Missions Insider Report by Christian Aid

January 8, 2003 Vol. 4 No. 1

Visit our website at http://www.christianaid.org

———————————————————————– John Lindner, Editor ———————————————————————–

1. Muslim Backlash in Indonesia? 2. India: Christmas Outreach Well Received 3. India: Missionaries to Unreached Tribe Attacked 4. Testimony: Travel Impossible 5. Photo of the Week: Crowded Bus

Note: It is the policy of Missions Insider to refrain from mentioning names that could make the subjects targets of anti-Christian activity. Names can be mentioned of ministries conducting work commended by authorities or located in more secure areas.

———————————————————————– 1. Muslim Backlash in Indonesia?

Indonesia watchers are saying that the recent violence by Islamic radicals in the 13,000-island nation may actually be driving people from Islam.

About 80% of Indonesia’s 212 million population is Muslim. Carl Cady, U.S. Director for International Friends of Compassion, says that of these only about 70 million are registered at local mosques. Another 100 million are “casual” Muslims who do not attend the mosque regularly and don’t have strong devotion to Islam.

“These are the ones who are questioning Islam,” Cady said. “The radicals who have bombed and killed in the name of Islam are not winning many of these. In fact, I have spoken to pastors in Central Java after 9-11 and they said that large numbers of Muslims are coming to the churches in Central Java saying, ‘If running into buildings and killing innocent people is what Islam is all about, we don’t want anything to do with it.'”

Radical fundamentalists have targeted Muslims in the ‘pool of poverty’ for their recruitment message. “It is to their advantage to destabilize the economy in Indonesia,” Cady said. “The bombings around the country serve to discourage investment and travel. This floundering economy is a needed component in the advancement of the fundamentalist message.

“The leaders of Indonesia know this and also recognize that if they are not careful how they deal with the radical wing of Islam they could actually spark a fundamentalist revival. We need to pray for the leadership of Indonesia as they handle with great care the complex issues regarding their economy and human rights.”

This year’s three-day Idul Fitri (the festival celebrating the end of Ramadan–the Muslims’ month of fasting), was curtailed both in material goods and in spirit, according to a December 9 article in the Jakarta Post entitled “Indonesia Marks Idul Fitri with Anguish and Simplicity.”

On the first day of Idul Fitri, a bomb explosion at a McDonald’s restaurant in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province, killed three people, and two people were killed by snipers in Poso, Central Sulawesi, an area of high tension between Muslims and Christians.

The Jakarta Post article also said, “The Oct 12 Bali terror attacks that claimed almost 200 people, along with the bomb blast in Makassar, have been a slap in Islam’s face for many here, as the prime suspects are all Indonesian Muslims.”

An Indonesia observer told Christian Aid, “A major part of the anguish is the dawning realization and admission that most of the nation’s woes have been caused directly by the evil deeds of Indonesians, and fervent Muslims at that! This may not be surprising news to Americans, but it’s horribly surprising to many Indonesians.

“When any perceived insult to ‘the faith’ [Islam] comes from outside, people know what to do: get all upset, throw fits, launch lawsuits and riot. But when the ‘slap in Islam’s face’ comes straight from conservative Indonesian Muslims, how can they respond? Tens of millions right now are groping for an answer.

“A great many of the sermons on Idul Fitri were very irenic in tone, encouraging Muslims to do good deeds that are truly good in the eyes of all people; to nurture a sense of brotherhood with people of other religions and nationalities, and to avoid activities that bring shame on the name of Islam.”

A devout 70-year-old Muslim man who heard one of these sermons said, “That was the best Idul Fitri sermon I’ve ever heard! And it’s the first time I’ve ever heard them preaching what I’ve always believed–that we should be friends with people of other religions, because we all come from one prophet.” [Muslims consider Adam, as well as Abraham, the spiritual father of Jews, Christians and Muslims, both prophets].

Pray that the strong moderate ‘backlash’ would continue, paving the way for better relations between Muslims and Christians in Indonesia, and building bridges for the gospel.

———————————————————————– 2. India: Christmas Outreach Well Received

A ministry in North India thought its Christmas outreach might be met with opposition from radical Hindus, but instead it was met with warm reception.

For three nights the church-planting ministry, which also operates a home for children of leprous parents, sent believers singing Christmas carols from house to house without opposition. Moreover, so many people attended the special Christmas worship in the central church that it was difficult to provide seats for all. “A good number of them were non-Christians,” the leader said. He also reported that more than 50 non-Christians attended the children’s Christmas program.

He thanks the Lord that the children’s home received a supply of warm clothing from an unknown source. “This is very important since we live in a cold area,” he said.

He also told Christian Aid that many more children are requesting admittance to the home than it will hold. “Pray that the Lord will give us wisdom when it comes to making the selection, and that He will provide for their needs as well.”

To contribute to the children’s ministry, go to our website http://www.christianaid.org or to request more information write and put MI-401 652-CFC on the subject line.

———————————————————————– 3. India: Missionaries to Unreached Tribe Attacked

Hindu radicals attacked missionaries working among the Dhakti Bhils in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan Christmas week.

The militants destroyed an electric generator, microphone and Christian literature, and then turned on the missionaries themselves. The exact state of the missionaries’ wellbeing was not known. Due to problems with communication, a messenger was sent to the site for more information.

The Dhakti Bhils are an unreached people group that inhabit the Thar Desert of Rajasthan and neighboring Pakistan. The missionaries had pioneered work among them and had planted a small worshipping congregation among them.

———————————————————————– 4. Testimony: Travel Impossible

Many Americans complain if the plane is 20 minutes late or if they miss their connection and have to wait several hours for the next. We don’t know how good we have it. Here is a report of an attempt to travel in a South Asian country.

A mission leader was attempting to travel to a distant area for a Christian conference among a certain people group. To make sure he got there on time, the leader went to the airport three days ahead of schedule on a Saturday to catch a flight. However, the weather was so bad all flights were grounded.

So he went directly to the bus terminal, willing to endure a two-day trip over mountain roads to get to the distant conference, only to learn that all buses to the East that day had already left. Since he had already called ahead to have people meet him, he then had to go home and call again to cancel the arrangements.

He could not leave by bus the next two days because a strike stopped all ground transportation. A return trip to the airport on Monday proved as fruitless as the one on Saturday. Moreover, a strike in the destination area would have prevented him from reaching the conference even if he could have flown.

By faith they had to presume God did not want him to go.

Please pray for mission leaders who daily face power outages, transportation stoppages, breakdowns, lack of equipment, supply shortages, bureaucratic red tape, and local hostilities. It is amazing how much they accomplish for Christ amid these circumstances.

———————————————————————– 5. Photo of the Week: Crowded Bus

http://www.christianaid.org/pow/pow-4-1.asp

Travel in India and other South Asian countries is far different from that in the U.S. Getting a ticket on a train or bus does not ensure getting a seat. Here, passengers crowd the top of a bus in Bihar State in India and hold on for dear life. It is extremely difficult for an evangelism or film team to take public transportation. That is why every ministry needs its own vehicle. For more information write and put MI-401 095-VEH on the subject line.

———————————————————————– Mission Statement:

Missions Insider is a free weekly email report from Christian Aid Mission, your link to the world of indigenous missions. We seek to establish a witness for our Lord in every tribe and nation (Matthew 24:14) by supporting highly effective native missionary ministries based in poorer countries overseas, or where believers are persecuted. Christian Aid has contact with more than 6000 indigenous ministries that have a total of 300,000 missionaries on the field or ready to go when support is available.

———————————————————————– Permission to Republish

The content of Missions Insider is Copyright 2002. You have permission to share this newsletter with any evangelical Christian whom you think would be interested in reading it. Permission is granted to reproduce articles in whole or in part on websites, e-mail networks or print media as long as the stories are faithfully replicated and credit is given to Missions Insider at http://www.christianaid.org. Please send notices of publication to . Thank you.

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eni-summary list Ecumenical News International News Highlights 08 January 2003

Women still face harassment in Afghanistan, says report

New York (ENI). A little more than a year after the fall of Afghanistan’s Taliban regime, women and girls in the country still suffer from serious human rights abuses, the New York-based Human Rights Watch has reported. The recent study concludes that advances for females in 2002 in areas such as holding jobs and returning to the classroom as students or teachers had been “tempered by growing government repression of social and political life”. [558 words, ENI-03-0002]

Evangelical Australian archbishop raps his way into controversy

Sydney (ENI). When Dr Peter Jensen was appointed Anglican Archbishop of Sydney 18 months ago, he used his first address to signal two things – he was an evangelist in the Billy Graham mould, and his conservatism was limited to doctrinal matters. After berating his 4000-strong congregation for their materialism and exhorting them to become messengers of Christ, he donned sunglasses, attitude and a soft shoe shuffle and delivered a rap version of a passage from the Old Testament. [1057 words, ENI-02-0003]

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