Letters From Grandpa #13

• LETTERS FROM GRANDPA
• 13

Dearest Grandchild,

In our last letter we talked about the importance of the church, and in particular mentioned the important influence of Christianity in eliminating slavery. It cannot be denied that the church played a key role in the ending of slavery in the United Kingdom and America.

Today I feel led to highlight the contrast between the way that Christians view slavery, and the way that Muslims do. Many people of color in America are converted to Islam based on the false assumption that Christians had slaves while Muslims did not. Nothing could be further from the truth. Because Islam is growing in America, and because it is in the news almost every day, let’s take a closer look at Islam and slavery.

Here are the facts.

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Muhammed himself had slaves.

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His followers also took slaves as a reward for fighting.

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The Quran justifies slavery and often mentions slaves (23:5; 24:33; 33:50 etc.)

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Muslims enslaved black Africans long before slave ships arrived from America. #

Muslim men are allowed to have sex with slaves at any time (Sura 4:3; 4:29; 33:49). #

While 2 out of 3 slaves imported to America were men, 2 out of 3 slaves taken by Muslims were women.

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10% of African slaves died en route to America. 80 - 90% of African slaves died when the Muslims transported them across the Sahara.

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Children of slaves brought to America are now free and their families are increasing. By comparison, very few enslaved by Muslims survive. One reason their numbers are so few is that male slaves were often castrated by their Muslim masters.

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It is estimated that the death toll after 14 centuries of slave trade in the Muslim world exceeds 112 million.

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Not only were Africans enslaved by Muslims, historian Robert Davis estimates that between 1530 and 1780 North African Muslim pirates also enslaved more than 1 million Europeans. #

Unfortunately slavery is still alive and well in our modern world. Much of it is associated with Islam. Consider the number of slaves in these predominantly Muslim countries. #

Slavery is rampant in Afghanistan where thousands of children are trafficked every

year.

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Egypt also has a high rate of women being trafficked as sex slaves. A small window

of insight into the problem is revealed by Makram Ouda, executive director of the

Jordanian Women Union. He recently found 70 Egyptian women in Jordan “bought”

for sexual pleasure.

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As of Oct. 2012 an estimated 70,000 children in Indonesia have fallen victims to

sexual exploitation. The population of Indonesia is 88% Muslim. More Muslims live

in Indonesia than in any other country of the world.

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Other victims of slavery are from Java, West Kalimantan, and North Sumatra. Many unsuspecting children are lured into slavery with false promises of jobs and security. #

Officially, slavery was abolished long ago in Mauritania, but those laws have not been enforced. Today there are an estimated 6000,000 slaves in Mauritania’s 3.2 million population. Approximately 1 out of 5 people in Mauritania are slaves. #

In July 2009 an official of the U.S. embassy in Pakistan noted that at least 3 landlords forced as many as 170 bonded farm workers to work at gun point. Indentured servitude in Pakistan can result when peasants are unable to pay debts of as little as 1,000 Pakistani rupees (about $12 U.S.) Some estimate that there are as many as 1.7 million engaged in bonded labor in Pakistan.

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Perhaps even worse are the Pakistani children between 5 and 12 years of age who are sold to wealthy Saudi men as sex slaves.

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Yemen is the Arab worlds’ most impoverished country. One unfortunate source of revenue in Yemen involves selling “child brides” to rich men from the Gulf states. Officially, slavery ended in Yemen in 1962, but in the real world there are still thousands of slaves there. In Hajja, for example, there are 300 known slaves, and a judge recently certified the transfer of a slave from one owner to another. #

When Muslims classified the conflict in the Sudan as a “holy war” it legitimized the ancient practice of taking slaves as booty.

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Remember! Jesus said that just as we know a tree it’s fruit, we also know religious teaching by it’s fruit. A trip to Saudi Arabia, therefore, presents a more accurate picture of Islam than reading the Koran or listening to a mullah. There is no religious freedom in Saud Arabia and women are not even permitted to sit in the front seat of a car except in an emergency.

Some time ago Grandpa did an interview with Kevin Turner. While the interview is rather long, a part of his story involves his own experience of witnessing to Muslims, and also buying slaves from a Muslim slave trader. The interview was done at Good News Productions, Intl. and is part of the Venture in Faith series. He offers a documentary regarding Muslims and slaves through the Voice of the Martyrs Ministry in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

Try clicking on this link if you have the time. http://vimeopro.com/wotruth/venture-in-faith/video/110322324

THE BATTLE OF TOURS

After the death of Muhammad (around A.D. 632), within a very short time Arabia was consolidated under Muslim control. Following the decisive Battle of Yarmouk in 636 Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon were also conquered by Muslim armies. From 643 - 711 Muslims next defeated Egypt, the Sasanid Empire, Tunisia, and the Iberian Peninsula. The Muslim armies in Europe, however, were defeated at the Battle of Tours in A.D. 732. If it were not for this victory, all of Europe would probably be Muslim today.

After the conquest of Spain, Islamic forces began to threaten France. The Muslim cavalry had invented the stirrup. This enabled them to “stand, fight, and ride” at the same time. This tactical advantage enabled them to cut down opposing infantries at will. At the time of the Battle of Tours the French had no cavalry at all. It is also generally agreed that the Islamic forces enjoyed a superiority in both numbers and weapons. Charles Martel wisely assumed a defensive posture that enabled him to choose the terrain where this critical battle would take place. After six days of minor skirmishes, the full force of the Muslim armies arrived and they attacked. It was Oct. 10, 732. The small army of brave and disciplined Franks withstood the assault.

On the second day of the battle, Frankish scouts began to raid the Muslim supply camp. They not only freed their slaves, but also began carrying away their booty. When some of the Muslims raced back to camp to save their spoils of war, other Muslims thought they were retreating. In an attempt to stop the retreat, the leader of the Muslim army was surrounded and killed, and his forces fled.

After overcoming great odds to defeat the Muslims at Tours, Martel had no trouble adopting Muslim weapons and tactics that were superior to his own. In 5 short years, from the Battle of Tours, to the Battle of Narbonne, he used the cavalry and the stirrup with devastating effect. The unified Muslim Caliphate collapsed into civil war in 750 at the Battle of the Zab. This left the Umayyad dynasty literally wiped out except for the Princes who escaped to Africa, and Iberia.

THE WEAPON S OF OUR WARFARE

You know that Grandpa has some guns which I inherited from my father. I have tried to show you how to be safe and responsible in the use of these weapons. I believe that every man has the right and the responsibility to defend his family. I also believe that every nation also has the right of self defense. Our ultimate struggle, however, is not against people, but ideas.

Paul put it like this: “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Cor 10:4-6)

To the Ephesians he associated the activities of men with influence from the spirit world: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph 6:12)

You cannot kill an idea with a bomb or a bullet. After the defeat of Napoleon he was exiled on the Island of St. Helena. As a defeated man and a prisoner, he was supposed to have said: “Alexander the Great, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself have all built kingdoms with force and they have failed. Jesus Christ built His Kingdom with love and it yet remains”.

The word “Barabbas” literally means “son of the father” (bar = son, and abba = father). When Jesus was about to be crucified Pilate offered the people a choice between two men who both claimed to be sons of the Father. Barabbas chose to fight with physical weapons and committed murder in the process of insurrection (Mark 15:7). Jesus, by contrast, was the leader of a spiritual army. His ministry was symbolized by riding into Jerusalem on a little donkey that had never been ridden before. The only blood that Jesus shed was His own! The people foolishly chose Barabbas.

While I am convinced that deadly force is justified against deadly enemies, it is obviously better to convert people to Christ than to kill them. Bibles are even cheaper than bombs.

Thanks again for taking time to read what your Grandpa has written. Here is a quote that will perhaps encourage you to do some writing of your own.

The printed page never flinches, never is afraid, never forgets, never shows cowardice, never is tempted to compromise, never gets tired, never gets sick, never gets discouraged, never loses its temper, never gets in an argument, and never goes to sleep. It can travel across national boundaries without a passport, fly at high altitude without oxygen, survive cold without a coat and heat without air conditioning. It does not require batteries, electricity, or a satellite signal. It travels cheaply and requires no hired halls. It works while we sleep and always catches a reader it the right mood for it only speaks when someone has chosen to read it. It can enter a home without knocking and wait patiently for years while waiting to be read. It can continue to work long after we are dead and is like bait permanently left in the pool.

I love you,

Grandpa Boyce