Churches in Muslim Countries
Churches in Muslim Countries
By Mohamad K. Yaffa, M.A., Halifax NS Canada September 2011 There is hardly any Muslim country without the presence of churches. In fact, not only did Muslims maintain prayer places for non-Muslim minorities in Islamic history, but Muslims have been as generous as to share mosque space with non-Muslims, especially Christians. Sharing the grand mosque in Cordoba, Andalusia (which became Spain after the expulsion of Muslim rule), and the grand mosque of Damascus, are examples of Muslims' deep sense of accommodation of religious minorities. Ironically, when Cordoba and the rest of Andalusia fell to Christian rule, the grand mosque converted to a Catholic Cathedral, and a chapel was ordered by the Holy Roman empire of Charles the V to be inserted into the very heart of the great mosque, against the will of the townspeople. Muslims have been since banned from praying in that mosque. The Vatican has continued to refuse sharing of the mosque with Spanish Muslims. The Spanish still call the mosque Mezquita-Catedral, or Mosque-Cathedral, despite the change of its legal and some of its physical status. Meanwhile, non-Muslim minorities have generally survived, and in most cases enjoyed the respect and thrive of their communities, particularly in times of national stability in Muslim countries. What about Saudi Arabia? In Saudi Arabia, American Soldiers who were deployed during the gulf wars were allowed to have chapels and spaces for worship. Moreover, there could be several churches in that country; an example is The Grace Outreach Church, which is clearly and confidently thriving. On its website, http://gocksa.org/, the church declares: “The Grace Outreach Church-Riyadh has been called into a unique role in this unique land. This is a vast kingdom with vast fields that are crying out for the power and salvation that can only be had through Jesus Christ. It is our charge to live as influential members of the body of Christ here and establish an eternal footprint in the Middle East”. On its main page, the church has the top line reading, “ Jesus is Lord”. The Grace Outreach Church's leaders furthers say the following on the same website, “... With that said, our main means of influence is to live the great commission for it says in Mark 16:15-18, "… Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believe and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; in My Name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." "We believe in preaching the infallible Word of God but also that we need to continue walking in the commanding power that was given to heal the sick and set captives free through the name of Jesus Christ and power of the Holy Spirit.”, the website continued in its declaration. Clearly, The Grace Outreach Church does not only intend to serve its followers, but to make them as well, on the holiest land of Muslims, and saying so in a very direct evangelical language. It belives and announces that "He that believe and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.". There are thousands of churches in the Muslim world, but due to media brain-wash and biased reporting about Muslims, many Westerners are ignorant of this fact. Western media reporters and producers are generally unwilling to confer such credit to the benefit of countries and governments they are obsessed with portraying as monsters. People's ignorance has led to some to vilifying Muslims and Islam and opposing the building of mosques in Western countries. Not in the Vatican, not in Makkah- why Islam reserves Makkah for Muslims Dedicating spaces by states, communities, religions and other bodies, for civil, security, religious or other purposes, with limitation and even exclusion to access, is a normal and established practice of every state, country, society and religion. A big area of Makkah is sacred to Muslims, dedicated for pilgrimage and special worship of God alone. It is different from other spaces in that sense. The Haram (sacred spaces) of Makkah entertain certain rituals and forbid certain acts. These acts of sanctification are standing obligations upon Muslims in a way that cannot be demanded of non-Muslims. Breaking the established rules come with consequences that Muslims have agreed to bear, accept and even enjoy as worship of God, while non Muslims have not. Non-Musims have no reason to practice the rules, simply because they do not believe in them. Hence rightfully and logically, the space is exclusive to Muslims, who are the only people that have business there. But let us emphasize that Makkah is not an anomaly. Maintaining special places exclusively for whom they may concern, is common in states and societies. It is also traditionally accepted and respected. For instance, you cannot build a Protestant church in the area of St. Peters' Basilica in the Vatican, not to mention a mosque. Not many people have issues with that and with the same stick, Makkah must be measured. Non-Muslims can enter Makkah out of necessity. In the event a non-Muslim has a covenant, a contract or an agreement to perform a duty in Makkah, or if necessity forces him or her to head there, they should be allowed in principle. Necessity can be a flight for refuge or for a medical need upon which life depends that cannot be accessed elswhere. Safeguarding life is a divine injunction of Islam. God all-mighty says in the Qur'an 5/32 “... and anyone who saves it (life) is like he has saved all people”; and a known Islamic jurisprudence principles also states that “Necessities supersede legalities”. |
Related Links: Grace Outreach Church, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Mezquita-Catedral, Spain Muslims Requesting to Pray in Mezquita-Catedral Muslims in Spain - Documentary List of Catholic Churches in Riyadh, Capital of Saudi Arabia http://kccfk.catholicweb.com Kerala Catholic Charismatic Fellowship - Kingdom, Saudi Arabia Wikipedia Article which mentions none of the examples of Churches in Saudi Arabia. Why is that? |