(The Islamic Center of Toledo)
CNN.COM has this report of a Muslim teen who became a follower of Jesus and now is afraid for her life. She says that her father wants her dead because she has left Islam.
I have heard of this before and talked with ex-Muslims who now fear for their lives because of their faith in Jesus. For example, a few years ago I was in a dialogue with the Imam of the Islamic Center of Toledo. The event took place in Rocket Hall at the University of Toledo. The Imam is from Egypt. I shared with him, and the students who were there listening, that I have three friends who are Christian leaders in Egypt, and they all suffer persecution from Egyptian Muslims. The Imam denied this. But I have evidence, and anyone who has studied this knows that Egypt is a fearful place to be a Christian.
If someone leaves the Christian faith our response is, usually, sadness. We don't threaten to take their life! I think there are a lot of Muslims who would consider becoming followers of Jesus were it not for the threat of persecution. So, they are held hostage by militant Islam. I am now reminded of the Dutch newspaper that printed political cartoons of Mohammed. The militant Islamic response to this was "Off with their heads!" So much for those of us who value inter-religious dialogue.
