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Many Americans knew little about the Muslim world before September 11th, but there were a few who were already quite familiar with it. These people – Christian missionaries seeking to convert the world’s largest “unsaved” group (the Muslim world) – have been stepping up their efforts amid the war on terrorism and hostility towards Christian missionaries. Unlike the missionaries of old, today’s spritual soldiers network with email, organize like multinational corporations, and strategize about the “10/40 Window” – the non-Christian areas between the 10th and 40th parallels. “We see Islam as the final frontier,” says David Cashin, a former missionary who used to don Muslim clothing and pursue converts in the tea shops of Bangladesh. One of the largest of these groups is Frontiers, with over 800 missionaries in nearly every Muslim country. Their motto: “Muslims. It’s their turn. It’s all we do. Whatever it takes.” A Frontiers trainer, Rick Love, espouses the strategy of finding another pretext to be there, such as teaching English. “Did Jesus ever lie?” asked Love of his latest group of trainees, who answered “No!” in unison. “But did Jesus raise his hand and say, ‘I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?'” The answer again: “No!” Despite the energy put into converting Muslims, relatively few convert. “My goal is not to convert a Muslim,” says one missionary. “My goal is to plant a tiny seed that will fester and gnaw and grow, so that eventually they will begin to question their religion.”
Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.
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