The Hard-Won Lessons of Terror and Persecution
Overseas Christians reflect on painful experiences
Art Moore | posted 9/01/2001 12:00AM
2 of 4
Work with Youth
In Malaysia, which prides itself on being a model of multiethnic harmony, Muslim extremists have targeted not only the nation's moderate Muslim government, but also minority religious groups, including Christians, Hindus, and Sikhs.
In August 2000, authorities charged 29 members of an Islamic sect with treason after they looted two army camps of 100 assault rifles and 1,000 rounds of ammunition. Fear of terrorism is growing.
In the wake of the attacks in America, religious leaders in Malaysia formed a new coalition to educate the public, especially young people, about dangerous ideologies and their consequences, according to Wong Kim Kong, general secretary of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia.
"There are many people started off from preschool age to believe that if you die for jihad you will be in heaven," Wong says. "That kind of indoctrination is so strong. We need to look at many strategies to reorient their minds and to eradicate such influence in the country." (In Malaysia, more than one-third of the population is 15 or younger.)
Parti Se-Islam Malaysia (PAS), a conservative Islamic political party that leads the country's opposition alliance, rules 2 of 13 states where Islamic law is being enacted. pas is gaining popularity among Malays, the mostly Muslim ethnic group of about half the population.
"We cannot remain complacent," Wong says. "We have to be vigilant in every situation."
Unload Anger
In the West African nation of Liberia, nearly every family lost a loved one in a seven-year civil war that began in December 1989 with civilian massacres. More than 220,000 people died and more than 1 million fled their homes in a country that now has about 3 million people.
"Initially the emotions don't even start coming out, because it's just total shock," says Bill Massaquoi of the Association of Evangelicals of Liberia, recounting the effect of attacks on families.
"Later, you see it begins to lift, and then the reality dawns on individuals, and they begin to see the loss. For some people, it was emotionally overwhelming, and they just collapsed."
When the shock subsides, anger intensifies, Massaquoi says. "[People] are angry about the fact that there is no justice for those who meted out those kinds of atrocities against them," he says. "But what can you do to avenge for the kind of destruction that took place? You can't compensate for the loss of life of pregnant women being torn apart, of human beings beheaded, treated like animals, and people's stomachs opened with knives and machetes."
Only the power of Christ can comfort people in these circumstances "in a way that probably we ourselves may never really understand," Massaquoi says. After the war, evangelical churches set up counseling booths in communities.
"We did not rush to provide answers," Massaquoi says. "Many times they just need someone who will show genuine interest in their story and allow them to unload all their anger, all their frustrations, all their hurts. And often you would actually just sit with them and look them in the face and hold their hand, cry with them, and mourn with them. And then we started to minister the Word of God about Jesus, that no matter what happens, he loves us."
Recovery takes a long time, he says, and requires more than just initial relief of physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Massaquoi directs the association's microenterprise program that provides "life loans" to families to help them start earning money again. Massaquoi says that churches have been "springing [up] all over the place."
RSS Feeds
Audio
Twitter
share this page
E-mail
Print
Post
Subscribe to Christianity Today magazine today!
