The Continuing Tragedy of Forced Marriages and Conversions of Christian Girls in Islamic Countries

Got problems? Read this for another perspective of problems...

http://www.openheaven.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=34092&PN=1&TPN=1

ginnyrose

Really, this is why Islam is held with such suspicion in this country. Islam is not just a religion...it's also a legal system and political state without geographic boundaries.

Actually, this idea of forced marriages scares me. What if it were to happen here? Even in a small way? But worse still, are those poor girls...my heart just grieves for them. They have no voice, no way to exercise their will in the matter UNLESS somehow the HOLY SPIRIT will empower them. Yes, that is it! Perhaps one will see a move of God among these girls? The opportunity is ripe but one could also expect a lot of killing...tragic as this seems, it would likely be a welcome release from that forced servitude.

ginnyrose

Hi Compton and Ginnyrose...

Yes, this is a strong cause for concern!

I remember listing to a teacher from an honors level World History course during high school. She spoke about how vicious and bloody the "Christians" were during the the Crusades. She made it sound like the knights who went to Jerusalem were power-hungry religious zealots motivated by vain promises by a corrupt pope in Rome.

It wasn't until college that I realized the true motivation for the crusades. Now, I am certainly not an apologist for the corrupt Roman "church" or for whether or not the crusades were actually justified. However, the crusades were NOT motivated by a religious fervor. They were a military response by a handful of armies (including the English, Norman, Roman, French, Byzantine and Armenian) to radical Muslim conquests of Europe, Africa, Eurasia and Asian territories.

When the Muslims conquered Western Europe (including Spain), they ruled with an iron Muslim fist. They ruthlessly forced "conversions" to Islam, forced marriages, and put to death many who refused. Non-Muslims were forced to pay the "jizya" -- a tax payment for simply being allowed to live as a non-Muslim under Islamic rule (which, by the way, still exists today in certain Islamic nations).

It is disturbing how history revisionists gloss over the Muslim actions that provoked a military response by the crusades. It is also disturbing that these sort of things still exist today in Islamic nations. These things largely go unreported by major media sources. When they are reported, they are dismissed as "cultural" norms.

Then again, Islam began by a man (Muhammad) who was married to 13 women (including Aisha, his favorite bride [and niece] who he married when she was six year old "by the will of Allah") who claimed that he was instructed to violently conquer the world in the name of the religion.

For anyone who hasn't yet read it, I recommend Brother Andrew's book (with Al Jansen) called 'Secret Believers'. Based on true accounts, it covers the hardships and persecutions of Christians (and Muslim-Background Christians) in Islamic countries.