NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–A former Islamic terrorist who claims he was tricked into executing a suicide attack that killed nine people now says he believes radical clergy are misrepresenting Islam by urging young Muslims to make war against the West.
Ahmed al-Shayea was severely burned when a butane gas truck he was driving in Baghdad was remotely detonated outside the Jordanian Embassy, according to the Associated Press. After receiving extensive medical care at the Abu Ghraib prison hospital, he was transferred to al-Ha’ir Prison in Saudi Arabia, where he asked a moderate Muslim cleric whether the holy war in Iraq was properly sanctioned by Islamic authorities. The cleric told him it was not.
“I realized that all along I was wrong,” al-Shayea told the AP. “There is no jihad. We are just instruments of death.”
Now al-Shayea lives in a deprogramming center that is part of a Saudi government campaign to counter the extremist mindset that grips many of its citizens -– like those among the 9/11 hijackers who attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon in 2001. The effort broadcasts TV messages from repentant jihadists and moderate clergymen. Reformed extremists receive help finding jobs and wives, free medical care and monthly checks.
CHRISTIANS CRITICIZED FOR PROTESTING DISCRIMINATION–Advocates protesting the inhumane treatment of India’s Dalit Christians have been told by India’s Supreme Court that their protests prove the Christians themselves practice caste-based discrimination.
The judges postponed a decision in the case, which was filed in 2004 by India’s Center for Public Interest Litigation to challenge a law that denies government jobs and college enrollment to Dalits (“Untouchables”) who are not Hindu, Buddhist or Sikh. Dalits lose their benefits if they become Christians.
Hinduism’s caste system, which was officially outlawed in 1950, kept Dalits in virtual slavery for more than 3,000 years, said K.P. Yohannan, president of Gospel for Asia. Dalits are allowed to work only the most degrading jobs -– collecting human waste, handling dead bodies, cleaning up garbage. Dalit children often are deprived of an education.
“The Bible teaches us that all people are created in the image of God and all are equal in His sight,” Yohannan said. “That is why Christians are working to help Dalits escape the oppressive caste system.
“Indian society may still look upon Dalit people as outcasts, but God loves each and every one of them,” Yohannan said. “We want them to know this truth and we welcome all people, including Dalits, to worship and follow Him.”
KAZAKH CHRISTIAN HOMES SEIZED–Seizing the homes of Christians who refuse to register their churches with the government does not constitute persecution, a government official in Kazakhstan has said.
While the government of the predominantly Muslim country guarantees freedom of religion, the law also requires churches to register with its religious affairs agency, which can be difficult for Christian groups in small towns, according to a spokesman for the Baptist Council of Churches who talked with Mission Network News.
People caught praying or worshipping in their homes without registering are fined -– and if they cannot or will not pay, their homes have been taken to cover the fine, the spokesman said. Once sealed by the government, a house is no longer accessible to the owner, sometimes leaving the family homeless in a town hostile to Christians.
Kazakhstan’s senior religious affairs official, Yeraly Tugzhanov, has been reported as saying: “No one is being persecuted for their faith. Let them pray. But the law on religion requires them to register. No one has a problem with that.” Baptists in the country, however, said a court ruling stated that unregistered activities must be halted, but did not order homes to be confiscated in lieu of fines.
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