with an accusation, a concern, or a story of inappropriate behavior by a church leader, we must listen. No matter how painful and no matter how hard it is to hear. Let s seek to take appropriate actions to find the truth. Once we have heard, we are compelled to dig in and find the truth. A church board or staff team must do everything in their power to find the truth, no matter where it leads. Let s seek to confess quickly and blow the whistle on me. If I am living in sexual sin, hurting others, and crossing lines, the best thing to do is confess this to God and to appropriate church leaders. It is always better to blow the whistle on myself than wait until someone else speaks up. Let s seek to create strong accountability relationships. Every church leader should have one or two people who know their frailties, struggles, and temptations. These people should have leverage to make the hard calls, ask the challenging questions, and blow the whistle! Let s seek to show grace and forgiveness when people are truly repentant. We are all sinners in need of amazing grace. Let s extend the forgiveness of God to all broken sinners, even leaders. We can do this while addressing sin and calling people to repentance. Let s seek to pray for people who are caught in sin. When we find ourselves talking about or thinking about people embattled in public sin and scandal, let s go right to prayer. Cry out for justice, pray for the truth to be known, ask for healing in the lives of the victims, and seek God s restoring power in the life of the offender. Let s seek to recognize that with growing leadership influence, the target on our back for spiritual attack gets larger. A doctor friend of mine was asking me about some of the recent news on leadership failings. He said, We really need to pray more for church leaders. Let s seek to develop a practice of self-examination and invite God to search your heart and life. In Psalm 139:1 & 23-24 we read, You have searched me, Lord, and you know me May the God of power, truth, and grace search our hearts, know our thoughts, forgive our sins, and make us more like His Son, Jesus Christ! (Excerpts from Kevin G. Harney's article in The Exchange) KAMAL SALEEM: A MUSLIM CRIES OUT TO JESUS Pray that Kamal Saleem s ministry will be protected by the Hand of God and that it will bring many souls to Christ. More Muslims have come to Christ in the last 20 years than in the prior 1,400 years! Download our new resources to pray for Muslims during Ramadan. " correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim 2:25) Forty-eight percent of Muslims in the United States of America believe that they are Muslim first, American second. Our purpose is to change this country, because they are infidel and what they are doing is not pleasing to Allah. We are the soldier of Allah who will make them do it.
Kamal Saleem was born in Lebanon to a devout Muslim family. As early as four years old, he remembers sitting at the kitchen table while his mother taught him about the Koran and his duty to Allah and Jihad. From my childhood, my mom said, One day, you ll be a martyr, my son. You will die for the sake of Allah and you will exalt Islam. If you kill a Jew, my son, your hand will light up before the throne of Allah and the host of heaven will celebrate what you have done. Kamal was seven when his parents sent him to Muslim training camps to learn to use weapons and engage and kill the enemy. The boys were also taught another, more subtle form of warfare We were training for what s called, Culture Jihad, which is shifting cultures. Culture Jihad is unlike the sword, unlike the rifle. It is the Jihad that will come into your world. By his 20s, Kamal was chosen to wage Cultural Jihad on America. In Islam, liberty, freedom, monarchy, all these are idols and must be brought down. So the liberty that you have in United States of America is anti-islam, so America must be changed. So I moved to the 'Bible Belt' specifically. The Bible Belt was the strongest of the strongest. That s where the stout Christians are, and I want to take on the best of the best, because I considered myself as the sword of Islam. I thought, 'I m anointed. I m unique. I m selected. I m coming to a country and a culture to change it. I have the power of Allah with me.'" In the early 1980s, Kamal entrenched himself in a small Midwestern town. He began targeting men from poorer neighborhoods to recruit them to the Muslim faith. But one afternoon his life would be in the hands of those he hated the most. I was going from one place to another to do recruitment and that day I had a car wreck. The car wreck was so severe, I ejected out of my car, landed on my neck and broke my neck in two places. This man came running to me and said, Don t worry. We re going to take care of you, and everything s going to be alright. The ambulance came and picked me up and now I go to the hospital. The orthopedic surgeon in the ER looked at my chart and said, Son, we re going to take care of you, and everything s going to be alright.' The second day I wake up in the hospital, and the head of physical therapy came in, read my chart and said the same thing word for word, We are going to take care of you.' At first, Kamal was frightened by their words, because these men were all Christians. You see, in terrorism, if they say [that], you better run. Kamal was overwhelmed with the outpouring of Christian love. As he recovered, he began to help out around the house with cooking and cleaning. They have Jewish friend that came from Israel who they support, and now I m hugging Israelis and I m cooking for Jews. I m going, What has happened to me? " When Kamal was able take care of himself and return to his apartment, the doctor had another surprise for him. Kamal felt that because he questioned his faith, the honorable thing to do was to end his own life. So I went to reach out my gun, put it in the right place and clock out. I heard a voice. The voice knew me by name. It said, Kamal! Kamal! Kamal! Why don t you call on the Father of Abraham and Isaac and
Jacob? Now I fell on my knees and put my hands to the heavens immediately as I heard the voice. I cried out with every fiber within me, God, the Father Abraham, if You are real, would You speak to me?. That day, instead of taking his life, Kamal gave it to Jesus. He now has a new mission and travels the country challenging Muslims to question their allegiance to Allah. My heart s desire is to reach out to my brothers and sisters, the 1.5 billion Muslims that are living out there. They have not tasted the freedom in God. It s been over 20 years since Kamal left the Islamic faith, and even threats of violence and death cannot stop him from sharing his story. He is real. If you ve never experienced God before in your life, if you never tasted God, if you think you ve got nothing to lose when you re sitting in your home, whether you re a Muslim or a non- Muslim or a non-christian or whatever you are, call on the Father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and say, If You are real, speak to me. I want to hear Your voice.' Can God change your life? God has made it possible for you to know Him and experience an amazing change in your own life. Discover how you can find peace with God. (Excerpts from Aaron M Little article on CBN) MELANIA TRUMP UNVEILS BE BEST INITIATIVE TO HELP KIDS Thank God for Melania s new program focusing on the well-being of children, social media use, and opioid abuse, all issues we have prayed for often. Our children need a safe environment to grow in. Pray for God s blessing on their lives. See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven." (Matt 18:10) First lady Melania Trump on Monday unveiled her new platform of initiatives to help kids, saying her Be Best campaign will focus on addressing the well-being of children, social media use, and opioid abuse. We can and should be best at educating our children about the importance of a healthy and balanced life, she said during a speech in the Rose Garden, which was attended by President Trump. The first lady said social media can both positively and negatively affect children. Trump has promised to tackle cyberbullying as first lady, hosting major online and social media companies at the White House earlier this year. She s also brought that message directly to classrooms around the country. The first lady will highlight the importance of using social media and the internet in positive ways, her office said, pointing to a study that claims children who spend more time on new media are more likely to report mental health issues than those who spend time on other activities. She said she will speak to leaders in the technology industry about children's online habits and raise awareness around the importance of positive behaviors.
According to the first lady s office, the "well-being" pillar of the campaign will promote healthy living, encouragement, kindness, and respect. With those values as a solid foundation, children will be able to better deal with the evils of the opioid crisis and avoid negative social media interaction, a fact sheet for the campaign stated. The first lady said she plans to address the opioid crisis by bringing attention to neonatal abstinence syndrome, and help educate parents on the importance of healthy pregnancies. Together let's encourage children to dream big, think big and do all they can to be best in everything that they do, the first lady said. The president signed a Be Best" proclamation after his wife s speech, and praised her for her "compassion." Everywhere she's gone, Americans have been touched by her sincerity, moved by her grace and lifted by her love, the president said. Melania, your care and compassion for our nation's children -- and I have to say this and I say it to you all the time -- inspires us all. (Excerpts from Alex Pappas' article on Fox News - Kaitlyn Schallhorn contributed to this report.)