•

Angola: A Church that MAY/JUNE 2008

grew under Marxist persecution
• Evangelists and pastors around the world
• How Muslims do mission
 From the director

barnabasaid From faith to

Contents compromise MAY/JUNE 2008

To guard the safety of Christians in hostile environments

names have often been changed or omitted. Thank you Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, one of America’s oldest theological schools,
for your understanding.
was founded in 1834 by Calvinists who left Yale College to start a new institution
3 Project News of Christian learning. In the early decades of the twentieth century, Hartford was
God at work in Tanzania, through a leading institution on the evangelisation of Muslims.
evangelists you support Samuel M. Zwemer (1867-1952), the
5 Focus famous missionary to Muslims, wrote:
We hope to point out … the true
Full-time Christian workers: solution to the Moslem problem,
building the Kingdom of God in their namely the evangelization of Moslems
own contexts and to awaken sympathy, love and
prayer on behalf of the Moslem world
Information until its bonds are burst, its wounds
healed, its sorrows removed and its
pull-out desires satisfied in Jesus Christ.
Understanding da‘wa: In 1911 Zwemer founded an academic
the missionary dimension of Islam quarterly journal entitled The Moslem
World which offered information on
11 Newsroom Islam and was a forum for Christian
mission strategy among Muslims. He
Violence and discrimination against chaplaincy training has steadily
served as its editor for 36 years, and
Christians in Pakistan then handed over the responsibilities
of running it to others at Hartford
12 Country Profile Seminary on condition that they remain
Angola: war, Marxism and now Islam in the same spirit of evangelism and
commitment to evangelical truth.
14 Testimony One of the lecturers at Hartford at
A Pakistani doctor finds blessing the turn of the twentieth century was
through his kidnap ordeal the Scotsman, Duncan Black Macdonald
(1863-1943), who taught Arabic and
16 Newsroom Islam. A highly respected scholar of
Islam, Macdonald held that the seminary
Contradictory signals from Turkey
students must learn the language and
17 Campaign Update theological heritage of Islam if they were
to be successful in evangelising Muslims.
Write a letter to Save Iraqi Christians Macdonald’s principles, controversial in
18 In Touch his own time, later became an important
part of Hartford’s missionary training.
An Armenian monument desecrated However the results may not have been
in Wales what he anticipated, because, in the
words of the current Hartford president,
20 UK Supporters’ Day Heidi Hadsell, “The missionaries that
Book your ticket now for 7th June we sent were coming home saying
[Muslims] already believe in God. What
we need is dialogue between Muslims
and Christians.”
Cover: An Angolan ministry leader. Turn to pages Thirty years after Macdonald’s death,
5 to 10 to read more about national Christian in 1973, Hartford created the Duncan
workers supported by Barnabas Fund. Turn to
pages 12-13 to read about Angola. Black Macdonald Center for the Study of
Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations.
Its mission is to nurture Christian-
Muslim understanding. In 1998 the
centre hired Ingrid Mattson, a Canadian-
born convert to Islam with a doctorate
in Islamic studies from the University
of Chicago, to direct the chaplaincy
programme. Mattson is also the first
female president of the Islamic Society
of North America. In 2000 an Islamic
chaplaincy programme was launched at
Hartford to train Muslims for chaplaincy
roles in the American military. The
number of students taking the Islamic
increased since then.
Today Muslims make up 35% of the
student body at Hartford Seminary, an
institution which a few generations ago
was training Christians to evangelise
Muslims. It is difficult to know how to
express the tragedy of this transition at
Hartford, and we can only guess how it
must grieve the heart of God.
This issue of Barnabas Aid focuses
on bringing the good news of Christ
to those of other faiths, as the first
century disciples did and as we are still
commanded to do today. Barnabas
Fund is privileged to be able to provide
financial support for hundreds of full-
time Christian workers ministering in
their own contexts, sharing the Gospel
and building up the Body of Christ.
Please would you pray as you read,
asking the Lord to protect and keep
these courageous brothers and sisters,
who serve Him in such dangerous and
difficult conditions, and to use their
ministry for His glory and His Kingdom.
Dr Patrick Sookhdeo
International Director
 Focus

“The Church is mission”

When the Lord Jesus was in the multi-faith context of Caesarea Philippi, He The impact of Islam on the
asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” and “Who do you
say I am?” Peter answered clearly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living
concept of mission
God (Matthew 16:13-16). Caesarea Philippi had been a centre of Baal worship More changes in the understanding of
in ancient times, which was characterised by polytheism and idolatry. It was the nature of mission and encounters
also popular with devotees of the god Pan, who focused on nature worship and with other religions have arisen in
sensuality. Many believed that Pan’s grotto at Caesarea Philippi was the source response to the growing impact of
of the River Jordan and therefore it was a sacred place for Jews, with their Islam in the West. Some Christians
emphasis on pure monotheism. Later still, as indicated by the name, it became hold that Christians and Muslims are
associated with the worship of Caesar, emphasising humanism and militarism. allies together against the godless
hedonism of the West. Others go
The early Church faced a multi-faith are equal with sharing the Gospel. In to great lengths to gloss over the
situation, in which they witnessed more recent times, mission has been differences between their faith and
to Jesus as Lord and Saviour of the further redefined to include global Islam. These and other positions
world. dimensions from ecology to climate have led to increasing confusion with
Emil Brunner said that “the change. Mission is now regarded as regard to how to understand Islam
Church is mission – a mission-less an act of reconciliation whereby “all and how to relate to Muslims. As
Church is a Christ-less Church”. things, whether on earth or things someone has said, Christians have got
Mission is centred on the euangelion, in heaven” are reconciled to God their thinking and their feeling mixed
the good news of the Gospel. It through the shedding of Jesus’ blood up. If Islam is going to be accepted
speaks of an all-consuming passion (Colossians 1:20). Important as these as an authentic religion, then why
for bringing the good news of Jesus elements are, Stephen Neill has wisely witness to Muslims?
Christ to those who are lost. This is noted that “if everything is mission, In the twenty-first century, just as
the work of mission. nothing is mission”. Nowhere is the in the first century, the question “Who
Over the years the term “mission” confusion about mission seen more is Jesus?” remains central. Wherever
has been redefined to include clearly than in contemporary mission the beauty of Christ is veiled or
compassion. In this view, good works to Muslims. distorted, He needs to be presented
Continued overleaf

MarCH
MAY/ AprIL
/ JUN2007
2008 Barnabas
BarnabasAID
AID 55
Focus
Bible study group in a country in Central Asia for believers
from a Muslim background. Evangelists in Central Asia
face much persecution, particularly those who are active
in outreach to Muslims. Similarly, converts from Muslim
backgrounds often experience major difficulties when
trying to live their faith openly. Please pray for full-time
Christian workers in Central Asia supported by Barnabas
Fund and for the believers they minister to
clearly. Islam denies the central
Christian understanding of Christ
as the incarnate Son of God. Islam
claims to honour Him, yet in reality it
deprives Him of His supreme place of
honour and reduces His role to merely
a prophet.
In the face of the challenge of
Islam we should not be intimidated,
but should boldly confess Jesus Christ
as Lord and Saviour, who said, “I,
when I am lifted up, will draw all men
to myself.” (John 12:32)
Lost without Christ
The Gospel message remains clear
that people are lost without Christ.
The need to understand those who
are without Christ and to seek their
salvation has never been greater.
Many Christians in the non-
Western world are baffled by the West
with its post-modernity, tolerance
and vagueness of belief. They cannot
understand how the Christian faith
could so easily have been abandoned.
They cannot understand how the
pull of interfaith relations can be so
alluring. They cannot understand
the naivety of those who fail to
recognise the challenge posed by
Islam, a religion which sees itself as
the completion of all that went before.
For non-Western Christians, living in
contexts of persecution, it has never
been more vital to hold fast to the
6 Barnabas AID MAY / JUN 2008
faith, witness to Christ, and pray for
the coming Kingdom of God.
God at work today
In our day the Holy Spirit is doing a
most remarkable work. More people
from non-Christian backgrounds are
becoming Christians than ever before
in history. Across the Middle East,
North Africa, Central Asia, South
and South-East Asia as well as in
countries such as China, the Gospel
message is not only being spread but
is producing a wonderful harvest of
new believers.
The most effective workers in this
harvest field are the Christians living
and witnessing in their own countries.
Though it may be dangerous, though
most have nowhere to flee from
violence or state persecution, their
lives and words are drawing many
to Christ.
Countries which have seen
exceptional church growth in recent
decades include Muslim countries
like Indonesia, Algeria and Iran.
They also include Hindu-majority
Nepal, where known Christians have
increased from just 23 in 1959 to
more than 760,000. In Mongolia,
where Shamanism and Buddhism are
the main religions, there may have
been only 4 Christians in 1989, but
now there are thought to be around
40,000. In communist China, where
church growth is said to have “no
parallels in history”, it is estimated
that there are now a hundred million
Christians. On a less dramatic scale,
but surely no less significant from
an eternal perspective, there are now
national believers (i.e. not expatriates)
in every country of North Africa and
the Middle East, even if in many cases
they must be secret believers.
Patterned on Christ’s love
How is such mission developing,
the mission which the Holy Spirit is
using in our time to draw people to
Christ? In many senses it is patterned
after Christ’s ministry on earth.
1. As Jesus came and lived among
us, so His disciples today are
incarnated within many different
contexts. In situations of danger,
hardship, poverty and disaster,
Christ’s followers are present.
2. As Jesus went about doing
good, as He came not to be served
but to serve, so His followers are
at work within their communities,
holding forth the love of Christ
through their service to others.
3. Like Jesus, His followers teach
and preach the good news to
those who do not understand, to
those who have misunderstood
the nature of the Christian faith.
They are there to explain the
misconceptions, to teach the Bible
and to proclaim Jesus Christ as
Saviour.
4. As Christ engaged the powers
of darkness, for He saw that the
world is in the hands of the Evil
One, so His followers engage in
spiritual warfare. They realise that
their struggle is not against flesh
and blood but against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly
realms (Ephesians 6:12).
5. As Christ healed the sick and
demonstrated God’s power at work
in human lives through signs and
wonders, so His Spirit works
through His disciples today in
miraculous ways to bring healing
and wholeness.
6. As Christ suffered for His
people on the cross, as He bled
and died for them, so in a different
way His people witness through
their suffering. The Greek word
for “witness” is martus, from which
the English “martyr” is derived,
one who bears witness by his or
her death. Tertullian’s famous
comment about the blood of the
martyrs being the seed of the
Church has been proved true time
and again in the 1800 years since.
7. As the Lord Jesus loved His own
who were in the world, so their
love for each other is a witness
to Him (John 13:1,34,35).
He commanded them, “As I have
loved you, so you must love one
another,” and told them what
would happen if they did. “By this
all men will know that you are my
disciples, if you love one another.”
 Focus
“The Church is mission”
– Supporting God’s
harvest workers
In the Great Commission, which is recorded in Matthew 28:19, Jesus
commands His followers to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptising
them in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. To tell
people the good news of our Lord is still one of the main responsibilities of
Christians today. There are still areas today in this world where people have
never heard of Jesus; in other areas, radical Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or
communist influence is so great that being a Christian means putting one’s life Sierra Leonean Christians
in danger. The need for Christian full-time workers in these areas is great as
evangelists to find people who have
teaching, encouragement and ministry are vital in situations where Christians
never heard of Jesus Christ before.
are being persecuted for their faith.
Barnabas Fund supports seven
Yet in many countries Christians doing door-to-door ministry, offering evangelists and pastors in Sierra
whose desire is to serve the Lord full Christian literature at bookstalls Leone. One of them, “David”, had
time by preaching and ministering to to organising Christian events and already planted three churches and
unbelievers often lack the supportive visiting secret believers, all in their opened a preaching station when he
framework of a Christian community own countries or among their own heard of an area a distance away from
as they venture into areas where people-groups. where he worked in which people
Christians are few in number. Here are some of their stories. had never before heard the Gospel.
They often face great difficulties, (Please note that for the safety of David had to walk 15 miles to get
ranging from financial hardship to those concerned, some names have there, and he found a village of about
harassment to outright violence. been changed or omitted.) 900 people. None of the villagers had
Barnabas Fund, as part of the Body
ever heard of Jesus Christ before,
of Christ, offers help and support
to these faithful harvest workers. Evangelists in and secret societies and sacrifices
dominated their beliefs. David felt led
Our example is Barnabas, the godly
man in the Bible whom the Fund is Sierra Leone to make regular trips to this area so
as to have the opportunity to speak to
named after, known for the support “The harvest is plentiful people about Jesus. He also opened
and encouragement he offered the
but the workers are few....” a temporary building for a primary
apostles (Acts 4:36). We are told
that “he sold a field he owned and (Matthew 9:37) school which accommodates four
Sierra Leone is a small state on classes. It is now also being used for
brought the money and put it at the
the West African coast. Despite its Sunday services which already had
apostles’ feet” (Acts 4:37). Similarly
mineral wealth it has become the an attendance of about 60 people in
Barnabas Fund offers financial help
poorest country in the world due to August 2007.
to evangelists and pastors in areas
where Christians are poor, vulnerable mismanagement and corruption. Another Sierra Leonean evangelist,
or in a minority, struggling with Rebels have plunged the country “Aaron”, works in areas with a
precarious circumstances and facing into chaos and nearly the whole strong Muslim influence. He had
an uncertain future. It is here that population has had experience of to face many setbacks over the last
leadership gifts of preaching, teaching being refugees. Thousands of men, two years. A Bible study group for
and encouragement are particularly women, children and even babies 35 young people, most of whom
needed in order to strengthen have been maimed and their limbs were from Muslim families, had
Christians in their faith and to make amputated as an instrument of terror to close because of pressure from
known the Gospel. and control. The country and its the parents who threatened to stop
Barnabas Fund feels privileged people have been deeply hurt. paying their children’s school fees if
to be able to support 392 pastors, In Sierra Leone there is freedom they continued to attend the group.
church-planters, evangelists and of religion but Islam is steadily One father tried to beat his son with
national missionaries around the increasing in influence. There is a piece of cable. Some of the young
world in 15 different countries as also a vast array of traditional people continued to attend secretly
diverse as Bangladesh, Kenya, Chad ethnic religions, the occult and whenever they could; however, the
and Pakistan. Their work ranges from secret societies. It is not unusual for Continued overleaf

MAY / JUN 2008 Barnabas AID 7

Focus
pressure soon got so great that almost
all of them stopped coming.
In another village which Aaron
visits regularly to share the Gospel,
the small Christian community used
to meet in a school as their pastor
was one of the teachers. The Muslim
villagers forced the school to close on
Fridays and open on Sundays, which
meant that the building could no
longer be used for Sunday worship.
It also meant that the pastor had
to take “leave” from his job in the
school every Sunday morning in order
to be able to lead the services. The Bibles, portions of Scripture and Christian literature are available at this “outreach
Christians now meet in a disused hut bookstall” in Pakistan. Even in the current difficult times, the demand for Christian
literature and Scripture is great among people in Pakistan
which has been partially renovated.
However, despite these challenges,
there is a real hunger to hear the
Gospel in Sierra Leone. One pastor
Spreading the national elections on 18 February and
the success of the moderate Pakistan
who is involved in Muslim evangelism
holds regular mid-week meetings for
Word of God in Peoples Party (PPP), the situation in
Pakistan is still volatile and prone
Muslim converts. He has also trained
several converts so they can teach
Pakistan to violence. One of the evangelists
whom Barnabas Fund supports
describes how many Christians live
children, and his wife instructs the “My word will not return to
women. Many of the Muslim converts in constant fear of their lives; suicide
me empty” (Isaiah 55:11) attacks are common, and many
have to travel quite a distance to come
With 33 pastors and 79 evangelists, parents of school children are very
to the meetings, but some of them
Barnabas Fund supports more concerned for their children’s safety.
even make the trip twice a week to be
Christian workers in Pakistan than He writes: “In a volatile situation like
able to join the Sunday services
in any other country. The population this it is an uphill task to preach the
as well.
of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan message.”
is at least 96% Muslim, with only
“locally trained evangelists about 2.5% Christian. In some areas,
Yet amidst these very difficult
and adverse circumstances, other
and pastors are desperately especially in the North-West, this Pakistani pastors and evangelists
needed to share the percentage drops to just 0.25%. The
Christian population finds itself under
report that there is also a deep hunger
for the Word of God, especially among
Good News” increasing pressure as parties push people who have been displaced from
for shari‘a (Islamic law) to be firmly their homes. Every month hundreds
Several of the pastors and
embedded within the country’s legal of Bibles, New Testaments and
evangelists in Sierra Leone also
report that they often receive requests system. In some areas the application Scripture portions are distributed,
for help from other churches and of shari‘a is already a reality, and and even Muslim clerics are among
Christian communities to spread Christians in these areas tend to the people asking for Christian
the Gospel to the many unreached face more violence, harassment and literature and Scripture.
areas. This shows that more locally repression. Even after the recent
trained evangelists and pastors are
desperately needed to share the good Many members of the Christian community in various parts of the North West
news and teach people about Jesus in Frontier Province in Pakistan receive letters threatening that they must convert
their own language, being sensitive to to Islam or face suicide attacks.
the very specific needs and lifestyle of Here are some extracts from one such letter received by a pastor whom
the local people. Over the years it has Barnabas Fund supports. It expresses the widely held Muslim belief that Christian
transpired that in Muslim and rural minorities cannot be loyal citizens of their country because they are assumed to
communities, evangelists and pastors
be loyal instead to the USA, which is seen as a Christian country.
ministering in their own context are
usually more effective than the ones “There is only death for the communities who share similar religion with America
who come in from the outside and and are his agents. Our mosques and children are being martyred at American
have to cope with the challenges of orders therefore the Churches will also be wiped out from the face of the earth.
language and culture.
We will write new history with the blood of the infidels and our suicide attackers
are ready to attack the Churches. The death of infidels, their extinction from the
face of the earth is the foremost objective of our holy war.”
8 Barnabas AID MAY / JUN 2008
 Focus
Grasping opportunities in Chad
“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks
you to give the reason for the hope you have”
(1 Peter 3:15)
Chad has experienced unrest for many years, with a major conflict earlier this
year when rebel forces almost seized the capital. In eastern Chad, thousands
of refugees from Darfur in neighbouring Sudan live in camps, and the
humanitarian and political situation is extremely unstable. Chad is divided into
the Muslim North and the South with its increasingly marginalised Christian
and other minority religion population. While Chad is officially a secular state
with freedom of religion, in many ways it resembles an Islamic state. Even
though Muslims make up only about 55% of the population, they dominate the
government, trade and the army.
Barnabas Fund supports 58 evangelists in Chad; two of them minister among
the Sudanese refugees in the dangerous and unsettled area of eastern Chad.
There are more unreached people in Chad than in any other African country.
Among many tribes the number of Christians can be counted on the fingers of
one hand. One Christian couple, “Edward” and “Mary”, are the only Christians
in their village, which used to be called Mekakasia, meaning “little Mecca”.
It is known today for its occultic “folk Islam” and sorcery. Edward and Mary
moved to the village about five years ago and have experienced much hardship An evangelist and his family in Chad who
there. They have suffered from sickness, theft and false accusations, and have receive support through Barnabas Fund.
Evangelists in this country experience
shown remarkable courage and faith in the midst of it. Over the years they have much opposition
managed to slowly and patiently build up relationships with local people, telling
them about Christ.
Another evangelist, “Michael”, saw an opportunity present itself in a military “Over the years they
camp which he used to pass regularly on his way to work. Thinking about
the young men going through rigorous training to be sent to the front line,
have managed to slowly
he went to ask the Commandant of the camp, a Muslim, for permission to and patiently build up
tell the soldiers about Christ and show a film for anyone who was interested.
Permission was given, and a couple of weeks later Michael went to the camp relationships with local
to show the Jesus film. About 800 turned up to watch the film, and 500 came
the next day to attend Sunday service where Michael explained the Gospel and
people, telling them
many of the soldiers responded. about Christ. ”
Preaching the good news 2005. Within two years, and despite
threats and harassment from Islamic

in Bangladesh extremists, they were able to plant

“They never stopped teaching
and proclaiming the good
news that Jesus is the Christ”
(Acts 5:42)
Bangladesh is 83% Muslim, with 14%
of the population being Hindu and
the Christian population estimated
at less than 1%. Bangladesh came
into existence in 1971 when Bengali
East Pakistan declared independence
from West Pakistan. Thousands of
people were killed in the fighting
of this period which often pitted
nationalists against Islamists who
wanted what is now Bangladesh
to remain united with Pakistan.
Following independence Bangladesh
12 new churches in the area. It is
not unusual for baptism services to
was founded on secular principles; include between 50 to 100 people
however, in recent years a rise in wanting to be baptised, with many
Islamic extremism has resulted in more on waiting lists.
over 700 attacks against religious
minorities including Christians. In
western Bangladesh whole villages of
ethnic and religious minorities have
been abandoned as their occupants
have fled from persecution.
Eight Bangladeshi evangelists
receive support through Barnabas
Fund, and the Lord blesses their work
richly. Most of them live and work in
completely unreached areas, building
up relationships with local people A convert being baptised in Bangladesh.
In many of the unreached areas of
and telling them about God. One
Bangladesh where evangelists work,
couple, “John” and “Priscilla”, moved supported by Barnabas Fund, it is not
to a completely unreached area in unusual for up to 100 new believers to be
baptised in a month
MAY / JUN 2008 Barnabas AID 9
Focus
two hours. From midnight onwards,
they kneel in prayer and continue to
do so until 6 am. Then they wash,
eat and go off for the day sharing
the Gospel with people. The Lord
has blessed their work richly: many
Muslims have come to know Christ
through Christopher and his team.
It also happens regularly that
Muslims approach Christopher
for prayer, asking for healing and
deliverance in the Name of Jesus
Christ. During two Bible conferences
on the theme of “Leadership and
Integrity”, to which Christopher had
also invited government officials,
Muslim participants told the group
that this kind of teaching was
desperately needed, and that they
realised for the first time the high
standards of honesty in the
Christian faith.

T
hese are just a few examples of
the commitment of the pastors
and evangelists Barnabas Fund
has the privilege to support in their
own countries. God is using them
to advance His kingdom into still
unreached areas.
With the help of many supporters
This Guinean Muslim is engrossed in a book of Christian Scripture Barnabas Fund assists these faithful
which has been given to him by “Christopher”, the evangelist and courageous workers by grants
Barnabas Fund supports in Guinea. Despite the strong Muslim which range from £6.75 to £160 per
influence in this country, there is a lot of interest in the teachings person per month. Normally this
of Jesus and His message of salvation covers only a proportion of their
needs, and local churches or other
sources provide the rest. However, in
Muslim converts to Christianity to
Doing God’s work live openly as Christians. There is
a few cases where local support is very
small or non-existent, Barnabas Fund
religious liberty for Christian witness
in Guinea and outreach; however, over recent
provides for 100% of the needs.
While physical needs have to
years, intolerance on the part of be met, prayer support is every bit
“Let us run with
many in the Muslim population has as important for these pastors and
perseverance the race increased. evangelists as they face spiritual
marked out for us” Barnabas Fund supports one opposition every day. One evangelist
(Hebrews 12:1) evangelist in Guinea. “Christopher” wrote: “I need your prayer support
Like Chad, Guinea counts among the has established a wide-ranging always, as the enemy has tried most
least evangelised countries in sub- ministry across Guinea, including of his strategies to thwart the plan of
Saharan Africa. The country went door-to-door ministry in the capital, God in my life and many souls....I am
through several harsh years under Conakry, and many trips to villages very grateful to Barnabas Fund for
pro-Marxist, pro-Islamic government spread out over a large area. He and your great support and help towards
leaders. During that time Christians his team are truly running the race my ministry here.”
suffered considerably. Guinea’s with perseverance: they meet on Project references
population today is 69% Muslim, Friday evenings after work, starting at 00-478 Evangelists Support Fund
and it is often extremely difficult for 10 pm, to worship and praise God for 00-477 Pastors Support Fund

10 Barnabas AID MAY / JUN 2008

This series of pull-out supplements is intended to provide background information for Christians seeking to understand
the nature of Islam and its contemporary expression. One aspect of this relates to understanding the reason for the
oppression and persecution of Christians in various Islamic parts of the world, and another to the growing challenge
which Islam poses to Western society, culture and Church.
Da‘wa - Islamic mission
Part 1: What is Da‘wa?
Islam, like Christianity, has a missionary dimension, and
actively seeks to make converts. Da‘wa (literally meaning
“call” or “invitation”) is the name Muslims give to their
missionary work i.e. a call or invitation to Islam. Muslims
are active in da‘wa all around the world, in Muslim contexts
and in non-Muslim contexts, particularly Africa. There is
also much da‘wa work taking place in the West.
Yahya (Jonathan) Birt, son of Lord Birt, former Director
of the BBC, and a convert to Islam, told the London Asharq
Alawsat newspaper in August 2006 that there were 16,000
converts to Islam in Britain. He claimed that there were
many celebrities among them. Some observers think the
numbers are much higher; one suggestion is 60,000. Well
known British converts to Islam include Yusuf Islam (Cat
Stevens) the former pop singer who converted in 1977;
Jemima Goldsmith, socialite millionaire’s daughter who
married Pakistani cricket star Imran Khan in 1995; Yvonne
Ridley, a journalist captured by the Taliban who converted
on her release in 2001; and world snooker champion Ronnie
O’Sullivan, who converted in 2003.
A similar trend of conversion to Islam is noticeable in
all Western states. A study financed by the German Federal
Ministry of the Interior and conducted by the Islam-Archive
Central Institute found that approximately 4,000 Germans
converted to Islam in 2006 alone. In the USA it is estimated
that the number of converts to Islam could be as high as
1.2 million; of these some 55% are thought to be African-
Americans.
A significant number of converts in the West are
white women, some disillusioned with the breakdown of
community and spirituality in Western society. Others fall in
love with Muslim men and want to marry them.1 In Islam,
marriage to non-Muslim women is a legitimate means of
da‘wa. Some Muslim men deliberately target vulnerable
Western women for marriage, sometimes to obtain visas,
other times for temporary companionship and sexual
gratification while they are away from their home country.
Some converts in the West are male prisoners, often of
African or Caribbean origin, who seem to embrace Islam as
a way of retaliating against the society that locked them up.
One example is Richard Reid, the 2001 “shoe-bomber”.
A multitude of books, pamphlets and internet websites
give guidance on how to become a Muslim. These stress the
simplicity and ease of the act of conversion, which consists
of reciting the Islamic creed (the shahada): “There is no god
but God and Muhammad is the apostle of God.”
1
For more about problems faced by women converting in order to marry a Muslim, see Rosemary Sookhdeo, Stepping into the Shadows:
Why Women Convert to Islam, 2nd edition, Pewsey, Wiltshire: Isaac Publishing, 2007. This title can be purchased from your national Barnabas Fund
office or by visiting www.barnabasfund.org/_shop/barnabasbooks.php 2 “The religion of Islam – How to convert to Islam and become a Muslim”,
http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/204/, viewed 7 March 2008.
Pull-out supplement
All one needs to do is pronounce the “Shahada”, the
testimony of faith, without further delay. The “Shahada”
is the first and most important of the five pillars of Islam.
With the pronunciation of this testimony, or “Shahada”,
with sincere belief and conviction, one enters the fold
of Islam. 2
Da‘wa in the Islamic source texts
The term da‘wa, in the sense of a call and an invitation
to Islam, is used more than a dozen times in the Qur’an.
A key verse is:
Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and
beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are
best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best who
have strayed from His Path and who receive guidance.
(Q 16:125)
The hadith traditions, which record Muhammad’s
words and deeds, establish da‘wa as a main activity
of Muhammad’s work and therefore to be replicated
by his followers. For example, one hadith records that
Muhammad sent one of his followers to Yemen to convert
its people to Islam:
Narrated by Ibn Abbas
Thy Prophet sent Muadh to Yemen and said, “Invite the
people to testify that none has the right to be worshipped
but Allah and I am Allah’s Apostle, and if they obey you
to do so, then teach them that Allah has enjoined on them
five prayers in every day and night (in twenty-four hours),
and if they obey you to do so, then teach them that Allah
has made it obligatory for them to pay the Zakat from
their property and it is to be taken from the wealthy
among them and given to the poor.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari,
Hadith 2.478)
The wide scope of da‘wa
Da‘wa has two dimensions, external and internal. External
da‘wa is the call to non-Muslims to accept Islam, while the
internal da‘wa targets Muslims in an effort to revive their
faith and commitment. Da‘wa is not limited to efforts at
converting individuals. It includes efforts at converting
whole societies so as to establish Islamic states or at least
enclaves ruled by Islam. The idea is that these will serve as
a model to non-Muslims of Islam’s power and benefits, as
well as a base for further expansion.
Da‘wa is not just the duty of individual Muslims, but
also of Muslim states who are responsible for converting
non-Islamic states to Islam following Muhammad’s model.
i

Pull-out supplement
This is the impetus behind the intensive missionary efforts
of Muslim states such as Saudi Arabia (see below).
For some contemporary Muslims, the priority of da‘wa
at this time in history is the establishment of true Islamic
states in Muslim countries. Therefore they strive to change
the regimes of most Muslim states, to replace them with
true Islamic states, ruled by shari‘a.
Da ‘wa and jihad
Da‘wa is also linked to jihad, as both have the same aim:
to spread Islam and its dominion. Da‘wa can be seen as
a call to jihad against those who reject Islam. In classical
Islam, the Islamic state issued a call (da‘wa) to its non-
Muslim enemies to submit to Islam either by converting to
Islam or by accepting dhimmi status with all its demeaning
regulations. If they refused both options, jihad was waged
against them. Jihad then created the conditions in which
conversion to Islam could easily take place, supported
by state institutions and without opposition from enemy
forces.
While da‘wa can be propagated by peaceful means of
persuasion, jihad enables it to function freely to its fullest
extent. Da‘wa is most effective when the state enforces
shari‘a and supports da‘wa with all its resources. Thus
Islamist movements like the Muslim Brotherhood see
themselves as committed to both da‘wa and jihad, or
rather see both as different stages in the same enterprise.
Fathi Yakan, leader of the Lebanese branch of the Muslim
Brotherhood, explains the synergy between jihad and
da‘wa:
[Da‘wah] is a call for Jihad since it calls for preparation
for Jihad by all its forms and means so that truth may
have the force to protect it and that the Da‘wah may be
able to face the challenges and surmount the barriers...
Force is the surest way to establish the truth and how
beautiful it would be if truth and force went side by side.
Thus Jihad for the spread of Islam and the protection of
the holy places of Islam is another obligation which Allah
made compulsory on the Muslims...
ii
This graphic image from a British Muslim group
indicates the negative attitude of most Muslims to
Christian mission and evangelism
Contemporary forced conversions as part of
da‘wa-jihad
There are sadly many contemporary examples of forced
conversions to Islam in the context of jihad. Examples
include the civil war in Sudan (1983-2005) and the anti-
Christian atrocities in the Indonesian Malukus and Central
Sulawesi (1998-2002). In Iraq, since the downfall of the
Saddam regime in 2003, Christians, Mandeans and Yazidis
have faced the threat from radical Islamists of being killed
unless they convert to Islam.
This attitude is also evident in the many cases where
Muslims offer aid and relief to non-Muslim victims of
natural disasters or war on condition that the recipients
convert to Islam. Such incidents have taken place in
Sudan during the civil war, in Indonesia following the
December 2004 tsunami, and in Pakistan following the 2005
earthquake.
In Peshawar, Pakistan, a threatening letter was
distributed among the Christian community in August 2007,
calling on them to convert to Islam or face death and ruin:
God is Great
Long live Islam
Long live Jihad (Holy war)
Death to Infidels
All the residents are openly invited to abandon the infidel
religion, that is Christianity, embrace Islam and become
Muslims, and you will make home for yourself in heaven.
Otherwise
....your colony will be ruined. You will be responsible for
the death and destruction of your families.
Be prepared.
This is not just a threat, our suicide attackers will
eliminate you.
In post-Saddam Iraq, similar letters have been sent
to Christians by both Sunni and Shi‘a radical militias,
demanding their conversion to Islam or the payment of the
jizya tax (a sign of dhimmi status), and threatening those
who refused with death unless they fled.
Converts as a security risk
A very different kind of link between da‘wa and jihad is
found in the number of converts to Islam who are active
in violent jihad. One of the perpetrators of the July 2005
London suicide bombings, Germaine Lindsay, had converted
to Islam five years earlier. Muriel Degauque, a Belgian
convert to Islam, attacked American troops in a suicide
attack near Baghdad in November 2005. Of 14 people
arrested because of their links to her, half were converts
to Islam. Three of the suspects in the 2006 plot to bomb
transatlantic airliners were recent converts to Islam. Two of
the three suspects arrested in Germany in September 2007
on charges of plotting to detonate large bombs made with
concentrated hydrogen peroxide were converts to Islam.
Filipinos who have converted to Islam while working
in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf and then returned home
have formed the extremist Rajah Solaiman Movement
based in Manila and northern Luzon. It has been linked to
established Islamist terrorist groups in the south and has
helped them gain a foothold in urban areas.
 It seems that new converts can be easy prey for radical
Islamist recruiters. It is known that Al-Qaeda-inspired
activists deliberately target sincere converts to Islam,
particularly those who do not conform to the “terrorist
stereotype” and can thus avoid detection by security
agencies. Converts know the local culture and easily blend
into it. They cannot be deported. They can be trained to
hide their new religion by avoiding mosques, and even by
drinking alcohol and taking drugs to maintain their cover.
One guide counsels would-be suicide bombers going to
Iraq to “wear jeans, eat doughnuts, and always carry your
Walkman”.
Da‘wa as a “civilisational jihad”
The main Islamist movements are dedicated to da‘wa
as part of what they call “civilisational jihad” which
will establish Islam firmly as the dominant religion in
non-Muslim states. This view of da‘wa prioritises the
Islamisation of the non-Muslim society in order to
create an environment conducive to Islam. The Muslim
Brotherhood, for example, has developed an overall
strategic plan to change the character of North American
society and establish the dominion of Islam, and other
groups have similar strategies. They involve carefully
staged steps in the organisational, institutional, legal,
economic, educational, cultural, social and welfare spheres
of the host country. These steps are not meant just to meet
the needs of Muslim individuals and the local Muslim
community, but to infiltrate the control structure of the
society and gradually change it from within.3
The founding of new Islamic centres, for example, is
not simply done to meet the needs of the local Muslim
community. The Islamic centre must become a centre of
activity as part of the larger strategy of Islamising the
host society:
In brief we say: we would like for the Islamic center to
become “The House of Dawa” and “the general center” in
deeds first before name. As much as we own and direct
these centers at the continent level, we can say we are
marching successfully towards the settlement of Dawa in
this country.4
In similar vein, the building of huge prestigious new
mosques, like the proposed “mega-mosque” in Newham,
London, is not meant simply to meet the congregational
needs of the local Muslim community, but to impress on
non-Muslims the power and splendour of Islam as well as
its inexhaustible resources.
Institutionalisation of da‘wa and its
adoption by Muslim states
In the West, Christian missionary efforts are operated only
by churches and private voluntary organisations, not by
governments. In the Muslim world, because of the concept
of non-separation between religion and state, Muslim
states see da‘wa as part of their foreign policy and are
willing to found and finance da‘wa organisations on a large
scale. These organise and supervise the work of Muslim
missionaries (da‘is) around the world.
Contemporary Muslim activist organisations operate
as something between a missionary society and a political
party, effectively blending da‘wa with politics. All Islamist
movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood, Jama‘at-i-
3
“Muslim Brotherhood Strategy for North America: An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America”,
www.txnd.uscourts.gov/pdf/Notablecases/holyland/07-30-07/0030085.pdf, viewed 28 August 2007. 4 ibid. 5 Abuhuraira Abdurrahman, Method of Islamic Da‘wah, Johor
Baru, Malaysia: Perniagaan Jahabersa, 2003, pp. 148-156.
Islami, Wahhabis, Salafis and Deobandis, are committed to
Pull-out supplement
da‘wa and have set up organisations for its furtherance in
the non-Muslim world.
Saudi Arabia, Iran and Libya are the foremost countries
which proclaim da‘wa as a central sacred duty of the state.
They can thus be considered “missionary states”. Libya
founded the World Islamic Call Society in 1982 to further
its version of Islam around the world. Iran has its own
institutions, like the Imam Husayn Foundation, for the
propagation of its version of Islam.
Training for da‘wa
The institutionalisaton of da‘wa has led to the
formalisation of da‘wa education and training. Da‘wa has
now become an academic subject and many academic
da‘wa institutions have been founded.
In addition to formal training, many self-help
handbooks for the training of da‘is are published. These
usually stress the moral characteristics necessary in
the missionary, and then instruct on the skills needed
for reaching out to non-Muslims. One such manual
recommends a psychological approach. The Muslim
missionary must understand the various types of people
he is reaching out to. He should be flexible in modifying
his approach to suit the level of the specific person he is
dealing with so as to awaken his interest in Islam. This
manual recommends an 8-step approach:5
1. Court the individual by showing great concern for
his welfare. Build up a friendly relationship without
pushing Islam.
2. Awaken the individual from his apathy by drawing
his attention to the wonders of God’s creation and
its purpose while sharing neutral activities such as
conversations, outings and meals.
3. Start the process of indoctrination with Islamic
doctrine and practice, providing books of guidance on
Islamic faith and ritual and encouraging him to seek the
company of Muslims and avoid sinful practices.
4. Move on to detailed instruction on Islamic worship
and practice, emphasising that Islam demands that
everything be done to gain God’s pleasure.
5. Explain that Islam is more than a religion: it is a
social and political system, a civilisation and a complete
way of life. Explain that individual faith is not enough
and that one must be part of an Islamic community
obedient to the whole of Islamic law (shari‘a).
6. Convince the new convert of the necessity of
establishing an Islamic state with the power to enforce
full compliance to Islamic law, following the example of
Muhammad at Medina.
7. Move on from the Islamic state to the necessity of
continual jihad to ensure the survival of Islam.
8. Mould the convert into becoming a “walking Qur’an”
who can witness to Islam in every place and situation.
Saudi Arabia and da‘wa
Since the 1970s, Saudi charities have been used as da‘wa
vehicles to spread Saudi Wahhabi Islam world-wide.
Saudi Arabia has reportedly spent over $70bn since 1979
on overseas aid, more than two-thirds of it on its campaign
to spread its version of Islam. The larger organisations
and charities are often headed by leading members of the
iii
 Saudi state, including members of the royal family.
Pull-out supplement
In Saudi Arabia, da‘wa activity is supervised by the
powerful Ministry of Islamic affairs, Endowments,
Propagation and Guidance. This ministry oversees
the Muslim World League, the International Islamic
Relief Organization and the World Assembly of Muslim
Youth. It funds Islamic outreach activities all over the
world, including conferences and seminars. It has a vast
publishing programme in many languages to propagate
Islam, and oversees the work of many da‘is around the
world. It operates the “King Fahd Complex for Printing
the Qur’an” in Medina, which has printed and distributed
around the world millions of copies of the Qur’an in Arabic
and other languages. The ministry also controls some
50 domestic outreach offices in Saudi Arabia - known as
Islamic Propagation Offices, Foreigners Guidance Offices,
Da‘wa and Guidance Centres, Cooperative Offices for Call
and Guidance – which are working to convert non-Muslim
residents in Saudi Arabia.
The official Saudi newspaper in English, Ain al-Yaqeen,
published an article on 1 March 2002 describing the
state’s efforts at supporting Islam worldwide. It claimed
that Saudi Arabia had spent “astronomical” sums of
many billions establishing thousands of mosques, Islamic
religious schools and Islamic centres in non-Muslim
countries in Europe, North and South America, Australia,
Africa and Asia. Saudi Arabia has also established a
number of academic chairs in some of the most respected
universities in the West in order to extend the influence
of Islam.
The King Fahd website claims that the former Saudi
monarch’s personal efforts in the propagation of Saudi-
style Islam has resulted in the establishment of some 210
Islamic centres, more than 1,500 mosques, 202 colleges and
almost 2,000 Muslim schools worldwide.
The Organisation of the Islamic Conference
and da’wa
The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which
includes as members all Muslim states (57 states at the
latest count), has in its various summits emphasised the
need to strengthen and systematise the work of da‘wa
in the world. Amongst its recommendations were the
establishment of educational and cultural centres to
propagate Islam and the Arabic language, the adoption of
modern methods of presenting Islam, and the creation of
institutes for the training of Muslim da‘wa workers. In its
1991 Dakar Summit it declared its intent to:
Barnabas Fund HOPE AND AID FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH
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iv
Provide the Organization of the Islamic Conference with
the required resources in order to support and coordinate
Islamic Da‘wa efforts and to improve educational
curricula and training programmes as well as to
disseminate the teachings of Islam throughout the world,
within the framework of cooperation among States and
in respect of their sovereignty; and also to instill the lofty
Islamic values through the implementation of relevant
programmes both in the educational institutions and
through the media for the purpose of consolidating the
moral stature of Muslim peoples and communities.
Similar decisions have been repeated at almost every OIC
conference. Appropriate structures were set up to ensure
coordination among the various Islamic institutions
working in the field of Islamic da‘wa. These included
the Committee for the Coordination of Joint Islamic
Action, the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation based in Rabat and the International Islamic
Council for Dawah and Relief based in Cairo.
The twenty-first Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers
approved the development of a joint Islamic Da‘wa
Strategy within the OIC framework. The OIC also
established the Islamic States Broadcasting Organization
with the goal of spreading da‘wa around the world.
Islam and Christian mission
Despite Islam’s strong emphasis on its own mission
work, it is vehemently opposed to any mission work by
Christians seeking to bring Muslims to Christ. The image
on page ii comes from the extreme British Muslim group
Al-Muhajiroun, but is an indicator of the general negative
attitude of the vast majority of Muslims to Christian
missionaries. In many Muslim countries there are laws
banning evangelism to Muslims while no restrictions are
placed on Muslim outreach to non-Muslims, indeed it is
often officially encouraged. In recent years, there have
been increasing efforts by Muslims to prevent Christians
from evangelising them. This is even happening in the
West, where Muslims typically argue that Christian
evangelism is damaging community relations, and try on
this basis to persuade Western Christians to agree not to
evangelise Muslims in the West. It is noteworthy that, in
such discussions, Muslims do not offer to stop their da‘wa.
(Part 2 of this article will be published in Barnabas Aid,
July-August 2008, and will focus on da‘wa in the West,
including the methods used.)
© Barnabas Fund, 2008
New Zealand
14A View Road, Mt Eden, Auckland 1024
Telephone 09 630 6267 or 0800 008 008805
E-mail office@barnabasfund.org.nz
USA
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Telephone (703) 288-1681
or toll-free 1-866-936-2525
Fax (703) 288-1682
Email bfusa@barnabasfund.org
www.barnabasfund.org

Muslim mob attacks
church congregation introduces
in Pakistan
SEVEN CHRISTIANS were admitted to
hospital after an armed attack by a group
of local Muslims in the Sialkot district of
Punjab, Pakistan, on 6 February.
The Muslims attacked the Christians
after a dispute about the behaviour
of local Muslim youth, who had been
drinking alcohol in the church courtyard
and harassing young Christian women
as they entered and left the church
building. A formal complaint put in
by the Christian elders was met with
defiance from the Muslims. After an
announcement was made in the mosque
that the infidel Christians needed to
be taught a lesson, a group of Muslims
gathered in the church courtyard and
attacked the Christians present with
knives, axes, sticks and guns.
One member of the congregation,
John Masih, was forced to kneel down
before his attackers. When he refused,
they took hold of him and one Muslim
gouged John’s eye out, saying “We will
take out eyes of every infidel who shall
dare to look straight in our eyes.” John’s
brother Khariat rushed to help John, but
was attacked with an axe. Other villagers,
including women and children, were
dragged from their homes, beaten, fired
at and tortured.
Police refused to register a case
against the attackers. Instead, they
treated the matter as a “property dispute”
and arrested a number of Christians.
Bomb attack on YMCA in
Gaza City destroys library
Unidentified gunmen blew up
the Young Men’s Christian Association
library in Gaza City on Friday, 15
February. No one was hurt, but
the library with its 8,000 books was
completely destroyed. Fourteen men,
some of them masked, kidnapped the
two security guards before they stormed
the building and placed two bombs, one
in the library and another (which did not
explode) in the main office.
This is just the latest in a series
of violent attacks on Christians and
Christian institutions in Gaza. Various
al-Qaeda-affiliated groups have claimed
responsibility for a number of these
attacks, saying that they will continue
their attacks until all Christians have left
the Gaza Strip.
Christian-majority school
in South Africa taken over
by Muslims
Newcastle High School in
Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, is a
Christian-majority school. It has
over 1000 pupils of whom only a few
dozen are Muslim. It has become the
centre of a nationwide religious debate
because a group of Muslim parents has
seized control of the School Governing
Body (SGB). In South Africa the
curriculum of the school is established
by the government, but almost all other
management issues are decided by the
governing body. This includes decisions
on the headteacher, staff, sport, culture
and ethos.
By law, meetings must be held to elect
members of the SGB. Apathy among
Christian parents in this sleepy town
meant 60 motivated Muslim parents
attended an electoral meeting at which
hardly any Christian parents showed
up. The Muslims voted as a bloc to seize
control of the school’s governing body by
winning six of the seven elected positions.
The new SGB then instructed the long-
serving principal to stop the traditional
praise and worship at the morning
assemblies and replace it with a minute
of silence. The principal refused and
was soon forced to resign. He was then
replaced by a Muslim who has stopped
Newsroom
Pakistani government
discriminatory scheme
to help poor
A new government scheme
designed to lift Pakistan’s poorest
households out of poverty has been
criticised heavily because Christians
have been prohibited from joining.
The scheme offers savings on five basic
foods to 6.8 million of Pakistan’s poorest
families. It allows low-income groups to
get essential food items from specific,
government-backed stores for 25% to
40% less than the normal cost. The
fund is contributed to by all taxpayers;
however, only Muslims can benefit
from it.
Many Pakistani Christians live in conditions of great poverty
and deprivation, yet they are not allowed to benefit from the
government’s new scheme to help the poorest families get
cheaper food, because they are not Muslims
all Christian publications in the school.
The Christian parents and pupils took
the matter to court. However as the SGB
was legally and constitutionally elected,
the court has found in favour of the
Muslim SGB.
Alec Hogg, a former pupil, now a
leading economist, commented: “In
any democracy, mass apathy opens the
door to small and motivated splinter
groups. They often carry resentments
which strongly motivate them to grab
control and, once in the driving seat, to
force their own narrow interests on the
majority.”
Vietnamese boys and
man beaten at prayer
meeting
On 19 January Vietnamese security
forces interrupted a prayer meeting in
the village of Ploi Hamong Ktu in the
district of Dak Ha, Vietnam, where about
50 Christians had congregated. They
shouted at the Christians to leave, but
detained four, one 43-year old man,
A Then, and three boys, A Tuik, A Khoe
and A Beng, aged 12-13. They whipped
the boys with bamboo sticks and beat
A Then unconscious. A Then was left
bleeding and unconscious on the floor.
His family and relatives carried him back
to his home. He is still unable to walk.
MAY / JUN 2008 Barnabas AID 11
Country Profile Angola
War-damaged buildings in Angola,
where people are still living

little food and clothing was available

was sold on Sunday mornings, with
the aim of keeping Christians away
from church. Christian literature was
confiscated and destroyed. Church
schools were not recognised and
Christian students denied higher
education.
The MPLA’s anti-Christian policies
only began to lessen when they found
that they needed the help of the
churches to try to meet the desperate
physical needs of huge numbers of
displace people facing near starvation.
However, far from being destroyed
by persecution, the Church grew.

Angola
The challenge of Islam
Although Marxism is no longer a
threat, the Angolan Church now faces
a new challenge in the form of Islam.
Until the 1990s there was virtually
no Muslim presence, but it is now
estimated that 2.5% of the population
are Muslims, who are mainly
economic migrants from West Africa.
In addition there is a community of
Lebanese Muslims. The presence
of Islam is becoming more visible in
Angola was afflicted by four decades of continuous warfare, which only came
cities and towns, with Muslims praying
to an end in 2002. For 15 years, Angolans fought for independence from their
in the streets and Muslim women
Portuguese colonial masters. When this was achieved in 1975 the Marxist-
following the Islamic dress code.
leaning MPLA party gained control of the government and was opposed by the
Mosques, Islamic centres and Qur’an
nationalist UNITA movement in a civil war that lasted for 27 years.
schools are being constructed.
There is now peace and freedom, but much of the country’s infrastructure
that was damaged during the war has still not been repaired or developed. An At least two Muslim organisations
estimated seven million land-mines are still hidden in unmarked mine-fields. are active in seeking to make converts,
Adult literacy is only 67%. While most children are able to go to school, many and many young Angolan women are
have a very long walk and then must cope with extremely crowded classrooms marrying Muslims and converting to
and few facilities - or perhaps no classroom at all, with lessons taking place in Islam. Muslims offer food, medical
the open air. Some children have to work instead of going to school. assistance or free education to
impoverished Christians on condition
destroyed. On some occasions troops
Persecution and massacred whole congregations.
they convert to Islam.
This firewood is going to be sold to raise
church growth The Marxist government also
imposed legal restrictions on
funds for the school building project

During the period of MPLA rule, Christians, forbidding open-air

Christians suffered much persecution,
especially from 1975 to 1985. The
first president of newly independent
Angola vowed to eradicate
Christianity in his country within 20
years. Evangelicals were a particular
target, with thousands abducted or
killed. Scores of church ministers
were also killed and many church
buildings closed, seized or deliberately
meetings, house meetings or
preaching anywhere outside of a
church building. No new church
buildings were allowed. The security
police monitored pastors and all
church activities.
Political rallies were often held on
Sundays, and absentees could find
themselves arrested. Sports events
were arranged for Sundays, and what

12 Barnabas AID MAY / JUN 2008


Samusili and the bag
of beans
During the chaos of the First World
War, the Portuguese authorities in
Angola forced hundreds of Angolans
to carry supplies from the town of
Huambo to their troops. One of
these carriers was a young man called
Samusili from a village in the region
of Sambo. After a few days marching
with his load, he was told that the war
was over, but his hopes of returning
to his village were dashed when he
was sent to São Tomé as a plantation
labourer. The distant island of São
Tomé, famous for its cocoa and coffee,
was considered by Africans to be a
place of death and destruction.
Hopeless, helpless and far from
home, Samusili was interested when
a worker arrived at the plantation
who told him about a new way of
life, mentioning the name “Yesu”
(Jesus), which Samusili had never
heard before. The worker also told
him about a good book which had
pleasant but piercing words, words
which reached the heart. Before long
the worker was transferred again, and
Samusili was left to think over what
Angolan children, including war orphans
Country Profile
he had heard. He longed to know
more, and to have the book. He could
not really read but had learnt what he
called “ABCD”.
One day Samusili was emptying
bags of beans and to his astonishment
a book fell out. He managed to spell
out some of the words, and realised it
was in his own language, Umbundu.
It was the very book he had been
hoping for, the New Testament. He
started to read it, letter by letter, and
after many days he reached Romans
1:16. At this point, said Samusili, “I
felt that God had spoken to me, and
that He had given me a new heart.”
Soon after this two Christian
interpreters arrived at his plantation.
They and Samusili met together
regularly for prayer, until the
interpreters were transferred
elsewhere. Then Samusili called
all the other workers together one
evening and told them about the
book. Everyone was thrilled and
wanted to learn to read it. They saved
up their meagre wages to buy pencils
and paper and Samusili taught them
“ABCD” and wrote out the words
of hymns he had learned from the
interpreters.
What Barnabas Fund is
doing in Angola
Angola is one of the poorest countries
in the world, still recovering from
the long years of war. The Church is
likewise very needy and has little in
the way of resources. Few Christians
have Bibles, and many ministers
have only hand-written copies of the
Scriptures.
Barnabas Fund is currently
supporting 20 pastors in the Andulo
area of central Angola at the rate of
£100 (US$200; €130) each per month.
We have also provided the pastors
with bicycles.
With this support to help them, the
pastors were able to donate towards
the costs of a school building for
over 600 children in the area who
currently have classes outdoors.
Church members also contributed,
and have been making bricks as well.
The people longed also for a second
Eventually the plantation manager
heard what was happening and one
night he raided the school and burned
the paper and pencils. He flogged
Samusili and put him in irons. After
he had been released, Samusili re-
started his school. He bored a hole
in the wooden wall of the shed so
he could see when the manager had
fallen asleep. After this school would
begin and continue until midnight,
with Samusili himself correcting his
students’ work until 3.00 a.m. After a
while the school was discovered again
and Samusili was so badly beaten that
he could not work. But his students
did his tasks for him. Day after day
he was beaten, until the manager left
to return to his own country.
Later an opportunity came for
Samusili to return to his own village
in Angola. But he refused saying that
conditions in São Tomé had improved
vastly and “Here in São Tomé I found
Christ; here I remain for the rest of
my life to help others to know Him.”
(Summarised from the account
given by John T. Tucker in A Tucker
Treasury, selected and prepared by
Catherine Tucker Ward, 1984)
school in another location, so that
the children would not have to walk
so far each day. Barnabas Fund has
sent £9,100 (US$18,200; €11,830) to
buy corrugated iron and cement for
the two school buildings. Together
the schools will have capacity for 800
children.
Reference 74-623 Angolan
pastors support
Reference 74-698 Angolan
Christian schools
School building –
work in progress
MAY / JUN 2008 Barnabas AID 13
Testimony
Dr Reginald Zahiruddin, Medical Superintendent of the Mission Hospital in Bannu, Pakistan, was kidnapped
on 8 December 2007 by Islamic extremists. Praise the Lord that, after 25 days of captivity, Dr Zahiruddin
was finally released unharmed. The following letter is his personal account of this terrifying experience and
how he found blessing in his time of trial.
25 days reward for 25 years service in the
North West Frontier Province of Pakistan
On Wednesday 2nd January 2008 at
2:30 p.m. the metal door slammed
open and bright sunlight enlightened
the pitch-dark room where I was kept
in chains for 25 days and nights.
A man came in and announced, “You
are free now. Get ready to leave.”
I was abducted on 8th December
2007 at 1:30 p.m. on a busy road
about 100km from Bannu while
traveling to Dera Ismail Khan, near
Lucky Cement Factory, Pezu. I was on
my Saturday’s routine outreach visit
to Dera Ismail Khan where almost 50
very poor patients waited anxiously to
be seen and receive medicine. I and
my driver in our hospital 10-seater
Hiace Van were suddenly stopped by
a car from which emerged five huge
and strong young men each carrying
a gun pointed towards us. In seconds
they pushed us in the back seats and
took control of the van, blindfolded
us and we were forced to sit on the
floor between the seats with our
heads down. The van was driven to
an unknown place. After about three
hours of speedy and rough driving
we were shifted to another vehicle,
probably a station wagon, in the back,
which took another hour to reach the
final destination. We were guided into
a room where we sat blindfolded for
three hours, not knowing the cause of
our abduction.
While on the way they took all our
belongings (mobile phones, wallet,
watches etc.) and they threatened
that if we made any sound they would
blow up the van with a suicide jacket
and hand grenades which they had.
At 7 p.m. they gave us something to
eat which was difficult to swallow
and some foul smelling water to
drink. After an hour or so we were
14 Barnabas AID MAY / JUN 2008
chained and taken to a dark smelly
room which was probably the place
where we were supposed to live. We
were provided with very thin bedding
which hardly kept out the cold, and
the metallic chains tied to our ankles
never let our feet get warm. This was
our resting place with no lavatory
amenities. They would open the
door each morning at 6 a.m. for five
minutes and then in the evenings for
five minutes so that we could attend
the lavatory, and they provided us
with a container of water to clean
ourselves. Each day seemed dark
and endless and the nights were long
and sleepless. In the first week a man
would come four times a day and
try to force me to change my faith.
The Lord God gave me strength and
empowered me with the Holy Spirit
all the time. I asked God for a double
anointing of the Holy Spirit. We were
worried because nothing had been
disclosed so far.
A week later, on Saturday 15th
December at 11 p.m., a group of men
came into the room and took the
driver away blindfolded while I was
“I said that Jesus
had already paid the
ransom for me ”
alone praying for him. They brought
him back after 15 minutes and
then it was my turn. They took me
blindfolded to a room where I could
hear the whisper of several men and
the sound of a video camera. They
wanted me to remove my trousers and
shirt and wear a shalwar kameez (the
national dress of Pakistan), which I
refused. They took off my shirt and
in that chilly cold night made me sit
on the ice cold floor, and they took
off my blindfold. I saw a group of
men sitting in front of me, pointing
guns towards me and a man with a
long dagger sitting behind me. They
asked me several personal questions.
It seemed that they had gathered
wrong information about me from
somewhere, things like “the hospital
belonged to me”, “I had two wives”,
“I was involved in evangelising the
patients in the hospital and had
relationships with the bureaucrats”
etc. Later on they revealed the two
main reasons for the kidnapping. The
first one was that I should accept their
faith, and they threatened me that
they could kill me if I did not accept.
I was bold enough to refuse and I even
told them that God had the authority
to take my life as He had given it to
me. Then I asked them whether their
holy book said that anyone should
accept their faith with force and
threats. They were speechless and did
not say anything. The ameer (leader)
asked them not to ask any more
questions regarding religion.
The second thing was that
they wanted a huge ransom of 20
million rupees [approx. £160,000;
US$320,000; €208,000]. I told them
that I worked in a charitable hospital
on a monthly salary and no one would
pay this ransom for me. They forced
me to write the amount down on a
piece of paper so that they could send
it to the person responsible at the
hospital to arrange this amount to
be paid within a week. After an hour
of intense interrogation I was taken
back to the room. I kept on praying
to the Lord, saying that this was a
huge amount, that my life was not
 Testimony
worth it and that they would buy arms
and ammunition to kill hundreds of
people. The Lord told me not to worry
and that everything would be fine.
For two weeks nothing seemed to
happen regarding their demand, and
no one approached us and we were on
our daily routine of food and water.
Then, on Saturday 29th December,
these men came back and sat on our
beds and started to talk to us in a very
sweet and polite manner, telling me
that they had made some inquiries
regarding me and that it had come
to their knowledge that I was really a
nice person. They thought of bringing
down the demand from 20 million
to just one million [approx. £8,000;
US$16,000; €10,400]. They wanted me
to write this down so that they could
send this note to the hospital and the
amount could be arranged.
During these three weeks I had
been praying to the Lord and praising
Him all day and all night, reminding
Him of all the promises He had
made. I said to the Lord that He

“a man would come

four times a day and
try to force me to Minaret of a mosque next to the mission hospital in Bannu. This minaret was built to tower over the Christian
hospital complex and its church. Islam teaches that followers of non-Muslim faiths must be seen to be of lesser
change my faith ” status than Muslims

had promised me that “Anyone who
toucheth you, toucheth the apple of
my eye”. I must tell you no one dared
to touch me or harm me in any way.
I also prayed and said that Jesus had
already paid the ransom for me and
that if He wanted me to be released it
should happen with no ransom being
paid. The same night I had a vision
that I would be set free on Wednesday
(which is my regular fasting day)
2nd January 2008 in the afternoon,
without paying anything.
These 25 days gave me a time
of meditation and fellowship with
the Lord. I had plenty of time to
look at my past and I thought about
my mistakes and shortcomings
throughout my life. I made
commitments and re-dedicated my
life to serve Him faithfully. I even
prayed for these people that Jesus
may touch their hearts and souls and
have mercy on them.
People of Waziristan appealed for
me in the majlis-e-shora (a leadership
council for Islamic militants in
Waziristan) and an intense search
was started for us. God listened to
my prayers and the prayers of millions
of people around the world.
He appointed two men from the ten-
member majlis-e-shora who finally
came and took us out of that place.
His mighty hand got us out of the
hands of those people, unharmed.
We were set free with no illness
or disease. Not a single rash, even
though we had had no bath for 25
days and still wore the same clothes.
Praise the Lord. All glory to His
mighty name. This is the reward of
my 25 years service in the North West
Frontier Province.
I will continue to work in Pennell
Memorial Christian Hospital, Bannu,
as long as the Lord wants me in that
place. I am thankful to all the faithful
people of the Lord who prayed for
me during this time of trial with
perseverance. I was covered with
His blood and anointed with the
Holy Spirit all the time. It was an
experience which strengthened my
faith and all the difficulties which I
faced during this time were forgotten
when I saw the mighty hand of God
delivering me from that cold and dark
room and the furious strange men I
faced each day.
Yours In His Service
Dr Reginald Zahiruddin
Medical Superintendent
Pennell Memorial Christian Hospital
Bannu, North West Frontier Province,
Pakistan
(Source: Diocese of Peshawar )

MAY / JUN 2008 Barnabas AID 15

Newsroom
About two-thirds of Muslim Turkish women cover their head
with the headscarf. The recent lifting of the headscarf ban
in colleges and universities appears to be part of a gradual
process of Islamisation of the country, which will severely
impact Christians and other non-Muslims as well as liberal/
secular Muslims
Uncertainty about
direction of Turkish
reforms
Recent Turkish legal reforms
have left many unclear as to where the
Turkish government stands with regard
to the role of Islam in the state and the
protection of religious minorities such as
Christians.
On 6 February the Turkish parliament
approved a constitutional amendment
that would ease the ban on women
wearing Islamic headscarves in
universities. Women professors and civil
servants are still prohibited from wearing
a headscarf.
A ban on wearing headscarves was
introduced in Turkish schools and
Rise in violence against
Christians in Sri Lanka
culminates in murder people, armed with rods, gathered on
of pastor
Sri Lanka has seen a sudden rise in
anti-Christian threats and violence. The
most horrific of these attacks was the
killing of Pastor Neil Edirisinghe on
17 February. He was killed by gunmen
outside his house in Ampara. The
attackers also shot and wounded his
wife, who was carrying their baby son at
the time she was shot.
16 Barnabas AID MAY / JUN 2008
universities in 1980 and had been
strictly enforced on campus since 1997.
This meant that many Muslim women,
who covered their heads as a sign of
their personal religious belief, found
themselves unable to go to college or
university. Prime Minister Erdogan and
his ruling party (which has its roots in
political Islam) claim that easing the
ban is a step towards fulfilling criteria
of democracy and liberalism for joining
the European Union, as it would give
equal right to education to all citizens,
irrespective of their personal belief.
While the majority of Turks supports
the government’s move to amend the
headscarf ban, many secularists consider
it as a step towards a slow Islamisation
of the country. They fear that allowing
women to wear headscarves at university
might soon turn into pressure to do
the same for those who do not cover
their heads. Turkey’s population is 99%
Muslim, and two-thirds of Turkish
women cover their head.
The Turkish government also passed
a law improving the property rights of
non-Muslim religious foundations. The
law allows Christians and other minority
religious foundations to re-acquire some
properties which had been confiscated by
Turkish authorities and also to purchase
new property. For many Christian groups
and other religious minorities, it has been
almost impossible to buy new property,
build new buildings or renovate existing
ones. Many church buildings bought after
1936 were expropriated by the Turkish
authorities without compensation and
returned to the previous owner or sold on
to a third party. According to the new law,
some properties that were confiscated by
the state will be returned, but only if they
have not been passed on to third parties.
While reactions to this new law are
In several other incidents, pastors
and members of their congregation were
threatened and attacked. In Mathugama,
Kaluthara District, a mob of about 50
the road leading to the church and put
up anti-Christian posters during Sunday
service on 17 February. Fearing for the
safety of his congregation, the pastor
advised members to leave in small
groups. The mob hurled verbal abuse
and threats at them and barred their way,
pushing and pulling them. One man and
a 10-year-old child were assaulted, and
two women were manhandled and pulled
by their hair. The next Sunday, around
the time when the service was about
mainly positive, there is still a long way
for Turkey to go to ensure equality of all
religious groups.
Further major news from Turkey in
February was the near completion of the
“Thematic Hadith Project” commissioned
by the Directorate of Religious Affairs
in 2006 to re-catergorise the hadith and
translate them into Turkish. The hadith
traditions record the words and actions
of Muhammad and, together with the
Qur’an, form the basic sources for
shari‘a, Islamic law. When Western media
reported this project as a radical revision
“there is still a long
way for Turkey to GO TO
ensure equality of all
religious groups. ”
of Islam to bring it more in line with
liberal modern norms, the Directorate
responded by denying that there was
any intention of modifying the hadith or
creating a new Islam. Their spokesman
Mehmet Görmez said that the Western
media had read what the Directorate is
doing “from a Christian perspective and
understood it in line with their Christian
and Western cultures”, thus leading
to an erroneous interpretation. “Our
objective is to help our citizens attain
a better understanding of hadith,” he
said. He also clarified that the project
was intended “to convey the universal
message of the Prophet Mohammed to
the 21st century”. In other words, rather
than aiming at a modernist renewal of
Islam to accommodate Western values,
the project in fact seeks to help Turkish
Muslims return to an original form
of Islam.
to begin, a crowd armed with various
tools on the pretext of cutting grass on
the roadside waited for members of
the congregation to arrive. They then
threatened the Christians and prevented
them from attending the service.
On 2 March ten Bible school students
were attacked on their way to their
college in Lunuwila, Putlam District by
a group of about ten masked men on
motorcycles. The men beat the students
with fists and sticks. More men in a van
joined them, and one of the students
was pulled into the van and beaten
and kicked severely. The attackers left
the injured students on the road and
disappeared. Nine students were taken to
hospital.
 Campaign Update
Write a letter to save Petition
progress
representative. This is a very effective
way of achieving change for our Iraqi
Christian brothers and sisters as

Iraqi Christians Thank you to 9,939 peo

who have already signedple
petition on behalf of Ira our
Christians.
qi
politicians in Western democracies
care very much what individuals think
– after all it is individuals who vote.
They will always take an interest in
Current situation issues which seem to be important
Iraqi Christians still find themselves are being forced to leave their homes to their voters. So the more letters
in a very volatile and precarious every month because of continuing they receive concerning a particular
situation. In January at least nine violence. Also, around two-thirds of matter, the more likely they are to
churches and Christian institutions those who do return to Iraq do so only push for change in their area of
were bombed. On 29 February an out of desperation because they are influence (note also that letters are a
Iraqi archbishop was kidnapped unable to find work or because their lot more effective than emails).
in Mosul on his way home from residency papers cannot be renewed. Several supporters who have
church, and his driver and two Especially for Christian refugees, written to their elected representative
guards shot dead. The archbishop’s returning to Iraq would mean have already received replies. One
body was found two weeks later. returning to harassment, persecution British MP wrote back that he “shared
These incidents simply reinforce and sometimes even death. The few the concern about the effects of
the message that Christians are not ongoing violence in Iraq on Christians
Christians who have tried to return
wanted in their homeland. Many fear and other communities”; similarly, a
find things are still worse for them in
that if they do not leave there will be a reply written on behalf of the British
Iraq than in the country they had
Christian genocide in Iraq. Foreign Secretary stated that “despite
fled to.
some improvements in the security
While the Iraqi government reports
that the number of Iraqi refugees Write to your MP or situation in Iraq and indications
that some of those displaced by
returning from Syria is increasing, the
UN High Commission for Refugees elected representative violence may be returning to their
homes, the Government remains
(UNHCR) denies this. Rather, We would like to thank supporters
deeply concerned about the impact
according to the UNHCR, there are who have already taken the time to
of sectarian violence on all Iraqis,
still an estimated 60,000 Iraqis who write a letter to their MP or elected including Christians. We continue to
press the Iraqi Government to ensure
that all people are protected and to
Dear
to raise awareness for the take tough measures against all those
I am writing to ask you to please use your influence
our country a safe refuge perpetuating the violence.”
situation of Iraqi Christian refugees and to help make
Write a short, polite letter to your
for them.
asing harassment and local representative, e.g. Member of
The Christian minority in Iraq have suffered incre
ents withi n their homeland since 1990, Parliament, Congressman or Senator,
persecution from Islamic extremist elem and get as many other people as you
ed from 1.5 million before
and especially since 2003. Their number has dropp can to do the same. Express your
have becom e the target of persecution
1990 to an estimated 400,000. Christians concerns about Iraqi Christians and
both Sunni and Shi’a, seeking
and of ethnic cleansing by radical Islamist groups, ask your elected representative to (1)
and non-Muslims, Christians are
the total Islamisation of Iraq. As both non-Arabs take up the issue with the appropriate
to the Western forces.
held in contempt and are suspected of being allied government ministers or departments
the Iraqi s seeking refuge in
For this reason many Christians are amongst or through them with the relevant
. Their number has increased
neighbouring countries such as Jordan and Syria ambassadors, and to (2) write back
and rent have spiralled upwards
dramatically over the last months. Prices for food and tell you what he or she has done.
are not allow ed to work.
and Iraqi refugees cannot earn their living as they Christian
For supporters in the UK: if you
lator s from the
Despite having employed many workers and trans ction from
do not know who your MP is or
de for their prote
minority, Western forces have often failed to provi to open their
which constituency you live in you
very reluc tant
vengeful militants. Many Western governments are can find out by going to http://www.
borders to Iraqi refugees. parliament.uk/directories/hciolists/
rn governments to
I am most concerned about this reluctance of Weste alcm.cfm
tian minority. I urge you to
recognise the needs of the persecuted Iraqi Chris On the left is a sample letter to
it to the attention of the
take note of the plight of these Christians and bring give you ideas of what to write. You
that aid and relief for the can use as many points as you wish.
appropriate government minster or department so
ted to at least some of them. However, it is much more effective if
refugees can be provided and refuge might be gran
letter and let me know what you use your own words rather than
I would be most grateful if you would reply to this
reproducing what we have written.
action you are able to take.
Yours sincerely
MAY / JUN 2008 Barnabas AID 17
Campaign Update

Have you got your

resource pack yet?
If you are interested in becoming
involved in our campaign to save Iraqi
Christians and telling others about it,
we have a range of resources that can
help you. The resource pack includes:
1. A3 posters, leaflets and information
sheets which give more detailed
information on the history of Iraqi
Christians and the current situation
2. Short DVD presentations on the
situation in Iraq (Iraq: Fear and
Hope) and on the terrible experiences
of Iraqi Christian refugees (Iraq:
Remember the Refugees). You can
also watch these presentations online
on http://www.barnabasfund.org/iraq/
3. Petition sheets
4. Prayer cards with suggestions
for how to pray for Iraqi Christians You can order the free resource pack using the order form on the opposite page
in Iraq and those who have fled as or by contacting your national office. You can also order the resource pack or
refugees individual items from our online store www.barnabasfund.org/shop

In Touch
From the postbag After
A recent letter to the UK office was a great encouragement to
Barnabas Fund staff.
I would like to thank you and your staff for the magazines of Barnabas Fund, which I
have been receiving the last one and a half years. It is most encouraging to know that
Barnabas Fund is doing everything to alleviate the suffering of our Christian brothers
and sisters in a number of countries. . . . Before
Owing to the fact that I am a granddaughter of the Armenian Genocide survivors,
the article on Turkey in your latest issue of March/April 2008 was of great interest to me.
I am grateful that you have included the Armenian Genocide in the article. It is a well
This supporter also highlighted a recent
known fact that this is a taboo subject because of the Turkish government’s sensitivity
incident, scarcely reported in the media, when
as far as the mention of Armenian Genocide is concerned! Sadly, this has to do with Welsh and Armenian people gathered in
flawed foreign policy adopted by a number of Western governments, who are still refusing Cardiff for Holocaust Memorial Day, 27 January
to recognise the Armenian Genocide, as Turkey’s NATO membership and the strategic 2008. They found that the ornate slate cross
position seem to be of great importance to them. I hope you will agree with me that your on the Armenian Genocide Monument had
editorial under the heading “A bowl of curry” applies also to this sad state of affairs. . . . been smashed to pieces with a hammer,
I would also like to express my appreciation for your reports on Islam in every “Pull- which was left at the scene. One Welsh
Out Supplement”. The reports are well documented and easy to understand. In fact, they Armenian said, “This is our holiest shrine. Our
are very instructive and should be read by everybody, as one of the many problems of our grandparents who perished in the Genocide
day and age is ignorance and this must be overcome, especially within the Church.” do not have marked graves. This is where we
A Barnabas Fund supporter in London remember them.”

18 Barnabas AID MAY / JUN 2008

 Please send me a Save Iraqi Christians campaign resource pack.
Please send me ____ copies of “Iraq: Remember the Refugees” DVD
Please add me to your email news service. My e-mail address is
___________________________________________________________________

Gift Aid Declaration

Yes, I would like to help the persecuted Church I authorise Barnabas Fund, registered charity no. 1092935, to treat all
donations I have made since 6 April 2003 and all subsequent donations as Gift Aid
donations until I notify you otherwise.
Here is my gift of ______________________ Signature _________________________________________ Date _____________
Please use my gift for (Applicable to UK tax payers only)
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I do not require an acknowledgement of this gift. or email to anyone else.
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I would like to give regularly through my bank. Please send me credit card donation. From outside UK phone +44 1672 565031.
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Mag 05/08

STANDING ORDER For UK supporters who would like to give regularly

Come and visit us at
Please use these gifts by Standing Order for
our exhibition stand
Wherever the need is greatest (General Fund) Other ____________________________*
Barnabas Fund is going to have
a stand at several Christian To: (name and address of your bank)
events in the UK over the coming _______________________________________________________________________________________
months. Please come and pay us ___________________________________________________________ Post code: _________________
a visit.
Sort Code ____/____/____ Account Number __________________
2nd May – 5th May
Baptist Convention, Blackpool Account name _____________________________________________
13th May – 16th May
Christian Resources Exhibition, Please pay Barclays Bank, Canary Wharf Branch, Canary Wharf, 2 Churchill Place, London, E14 5RB,
for the credit of Barnabas Fund account no. 904 669 72 sort code 20-26-46
Esher
£ _________ (amount in words) _________________________________________
31st May – 7th June
Elim Bible Week, Prestatyn _________________________________________________________________________
Starting on (date) _________ and then every month/quarter/year (delete as applicable) until further notice.
19th July – 25th July
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22nd August – 26th August Signature __________________________ Date ____/_____/____
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This Standing Order is a new one / in addition to / replaces an earlier Standing Order in favour of
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Harrogate
If you are a UK tax-payer please complete the Gift Aid Box above to enable us to reclaim the tax on
your standing order payments.
Barnabas Fund is a registered charity no. 1092935, and a company registered in England number 4029536
* We reserve the right to use designated gifts for another project if the one identified is sufficiently funded.
 UK Supporters’ Day 2008
This year’s UK Supporters’ Day will take place on
Saturday 7 June 2008
1pm to 4pm
at St John’s School & Community College, Marlborough

Islam and the growing effects on Britain and the worldwide Church
– Dr Patrick Sookhdeo
Africa: conflict and hope – Brendan Smith

Update on Barnabas Fund projects including focus on Iraqi Christians

– Caroline Kerslake
Location: St John’s Lower School
Chopping Knife Lane (off A4 London Road), Marlborough, SN8 2AU

Tea, coffee and juice will be available

For security reasons, please contact us first to book your place and get your free
admission ticket. Call our Pewsey office on 01672 564938 or email
info@barnabasfund.org

How to Find Us
You may contact Barnabas Fund at the following addresses: New Zealand
International Headquarters 14A View Road, Mt Eden, Auckland 1024
Telephone 09 630 6267 or 0800 008 805
The Old Rectory, River Street, Pewsey, Wiltshire SN9 5DB, UK
Email office@barnabasfund.org.nz
Telephone 01672 564938 Fax 01672 565030
From outside UK: Telephone +44 1672 564938 Fax +44 1672 565030 Australia
Email info@barnabasfund.org Postal Suite 107, 236 Hyperdome, Loganholme QLD 4129
Telephone (07) 3806 1076 or 1300 365 799
UK Fax (07) 3806 4076
9 Priory Row, Coventry CV1 5EX Email bfaustralia@barnabasfund.org
Telephone 024 7623 1923 Fax 024 7683 4718
USA
From outside the UK
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Barnabas Aid The magazine of Barnabas Fund Bankcode (BLZ): 600 606 06
Published by Barnabas Fund The Old Rectory, River Street, Pewsey, Wiltshire SN9 5DB, UK
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© Barnabas Fund 2008 For permission to reproduce articles from this magazine, please contact the Pewsey UK office address above.