(Washington Times) Julia Duin - The U.S. State Department has documented numerous instances of religious persecution overseas against Muslim converts to Christianity. According to Islamic law as practiced in countries such as Iran, Sudan, Pakistan and in northern regions of Nigeria, the penalty for changing one's religion is execution. What is not so well known are the threats against such converts in the United States. David Barrett, co-author of the World Christian Encyclopedia, estimates that within U.S. borders, 50,000 Christians per year turn to Islam while 20,000 Muslims adopt Christianity. Rev. Esper Ajaj, the Syrian-born pastor of Washington Arabic Baptist Church, says "We've seen more Muslims in [the 1990s] become Christians more than any time in history."
2002-10-18 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive